A Kampong Thom man was arrested on Tuesday on charges of hacking his wife to death and throwing her body into a pond behind a house in Prasat Balang district’s Sala Visay commune.
Provincial police chief Chea Poeun on Wednesday said the suspect is 30 years old and his wife, Srun Chantrea, 29. She was a nurse at a private clinic. The couple had two sons and a daughter. The police have sent the case to the provincial court.
That same day, a police official who asked not to be named said the suspect told neighbours and Chantrea’s relatives on Tuesday that she had gone missing and asked them to help find her.
After a while, the suspect walked towards a pond behind the house about 60m away.
Having found the body, the suspect reported it to police and doctors arrived at the scene to carry out a forensic investigation. They concluded that Chantrea had been hacked in the neck with a machete.
District police called in the suspect and Chantrea’s father for questioning at the police station until 2pm, and the father was allowed to return home.
The officer said the suspect confessed to killing his wife during an argument. Having killed her, he threw her into the pond behind the house and returned home.
