Bangkok - The owner of a newspaper in the Thai beach resort town of Pattaya was tied up, blindfolded and shot dead, possibly because of his work as a journalist, said police on Wednesday.

Lieutenant general Achirawit Suwanpasat said: "Police have established two possible motives for the killing - either his gambling habit or his work as a journalist."

Santi owned the Thai-language Pattaya Post, and worked as a freelancer for the military-owned Channel 7 television station as well as for several newspapers.

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