Thai Police Hunt Suspect Over Cambodian Politician Shooting

Fahad Shabbir (@FahadShabbir) Published January 08, 2025 | 11:01 AM

Bangkok, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 8th Jan, 2025) Thai police on Wednesday issued an arrest warrant for a gunman suspected of shooting dead a Cambodian opposition politician in a brazen attack in downtown Bangkok.

Exiled Cambodian opposition figurehead Sam Rainsy accused the country's powerful former leader Hun Sen of ordering the killing of Lim Kimya on Tuesday.

Lim Kimya was shot dead by a gunman on a motorbike as he arrived in the Thai capital from the Cambodian city of Siem Reap by bus, accompanied by his French wife.

Police have issued a warrant for the suspected shooter, who was not named, with local media reporting that the wanted man is a former Thai marine.

"We are investigating the motives. As of now, we don't have much information apart from the fact that he works as a motorcycle taxi driver," area police chief Sanong Sangmanee told AFP.

Scores of Cambodian opposition activists have fled to Thailand in recent years to avoid alleged repression at home. Some were arrested and deported back to the country.

Hun Sen ruled Cambodia with an iron fist for nearly four decades, with rights groups accusing him of using the legal system to crush opposition to his rule.

He stepped down and handed power to his son Hun Manet in 2023 but is still seen as a major power in the kingdom.