Cambodian court charges real-estate mogul who assaults ex-TV star with intentional violence

Cambodia's Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Saturday decided to place Cambodian property tycoon Sok Bun in a pre-trial detention for viciously assaulting a former TV star in a heated argument at a Phnom Penh restaurant early this month, a senior police officer confirmed. "The questioning judge charged him with intentional acts of violence with aggravating circumstances and issued a verdict to temporarily detain him at the Prey Sar prison,"Major General Sok Khemarin, chief of the Interior Ministry's Criminal Department, told Xinhua via telephone.

Real-estate mogul Sok Bun surrendered himself to the Cambodian police Saturday morning at the Phnom Penh International Airport upon his arrival from Singapore, where he had stayed for 10 days since fleeing Cambodia.

He was directly escorted from the airport to the court where he faced the charges.

His surrender came after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's appeal on Thursday.

Leaked security camera footage, which has gone viral on the internet since last week, shows Sok Bun engage in an argument on July 2 with former TV presenter Ek Socheata, better known as Sasa, before dragging her to the floor and punching, kicking, stomping on and stripping her almost naked, as his bodyguard pointed a pistol at her head.

In a statement released on Tuesday by his lawyer, Sok Bun announced the offering of a compensation of 100,000 U.S. dollars to Sasa as well as resignation as the president of the Cambodian Valuers and Estate Agents Association and the director of joint ventures between his company and Singaporean partner TEHO-SBG International.

However, Sasa rejected the compensation offer, insisting to see her attacker to face trial. Endi