A 46-year-old man was arrested yesterday for hacking his soon-to-be ex-wife to death with a scythe in Kratie’s Chet Borei district.

Ros Bun Thoeun, Chang Krang commune police chief, said the man, Doung Eng Hong, suspected his wife, Ry Sokhom, of having an affair with a man in the same village. Though he told other villagers about his suspicions, he never identified the lover.

“He told villagers that he was furious with his wife. He hacked the wife twice in the neck, almost decapitated her with a scythe without any pity. She died on the spot,” Bun Thoeun said.

He also said that on Saturday, the couple had gone to their commune hall to file for a divorce. Later that night, Sokhom went out drinking and did not return until the morning. When she arrived, her husband immediately attacked and killed her, Bun Thoeun said.

Eng Hong then fled the scene to hide in a nearby forest, where police found him three hours later.

The suspect allegedly confessed to the crime and police are preparing to send him to the provincial police station.