Thai man suspected of killing Cambodian opposition figure says he acted out of ‘gratitude’

BANGKOK – A Thai man accused of

killing a former Cambodian opposition lawmaker in Bangkok

said he committed the crime to repay someone who helped him during a tough period in his life, the police told AFP on Jan 12.

Ekkalak Paenoi confessed to the crime on Jan 11 in a live-stream video after being charged with premeditated murder and unauthorised gun ownership.

Mr Lim Kimya, a former lawmaker for the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party, was gunned down on Jan 7 by a motorcyclist as he arrived in Bangkok by bus from Cambodia with his French wife.

Cambodian opposition figures have accused the country’s powerful former leader Hun Sen of ordering the shooting, although a government spokesman has denied official involvement.

Ekkalak, who Thai media have said was a former marine, was arrested in Cambodia on Jan 8, before being extradited to Thailand on Jan 11.

“The shooter said he took this job to pay a debt of gratitude to someone who had helped him during a tough period after he was sacked from the navy,” said senior police official Attaporn Wongsiripreeda in Bangkok.

Some Thai media reports said he was paid 60,000 baht (S$2,380), but Major-General Attaporn told a local broadcaster that Ekkalak claimed he did not receive payment. Maj-Gen Attaporn refused to elaborate when asked by AFP.

Another senior police official said on Jan 11 that an arrest warrant for a Cambodian accomplice had also been issued.

At a court hearing on Jan 13, the police will seek to place Ekkalak – who worked as a motorbike taxi driver – in pre-trial detention.

Scores of Cambodian opposition activists have fled to Thailand in recent years to

avoid alleged repression at home

. Some were arrested and deported back to the country.

Mr Hun Sen ruled Cambodia with an iron fist for nearly four decades, with rights groups accusing him of using the legal system to crush opposition to his rule.

He stepped down and handed power to his son Hun Manet in 2023, but is still seen as a major power in the kingdom.

On Jan 7, Mr Hun Sen called for a new law to label those who attempt to topple Mr Hun Manet’s government as “terrorists”. AFP