The lawyer of a man who claims he was handcuffed, beaten and detained by security guards after being fired from his job as a karaoke DJ at Kampot’s Bokor mountain said yesterday that his client had been offered $3,000 to walk away from a court case.

Try Chhoun, a lawyer for Kong Buntha, 30, said the victim’s mother had rejected his employers’ compensation and instead demanded $5,000, because her son needed to pay medical bills and has “not been able to work since”.

“The case has arrived at court, that’s why the [company] agreed to pay compensation,” Chhoun said.

Cheav Samith, deputy provincial police chief, said the court was looking into the case, but declined to comment further.

Buntha alleged last month that he had been beaten and detained in August for deleting karaoke software after being sacked from his job at the Paradise Entertainment Complex, located at the Thansur Bokor Highland Resort.

A resort representative has said the company does not own the karaoke venue, while a PEC staff member – who did not give her name – said neither Thansur Bokor nor PEC had anything to do with what was a “personal” matter between Buntha and her.

“I could give them $500, but not the $5,000 they want,” she said.