A wealthy property tycoon has been arrested in Cambodia over a vicious assault against a female TV star that was captured on CCTV.
Cambodian magnate Sok Bun was today charged with intent to commit violence after a video emerged earlier this month claiming to show him beating actress Ek ‘SaSa’ Socheata at a restaurant in the nation’s capital Phnom Penh.
Mr Bun, 37, had fled the country after the video was shared online but returned today and was escorted by police to the Municipal Court, where he was questioned and charged.
The attack sparked anger in Cambodia, where the wealthy often act with impunity and buy their way out of trouble.
On Thursday, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen called for Mr Bun's arrest.
"Don't think that because you have money you can escape,'' he said.
"What you have done is intolerable."
The CCTV footage appears to show SaSa being dragged off a chair at a Japanese restaurant before she is kicked in the head. A group of men can then be seen repteadly kicking and stamping on her. At one point a gun is drawn and pointed at SaSa’s head. The brutal eventually ends once a restaurant worker pulls the attacker away
Following the attack SaSa obtained the video from the restaurant and posted it on social media.
She told the Associated Press news agency: "He pulled my hair and smashed my head against the floor.
"I was in shock, I couldn't believe what was happening."
She has since said in interviews that she was attacked for attempting to protect a friend from the advances of Mr Bun.
Sok Khemrin, chief of the Interior Ministry's penal division, says property magnate Sok Bun will be held at a Phnom Penh prison pending trial.
