A 36-year-old mother has been arrested by Phnom Penh police on suspicion of carrying out an acid attack on a woman in 2008.

Moa Saroen, the police chief in Meanchey district’s Stung Meanchey commune, said yesterday Yim Maly had been sent to court on Wednesday after being the subject of an arrest warrant accusing her of “intention to kill”.

The suspect, who has a one-year-old child, is thought to have fled to Vietnam following the 2008 attack on Ev Chenda, who was then 35.

“Three years later, she came back home. She thought the police had forgotten about it, but local police caught her,” Moa Saroen  said.

“Police made an effort to arrest her and will not let her free because she is suspected of having committed an illegal act.

“Now police and the court are investigating. Her relatives are taking care of the baby.”

Chhun Sophea, a programme manager at the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity, welcomed the arrest of Yim Maly, which she said would serve as a warning to perpetrators of similar crimes.