A woman arrested on Monday over the murder of her friend in a bungalow on Tonle Bati lake confessed to attacking her with a cleaver so she could steal her property, which included a motorbike, police said.
Sat Makara, 25, was arrested at about 3:50 p.m. near Tani market in Kampot province, said Ngann Sary, the police chief of Bati district in Takeo province, where the murder took place.
Phone records and a friend helped trace Ms. Makara, who is accused of slashing the throat of Chea Socheat, 23, a contract officer for the department of tourism in Kandal province, on Wednesday and pushing her body into the lake near the bungalow where they were relaxing, Mr. Sary said.
Ms. Makara, who had known the victim for about a year, pawned Chea Socheat’s motorbike for $350 and used the money to gamble at NagaWorld casino in Phnom Penh, Mr. Sary said.
She also said she had pilfered the victim’s iPhone and platinum jewelry.
“She confessed to the crime” Mr. Sary said. “She killed the victim with a cleaver and later threw it into the water.”
