Police suspect former Thai Airways International (THAI) president ACM Prayad Didyasarin, who was found dead near the crematorium in Wat Phrasi Mahathat, might have committed suicide.
Police seal off the area where ex-Thai Airways head ACM Prayad Didyasarin, inset, was found dead at a Bang Khen temple yesterday. Pattarapong Chatpattarasill
Bang Khen police chief Natthawit Sittharom said an initial investigation revealed ACM Prayad, 91, who once served in the top job at THAI, might have suffered from depression and other illnesses.
Police suspect these conditions might have led to acute stress, persuading ACM Prayad to end his life with a handgun, Pol Col Natthawit said during his examination of the death scene Wednesday.
However, police investigators are waiting for autopsy results and are interrogating ACM Prayad's relatives to establish the exact cause of death.
Evidence at the scene suggests he killed himself with his personal weapon, Metropolitan Police Bureau chief Sriwara Rangsipramanakul said.
His gun is a .38-calibre pistol with a wooden grip.
Forensic experts also found a spent bullet near the body beside his walking cane, glasses and a cloth bag.
Police were told of his death in the morning when a resident living near the temple in Bang Khen district found his body near the air force crematorium.
Khian Khamsaen, 74, a former temple worker, said he heard a gunshot about 4am from inside the temple grounds while at home with his wife.
He told police he assumed somebody was firing an air gun at a dog in the temple and the projectile hit the roof of his house. His daughter-in-law later found the corpse.
ACM Prayad was a former assistant commander in the air force and a senator in 1992.
He was the father of Grp Capt Virayuth Didyasarin.