A 34-year-old man in Stung Treng province was charged with violence against a spouse by the provincial court on Sunday after he doused his wife in gasoline while she was sitting near a stove, causing her serious injuries.
Provincial minor crimes police chief Hor Vuthy said the man, Lan Sopha, who had a history of domestic violence and alcohol abuse, arrived drunk at his home in Siem Pang district on Thursday and became incensed when his wife, Than Kann, would not tell him who she was speaking to on the phone.
“He splashed 5 liters [of gasoline] onto his wife’s back,” Mr. Vuthy said.
According to his deputy, Kim Kunnaroth, the suspect did not know that his wife had been boiling pig feed on a charcoal stove below the couple’s house.
When the gasoline dripped through the cracks in their wooden floor, it hit the flame and flared up, burning Ms. Kann severely on her back.
She ran outside to the nearby Sekong River and jumped into the water, saving her life, Mr. Kunnaroth said.
“He said he poured the petrol to threaten her, but he did not think there would be a fire from a charcoal stove under his home,” Mr. Kunnaroth said.
