A Ratanakkiri mother killed her children by forcing them to drink pesticide on Wednesday before then taking her own life, local police said yesterday.
Ngoy Dorn, O’Yadav district deputy police chief, said that Romas Dean, 28, killed her 3-year-old son and 3-week-old daughter before drinking the pesticide herself because she was upset by her husband’s drinking.
“She killed her children and herself because she was so angry with her husband, who often left home to drink alcohol without helping her or looking after the children,” Ngoy Dorn said, adding it was the first case of a mother killing her children he had encountered in his district.
He added that her husband, Sol Sav, 24, also drank the pesticide after discovering the bodies but was saved by neighbours who took him to hospital.
The neighbours, according to Ngoy Dorn, confirmed that Sol Sav often went out drinking but was not known for domestic violence.
Ngoy Dorn said he will send a report to provincial police officials to decide whether or not the husband can be held criminally responsible.
