A transfer order to clear the way for an investigation into the disappearance of two barking deer was the motive for a veterinarian to slay the Zoological Park Organisation of Thailand (ZPOT) chief, its board chairman Chaowalit Chukrchorn said on Sunday.
Mr Chaowalit went from Bangkok to Songkhla on Sunday to establish the reason for vet Phuwadol Suwanna to brutally gun down ZPOT director general Suriya Saengpong at the zoo office in Songkhla's Muang district.
His assessment was in line with an investigation by police, who believed after collecting evidence and talking to witnesses on Saturday that the transfer order had driven Phuwadol to gun down his boss.
Phuwadol, who was in charge of animal health research and conservation at the zoo, fired 19 rounds from a pistol at Suriya and then left the office to commit suicide in the residential area inside the zoo compound.
The tragedy took place as the organisation was probing the disappearances of two albino barking deer from the zoo in the southern province.
The first deer vanished in February last year and the second in September.
After looking at the evidence at the zoo in Songkhla on Sunday, the zoo board chairman said he was convinced the first deer was swallowed by a python which had slipped into the compound from the forest, the original explanation given. The reason for the disappearance of the second deer remained unclear, but the internal investigation could be wrapped up by Tuesday, he added.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa ordered the probe and demanded clear explanations for the deers' disappearance, which he suspected was linked to wildlife trafficking.
Songkhla Zoo chief Chalermvudh Kasetsomboon and Phuwadol were among officials in Songkhla to be transferred to Bangkok by the ZPOT director general to clear the way for the probe.
The ZPOT director general said the transfer, which takes effect on Monday, did not mean the two were suspected of wrongdoing.
He also said that police from the Natural Resoures and Environmental Crime Suppression Division could be brought if a link to illegal animal trafficking is established.