No final conclusion has been reached on the death of construction tycoon Chuwong Sae Tang, despite reports investigators had confirmed their earlier finding that it was an accident, assistant police chief Prawut Thawornsiri said on Tuesday.
He said no decision had been made whether he was killed by a car accident, or if it was murder.
Police were still waiting for information from automobile experts, especially about vertical impacts with hard objects inside the vehicle as the possible cause of death.
Pol Lt Gen Prawut said they were still in the process of gathering and examining evidence for a thorough analysis.
On Monday, Pol Col Taweerat Sritawatpong, deputy chief of Metropolitan Police Division 4 announced that investigators had, after a second investigation, confirmed their finding that Chuwong Sae Tang was killed in a car accident in Bangkok's Prawet district last month.
The investigation was reopened after the dead man's family filed a complaint with the Damrongtham Centre at Government House. They suspected foul play.
Chuwong was found dead in the front passenger seat of a Lexus sports utility vehicle after it hit a roadside tree on Chaloerm Phrakiat Road, Prawet district, on June 26. Pol Lt Col Banyin Tangpakorn, a former deputy commerce minister who was driving the car, received minor injuries in the crash. The right front side of the car was damaged.
Police investigators concluded Chuwong's death was an accident. He died from a head injury.
Pol Col Taweerat said that in their re-investigation police had examined footage from security cameras along the road, looking for the other car which Pol Lt Col Banyin said cut in front of his vehicle, causing him to lose control and crash into the tree.
The investigators found no trace of that car, he said.
The re-investigation looked into every point raised by Chuwong's family, but nothing suspicious was found. A re-examination of evidence from both the Scientific Crime Detection Division and the Institute of Forensic Medicine confirmed that the car crash was an accident, he said.
Pol Col Taweerat said he would submit the new investigation report to his commanders and invite the family in for an explanation.