Police are investigating an attack on a singer from a well-known Phnom Penh restaurant who was doused with nitric acid in Prampi Makara district’s Monorom commune Wednesday night, officials said.
Two young men approached 22-year-old Chea Maly as she got into her Toyota Camry with friends on Kampuchea Krom Boulevard around 11 pm, said Chea Rotha, first deputy municipal police chief.
The two men threw two plastic bags filled with acid just before Chea Maly closed her car door, said Choek Saroeun, Monorom commune chief. Both bags landed on the singer’s lap causing burns to her upper leg and thigh area, he said.
Chea Maly was taken to Calmette Hospital where she was treated for burns to 15 percent of her body, the commune chief said.
Although the victim did not recognize her attackers, police suspect that the singer was the target of a revenge attack, possibly over a love affair, said Sao Nary, police officer for Prampi Makara district.
But Sao Nary added that the victim said that she was not involved in any personal disputes that might motivate such a crime.
Acid attacks are traditionally the favored form of revenge attacks for those involved in relationship disputes in Cambodia.
