A police official was detained yesterday for allegedly firing several shots into the air in what was described as a fit of jealousy in the capital’s Chbar Ampov district on Sunday evening, according to local authorities.

District police chief Em Saravuth yesterday identified the suspect as Svay Piseth, an official with the Ministry of Interior’s General Department of Identification. He added that Piseth had confessed to his superior, National Police Chief Neth Savoeun, who then ordered the Identification Department to cooperate with municipal police.

Piseth was detained after being questioned yesterday, and will be sent to the Phnom Penh court today for further action. “According to the suspect’s clarification, the shooting happened because of domestic problems driven by jealousy,” Saravuth said, noting that five AK-47 shell casings were found at the scene.

He said that according to locals living nearby, Piseth was driving home on Sunday evening when he saw his wife leaving a neighbour’s party. When he asked if she had drunk any alcohol, she replied that she’d had “a little”, prompting Piseth to grab the AK-47 and to fire it into the air.