DENPASAR, Indonesia (AFP) - 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, the police said on Wednesday.

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

The wife, Julaikah Noor Ellis, went to the police to report her husband missing soon after the body was found, but she was later detained and named a suspect in the case.

"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. "After talking to her slowly and kindly for a while, she finally admitted it."

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

She was in the house at the time of the killing but told the police that she was in her room when it took place, he said.

The boyfriend of a housemaid had carried out the killing, the police said. The maid had admitted it took place in Ellis's kitchen between Sunday evening and Monday morning, they said.

The wife, two maids and the boyfriend were in police custody, while four friends of the alleged murderer suspected of involvement were being pursued by police.

Mr Ellis had been living in a villa in Sanur, and his body was found in a village to the north of the tourist area, far from any houses.

He was originally from Britain but had been living in Australia for a long time before moving to Bali, and was a dual national.

The news comes after the body of an American tourist was found stuffed in a suitcase outside a hotel on the island in August.

The victim's daughter and her daughter's boyfriend were arrested over the killing.

Bali, a pocket of Hinduism in Muslim-majority Indonesia, attracts millions of foreign visitors every year with its palm-fringed beaches and tropical climate.

While foreigners often fall foul of Indonesia's tough anti-drugs laws, which include the death penalty, grisly murders are rare.