An Israeli who murdered his ex-wife and dismembered her body in Bangkok, has received a royal pardon from the King of Thailand.

Eli Cohen Maimon was arrested in February 2004 after he killed his ex-wife Carol within 24 hours of them arriving in Bangkok.

He was arrested at the Israeli embassy as he filed a missing person report, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The hotel room was reportedly covered in blood and Mr Cohen Maimon confessed to murder during the trial. He was sentenced to life imprisonment on Thursday December 30 2004.

Mr Cohen Maimon, 45, will be released from the Bangkok prison and return to Israel in six months.

Interior Minister Eli Yishai has denied securing his release in the face of accusations from the victim’s family.

A government spokesperson said: “The minister has never knowingly worked for the sake of releasing a murderer and if it turns out he was involved in such instances it was a mistake and the instance must be checked.

"The minister believes that the place of a murderer, any murderer, is in prison for the rest of their lives.”