A Malaysian football star has been released from intensive care but will remain in hospital after being splashed with acid in the latest in a series of attacks on prominent football players in the Southeast Asian country.
Faisal Halim was attacked in a shopping mall on the outskirts of the capital Kuala Lumpur on May 5th. The attacks triggered player safety concerns.
Selangor Football Club star Halim, 25, has undergone several skin graft surgeries to treat severe burns on his neck, shoulders, hands and chest. He is out of ICU now, but will continue his recovery in hospital, said Shahril Mokhtar, vice-president of the Selangor state football association.
Mokhtar said the footballer is in “stable condition” and that his voice “gets stronger” with each passing day.
Police have not yet established the motive for the attack on Halim and whether the recent spate of attacks on players is linked.
The attack on Halim came three days after another national player, Akhyar Rashid, was attacked with an iron rod by two robbers. He was robbed of money and injured.
In a similar attack, Safiq Rahim was attacked by a man wielding a hammer who smashed the windshield of his car. Rahim, 36, who plays as a midfielder for Johor Darul Ta’zim football club, was unharmed.
After the attack, Rahim’s club reinforced the security of its players.
Halim’s Selangor Football Club has pulled out of the Malaysian football season-opening Charity Shield game against Johor Darul Ta’zim due to security concerns.
O Malay football association last week recommended that players hire bodyguards.
“Although not all players have the financial means to hire bodyguards, it is a sensible idea, especially for famous players who may attract unwanted attention,” association president Hamidin Mohd Amin was quoted as saying. New Times of the Strait.
