An Oddar Meanchey woman was found decapitated with her head placed next to her body yesterday morning in a gruesome murder case police believe is likely the result of a loan deal gone sour.

The woman’s body was found one kilometre away from her Anlong Veng district village, and she is believed to have been murdered late on Monday night while collecting a loan payment, police officials said.

Chea Vesna, deputy director of the provincial office for serious crime, said the victim, 22-year-old Prim Savan, was married and had one child.

According to the police investigation, she was likely killed close to midnight on September 3, he said.

“’The suspect killed the victim out of spite. This is not a robbery case because the [woman’s] motorbike was left near the body. I don’t know whether the suspect owed her money or had invested money in [her] business, but the authorities will keep investigating this case,” he said.

Vesna added that the details of what business Savan was running remained unclear. She was found on the road at the entrance of the Tumring Rubber Company in O’Tameng village in Anlong Veng commune.

Although the police have a preliminary suspect, they will not yet release further details until more information is known, Vesna said.

According to police, the victim’s husband said that on Monday night Savan had received a call asking her to go and collect a payment.

She took a family motorbike and was not seen until the morning, when her body was found.

Huy Seng, Anlong Veng district police chief, said the family seemed to be living in a “normal” situation and that he could not yet explain what had happened to Savan.

He added, however, that it was not yet clear if she was owed money or whether she herself had been in debt and that the investigation was ongoing.

Anlong Veng district police had concluded that as the woman allegedly went out late at night without someone to deal with a financial transaction, a love affair could not be ruled out, he added.