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Cambodian tycoon attack victim: 'I cannot accept what he did to me' Cambodian tycoon attack victim: 'I cannot accept what he did to me'
(about 2 hours later)
A Cambodian TV star who was filmed being dragged to the ground and punched and kicked in the head says she refuses to be daunted by the wealth of her assailant.A Cambodian TV star who was filmed being dragged to the ground and punched and kicked in the head says she refuses to be daunted by the wealth of her assailant.
CCTV footage of the violent assault by real estate tycoon Sok Bun on Ek Socheata, better known as Sasa, has shocked the country of 15 million.CCTV footage of the violent assault by real estate tycoon Sok Bun on Ek Socheata, better known as Sasa, has shocked the country of 15 million.
The 28-year-old actor said the attack happened at a Japanese restaurant in the early hours of 2 July. She said she was protecting a drunk Japanese friend who Sok Bun and his bodyguard were trying to put in a car. The 28-year-old TV host and actor said the attack happened at a Japanese restaurant in the early hours of 2 July. She said she was protecting a drunk Japanese friend whom Sok Bun and his bodyguard were trying to put in a car.
“I said: ‘Please leave her. Don’t push her again and again. She doesn’t want to go. And she is so drunk, let her sleep,’” Sasa told the Guardian from a clothes shop she owns in the capital of Phnom Penh.“I said: ‘Please leave her. Don’t push her again and again. She doesn’t want to go. And she is so drunk, let her sleep,’” Sasa told the Guardian from a clothes shop she owns in the capital of Phnom Penh.
When she told Sok Bun that she would call the police, he lunged at her.When she told Sok Bun that she would call the police, he lunged at her.
“He grabbed my hair. And hit me and put my head down again and again,” Sasa said.“He grabbed my hair. And hit me and put my head down again and again,” Sasa said.
She tried to reach her phone to call the police but became disoriented and briefly lost consciousness. In the video, a Japanese waiter tries without success to restrain Sok Bun. Another man, identified by Sasa as Sok Bun’s bodyguard, appears to point a pistol at her head.She tried to reach her phone to call the police but became disoriented and briefly lost consciousness. In the video, a Japanese waiter tries without success to restrain Sok Bun. Another man, identified by Sasa as Sok Bun’s bodyguard, appears to point a pistol at her head.
“When I watch the video clip of what he did to me, I almost cry. It’s unbelievable that he hit me like that,” she said.“When I watch the video clip of what he did to me, I almost cry. It’s unbelievable that he hit me like that,” she said.
The 37-year-old magnate fled the country as the video started circulating on social media but returned on Saturday after the prime minister, Hun Sen, ordered that he face charges. Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in south-east Asia and is still emerging from years of intense violence.
The government has been praised for its efforts to tackle violence against women, including a campaign called Good Men to educate males about gender equality.
Laws exist to protect women, but they are rarely enforced and research has found that many women still consider domestic violence to be a private matter.
A 2014 report into why domestic violence laws were not properly implemented found that 76% of physical violence victims in Cambodia never sought help. Of the women interviewed, 42% said they believed domestic violence was excusable if the perpetrator was drunk.
Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center, a charity that set up an anger-management programme for abusive men, said most participating husbands claimed “they are not aware that beating their wives is illegal, arguing that they have seen other men abuse their wives without receiving any punishment from local authorities or Cambodian police”.
There is widespread hope that Sasa’s case will galvanise authorities to punish attacks on women.
“The wealthy can have impunity in Cambodia,” Bunthoeun Soun, coordinator of the judicial reform project at the Cambodian Center for Human Rights, said on the group’s Facebook page. “When someone attacks another person, there should be punishment. We have to have the rule of law.”
Sok Bun fled the country as the video started circulating on social media. But the 37-year-old magnate returned on Saturday after the prime minister, Hun Sen, ordered that he face charges.
“Don’t think that because you have money you can escape,” Hun Sen said. “What you have done is intolerable.”“Don’t think that because you have money you can escape,” Hun Sen said. “What you have done is intolerable.”
Sok Bun will be held at a Phnom Penh prison pending trial. He could face up to five years in jail if convicted.Sok Bun will be held at a Phnom Penh prison pending trial. He could face up to five years in jail if convicted.
Sasa, who quit acting three years ago to open her fashion shop, says she has been left deaf in one ear and has a bump on her forehead. She sent photos to the Guardian showing open sores on her legs, grazes on her body and a black eye. Sasa, who quit her television career three years ago to open her fashion shop, says she has been left deaf in one ear and has a bump on her forehead. She sent photos to the Guardian showing open sores on her legs, grazes on her body and a black eye.
Sok Bun issued a statement last week saying he “deeply regrets what happened” and that he had offered to pay Sasa 408.8m Cambodian riel ($100,000) – an offer she declined.Sok Bun issued a statement last week saying he “deeply regrets what happened” and that he had offered to pay Sasa 408.8m Cambodian riel ($100,000) – an offer she declined.
Sasa said she was warned by friends not to publicise the attack, but she ignored the advice and posted the security camera footage on Facebook.Sasa said she was warned by friends not to publicise the attack, but she ignored the advice and posted the security camera footage on Facebook.
“For me, I do not care about what he is. I cannot accept what he did to me,” she said. “We worry about other people, especially the girls in this country.”“For me, I do not care about what he is. I cannot accept what he did to me,” she said. “We worry about other people, especially the girls in this country.”