A judge in Koh Kong province sent the head of the local Dong Tung market to pretrial detention on Saturday for allegedly choking a market vendor’s daughter.

According to provincial court spokesman Chin Long, the 13-year-old girl was largely unharmed and her family has dropped their civil lawsuit after receiving compensation, but judge Cheng Bunly opted to pursue a criminal case against market chief Mock Nuch anyway. Nuch is expected to be charged with intentional violence and property damage.

“Even though the family withdrew the civil case, it’s still valid for the prosecutor to take action,” Long said.

The incident occurred on Friday when Nuch discovered vendor Chev Neng’s products spilling into the market aisles, footage of the incident shows.

An argument erupted when Nuch grabbed the offending items and threw them into a nearby dustbin. When the vendor’s daughter went to retrieve the items, Nuch put his left hand around her neck and choked her.

In Kongchit, provincial coordinator for the rights group Licadho, said the judge was right to “teach Nuch a lesson”.