A Swiss husband allegedly murdered his Thai wife who had inherited 370k USD from her previous husband.

Roland Phoseengam, 53, reportedly had a row with his Thai wife Orathai, 46, over his travel plans to the notorious sex destination of Pattaya in eastern Thailand.

Roland allegedly flew into a rage and strangled Orathai, then drove on a motorcycle to dump her body in a corn field some three kilometres away from their home in Nakhon Ratchasima province on January 8 evening.

Orathai was reported missing earlier this month. Police finally found the Thai woman's decaying corpse and her missing motorcycle at the corn field on January 29 after they grilled Roland and he reportedly confessed to 'accidentally' strangling her.

Police Major General Thakur Natrisri, commander of Provincial Police Region 3, said: 'The Swiss husband testified that on the day of the incident, there had been a violent argument because the Thai wife was jealous he might be meeting with another woman.

'He became angry and choked her to death. Then, he loaded her body onto the motorcycle and left it at the field.'

Police said Orathai was wearing a black shirt, black coat, and brown pants. A playing card was lodged in her throat, and her flesh had dried up from being exposed to the elements for several week weeks.

Authorities were also reviewing CCTV footage that showed a masked individual wearing a hoodie travelling by motorcycle to the cornfield and returning on foot.

Roland was reported to have initially feigned ignorance about Orathai's disappearance, claiming he had pushed through with his solo trip to see a cancer-stricken friend in Pattaya before coming back to an empty house.

He had surrendered his passport to police 'to express his sincerity' but later admitted to murdering Orathai during a five-hour interrogation with the cops.

Roland was detained at the police station while officials said they were still investigating the case. They said there were inconsistencies in his account, as a playing card was found lodged in his wife's throat. Traces of tape adhesive were also detected around her mouth.

Orathai's sister Thidarat Phoseengam, 31, said she saw the couple arguing on January 8 shortly before Orathai went missing.

She said: 'We became suspicious about her disappearance because all of her belongings - her ID card, ATM, clothes, shoes, and her favourite watch - were still at her house. After two days, we had lost all hope that she would return to us alive.'

Thidarat said that Orathai had inherited 13 million THB (370k USD) from her previous Swiss husband who passed away in 2021.

Heartbroken Orathai soon met and fell in love with Roland - then a train driver in Switzerland - and they were married and moved to Thailand around two years ago, with the husband taking the wife's surname.

Meanwhile, Orathai's father Thod said: 'I am furious with my daughter's husband. I cannot believe he could be this cruel to us. My family had only treated him with kindness. I hope he gets a severe sentence.'