Ngor Srun, a CPP secretary of state at the Council of Ministers, was the victim of an acid attack Sunday morning, according to a Phnom Penh police official and Calmette Hospital staff.
The attack occurred in Prampi Makara district Sunday, said Chamkar Mon district police chief Uch Sophon. He confirmed that Ngor Srun was the victim but said he had no further details of the attack.
Prampi Makara district police officials could not be reached for comment Sunday evening.
Staff members at Calmette Hospital, who declined to give their names, said Sunday that Ngor Srun arrived at the hospital at about 11 am with acid burns on the left side of his face, ear and chest. His wounds were cleaned, treated and bandaged in the emergency room over the course of about two hours, one staffer said.
“The patient’s symptoms seem fine,” the staffer said. “But with an acid attack, it is hard to predict.”
About 1 pm, Ngor Srun was moved to a private room on the third floor of the hospital’s Building A for General Medicine. There, about a half-dozen bodyguards lingered outside, and a bodyguard stood watch in front of his room.
About 10 friends and family members gathered inside Ngor Srun’s room Sunday afternoon. They declined to comment about the severity of the injuries or identify themselves as anything more than family members.
“This is a family problem,” one man said. “I want to keep it a secret.”
Another Calmette Hospital staffer said the family contacted a doctor in Thailand and intends to transport Ngor Srun there for treatment.
“He will be moved to Thailand this evening,” the worker said. “His family already made preparations for him.”
Details of the attack remained unclear Sunday evening. Municipal police chief Touch Naruth said Sunday afternoon that he had received no word of the attack from his subordinates, and Interior Ministry spokesman Lieutenant General Khieu Sopheak said he was also unaware of the attack.
Kek Galabru, president of local rights group Licadho, said updated statistics on the number of acid attacks were not available Sunday, but that previous Licadho investigations have shown that about the same number of women as men are victims of acid attacks in Cambodia.
