Acid attack

Police still have no suspects in Thursday morning's acid attack that left a high school student critically injured... "Our police were not immediately aware of the attack because acid attacks make no sound", Touth Naruth said of the dousing of sulphuric acid over Kiri Chariya as she walked home on a busy street from Wat Koh High School at 11am. (Source: Cambodia Daily)

Acid attacks are violent retribution normally against women for perceived crimes. In Cambodia, it is often the mistresses of married men who are doused. Other victims include girlfriends whose partners accuse of infidelity, or women who refuse to marry or refuse sexual advances. Such attacks are rare against school girls but again are not unheard of.

The police are treating the motive as revenge. Two youths on a motorcycle poured a litre of sulphuric acid over Chariya's head. She is now in critical condition in hospital. Why was she attacked? If it was revenge, it was probably revenge for a refusal. She may have refused to date her attacker. She may have refused to have sex with her attacker. She may have made her attacker wait or insulted him, or any other action that could perceivably have caused offense or loss of face in this prideful society.

Here, sex is taboo unless you are a man, married and have a mistress or visit brothels. They call it being MBA (married but available). Women have none of this freedom. They save their virginity until marriage because the alternatives are just too severe. In some cases, this leads to sulphuric acid in the face. She is probably blind and disabled for life because an adolescent male got into a snit about his entitlements. No real motive for the attack has been given but going on the statistics and situation it is most likely that Chariya refused sexual advances.

The teenage girls at her school are fearful of more attacks. One girl intimated that since they are students and not singers who have love affairs there is no cause of such attacks. But it is so easy to procure sulfuric acid. And it is so easy to get offended and it is so easy to blind, disfigure and disable someone and it is so easy get off scot free.

There is a law pertaining to acid attacks. It was drawn up in 2002 but there have been precious few convictions. It allows the sentence of 5 to 10 years if convicted. However, rich perpetrators do not spend time in prison. The case of Tat Marina is a case in point. According to Licadho:

The six attacks that led to convictions, and the perpetrators’ sentences, are:

• A woman who threw acid on her drunk and abusive husband, blinding him in one eye, during one of his many beatings of her: 4 years imprisonment.
• A woman who threw acid on her husband, blinding him in both eyes, because he was divorcing her: 15 years imprisonment;
• A man who threw acid on his wife because she left him to go and live with another man: 9 months imprisonment;
• A woman who threw acid on her husband’s second wife, seriously injuring her: 6 years imprisonment for attempted murder.
• A woman who killed a woman and injured her two sons with acid because she suspected the victim of having a relationship with her former husband: 18 years imprisonment (two accomplices were also convicted and sentenced, although one escaped);
• A woman who threw acid on her husband’s second wife, seriously mutilating her, and kidnapped the victim’s baby: a 2 years suspended sentence (so the perpetrator spent no time in prison).

What it boils down to is that the perpetrator did what he could because he could. Chances are he will not go to prison for his crime. The consequences are that an 18 year old woman is fighting for her life, a life she will live blind, disfigured and disabled, because he would not take no for an answer.