After being arrested under suspicions that he murdered his pregnant Cambodian spouse to cash in on her life insurance policies, a Korean man is now being asked to compensate the deceased woman’s family, according to Cambodia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.

“The Cambodian Embassy [in South Korea] will file a complaint for [the suspect to provide] compensation to the family of the victim and compensation for raising the daughter who is still alive,” said a statement that was issued yesterday.

In August, the man, identified only by his surname Lee, rammed into a truck. The accident killed his pregnant wife, who was asleep, not wearing a seatbelt at the time, and was later found to have sleeping pills in her bloodstream, according to reports in Korean media.

Presuming the “cruel husband’s” guilt, the Foreign Ministry’s statement yesterday said the South Korean police have “found the Korean husband had intentionally killed his Cambodian wife by causing a traffic accident in order to collect nearly $9 million from life insurance companies”.

But Cambodia’s ambassador to South Korea said he was not aware of any formal charges being announced.

“Police are still investigating,” said Suth Dina, Cambodia’s ambassador.

Dina added that the husband was taken into police custody three months after the accident because the insurance companies became suspicious of the 26 policies held collectively by the husband and wife.