A 45-year-old Chinese national was detained on Tuesday and lectured after a Facebook post showing him sporting a brigadier general Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (RCAF) uniform went viral.

The incident happened in Preah Sihanouk province, according to the National Military Police spokesman, Eng Hy.

He said Zhang Zhang Jingsen was educated on the illegalities of wearing a military uniform while not being a member of RCAF.

“There was no arrest. We just wanted to educate the foreigner,” he said, declining to comment further.

According to local media, the Preah Sihanouk Military Police commander, Heng Bunty, said his forces had arrested Jingsen at Shanghai KTV, a karaoke parlour. Bunty could not be reached for comment.

The forces also confiscated two cars with RCAF licence plates from the offender, who had recently arrived from Macau.

Local media said a friend of Jingsen had come to pick him up in his friend’s car, which had the military uniform.

He donned the uniform as a joke and took some pictures and videos. Jingsen said he did not know that the photos and video were going to be posted. After the videos went viral, he was arrested.

Earlier this year, Preah Sihanouk Provincial Governor Yun Min noted that of the 6,485 requests for foreign work permits in the province in the past year, 4,498 were from Chinese nationals.

Min noted that the construction sector was staffed with foreign workers, and small businesses run by them were out-competing locally owned businesses.

This has led to a rise in costs for rent and homes, which adversely affected civil servants, who have seen a decline in their standard of living.

Major General Kul Phaly, the deputy commissioner of the Preah Sihanouk provincial police, also said that cases of money laundering, illegal casino operations and human trafficking have risen.