41-year-old Thai ex-marine captured at restaurant in Cambodia, police seeking Cambodian ‘spotter’ who identified victim
Suspect Ekalak Paenoi, 41, who was arrested on Wednesday afternoon in Battambang, Cambodia, is believed to have been a gun for hire. (Photo Supplied)
The Thai suspect wanted for shooting a former Cambodian opposition MP to death in Bangkok has been arrested in Cambodia, police said on Wednesday night.
Ekalak Paenoi, 41, had fled across the border after carrying out the shooting of Lim Kimya on Tuesday evening. He was apprehended at a restaurant in Battambang province around 4.30pm on Wednesday afternoon.
Cambodian police joined by investigators from the Metropolitan Police in Bangkok took the suspect to the Battambang Provincial command centre before sending him to the Internal Security Command in Phnom Penh for further questioning.
Police sources said Cambodian authorities were expected to prosecute Mr Ekalak for illegal entry before extraditing him to Thailand.
Police said the suspect, also known as “Sergeant Em”, had served in the marine corps unit of the Royal Thai Navy and was currently working as a motorcycle taxi driver. He was found to have a criminal history and an outstanding warrant for asset-related offences.
Pol Lt Gen Sayam Boonsom, commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said the suspect was likely to be a gun for hire and someone may have identified the target for him.
Police later released a picture of the person who was believed to the spotter who pointed out Lim Kimya for the shooter. He is reportedly a Cambodian national who travelled on the same tourist bus that Lim Kimya had taken from Siem Reap to Bangkok on Tuesday.
The Criminal Court earlier on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for the hitman who carried out the brazen attack in a crowded area near Wat Bowonniwet Vihara in Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok.
Lim Kimya, 73, had arrived in the capital just hours earlier after taking a bus from Siem Reap in Cambodia. He was shot dead in front of his wife and brother by a waiting gunman who fired three shots.
Surrounded by a pool of blood, Lim Kimya lay on his back, clad in a blue polo shirt and white shorts, as a policeman attempted to revive him.
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