A fire in Siem Reap province's Puok district killed a man, his wife and his two-month-old son. Police
A man set himself on fire on Sunday in Siem Reap province’s Puok district, killing himself and causing his house to be set ablaze, which then also took the lives of his wife and two-month-old son.
Puok district police chief Tep Pumsen told The Post that the three were killed following a domestic dispute between the husband and his wife in Khnat commune's Svay village.
He said the husband padlocked the door from the inside and doused himself with petrol on Sunday morning while his wife and son were sleeping in another room.
Pumsen identified the deceased as 34-year-old Kong Chamnang, a construction worker, his wife Chy Srey Mom, 33, and their two-month-old son Meta.
“A neighbour said the incident occurred because the husband demanded sex, but his wife did not agree because she was weak, having recently given birth,” he said.
Pumsen said that before the fire, the wife stormed into the neighbour’s house carrying her baby and asked the neighbour to talk with her husband.
She said her husband had repeatedly asked her to have sex with him, but she declined because she had only given birth about two months ago and was still in confinement.
But her husband became increasingly angry and accused his wife of having an affair with another man.
After she returned home, the neighbour saw the husband had bought two bottles containing four litres of petrol.
While the couple's parents-in-law were talking with the neighbours, the husband locked the door from the inside and set himself on fire, killing himself, his wife and their son.
Pumsen said the house was built from bricks and mortar on the ground floor, timber on the upper floor and had a zinc roof. It measured about eight by 10 metres, he said, and most of the house was damaged in the fire.
The authorities used four fire engines to put out the blaze and managed to control it before it spread through the neighbourhood.
Ministry of Interior Fire Department director Neth Vantha said four fires occurred in four provinces on Sunday, killing four people – the three victims in Siem Reap province and one in Prey Veng province.
“Two of the four fires were the result of domestic disputes. With the four deaths, a total of 21 people had died due to fires while 48 have been injured so far this year,” he said.
