Two men hurt in acid attack; toll rises to 30

Brooke Lewis and Mom Kunthear

Phnom Penh Post

AT least 30 people have been injured by acid attacks this year, as an assault this weekend saw two men hospitalised.

Activists warn that the number of people affected by acid violence so far in 2010 has likely already eclipsed last year’s total.

The Saturday attack happened in Russey Keo district’s Tuol Sangke commune, said Chan Sahuth, the deputy district police chief.

“We are searching to arrest the suspect but we don’t clearly know the reasons behind the attack,” he said.

He identified the two victims, both construction workers, as 30-year-old Hin Seng and 26-year-old Chhang Nab.

Chhun Sophea, programme manager at the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity, said the two men had been riding a motorbike when they were attacked.

CASC staff members visited the men at Calmette Hospital on Saturday, she said.

She said that Hin Seng had told her he believed he was the target of the attack, but that he could not identify the assailant.

Hin Seng’s injuries are the more serious of the two, she said – the 30-year-old suffered severe burns on half of his body.

The attack brings the number of reported acid attack victims up to 30 this year, just short of the 33 survivors recorded by CASC last year.

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