Wanted Tycoon Arrested at Phnom Penh Airport

Sok Bun, the real-estate mogul wanted for the brutal assault of a female television personality earlier this month, was arrested at Phnom Penh International Airport on Saturday morning, according to an Interior Ministry official.

Sok Khemarin, director of the ministry’s penal police department, said Mr. Bun was met by police upon arriving on a flight from Singapore, despite reports on Friday that the tycoon had fled to Paris. 

“We arrested him at Phnom Penh International Airport this morning when he came back from Singapore,” Major General Khemarin said. “Now we have sent him to the Phnom Penh Municipal Court for questioning.”

Security camera footage of Mr. Bun viciously beating Ek Socheata, a former television host better known as Sasa, emerged on July 7, prompting widespread outrage on social media. Although Ms. Socheata filed an attempted murder complaint on July 2—the day of the attack—the court did not issue a summons for Mr. Bun until July 8, the day after the video surfaced.

In the footage, from a security camera at a restaurant in Phnom Penh, Mr. Bun is seen punching, kicking and stomping on Ms. Socheata while his bodyguard, who has not been identified, draws a gun and points it at the entertainer’s head.

Ms. Socheata has refused to settle the case out of court, with Mr. Bun offering $100,000 in compensation through his lawyer.

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