Acid attack victim loses baby

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Mom Kunthear

A woman doused with acid while feeding her toddler suffered a miscarriage following the horrific attack, her husband has revealed, as the parents of the attackers are summoned for questioning.

Moung Srey Mom, 31, has undergone two operations since the attack last month in Takeo province’s Kiri Vong district, which left her with burns to 44 per cent of her body and saw her 2-year-old daughter Sok Met Molita splashed with acid.

The alleged attackers, Beng Meas, 28, and his sister, Beng Leakhena, 22, who have fled to Vietnam, were also vendors at Tunlob market, where Srey Mom and her husband, Luy Sovannaroth, 31, own a grocery store.

Sovannaroth, who was slightly injured during a scuffle with Meas, said his wife was two months pregnant when she was doused, allegedly by Leakhena, and had subsequently lost the baby.

He called for the alleged attackers’ parents to be arrested, accusing them of ordering the attack because they were jealous of his store’s success.

Takeo provincial deputy prosecutor Tin Sochetra said he would question the parents before deciding whether to arrest them.

Meanwhile, the victim’s family has lodged a court complaint, asking for $500,000 in compensation and demanding that those responsible be punished.

“We want the court to hurry and take action to arrest the suspects as soon as possible,” said Luch Thorn, the victim’s uncle, who appealed for Prime Minister Hun Sen to intervene.

Kiri Vong district police chief Yuk Sarath said officers were powerless to catch the fugitives in Vietnam. He said photos of the attackers had been sent to Vietnamese authorities, but his office has yet to receive a reply.

Erin Bourgois, project manager for the Cambodian Acid Survivors Charity (CASC), which helped care for the victims, said Srey Mom received her second skin graft yesterday and was recovering well given the extent of her injuries.

Met Molita’s burns didn’t require surgery, she added.
According to CASC, there have been five acid attacks this year with six survivors.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHAUN TURTON

http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/acid-attack-victim-loses-baby