Robert Kelvin Ellis: Indonesian police investigate murder of British man found with throat cut in rice field

Police in Indonesia are investigating the murder of a British man found with his throat cut in a rice field on the island of Bali.

Reports said the body of Robert Kelvin Ellis, a 60-year-old Briton who had spent several years living in Australia before moving to Bali, was found on Tuesday morning wrapped in plastic in a ditch in Sedang Village, near Ubud-Bali. He is thought to have two sons living in Australia.

The channel said a local woman had found Mr Ellis’s body at about 8am “already in a state of decay”. “There was a wound in his neck. The neck was almost cut entirely,” the head of Badung police, Komang Suartana, told reporters. “We suspect that there has been physical violence to the body.”

Mr Ellis’s wife, an Indonesian national, is being questioned by police but they said no suspects have been identified. “This is a murder case. But we are yet to find the motive," Mr Komang said. “Our investigation team is still conducting the investigation.

It is understood Mr Ellis suffered three stab wounds to the neck as well as bruising around his head, and had been dead for up to 24 hours before he was found. Police said they also found a doormat near the body and a mobile phone in the ditch.

A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London said: “We were notified of the death of a British national in Bali, Indonesia, on 21 October 2014. We stand ready to provide consular assistance.”