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The Sydney entrepreneur who was allegedly beaten over the head with a saucepan and burnt with boiling water by his Australian banker partner said he expected to die in the violent late-night attack at a luxury French hotel during a weeks-long European holiday.
Callum Forbes was burnt across his body and required dozens of stitches after David Cao, 37, allegedly poured a saucepan full of hot water over him and then struck him with the pot as he screamed for help. The attack continued for several minutes until Cao fled the hotel room.
Authorities allege Cao left the Château de Perreux boutique hotel in central France in a rental car moments after the July 28 attack, sparking a 36-hour manhunt that ended in the French city of Lille near the Belgian border. He was caught disembarking a train after travelling from Rouen and Paris.
Cao has been charged with Forbes’ attempted murder and has been remanded in a French prison while he awaits trial.
Forbes is recovering in a French hospital with his mother by his side and expects to return to Sydney next week. He told this masthead he “can’t believe it happened”.
“I honestly thought I was going to die,” Forbes said. “It’s been a pretty horrific couple of weeks. When I got into hospital I thought I’d be permanently disfigured from all the burns and hits to the body with the saucepan.”
Forbes was found critically injured and alone by hotel guests and staff, who rushed to the room after hearing his screams. He was taken to the intensive care unit at a nearby hospital, and has since been transferred to the recovery ward.
Further rehabilitation awaits Forbes once he returns to Australia, particularly for skin recovery.
Cao and Forbes had been together for 2½ years, a friend of the former couple told this masthead. Pictures posted to social media suggest a happy relationship, which included yacht cruises on Sydney Harbour, a visit to the Great Wall of China, and trips to vineyards. The couple enjoyed travelling, partying and fashion, according to a post shared by Forbes last year.
The couple were in the midst of a long European holiday when they checked into the Château de Perreux for one night, according to French media. The trip was to culminate in their attendance at World Pride Amsterdam.
They were reportedly staying in one of the troglodyte “cave rooms” carved into the cliff adjacent to the hotel, situated in the Nazelles-Negron commune in central France. The hotel hasn’t responded to questions from this masthead.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is working to contact Cao, and has provided consular assistance to Forbes.
Cao had been on leave from his role at ING Bank, where he had worked as head of retail value creation since May. Before that, he was Westpac’s head of diversity, equity and inclusion for almost 18 months, and had also done stints at Bank of Queensland and Goldman Sachs.
ING chief executive Melanie Evans addressed staff about the incident in an email on Thursday afternoon, hours after the bank confirmed to this masthead that Cao was no longer an employee at the company.
“This is a deeply distressing story and might be cause for concern or impact you,” she said in the email, seen by this masthead.
“The alleged actions of one individual do not define the thousands of people at ING who come to work each day committed to doing the right thing.”
Cao was also on the board of LGBTQIA+ Rainbow Giving Australia Foundation since January. His profile on Rainbow Giving’s website was deleted on Thursday after this masthead’s story identifying Cao was published.
Rainbow Giving declined to comment on the charges, nor confirm whether Cao had been officially removed from the organisation.
Cao served as president of the University of Sydney’s Business School Society, according to his LinkedIn, after graduating from Sydney Boys High School with a 99.8 UAI.
Forbes was the co-founder of Airbnb property management company And Chill, which collapsed in 2019 owing $3.6 million in payments to clients, The Australian reported. He now operates an online Telehealth business after selling other businesses since the collapse of And Chill.
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Daniel Lo Surdo is a breaking news reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He previously helmed the national news live blog for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via email.From our partners
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