A Thai court on Friday sentenced Ekkalak Paenoi
to life in prison for the January 7 shooting of Lim Kimya, a French
national and former Cambodian opposition parliamentarian, in Bangkok.
The 55-year-old gunman had faced the death penalty for
premeditated murder, but the sentence was reduced after he confessed. Ekkalak
was arrested in neighboring Cambodia a day after the attack and admitted to the
crime in a livestream video.
Widow Demands Accountability
Lim’s widow, Anne-Marie Lim, testified during
the three-day trial and has repeatedly called for authorities to investigate
who ordered the killing.
“Anne-Marie is probably satisfied with today’s verdict, but she is still
questioning who ordered the crime,” her lawyer Nadhthasiri Bergman told
reporters.
Suspected Cambodian Links
Thai police have identified two Cambodian nationals as
suspected accomplices:
Local reports said Ratanakrasksmey was once an adviser
to Cambodia’s former strongman Hun Sen, though Cambodia’s ruling party
said he was dismissed in March 2024. Prime Minister Hun Manet, Hun Sen’s
son, has denied government involvement.
Human rights group Licadho welcomed the life
sentence but urged Thai authorities to “conduct further investigations in order
to render full justice.”
Charges Dismissed Against Second Defendant
A second defendant, Thai national Chakrit Buakhil,
accused of driving the gunman to the Cambodian border, was acquitted. His
lawyer argued he was “only a driver and did not know what was happening.”
Lim Kimya, who served as an MP from 2013 to 2017
before his party was banned, had returned to France after withdrawing from
politics. He held dual French-Cambodian citizenship.
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