Indonesian girl disfigured after acid attack by boyfriend

JAKARTA, Indonesia - An Indonesian undergraduate was on the run for a month after allegedly splashing battery acid on his former girlfriend Lynia Davega, also a university student, on Oct 3, 2013 in Jakarta.

Indonesian news site VIVAnews reported that Riki Halim Levin, 23, admitted to splashing battery acid on Ms Davega because he was upset with her older brother after the latter threatened to kill him.

He also admitted that the liquid he splashed onto Ms Davega's face was battery acid from his motorcycle.

The pre-meditated attack left Ms Davega with burns on her face and arms, and also on her right chest and leg.

Riki was arrested at his uncle's house in Pontianak, West Kalimantan, on Nov 7, 2013, after police tracked him down.

According to the police, he kept moving from place to place as he knew that the police was looking for him.

Riki's family members refuted claims that they helped him hide from the police.

His uncle, Bambang, told reporters that they have approached the victim's family to apologise, but the family did not respond.

The victim is still undergoing treatment at an isolation room in a hospital in Jakarta. Her hospital bill is now Rp200 million (S$22,000).

Police are still investigating the case. If convicted, Riki would face 7 years jail time.

The suspect said that he and the victim were close and lived together near Ms Davega's campus.

On Nov 15, police uncovered new evidence that showed the acid attack was planned. Ms Davega even knew about it.

Police recovered messages from Ms Davega's mobile phone sent to an unknown person between Sept 22 to Oct 2 that indicated she knew the suspect had bought acid. But she did not lodge a police report.

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