Cambodian beauty queen Mean Pich Rita accuses tycoon Heng Sier of attempted rape, exposing silent stigma
- After Pich Rita’s allegations were live-streamed on Facebook last week, the case ignited a debate on social media
- Sier, a prominent businessman, claims Pich Rita stabbed him and sought to extort money from him after they had an affair
Mean Pich Rita, a second-year university student and a former competitor in Miss Grand Cambodia, was arrested and detained on May 8, accused of stealing an iPhone belonging to Heng Sier, a prominent businessman.
Sier, 60, has also accused Pich Rita, 20, of extorting money and stabbing him during an encounter in his car on May 4. In turn, Pich Rita claimed Sier had a gun in his car and accused him of sexual assault and attempting to rape her.
The allegations initially played out confidentially in a district police department and Phnom Penh municipal court, but captured public attention last week when former lawyer David Chanaiwa began live-streaming on Facebook the details of the case and Pich Rita’s accusations against Sier.
“What I’m trying to do [is] provide the information because I feel that this procedure is an injustice,” he said. “I believe [the authorities’ response] is unfair, because they came and picked her up from her home and detained her but the other guy [Sier], whom she accused, he is free.”
