Indonesian wife 'admits' ordering death of British husband, Robert Ellis

The wife of a British man found with his throat slashed and dumped in a ditch on Indonesia's resort island of Bali has admitted ordering the killing, police said yesterday.

Robert Ellis, 60, an Australian passport holder, was killed on instructions from his Indonesian wife, they said, with one suspected motive being money.

Residents found the decomposing body of Ellis, who had lived on Bali for several years, early on Tuesday dumped next to a paddy field, wrapped in plastic and blankets.

Ellis' wife, Julaikah Noor Ellis, went to the police to report him missing soon after the body was found north of their Sanur villa, but she was later detained and named a suspect.

"Our suspicion towards the wife of the victim was first aroused when some of the victim's friends said there have been problems between the couple for a while," detective Wisnu Wardana said. She was in the house at the time of the killing but told police that she was in her room when it took place, he said.