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A Thai national, Ekkalak Paenoi, has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Bangkok for the murder of Cambodian opposition politician Lim Kimya, though the case remains open due to unresolved questions regarding the individual who ordered the assassination.
French-Cambodian former MP Lim was shot dead on January 7, 2025, by Paenoi as he arrived in the Thai capital with his wife.
Cambodian opposition figures have accused former prime minister Hun Sen of orchestrating the assassination, a claim his family denies.
Ekkalak, arrested a day later in Cambodia, confessed to the killing in a livestream video. He faced a possible death sentence, but the Bangkok court reduced it to life imprisonment due to his confession.
Lim’s widow, Anne-Marie Lim, welcomed the verdict but said she still wanted to know who masterminded the murder.
“She is satisfied with the verdict but still questions who ordered the crime,” her lawyer Nadhthasiri Bergman told reporters.
Thai police are seeking two Cambodian suspects — Ly Ratanakrasksmey, accused of recruiting the gunman, and Pich Kimsrin, allegedly the lookout — but no extraditions have been made.
Rights groups called the sentence “partial justice” and urged Thai authorities to pursue those behind the killing.
Lim, a former MP for the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party, had lived in France since leaving politics in 2017.
The court dismissed charges against a second defendant, Chakrit Buakhil, accused of helping Ekkalak flee, saying he was unaware of the plot.
