A MAN who says he was the victim of an acid attack has been called to appear before Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Friday, after he failed to appear when he was first called to testify three weeks ago.

Hor Tin says a dentist poured acid over him last month in a dispute over a parking sign. The dentist, Lim Soma, acknowledged that she attacked the man, but told the Post that the substance was a tooth-whitening liquid.

Deputy prosecutor Ek Chheng Huot said Wednesday that he was growing frustrated with the case after Hor Tin’s previous failure to appear.

“We need evidence from the victim,” Ek Chheng Huot said. “We want to know what the victim is demanding.”

But Hor Tin’s employer, Kea Soheang, said he should be the one testifying.

Hor Tin “is illiterate,” he said. “I am afraid that he might be threatened by the court.”

At the time of the attack in early January, Kea Soheang framed the incident as being the result of a long-simmering dispute between the suspect’s family and his own.

Kea Soheang said he has been told that authorities are treating the case as an attack with hot water, as opposed to acid, a development he called “unfair”.