Sydney  - A jealous wife set fire to her sleeping husband's genitals after she saw him hug another woman, an Australian court was told.

Rajini Narayan, 44, has been charged with murder after her 47-year-old husband died three weeks after he was doused in petrol and set alight, Australia's AAP news agency reported Tuesday.

Police gave evidence to the Adelaide court that Narayan told neighbours she was a "jealous wife" who wanted to teach her husband a lesson.

"I just wanted to burn his penis so it belongs to me and no one else ... I didn't mean this to happen," the mother of three is alleged to have said.

Narayan, who faced court for the first time Monday, is expected to apply for bail when she reappears later in the week. (dpa)