Sa Sokha had dreams of being an Apsara dancer, and her March wedding was all planned out. But the 18-year-old now wonders if that future is possible after a cruel acid attack left half of her face badly burned.
On Monday, January 2, she and her fiancé, Welder Kea Samnang, 22, fell prey to a vindictive attack, allegedly carried out by Samnang’s former lover, Pach Chansereiroth, 25.
Heng Chakrya, a plastic surgeon at Preah Kossamak Hospital, said Sokha sustained severe acid burns to the right side of her face and injuries to her back and chest. Samnag was being treated for serious injuries to his head, back and chest.
Today on her hospital bed, she lies flat in “Hello Kitty” pajamas, her face is swathed in white bandages with small gaps for her mouth and eyes.
'It is still painful,” she said, quietly. She hasn’t had anything to eat since the attack
on Monday.
"I cannot speak much or it will hurt my mouth."
Sokha’s desire for a career in traditional dancing, with its emphasis on grace and beauty, has dwindled to only half-hopes.