A man was arrested on Saturday evening for allegedly murdering his wife in Pursat province’s Bakan district, provincial police said yesterday.

According to the police report, Cheam Sokhom, 49, stands accused of drunkenly hacking his wife in the back of the head with a machete in a fit of jealous rage in Bakan’s Snam Preah commune.

The victim was rushed to the Pursat provincial hospital for treatment, but succumbed to her wounds on Sunday morning.

Sokhom, meanwhile, has been sent to court. “He killed her because he was jealous – she was younger than him,” said Nheam Nhean, the police chief of Bakan district.

“They often argued with each other and sometimes the husband used to beat the wife … but they still lived together.”

Nhean said that police apprehended Sokhom shortly after the alleged assault. The pair’s children will go on to live with a relative of their late mother’s.

“It’s very sad for the children since they were still young and lived with their parents,” said Nhean.