A former municipal police officer has been arrested following an acid attack earlier this month, and officials said Wednesday he may have connections to senior government figures.

Ear Puthea, 34, was arrested and transferred to the courts Tuesday, said Lt. Gen. Sok Phal, deputy chief of National Police.

“He is charged, but please I do not want to say for what he is charged,” said Ek Chheng Huot, deputy prosecutor for Phnom Penh Municipal Court.

The arrest is linked to a May 8 acid attack on Ya Soknim, whose family have said she was the victim of violence in a love affair involving a high-ranking military police official.

Rights workers said the case was linked to “personalities” in the government, while noting that suspects in acid attacks are rarely punished.