The alleged assassin of former Cambodian opposition MP Lim Kimya has claimed that he was offered 60,000 baht by an unnamed individual for the hit, according to Pol Maj-Gen Atthaporn Wongsiripreeda, commander of Metropolitan Police First Division.
The suspect, Ekaluck Paenoi, was questioned for about two hours today at the Chana Songkhram police station in Bangkok, after being extradited from Cambodia.
Ekaluck claimed that he was approached by the individual, whose identity was not disclosed by the police, the day before Kimya’s arrival in Bangkok on Thursday, but he initially rejected the offer.
That individual called him again several times with the same offer and he eventually agreed to take the contract, with half of the money to be paid before the shooting.
He said he used 2,000 baht of the advance payment to redeem his handgun, which he had a pawned.
After accepting the job, Ekaluck said that he received a message via a popular messaging app providing information about Kimya’s itinerary.
After the shooting, Ekaluck claims to have received more messages, via the same application, providing details of his escape route and the location of where he should hide in Cambodia.
