The body has been identified as Tanakorn Petchchent, a representative of KT Publishing Co. Ltd.
Police said they believe the murder resulted from a dispute over inspecting copyrights.
Tanakorn, like other copyright bounty hunters, was authorised to enter shops where music or videos are played for the amusement of customers, and demand owners pay his company for the right to do so.
Such copyright bounty hunters typically demand between B3,000 and B5,000 for a year's right to play music. Such operations have come under legal scrutiny and several found to be outright frauds – not infrequently perpetrated with official connivance.
Police said people in the area heard the shots but none saw the actual assassination: "They said he was dead when they came out to look."
Police said Tanakorn had driven to the shop in a Surat-registered Honda car, parking in front. "We expect he made an appointment with the person involved to clear copyright problems," police told the press, "but seeing no agreement was forthcoming, that person decided the issue with his gun and fled before anyone saw him."
In July, earlier this year The Department of Intellectual Property held a seminar on ‘avoiding international music copyright infringement’ at the Blue Ocean Resort, Patong.
Source: Manager Online