A wife who was angry that her husband took a lover conspired with her sister to douse her romantic rival with battery acid, the second such attack so far this year, police said on Friday.
Seng Sreyla, 27, was attacked by two women toting a half liter of battery acid on Tuesday afternoon in Samraong Tong district’s Ralaing Kroeul commune, said Sam Sak, chief of Kompong Speu’s serious crimes police bureau.
Ms. Sreyla apparently had agreed last month to sever the yearlong relationship in exchange for $300, but broke her promise, he said on Friday. She sustained burns to her face and was recuperating at a Phnom Penh hospital.
“This occurred because of triangle love affair,” Mr. Sak said. “The attacker got angry when the victim still had a relationship with her husband.”
The attacker, Chhom Savon, 34, was being sought, while her sister, Chhom Savang, 37, was apprehended on Wednesday at Kraing Svay village, and was questioned on Friday by a provincial prosecutor, Mr. Sak said.
Just last week, a 25-year-old woman was accused of dousing her ex-boyfriend and his fiancee with acid as they gave her a ride home in Phnom Penh, sending both to the hospital with severe burns. Police also blamed that incident on a jealous woman in a love triangle.
The number of reported acid attacks had dropped from five cases in 2015 to three last year, including one death, according to the national police. Two of those cases had resulted in successful prosecution while a third attacker was still at large.
