A 30-year-old Cambodian national accused of robbing and murdering his boss in Thailand was arrested on Monday in Thailand’s Sa Kaeo province while attempting to flee back to the Kingdom, an official at the Cambodian Embassy said yesterday.

Mey Chanvisal, a legal consular official for migrant workers at the embassy, said that according a Thai police report, suspect Touch Vuthy murdered his employer. The victim was identified by the Bangkok Post as Thanapompan Sangprasit, 47.

She was found dead outside her home with multiple stab wounds to the torso and chest, the newspaper reported. Vuthy had worked for Thanapompan selling vegetables and collecting money from other sellers.

“He killed the woman with a small knife,” Chanvisal said. “She lost trust in him for collecting money, so she fired him two days before the incident took place.”

Major General Thanayut Vutthicharasthamrong, deputy chief of Thailand’s Police Region 1, was quoted in the Bangkok Post as saying the firing might have been the motive.

According to the police report, Vuthy initially only intended to rob the victim, but as he was trying to access the cash safe, the victim arrived and called for help, prompting him to kill her.

When police arrested Vuthy, he was carrying 6,000 baht, or about $174, six Buddhist statues and one gun, Chanvisal said, citing the report.

Vuthy allegedly tested positive for drugs, he added. In Thailand, such a crime could carry a life sentence or the capital punishment, according to Chanvisal, who said the embassy will provide a lawyer.