South America - Shocking incident during a cruise ! Earlier this week, a passenger on board the "Resilient Lady" was attacked and threatened.

TheNew York Times reports that Kenneth D. DeGiorgio, the CEO of a major US title insurance company, is facing assault charges.

Investigators accuse him of choking a man during a cruise about 70 nautical miles west of the Caribbean island of Martinique.

The finance boss is said to have taken offense at the fact that the passenger was not wearing shoes while dancing in the "On the Rocks" bar.

The victim himself testified that DeGiorgio approached him, grabbed him by the neck and squeezed. The footage from a surveillance camera confirms this. The attacker is also said to have threatened to kill the victim.

The defendant's wife stated on the record that she had confronted the man about the barefoot dancing and said: "We're all adults here - can you put your shoes on?" He responded with a foul-mouthed remark including a middle finger, which the surveillance videos also show.

DeGiorgio was released after questioning. If convicted, he faces a sentence of up to one year in prison.