Three suspects of a brutal acid attack that hospitalized two women last week were arrested on Friday, including one who was unacquainted with the victims and paid to commit the assault, police said.

On March 30, two young women H. and D. had acid thrown on their faces and bodies by two male attackers as they were driving in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City.

One of the victims suffered fourth-degree burns on 75 percent of her face and lost her left eye, while the other received minor burns on her arms, according to doctors at Cho Ray Hospital, where the two are being treated.

Investigations into the attack were immediately carried out by Go Vap police, who later identified and apprehended three suspects, 21-year-old Truong Thi Kieu Quyen, 20-year-old Nguyen Dinh Thanh Tam, and 19-year-old Pham Hoang Long.

Initial interrogations found that Quyen and D. were previously engaged in a lesbian relationship, while H. was a friend who hung out in the group.

Following a conflict between Quyen and the victims, D. and H. wanted to terminate any connection with the former, which she protested.

Quyen had since been going out with Tam, her new boyfriend, since August 2015, and it was him who wanted to teach H. and D. a lesson for turning their backs on Quyen after hearing the story.

Tam had initially intended to use boiling water to commit the crime in the middle of March, but later thought it would not be enough and decided to use acid instead, to which Quyen agreed.

Tam and Quyen then bought a bottle of acid at VND106,000 (US$5), thinned the acid with water, and store it in a milk bottle.

The man then picked the date of March 30 to carry out the attack, after asking Quyen about the victims’ schedules.

At Tam’s request, Quyen introduced him to Long, who was short of money at the time, to be his accomplice.

On March 29, Tam rented a blue Exciter motorbike, drove Quyen to meet Long, and hired him for VND1 million ($45) to join them in the crime.

Long accepted the deal and received VND200,000 ($9) in advance payment for his duty.

At around 9:30 am the next day, Tam and Long wore long-sleeved shirts, put on face masks and drove their rented motorbike, the license plate of which had been taken off in advance, to Pham Van Chieu Secondary School in Go Vap to wait for their victims.

While they were waiting, Tam poured the acid solution into a plastic jug and gave it to Long.

At around 10:00 am, Quyen drove alone to the Vincom Quang Trung shopping mall close to the area to wait for Tam to call.

Around 10:35 am, when H. and D. drove past the attackers, Tam phoned to alert Quyen and then chased after the victims.

Tam caught up with the young women in front of house number 1276 on Quang Trung Street in Go Vap, then approached the victims for Long to splash the acid onto their faces and bodies, before driving off.

The man gave Long the remaining VND800,000 ($36) for the attack as promised and the two parted.

Shortly after the assault, when H. and D. were running into a nearby house to ask for help, Quyen arrived at the scene and took the victims to hospital.

The three suspects were charged with intentionally inflicting injury, and could face up to 15 years in prison for their crime, according to the Penal Code of Vietnam.

The site of the acid attack in Go Vap District on March 30, 2016. Photo: Tuoi Tre

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