Kampong Cham provincial police will send a 35-year-old man to the provincial court on Wednesday after he was arrested in Kampot province over the murder of a woman in Kampong Cham on Saturday.

Kampot provincial police chief Mao Chanmathurith said on Tuesday that the suspect fled to Kampot province after the murder.

Chanmathurith said his officers were informed of the man’s crime and escape by Kampong Cham provincial police and subsequently arrested him in Prek Tnort commune on Sunday.

“The suspect was captured and returned to Kampong Cham police,” he said.

Kampong Cham serious crimes bureau deputy director Chan Hor confirmed on Tuesday that his office received the suspect and are questioning him over the case before sending him to court on Wednesday.

He noted that at about 9:30pm on Saturday, the suspect snuck into the home of Heng Ny, 59. He pushed her to the ground and used a strap from a handbag to strangle her to death. He then stole some jewellery.

Police identified the suspect while investigating the murder and expected him to flee to his hometown in Kampot province, a hunch that led to his arrest through cooperation with police there, he said.

“The suspect has not confessed to the crime even though there are some slight injuries on his body after the women scratched him with her fingernails. Police suspect those injuries are from the victim,” he said.

“The suspect killed the victim to steal a necklace and bracelet worth more than $3,000.”