A South Korean karaoke club owner was charged with extortion on Sunday after a falling out in business allegedly led him to threaten to kill his Lao partner if he did not hand over $5,000.

Chiang Yunho, the owner of Phnom Penh’s Top K2 karaoke club, was arrested last Friday after a police raid at a restaurant in Toul Kork district, where he was allegedly being handed $2,000 by the victim, engineer Vixay Thoth.

Deputy chief of the Phnom Penh Municipal Police Commission Hy Prou said the victim had contacted police about the threat earlier this month.

After his arrest, Chiang Yunho was sent for further questioning before being charged at municipal court on Sunday.

“He was charged with extortion, and we are now sending to the judge,” deputy prosecutor, Hor Lina said.

Seung Gyoo-park, consul at the Republic of Korea’s Embassy here, said Chiang Yunho had not reached out to the embassy for aid but has been released on bail pending his trial.

To contact the reporter on this story: Buth Reaksmey Kongkea at [email protected]