The gunman who killed a former Cambodian opposition MP in inner Bangkok last week refused to reveal the mastermind behind the assassination out of fear for his family's safety, according to police.
Pol Maj Gen Atthaporn Wongsiripreeda, commander of Metropolitan Police Division 1, said on Sunday that Ekkalak Pheanoi was questioned until about 10pm on Saturday. He confessed to killing the Cambodian but refused to identify the mastermind.
According to the police division commander, the 42-year-old former marine admitted that he was the hitman who killed Lim Kimya in Phra Nakhon district of Bangkok and was captured on CCTV footage at the crime scene and along his escape route last Tuesday.
“He refused to give in-depth information… and feared that such information would affect some party,” Pol Maj Gen Atthaporn said.
On Saturday, Mr Ekkalak refused to meet his relatives – including his mother – who paid a visit, the Bangkok police division commander said. He told his mother by phone that he wanted to be punished in prison and then ended the call.
Mr Ekkalak aka Sergeant Em also refused to identify the person who orchestrated the assassination. He was also unwilling to re-enact the crime and seek bail.
A police source confirmed that Mr Ekkalak confessed to the murder but would not finger any other suspect. He told police that he did not want to bring trouble to his family and other people close to him.
After the murder, Mr Ekkalak fled to Cambodia where he was arrested on Wednesday and extradited on Saturday.
Lim Kimya, 73, arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday evening after travelling by bus from Siem Reap, Cambodia. He was shot dead in front of his wife and brother by a waiting gunman.
The victim was a member of the Cambodia National Rescue Party, a popular opposition group that was dissolved by a court over an alleged treason plot ahead of a 2018 election. The party dismissed the alleged plot as a fabrication by the Hun Sen regime.
His French wife planned to bring his body to France for a funeral. The body was being kept at Vajira Hospital in Bangkok.