A man hacked his sister-in-law and her husband to death and then hanged himself Tuesday following a dispute over a strip of land measuring less than 30 cm wide in Prey Veng province, police said.
Thav Thuy, 42, wanted to build a fence to seperate his farm property from his sister-in-law Mon Sameoun and her husband Nhor Khein, who lived next door in Kompong Leav district’s Prey Kanlorng commune, commune police chief Tat Neoun said.
Nhor Khein, 42, however, said the proposed fence could not be built as it would have infringed on his property by 30 cm, Tat Neoun said by phone, adding that the relatives had other ongoing disputes.
Enraged by the refusal to allow him build, Thav Thuy first killed Nhor Khein, chopping him with an ax on the head, throat and upper body as he slept.
After the frenzied attack, Thav Thuy calmly went to find his sister-in-law at a neighbor’s house and asked her to accompany him back to her home. When they arrived, Thav Thuy told her to go inside and look at the body of her butchered husband. He then chopped her to death with machete blows to the throat and head, Tat Neoun said.
Following the double murder, Thav Thuy retreated to his own house, drank poison and proceeded to hang himself, he said.
“A chronic dispute caused the violence,” Tat Neoun added.
