The Thai suspect wanted for the murder of former Cambodian opposition MP Lim Kimya in Bangkok has been arrested in Cambodia, authorities reported on Wednesday night.
Ekalak Paenoi, 42, fled across the border following the fatal shooting of Lim Kimya on Tuesday evening. He was apprehended at a restaurant in Battambang province on Wednesday afternoon at around 4:30 pm.
A joint operation between Cambodian police and investigators from the Metropolitan Police in Bangkok led to his capture. Ekalak was taken to the Battambang Provincial command centre before being sent to Phnom Penh for further questioning by the Internal Security Command.
Police sources indicated that Ekalak would first face prosecution for illegal entry into Cambodia before being extradited back to Thailand. Ekalak, also known as “Sergeant Em,” previously served in the Royal Thai Navy’s marine corps and was working as a motorcycle taxi driver at the time of the incident. Authorities also revealed that he had a criminal history and an outstanding warrant for asset-related offenses.
Pol Lt Gen Sayam Boonsom, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, suggested that Ekalak may have been a hired gun and that someone else might have identified the target. A picture was later released of a suspected spotter, believed to be a Cambodian national who had traveled with Lim Kimya on the same bus from Siem Reap to Bangkok on Tuesday.
Lim Kimya, 73, was shot in a crowded area near Wat Bowonniwet Vihara in Bangkok’s Phra Nakhon district. He had just arrived in Bangkok from Cambodia and was gunned down in front of his wife and brother. Three shots were fired, two of which struck Lim in his back, causing fatal injuries. Police later discovered that the gunman had fled the scene on a motorcycle, which was abandoned at a petrol station in the Suan Luang area.
The suspect used the motorcycle for a few days but was not its owner. After the attack, he was seen leaving the area in a green-yellow taxi, eventually boarding a pickup truck that took him to Sa Kaeo province, where he crossed into Cambodia.
A Thai police team that had tracked the suspect’s movements coordinated with Cambodian authorities, leading to his arrest.
