The Siem Reap Provincial Court has placed a man in pre-trial detention in connection with the murder of his girlfriend who had just returned from Switzerland.

According to Siem Reap provincial Military Police’s anti-crime bureau chief Seak Sophea, the suspect, Men Vimol, 34, was arrested on May 6 in neighbouring Battambang province after he allegedly killed his 56-year-old girlfriend in a rented room in Siem Reap town’s Siem Reap commune before fleeing there.

"Judge Chhay Virak has charged him with murder and theft under articles 205 and 356 of the Criminal Code," he said.

Citing the accused’s account, Sophea said the woman had previously visited Cambodia and fell in love with Vimol four to five months before this incident.

While they were living together, the suspect allegedly put pressure on her by not allowing her to contact her relatives including parents and siblings, not even virtually.

He said the woman’s family members had urged her not to take the suspect as a husband as they may not live very long together because of their age gap.

According to Sophea, the incident happened on the night of April 26, when the woman bought six cans of beer to drink with the man and a quarrel then broke out.

The suspect alleged that his girlfriend held a knife to him and threatened that “one of us will die tonight”.

He claimed that when he heard this he was scared and that the woman also held a blunt instrument and intended to club him in the head with it.

He then grabbed the blunt object from her hand and hit her with it and then took the knife away from her and stabbed her in the eyes, shoulder and stomach before fleeing on a motorcycle.

The woman’s death was only discovered on May 5 when neighbours smelled a strong odour coming from the room. They opened the door and saw the body and then reported it to the police.

Vimol faces between 10 and 15 years in prison if found guilty.