A 23-year-old garment factory worker was attacked with acid on Tuesday night as she bicycled home in the capital, police officials confirmed yesterday.

Son Chanty was leaving a late-night beauty school class in Phnom Penh’s Por Sen Chey district when a suspect tried to snatch her bag, said Sao Sarith, a police chief in Chaom Chao commune.

When Chanty tried to hold onto her bag, the mugger threw acid in her face. A neighbour called out for help upon witnessing the incident, and the attacker ran away with the bag.

“We found that the kind of acid he used is weak. Luckily, it was not a more serious type of acid,” Sarith said. “We are looking to arrest the suspect and find out why he had acid if he just wanted to snatch her bag.”

Chanty’s mother, So Da, 46, said that she immediately asked her daughter if she was involved in a love triangle.

“She told me that she wasn’t involved with anyone . . . that she had never met the suspect before,” Da said. “She had $400 and her phone in her bag, so she did not want to lose it.”

Chanty is now in Preah Kossamak Hospital with minor injuries to her eyes and face.

“The acid is weak, but my daughter is afraid of having a scar on her face,” Da said.