A TELEVISION talent show star who was the victim of an acid attack late last year will be flown to Korea in another attempt to treat her wounds, the girl’s mother said Monday.

Hang Srey Leak was doused with half a litre of acid in December while she was leaving a Daun Penh district beauty salon. She was sent to Vietnam for treatment after the assault, but her mother said Monday that the wounds still have not healed.

“Until now, I have spent about US$20,000 to treat my daughter’s injuries,” said the mother, Soam Sichoun, who said her daughter will go to South Korea near the end of the month. “I want to appeal to other donors to help my daughter remove her scars so that she can compete in the talent show finals in April.”

Hang Srey Leak was crowned one of the winners of TV9’s weekly talent show High Star in November.

Soam Sichoun said her daughter had developed unsightly scars on areas of her body where the acid was poured.

Hang Srey Leak was attacked in December by two men police later identified as her cousins. Her family says the attack was motivated by jealousy.

Soam Sichoun said her daughter will only be allowed to compete on High Star again if her wounds have healed.

“I really regret what happened to my daughter, and it is her bad fortune, but I will push my daughter to be a singer or movie star outside the country, maybe in Australia or America,” she said. “I don’t want my daughter to stay in Cambodia anymore because I am afraid of someone doing the same thing to her again.”