Cambodia turns over a Thai ex-marine who is accused of killing a Thai woman to Indian officials
PUBLISHED: 11 Jan 2025 at 15: 01
UPDATED: 11 Jan 2025 at 17: 33
Officials in Cambodia handed over a Thai ex-marine who is accused of killing a previous Cambodian opposition MP in Bangkok earlier this year.
Around 11 a.m., Ekkalak Phaenoi, also known as” Sergeant Em,” was taken from a detention center in Phnom Penh to the Khlong Luek border checkpoint in Sa Kaeo province’s Aranyaprathet district, where Thai officials handed him to their Thai rivals.
Ekkalak, 41, fled across the borders after shooting Lim Kimya on Tuesday night. He was arrested in Battambang, Cambodia, on Wednesday night.
On Saturday, Pol Lt. Gen. Somprasong and a group of researchers traveled by aircraft to Sa Kaeo to pick up the believe.
The suspect was escorted from the Arintharat specific task force to the Chana Songkhram police depot, which has jurisdiction over the place where the crime took place, upon arrival in Bangkok.
The hunter responsible for the attack was detained on Wednesday in a crowded place close to Wat Bowonniwet Vihara in the Phra Nakhon district’s Criminal Court.
After being accused of premeditated murder and unapproved gun ownership, Ekkalak told authorities and reporters,” I confess that I did wrong.”
Lim Kimya, 73, had arrived in Bangkok really days previously after travelling by vehicle from Siem Reap, Cambodia. He was shot dead by a waiting shooter who fired three photos in front of his wife and brother.
A Thai accomplice, according to Pol Lt Gen Somprasong, is also on an arrest warrant for allegedly serving as a spy for the assassin.
The victim was a part of the popular opposition party Cambodia National Rescue Party, which was disbanded by a court after an alleged crime plot back of a 2018 election. The group disputed the claim that the Hun Sen regime’s reported plot was fabricated.
A spokesman for the Thai government refuted claims made by some opposition activists that they were directly involved in the killing.
Ekkalak Phaenoi, 41, a previous Thai sea, is seen following his arrest on Wednesday in Cambodia.