Sung Ho Lim, the owner of the Missha Beauty store in Charlotte, N.C., is facing criticism after cell phone video showed him choking a Black woman customer. Lim claims the woman stole eyelashes from the store, but protests are aimed at the fact Lim’s physical attack was overboard.
The Charlotte Observer originally reported on the matter, featuring footage provided by local news outlet WBTV and the NAACP. The unidentified woman on the video is seen on the ground as Lim placed her in a vicious chokehold. On Sunday, protesters gathered outside the store with many saying they will no longer support the business.
From the Observer:
Community leaders and customers of a west Charlotte beauty supply store showed up to the store Sunday, calling for a boycott after cellphone video showed the owner, an Asian man, kicking and choking an African-American woman.
Sung Ho Lim is the owner of Missha Beauty. He said this all started when the woman in the video, who has not been identified, was caught stealing.
In the video, you can hear the woman tell Lim, “Check my bag. I don’t have anything.”
You then see the two shove each other, at which point Lim said, “You hit me.”
Moments later, Lim kicks the woman, knocks her to the ground and puts her in a choke hold. WBTV showed Lim the video, and he confirmed it is him, but he also said the part when she stole an item is not captured by this video.
“This is my fault,” Lim said. “I have to take the whole video and give it to the police.”
Lim says he’s handing over the video to the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and filed a report for strong arm robbery. Some who showed up at the store in support of the woman claims she never stole any items.
“When he was choking her, he was almost choking her to death. She was gasping for breath, and he was continually choking her,” said Teresa Mosely to the publication.
Lim says that he intended to apologize to the woman and community on Monday.
http://WBTV.images.worldnow.com/interface/js/WNVideo.js?rnd=136641559;hostDomain=www.wbtv.com;playerWidth=630;playerHeight=355;isShowIcon=true;clipId=13169365;flvUri=;partnerclipid=;adTag=News;advertisingZone=;enableAds=true;landingPage=;islandingPageoverride=;playerType=STANDARD_EMBEDDEDscript_EMBEDDEDscript;controlsType=fixed| WBTV Charlotte
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Photo: WBTV
