SONGKHLA: A joint task force has been set up to investigate the murder of a former police officer who was shot to death in front of his house in Muang district on Tuesday afternoon, police said on Wednesday.
Pol Capt Watcharin Benjathotsawat, 48, a former deputy superintendent of investigations for Songkhla's police headquarters, was shot three times at point blank range outside his house on Soi Prasanmit 2 in tambon Khao Roop Chang.
He was known to be working with volunteer lawyers to help crime victims who believe that they have not been treated fairly by the police.
Police said the victim was hit in the chest and chin just after he had finished parking his car in front of his house. Pol Capt Watcharin was later pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Pol Maj Gen Preeda Piamwaree, chief of Songkhla police, said the joint task force consists of members of Songkhla's provincial police, Muang district police, Provincial Police Region 9 officers, as well as investigators from the Crime Suppression Division (CSD).
"The team is currently examining security camera footage from around the area after several witnesses claimed to have seen a black car following the victim's vehicle to his house," said Pol Maj Gen Preeda.
"However, it is too early to pin down a possible motive for the killing at this stage."
A source close to the investigation said on Wednesday investigators have obtained footage from several surveillance cameras that shows three or four people riding inside a black Nissan that matched the witnesses' descriptions.
However, the car seen in footage had fake car registration plates, the source said.
The police said that Pol Capt Watcharin's murder could be linked to his investigation of a case that involves a businessman and a senior police officer, or a personal matter relating to his property dealings.
According to the same source, footage from the dashboard camera in the victim's car revealed that Pol Capt Watcharin was talking on the phone with a lawyer when the shots were fired.