A drunken man was arrested on Saturday morning by Svay Rieng province’s Svay Chrum district police for allegedly hacking his wife to death with an axe in the rice paddies next to their home.

San Sophy, 41, told police he had been drinking near his house in Svay Rieng province that morning, and returned to find his wife, Kong Chan Thoeurn, 41, in bed with the village chief.

Sophy said, however, that by the time he returned to the bedroom with the weapon, his wife was alone.

According to Mao Sokhon, Svay Chrum district police chief, Sophy told police: “At that time, I could not control my feelings.”

Sophy reportedly confessed to chasing his wife into the rice paddy, hacking her three times with the axe and leaving her dead.

Sokhon, however, said the suspect may have cited adultery to lessen his charges – preliminarily set as premeditated murder under aggravating circumstances – citing conflicting accounts of the situation.

Russey Prey village chief Nob Vuthy denied being involved in the affair, but said the suspect worked in Thailand for a decade before returning last year.

The suspect and victim had two children.