Tawatchai, who was accused of illegitimately issuing title deeds worth more than Bt10 billion, died on August 30 in suspicious circumstances while in the custody of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI).
DSI officials initially claimed that he hanged himself with socks inside his detention cell but the results of a preliminary autopsy showed that Tawatchai died of a ruptured liver as well as asphyxiation.