A woman arrested for lighting her husband on fire was released from pre-trial detention on Monday, said a Phnom Penh Municipal Court official.

The woman, Khith Neth, 37, was arrested on December 29 for dousing her husband in half a litre of gasoline then lighting him on fire, causing serious injuries.

“I decided to release her and let her return home to her family, because her family is very poor, and she has two small children, whom no one else will take care of,” said deputy prosecutor Kong Sam Sareth.

“The victim, her husband, has not sued her, and he [even] came to the court to guarantee his wife’s good behaviour upon release, even though he sustained serious wounds,” he said.

Her neighbours also guaranteed her release and and ensured she was a non-flight risk.

Although the husband did not sue her and in fact asked the court to drop the charges, the charge of causing serious injuries will still stand, he added.

“She got angry with her lazy and drunken husband for not helping her plant rice to support the family,” said Mok Kimseng, a police officer in Sen Sok district.

The husband was saved by villagers, who sent him to a clinic.

To contact the reporter on this story: Buth Reaksmey Kongkea at [email protected]