PHNOM PENH, June 23 (Xinhua) -- The Cambodian Ministry of Education said in a statement Thursday that it had removed a senior education official from the position after he sexually assaulted his interpreter while attending a seminar in South Korea.
Kry Seang Long, director of the ministry's vocational orientation department, was charged with sexually assaulting his Korean interpreter late in May and released after he paid 14.1 million won, or about 12,300 U.S. dollars in fines.
The statement said the disgraced official had borrowed money from his colleagues and department to pay the fines and had already repaid the debt to the department after he returned to Cambodia.
The 44-year-old official was arrested on May 26 in Seoul's Guro-gu district and released two weeks later.
The Cambodia Daily cited an article published on Tuesday by the News1 Korea site that the official's interpreter called police after he forcefully wrapped his arms around her waist and attempted to kiss her.
The Seoul Southern District Prosecutors asked that the official be barred from future visits to South Korea, the article said.
