DPA/Phnom Penh
A Cambodian tycoon reportedly on the run in Singapore after beating up a woman has offered to pay compensation to avoid jail, local media reported yesterday.
Security footage surfaced on July 8 of property developer Sok Bun attacking local celebrity Ek Socheata at a Phnom Penh restaurant.
Sok Bun’s lawyer told the Phnom Penh Post that his client “really wants to compromise” and “make a public apology” by offering Ek Socheata $100,000 in compensation.
In Cambodia, offering a victim or their family financial compensation can lead to a reduced or suspended sentence.
Ek Socheata allegedly rejected an earlier offer of $40,000, according to the Phnom Penh Post.
Sok Bun has also offered to give up an honorific title given to some business people, according to the newspaper.
The CCTV footage of the attack shows Sok Bun knock Ek Socheata down, beat her, and drag her around a restaurant as her friend, a security guard, and a restaurant employee look on.
The reason for the attack, according to Ek Socheata, is that she intervened when he tried to take home her visibly intoxicated friend.
Sok Bun reportedly left Cambodia the day after the video was released, and announced his resignation on July 10 from a multi-million dollar real estate venture with Singaporean firm Teho International.
The company said in a statement that Sok Bun had resigned for “personal reasons” as the firm’s local partner in a $500mn luxury hotel and apartment
development.
