A woman accused of murdering a one-year-old child by dousing him with petrol and setting him alight in Sihanoukville in December was sent to prison yesterday after her arrest in Kampot on Saturday, police said.

Kol Phally, Preah Sihanouk provincial deputy police chief, said that the suspect, Thai Sreyra, 28, was arrested in Chhouk district, where it was believed she had been hiding since the boy’s death late last year.

“It is an obvious case – the suspect was charged with intentional murder,” he said.

Phally said one-year-old Sok Chamrong was attacked in December following a fight the suspect had with the boy’s mother – her sister-in-law – during which the two argued over the whereabouts of the suspect’s husband.

Sreyra is accused of throwing a gasoline bottle on the baby as he slept in a bed. He later died in hospital, while the boy’s uncle, Oun Chorn, 33, was slightly injured while trying to intervene.