A woman from Kampong Cham province’s Srei Santhor district has been charged with intentional murder after allegedly cutting her husband’s throat with a kitchen knife when he accused her of stealing chickens from neighbours.

Kampong Cham deputy provincial police chief Heng Vuthy said Ouk Va, 53, was charged yesterday over the death of her husband, Yi Yith, 56, at their home in Toang Tralach commune.

According to commune police chief Bin Kim Sreang, the couple had a heated argument in the early hours of Monday morning, after Yith confronted her about the chickens thefts.

“The wife killed her husband at about 1am . . . She confessed she used the knife to cut his throat . . . because he had accused her of stealing chickens from neighbours,” said Sreang.

Sreang said Yith would often shout to neighbours to scour his yard for lost chickens on account of his wife’s regular chicken heists, which had “often” come to the attention of authorities.