Kambol district police will send 23-year-old Sokly Sambath to Phnom Penh Municipal Court on Monday for fatally stabbing his wife, Leang Phalla, 23, on June 22 in Ov’Lok commune’s Duan Roth village in the capital’s Kambol district.
Sambath was arrested on June 26 for the crime in Kampong Thom province. Authorities said he killed his wife in a fit of jealousy.
District police chief Hang Mony told The Post on Sunday that Sambath worked in construction and Phalla was a garment factory worker. The couple has a one-year-old son.
“I have finished questioning the suspect. We will prepare the report and send the case to the court. The suspect admitted to committing the crime,” he said.
On the day of the murder, Sambath stabbed his wife and escaped on a motorbike. Phalla died upon arriving at the hospital.
Mony’s forces and local authorities, including Ov’Lok commune police, tried to trace Sambath to his home in Tuol Pich commune, Ang Snuol district, Kandal province, but he had already moved elsewhere.
After the investigation, officials found that Sambath has relatives in Kampong Thom and he was detained in the province on June 26.
He confessed that he killed his wife due to jealousy. Phalla allegedly talked with another man, addressed him as “babe,” and set a password on her phone. She did not allow Sambath to check her phone, Mony said.
Citing the suspect, Mony said besides contacting other men, Phalla complained about Sambath, looked down on him, and didn’t allow him to have sex with her for about two to three months.
Mony said on the day of the incident, the couple argued. While Phalla was hanging up the clothes to dry, Sambath stabbed her in the chest.