Police have found a suicide note believed to have been left by former permanent secretary for social development and human security, Puttipat Lertchaowasit, a source says.
Puttipat, 60, was the key suspect in a high-profile state fund embezzlement scandal when he was found dead alongside his common-law wife, Wassana Tapaopong, 49, in a second-floor bedroom at their home in Pathum Thani's Muang district on Friday, in an incident which authorities believe to be a failed double suicide attempt.
They believe the couple swallowed pills with alcohol after finding two glasses of wine beside their bed.
The note indicates that Puttipat wanted his funeral rites to be held for only two days before the cremation, according to the source.
His family collected the body for the funeral rites on Saturday.
Initial examination by the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police General Hospital found Puttipat's respiratory and circulatory systems had failed, according to a source. It will take up to 45 days to complete the autopsy and ascertain what substance caused his death, the source said.
Anukul Thaithanan, director of Pathum Thani hospital, confirmed that Ms Wassana, who survived Friday's incident, had regained consciousness after having her stomach pumped.
Dr Anukul said she still was being treated in an intensive care unit at the hospital, and could not say at this point when she will be moved to a normal in-patient ward.
Another source cited information obtained from a close aide of Puttipat's suggesting that he had complained on several occasions that he wanted to take his own life. He was under stress due to the investigation, the source said.
Puttipat was the most senior government official facing a disciplinary investigation over the large-scale embezzlement of government funds for the destitute.
The probe encompasses 95 officials and has continued to grow as authorities extend its reach to centres nationwide. The initial probe also implicated his deputy, Narong Kongkam. In February Mr Puttipat and Mr Narong were transferred to inactive posts by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha while the investigation got under way.
The probe began after students from Mahasarakham University complained they were ordered to forge signatures for the disbursement of funds when they worked as interns at a protection centre in Khon Kaen province earlier this year. Investigations have found that people registered as destitute either received partial assistance or no aid at all.
Police investigators have questioned Puttipat's driver and housemaid but have yet to fully piece together the events leading to his death, said Pol Lt Co Wisit Ma-aksorn, deputy chief of Muang district police in Pathum Thani. The investigators have requested mobile phone records, in the hope they might provide further clues, Pol Lt Co Wisit said.
Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) secretary-general Korntip Daroj insisted on Friday the PACC investigation into corruption at the protection centre was based on evidence relating to the wrongdoing, rather than any bias for or against particular suspects.
