A Sihanoukville man shot and killed his wife and then himself in front of their three children Sunday morning, police said.
Fisherman Khuon Heng, 40, shot his wife, Khuon Saren, 34, in the chest at 4 am and then shot himself in the head after the couple had argued for hours, Kol Phally, Sihanoukville penal police chief, said.
Villagers reported that the man killed himself and his wife because they were HIV-positive, but Kol Phally said police did not have the blood tests to confirm that.
“We have called it a case of jealousy,” Kol Phally said.
The couple’s oldest son, Khuon Leng Se, 12, said he and his two siblings, ages 4 and 10, saw their father shoot their mother, Kol Phally said. The two younger boys ran to get their grandparents while Khuon Leng Se watched his father turn the gun on himself.
A Sihanoukville coordinator for the human rights NGO Licadho said villagers reported that Khuon Heng infected his wife with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
When Khuon Saren began suffering symptoms of AIDS, she left to stay with a friend in Siem Reap province, where she stayed for approximately a month, the NGO worker said.
He said Khuon Heng traveled to Siem Reap and lured her back, intending to end their lives with his handgun.
