A Battambang man murdered his wife on Sunday by first striking her with an axe, then burning their home down with her inside it, before killing himself, police said yesterday.

Deputy provincial police chief Chet Vanny said yesterday that Hear Im, 36, a resident of Battambang province’s Samlot district, murdered his wife, Dok Ly, 50, in a drunken rage, then struck himself in the head with his axe and slit his own throat with a knife.

“The experts claimed that the suspect’s body did not have any drugs [in it], but before the event, he was very drunk, and that’s why he attacked his wife.”

According to Vanny, Im flew into a rage after arriving home drunk and being criticised by Ly for drinking before lunch. It was unclear whether Ly was still alive when the building burned down.

Ly Buoy, Samlot district police chief, said Ly had had five children – two of whom were home, but managed to escape – before settling down with Im, and the couple often fought and filed complaints against each other with authorities.

Local villagers called the police, Buoy added, but none dared to help the victim as the suspect was wielding a knife and an axe.