Victim identified in chemical attack near Ala Moana Center
COURTESY US-CHINA PEOPLES FRIENDSHIP ASSOCIATION
The Honolulu chapter of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association has identified the victim in Tuesday night’s chemical attack near Ala Moana Center as Danying Zhang.
The Honolulu chapter of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association has identified the victim in Tuesday night’s chemical attack near Ala Moana Center as Danying Zhang, a 25-year-old visiting Mandarin language teacher at Maryknoll School.
Zhang arrived in Honolulu in 2022 as part of an international exchange program. She is a graduate of Beijing Foreign Studies University in Beijing.
Zhang, who was walking on the sidewalk, was attacked by a man who threw a liquid chemical onto the front of her body Tuesday night near Planet Fitness, where she went to seek help, police said. She told witnesses she did not know who the man was, who was wearing a white face mask and black hoodie, police said, then shortly after paramedics arrived, fell unconscious.
The association said that she had acid splashed over her face and the front of her body, and that she regained consciousness Thursday following two days in the intensive care unit of a hospital.
However, she is unable to talk with the tubes in her mouth, according to the association.
“Doctors are optimistic that she will recover although she still is in critical condition,” the association said in its news release. “Her throat and lungs were damaged from the acid fumes. Her skin on her body was severely damaged by the strong acid.”
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Police arrested Sebastian Mahkwan, 29, Thursday on Nimitz Highway. He remains in custody pending charges.
Mahkwan, who had been in custody at the Oahu Community Correctional Center since October for unrelated assault and drug charges, had been released Monday — just a day before the attack — after an $8,000 bail bond had been posted.
Vernon Ching, head of the local chapter of the US-China Peoples Friendship Association, said that the association’s board of directors decided to use the GoFundMe link set up by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii to support Zhang.
“This is an opportunity for the Chinese Community to come together and show support for an individual that has rewarded us with her friendship,” he said in a written statement. All money donated will go to Zhang.
Ching said the board met Zhang in December 2022, and showed her the Honolulu City Christmas Tree displays.
“Her experience at her first Christmas in Hawaii overwhelmed her and her sweet smile left a lasting impression,” he said. “Danying is an outgoing person whose personality gained her many friends.”
