Thai gunman gets life sentence for Cambodian politician Lim Kimya’s murder

Lim Kimya’s widow is pushing Thai authorities to find out who ordered the shooting of her husband in Bangkok

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Thai police officers escort Ekkalak Pheanoi (centre), accused of killing of Cambodian politician Lim Kimya, after he is deported from Cambodia on January 11. Photo: AP

Published: 2:31pm, 3 Oct 2025Updated: 2:32pm, 3 Oct 2025

A Thai gunman was sentenced to life in prison on Friday for the murder of a Cambodian opposition politician in Bangkok, a judge said.

French national Lim Kimya, a former opposition lawmaker in Cambodia, was shot dead on January 7 by Ekkalak Paenoi as the ex-MP visited Bangkok with his wife.

Cambodian opposition figures have accused the country’s powerful former leader Hun Sen of ordering the shooting. This week, Lim Kimya’s widow called for a full accounting of who was behind it.

“The actions of the first defendant caused harm to the plaintiff,” the Bangkok Criminal Court judge said on Friday. “Since he confessed, the court reduced the sentence to life imprisonment.”

Anne-Marie Lim, widow of former Cambodian opposition lawmaker Lim Kimya, holds a picture of her late husband as she arrives for the Criminal Court trial on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Ekkalak, a former Thai marine, was arrested in neighbouring Cambodia a day after the shooting, and confessed to committing the murder in a livestream video.

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Thai gunman gets life sentence for Cambodian politician Lim Kimya’s murder

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Lim Kimya’s widow is pushing Thai authorities to find out who ordered the shooting of her husband in Bangkok

Lim Kimya’s widow is pushing Thai authorities to find out who ordered the shooting of her husband in Bangkok