Siem Reap provincial police are searching for a man who hit and killed his wife on the night of December 19 at a construction site in Kruos village, Siem Reap province’s Svay Dangkum commune.

Provincial serious crimes bureau chief Duong Sokha said that by December 21 the police are still searching for the whereabouts of the suspect.

“We are investigating [the case and trying] to arrest the suspect. Until now, we are still looking for the suspect, but police already identified him,” Sokha said.

Svay Dangkum commune deputy chief police Oeun Ngik said that the suspect, 36, is a construction worker.

He is from Kampong Cham province. The wife was identified as Sim Samphors, a 19-year-old construction worker who comes from Nimith commune of Poipet town, Banteay Meanchey province.

According to Ngik, one of the witnesses from the construction site where the couple stayed said that the couple always argued until 9pm.

She said the suspect hit his wife’s head with a big wooden stick and stone, inflicting injury to the victim and she died in a pool of blood on the spot.

Ngik added that a few other witnesses did not know how the suspect hit his wife. When they saw the victim, she was already lying dead. Whereby, some other witnesses confirmed that they saw the murder, but they were too afraid to shout out for help.

“Someone saw the killer but they were too frightened to shout, because at that time the suspect was carrying a big stick. They were scared that the suspect will hit them too,” Ngik said.

Svay Dangkum commune police released a report, which stated that the murder started from an argument between the suspect and his wife.

The expert police have suggested that the victim died from the attack.