Here is a report from Bangkok Post early this year:
TAO chief killed by masked man
Shot in daylight, talking to friends
A local administrative organisation chief and business tycoon was shot
dead by a masked gunman on Tao island early yesterday morning.
Virat Asavachin, 42, chairman of Tambon Koh Tao Administrative
Association, was shot while talking with three friends near Ree beach.
A lone gunman, his face covered with a woollen mask, walked up to the
group and fired six shots at Mr Virat, police said.
One of the bullets entered his left ear.
The gunman then walked calmly away towards the main road, witnesses told
police.
The dead man's wife, Ramluek, 29, and tambon organisation officials were
questioned yesterday as police investigators looked for a motive.
The investigators suspected the attack arose from either a business
conflict or a dispute over work in the tambon.
The victim owned Ban's Diving, a 100-million-baht diving business and
the largest dive shop on the resort island.
He recently began a ferry boat business serving the Chumphon-Koh Tao route.