Footballer in ICU, to undergo more surgeries after acid attack

PETALING JAYA: National football player Faisal Halim will undergo more surgeries after an acid attack.

After undergoing a four-hour procedure on the same night after he was splashed with acid at a shopping mall in Kota Damansara on Sunday, Selangor Football Association deputy president Datuk Seri Shahril Mokhtar said he would undergo a second surgery.

He is now treated for fourth degree burns instead of second degree as diagnosed earlier.

“We met him at the first hospital after his first dressing.

“He could talk and communicate, in a soft and low tone,” said Shahril.

“Then the club transferred him to their panel hospital and that’s when they said he needed to be operated due to his skin condition.

“At about noon on Monday, we were told it’s not second degree burns but it’s fourth degree.

“It’s quite bad. He can’t feel his left arm.

“He is stable but not in good condition because of his skin.

“There will be a second surgery or even more.

“He can’t communicate clearly after the surgery and will be in the intensive care unit (ICU) for 10 days. He’s feeling stiff, unable to talk well.”

Shahril added that the player, also known as Mickey, will need to be at the hospital for at least three to four weeks.

The reason behind the attack is still unknown.

Meanwhile, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain said a suspect was arrested and would be remanded for two days.

He said the man, in his 20s, was traced based on a motorcycle registration number identified during the attack.

“He was detained to assist in the investigation into the attack,” he said on the sidelines of the Defence Services Asia (DSA) and National Security (NatsSec) Asia 2024 yesterday.

On May 2, national winger and Terengganu player Akhyar Rashid was assaulted and robbed near his residence in Kuala Terengganu.