A Thai court on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant for the Cambodian suspect believed to have orchestrated the crime.
“He is currently on the run,” Sanong Sangmanee, police chief of the downtown area of Bangkok where the fatal shooting happened, told AFP on Wednesday.
Public broadcaster ThaiPBS reported that the Cambodian, identified as Somwang Bamrungkit, 43, faces charges of hiring someone to commit murder and unauthorised possession and use of a firearm.
Cambodian opposition figures have accused the country’s powerful former leader Hun Sen of ordering the shooting, although a government spokesman has denied official involvement.
Earlier this week, Thai police arrested a driver accused of helping the Thai gunman escape the scene.
However, the driver claimed he was unaware of the crime when he assisted the suspect, local media reported.
Some Thai media reports said Ekkalak was paid 60,000 baht (US$1,700) for the killing, but police say he has claimed he did not receive payment, and took the job “to pay a debt of gratitude”.
