Thai man confesses to killing Cambodian opposition lawmaker, claims he was repaying debt

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, police told AFP Sunday.

Ekalak Paenoi confessed to the crime Saturday in a livestream video after being charged with premeditated murder and unauthorised gun ownership.

Lim Kimya, a former lawmaker for the dissolved Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), was gunned down on Tuesday 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.

Ekalak – who Thai media have said was a former marine – was arrested in Cambodia on Wednesday, before being extradited to Thailand on Saturday.

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“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 Attaporn Wongsiripreeda, a senior police official in Bangkok.

Some Thai media reports said he was paid 60,000 baht ($1,700), but Attaporn told a local broadcaster that Ekalak claimed he did not receive payment.

Attaporn refused to elaborate when asked by AFP.

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

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

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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.

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 Tuesday, Hun Sen called for a new law to label anyone who attempts to topple Hun Manet’s government as “terrorists”.