[Quaganoca]

A border patrol policeman shot himself dead while travelling on a Hat Yai-Bangkok tour bus on Monday night, police said.

Police from Muang district police station in Chumphon province went to the Chumphon Muang Mai bus station in tambon Khun Krathing after being informed of the suicide.

At the bus station, the body of Pol Lance Corporal Thirathep Thongchan, 32, a native of Ubon Ratchathani province, was found on Seat No 9. He was shot in the in the head, in the left temple. A .357 calibre pistol was found near his body.

Bus driver Kosol Raman-udom, 46, said the policeman boarded the bus, along with other passengers, shortly before it departed Hat Yai for Bangkok at 7pm on Monday.

When the bus was about 1km from Chumphon Muang Mai bus station he heard a gunshot and was told by some passengers that a passenger shot himself on the upper floor of the double-decker bus.

He informed the police of the incident immediately on arriving at the bus station in Chumphon, Mr Kosol said.

Police learned from his ID that Pol L/Cpl Thirathep was attached to the Border Patrol Police Company 44 based in Yala province.

A letter to a superior found on his body said he had repeatedly requested a transfer out of Yala, but his requests had been refused.

His suicide was believed to have been the result of extreme stress.