A 20-year-old groom suspected of killing his 18-year-old bride on the first day of their wedding was accused by police of premeditated murder, and is expected to be transferred to Kratie Provincial Court this morning, police said yesterday.

According to Snuol district police chief Chan Sokin, suspect Lert Chhert told authorities he killed Mun Sreynheb because he heard from villagers that she’d had intimate relations with her ex-boyfriend, adding that he didn’t love her but was being forced by his parents to marry her.

Chhert was arrested on Saturday, Sokin added. The suspect reportedly confessed to police that at around 11pm on Friday, he and the victim went to a rice field where they were going to take a bath following the day’s ceremonies.

When the couple was walking near the pond, the suspect used a large flashlight to hit the victim and then grabbed a wooden stick to beat her to death.

According to Sokin, Chhert then decided to tell the victim’s family and authorities that they both had been attacked by an unknown man.

Before the victim died, she managed to scratch the suspect on his hands and neck.

“At first, police thought that the suspect was also the victim since his shirt and hands were stained with blood, including on the neck,” Sokin said.

“But after the investigation and inspecting the scratch marks … we concluded that he is the murderer.”