MINISTRY of National Defence spokesman General Chhum Socheat on Thursday said a search is underway for a man claiming to be a three-star general who allegedly slapped a female singer at Boeng Meas Restaurant on Wednesday night after she rejected his request to sleep with him.
“The army’s duty is to defend the country and its people, not to show contempt for or use violence against them,” General Socheat said, regarding the man’s actions as “immoral”.
The man’s identity is yet to be discovered, but ministry officials have the registration of the car carrying Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) plates that the man left the restaurant in after the assault, he said.
Chroy Changvar commune police chief Chan Bunthoeun said a complaint from the victim has been received and his officers are working with relevant authorities to bring the assailant to justice.
Bunthouen said the complaint names the victim as a 35-year-old singer from Prek Leap village in the capital’s Chroy Changvar district.
Before the incident, the suspect was drinking at the restaurant. At around 11pm, the man boasted that he was a three-star general and called the four singers including the victim, from the stage to dance for him.
“While dancing, the man talked with me and asked me to drink with him by promising to give me a $20 tip. I did not talk much with him."
“Then he asked me to sleep with him, but I replied that I sell only my voice, not my body. He then slapped me twice and rushed from the restaurant,” Bunthoeun quoted the victim as telling police.