Siem Reap  

A woman was attacked with acid on Saturday night in Siem Reap province’s Orng Kanh village, police said yesterday.

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Svay Leu commune police chief Soun Thai said rubber plantation worker Ty Sophal, 23, was sleeping at her house when she was doused with acid.

She sustained burns to her head and body and was recuperating at Siem Reap Provincial Hospital, he said.

A suspect had been identified by police, he added, but they declined to give further details because the investigation was ongoing.

Ty Sophal’s husband, Kong Roun, said he had been having dinner with other plantation labourers near the house when his wife shouted for help.

“She shouted that her body was so hot, and then I realised that I smelled acid,” he said.

“On her head and her body were bubbles, and I took some water to pour on her to weaken the acid,” he said.

The attack is the third to take place this year and since an Acid Law was passed in December intended to better control access to the substances and more strictly punish perpetrators of attacks.

In January, a garment factory worker was attacked in Phnom Penh, and last month, a man died while his girlfriend was severely injured in Kampong Cham province.

Police officials in both districts previously said they had identified suspects and were awaiting arrest warrants from the courts.

Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity project manager Ziad Samman said the NGO’s emergency response team was trying to get into contact with Ty Sophal and her family to help evaluate their situation.

CASC has recorded seven attacks in Siem Reap to date, which resulted in nine people being burned, he added.