Korean accused of plot to kill Cambodian wife

A south Korean man is under investigation for possibly murdering his pregnant Cambodian wife to collect on her life insurance policies, Korean media reported yesterday.

The man, who the reports referred to only by the surname “Lee”, has been detained by South Korean police in South Chungcheong province, according to the Korea Times.

Lee and his wife had 26 life insurance policies, and if the car crash that killed his wife is proved to be an accident, he could collect as much as 9.5 billion won ($8.6 million) from the insurance firms, the report said.

In August, Lee was driving while his wife of eight years slept in the passenger seat without a seatbelt on, the report says. Their van collided with a cargo truck, killing the seven-month pregnant Cambodian woman instantly; she was later found to have sleeping pills in her blood. Police quoted in the report doubted Lee’s claim that he was drowsy and crashed.