A Siem Reap province woman, with the aid of her three children, is accused of beating and then dousing her ex-husband’s new wife with more than one liter of acid in Battambang’s Thmar Koul district on Friday, police said.
Ya Touch, 55, accompanied by her 33-year-old son and two daughters aged 26 and 24, visited Khiev Sichan, 45, at about
2 pm and chatted for 20 minutes before carrying out the attack, district police said Sunday.
“Khiev Sichan was beaten by the first wife and the first wife’s three children until she lost consciousness, and then the victim was attacked with strong acid,” said Heang Buntha, chief of the district’s penal police unit.
“The victim’s hair is gone, her face, eyes and body were covered in acid. I was told she might go blind,” he said.
The attack surprised many in Thmar Koul district, police said, as Khiev Sichan’s suspected attackers had been on friendly terms with her since she married 58-year-old Som Hoeurn in 1993.
“The victim never expected that the first wife and stepchildren would attack her with acid because they visited her often,” he said.
He added that the four fled on motorbikes.
Khiev Sichan’s relatives sent her to a private clinic in Battambang, he said, where she remains in critical condition.
Heang Buntha said he will ask the provincial court to issue arrest warrants for the four, who live in Siem Reap district, Siem Reap province.
The victim’s family filed a complaint with police Saturday, accusing the four of murder, he said.
But since the victim is still alive, they will be charged with attempted murder, and could face more than 10 years in prison if convicted, Heang Buntha said.
