Meanchey district police arrested a woman over the death of her female lover in the capital’s Chak Angre Krom commune on Sunday.

Meanchey district deputy police chief Nou Touch identified the victim as Ngin Sokly, 50, a money lender and coffee vendor. He said the suspect, 45, was her lover and the couple would often have arguments due to jealousy.

Touch said Sokly’s family had attempted to call her on Sunday morning but the phone was not answrered. Around 3pm on the same day, they received a call from the victim’s phone informing them that Sokly was dead.

Upon hearing the news, Touch said, the family rushed to Sokly’s home and discovered her body. The family suspected something amiss and immediately reported the matter to police.

An autopsy confirmed that Sokly had been suffocated.

Touch said the suspect confessed that she had become enraged with jealousy when she learnt that Sokly had taken another lover.

According to her confession, Sokly met the suspect at her Villa Town residence at around 10pm on Saturday and was not wearing the two diamond rings she had bought for her.

After learning that she had been involved in a romantic affair with another woman, the suspect demanded that Sokly return $15,000 to her, but the victim failed to do so.

A scuffle broke out between the pair and the suspect pressed the victim’s head into a pillow until she died. The suspect then tidied the scene to make it appear as though Sokly had died of natural causes, according to Touch.

“The post-mortem examination proved that the victim died of suffocation. Someone had covered her face with something until she died. However, we identified the suspect and detained her on Monday morning,” Touch said.

Chak Angre Krom commune police chief Vuth Phosaravoan said: “After the autopsy was carried out, the body was handed over to the family for last rites. The police are questioning the suspect at the Meanchey district police station before moving forward with further legal procedures.”