Thai Official Kills Himself on Way to Economic Talks
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BANGKOK, Thailand — A Thai Cabinet minister shot and killed himself today as he was being driven to a special meeting to discuss the country’s new five-year economic plan, officials said.
Damrong Lathapipat, 52, minister of science, technology and energy, was reading the agenda for the Cabinet meeting when he pulled out a .38-caliber revolver and shot himself in the head, the officials said.
The shooting occurred about 8:30 a.m. when Damrong’s chauffeured Volvo pulled up in front of the Government House. Damrong died less than three hours later at Phayathai Hospital, an official statement said.
The statement did not say whether it was known why Damrong killed himself.
Damrong, a deputy chief of the Democrat Party, was widely credited with bringing science and technology to the forefront of Thailand’s development plans. He held a master’s degree from Cornell University in New York.
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