Controversy over suicide of Maikhao tambon boss

MAIKHAO: As reported earlier by the Phuket Gazette Online, the president of the Maikhao Tambon Administrative Council (OrBorTor), Boonchoo Rakrungsimansuk, 55, apparently took his life on December 17 by drinking a liter of pesticide. The police have confirmed that the death was a suicide and have declared the case “closed”. Dollar Loala, a member of OrBorTor Maikhao, disagrees and thinks the case should remain open. “There had to be some story behind it,” he says — “something very serious that could pressure him that much.” The pressure, Khun Dollar believes, surrounds a five-star hotel project that Boonchoo had approved just a day before his death. “Normally, for this type of project, the approval has to be agreed upon from the bottom up. But this time, it seems as if there was an order coming down from higher officers.” Phuket Governor Charnchai Soontharamut disagrees. “As far as I know, no one ordered that the project be approved, and besides, if we look at all the documents related to the hotel, everything is correct. The project already had approval from the environment committee.” “It could be something about his job. He was new as the president, and I’ve heard that he was a very responsible man. He could have been under a lot of stress.”