PHNOM PENH, CAMBODIA - A CAMBODIAN court has sentenced an Australian man to six years in prison for trying to smuggle out of the country 40 grammes of the drug known as 'ice,' a judge said on Wednesday.

Simon Peter Conway, 50, was convicted of drug trafficking in a trial on Tuesday and sentenced to six years and a US$2,500 (S$3,405) fine, Judge Chan Madina told AFP.

He was arrested in October at Phnom Penh International Airport after authorities found 40 grammes of the methamphetamine with him.

Conway's lawyer Dun Vibol said he already filed an appeal seeking to have the prison sentence reduced.

'Conway confessed everything during the trial. But we want his sentence to be reduced to the minimum,' he said, adding that Conway intended to bring the drug to Australia to use as a painkiller for a leg injury.

Ice can be produced in rudimentary laboratories from a range of chemicals and resembles clear, chunky crystals that can be smoked, snorted or injected.

Although drug arrests have risen, Cambodia is becoming an increasingly popular trafficking point for methamphetamines and heroin, particularly since neighbouring Thailand toughened its stance on illegal drugs in 2002.