Australian entrepreneur Callum Forbes has revealed how he was allegedly hit with a saucepan and burned with scalding water by his boyfriend David Cao at a luxury French hotel. Mr Forbes was sleeping when the alleged assault took place on July 28 at the Château de Perreux boutique hotel in the Nazelles-Négron area of central France.
Mr Forbes was rushed to hospital with second-degree burns to his face, burns across his torso and arms, and a burst eardrum. A photograph taken from his hospital bed showed an unrecognisable Mr Forbes with bandages wrapped around his badly swollen face.
The image emerged as Mr Forbes revealed that the couple had discussed ending their relationship just hours before the alleged attack occurred. He told the Daily Telegraph that the pair had been together for three and a half years and had shared a civil conversation earlier that day.
"We had a civil conversation earlier that day, I had raised the issue of separating but I thought we were good," Mr Forbes said. "There was no argument but we both agreed it wasn't working, we had been together for three and a half years."
Events inside the hotel room
The couple had paid about $500 for a night in the caves room at the Château de Perreux, a historic boutique property situated near the Loire River. Prior to heading to bed, the pair had eaten dinner and spent time in the hotel spa.
Mr Forbes described the sudden assault as a "nightmare" that began while he was asleep. "Strangely I kept sleeping but I was burned, badly burned," he said. He recalled feeling "blows to the side of my head" and seeing "blood everywhere on the floor."
"It was a lot to take in when you're asleep and suddenly woken up, it doesn't seem real at first," Mr Forbes said. He added that he feared the physical consequences of the assault, saying: "I thought I'd be disfigured for life and would never look the same again."
Hospital recovery and police investigation
Following the alleged incident, Mr Forbes was unable to contact his mother for 36 hours because Mr Cao had taken his phone, iPad and passport. His mother subsequently arrived to remain by his side while he recovered in a French hospital.
"I've got stitches on my face and when I get back to Sydney I will see experts to find out if I will need skin grafts but they've told me here in France the scarring may heal OK," Mr Forbes said. "I just want to get back home so I can heal. It's been an ordeal."
Mr Forbes was expected to return to Sydney on Sunday. The New South Wales capital is home to major specialist medical facilities where he plans to consult facial reconstructive experts.
French authorities reported that Mr Cao allegedly fled the hotel in a rental car after the attack. He was arrested by police approximately 36 hours later near the Belgian border, charged with attempted murder, and placed on remand in a French prison.
Corporate background and employment history
Before the incident, the couple had planned to travel to Amsterdam in the Netherlands to attend the WorldPride festival the following day. WorldPride is an international LGBTQ+ event, and the festival was supported by Mr Cao's employer, ING, the Dutch multinational banking corporation.
Mr Cao, 37, had spent four months as head of retail value creation at ING Australia until he was dismissed following the alleged attempted murder. Prior to the offence, he frequently posted online regarding his career achievements, though former colleagues described working with him in less positive terms.
One former colleague remarked that "David was difficult to work with." Another former colleague from the Bank of Queensland described him as "highly strung" and "annoying" to work with, adding that he maintained an "inflated opinion of himself." The colleague noted: "He wasn't an executive, he liked to think he was."
On his LinkedIn profile, Mr Cao published photographs of himself alongside prominent Australian business leaders, including former Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, Westpac chief executive Anthony Miller, and chief executive Carolyn McCann.
Mr Cao's corporate background includes two stints at Westpac between 2016 and 2020, and again from 2024 to 2026, where he worked as a consultant, business manager, head of strategy, executive manager, and head of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). He had also worked as chief business development officer and chief of staff to the chief executive officer at the Bank of Queensland, as a strategy manager at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and as an analyst at investment bank Goldman Sachs.
