Hawaii Inmate Arrested for Acid Attack Accused of Plotting Another Attack to Draw Suspicion Away from Himself

Paul Cameron and Sebastian Mahkwan are both charged with attempted murder

Authorities in Hawaii believe a man in jail suspected of a 2023 acid attack plotted a second attack with a fellow inmate in an attempt to cast doubt on his case.

According to an indictment reviewed by PEOPLE, Paul Cameron and Sebastian Mahkwan are charged in connection with the Jan. 23 attempted murder of Danying Zhang, a teacher from China visiting Honolulu.

Zhang was seriously injured after authorities alleged Mahkwan, who had been released from jail the day before, threw acid on her, causing her clothes and skin to burn. Prosecutors say Zhang suffered burns to “large areas” of the face and body and had to undergo skin grafts for the burns.

At the time of the January attack, Cameron was behind bars, where he has been since April 2023 when he was arrested on suspicion of allegedly throwing acid on his ex-girlfriend outside a gym.

Prosecutors now allege that he arranged bail for Mahkwan, who was in jail on unrelated charges, to carry out the attack in order to “assist” his case, according to the indictment.

Prosecutors allege that Mahkwan was Cameron’s boyfriend after meeting him while incarcerated. Cameron is accused of making several calls to obtain bail for Mahkwan, eventually using his motorcycle as collateral, the indictment claims.

Cameron provided Mahkwan detailed instructions on how to obtain acid and how to carry out the attack, prosecutors allege in the indictment.

Related: Man Suspected of Throwing Acid on Visiting Chinese Teacher a Day After He Was Released from Jail

In the superseding indictment, Mahkwan was charged with first-degree attempted murder and conspiracy to commit attempted murder. He had previously pleaded not guilty to second-degree attempted murder and assault causing serious injury.

Cameron was charged with the same two counts as well as accomplice to attempted murder and accomplice to assault. He previously pleaded not guilty to attempted murder in the April 2023 case.

Neither Cameron nor Mahkwan have entered pleas to the charges in the superseding indictment, court records indicate. An attorney for the defendants could not immediately be reached for comment.

A GoFundMe was set up to raise money for Zhang in the aftermath of the attack. It has since raised over $178,000. The description indicated she was pursuing an education alone in the United States.

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The mother of Davina Licon, the victim in the April 2023 attack, also started a GoFundMe, which has raised over $35,000.

Seven months after the attack, KITV spoke to Licon, who is a bodybuilder, about her recovery and overcoming the psychological effects of what happened to her.

"I feel like you should never like give up on your dreams," Licon told the outlet. "I'm not going to just let someone take that from me."

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