An elephant handler has been charged over the tragic death of a Scottish tourist killed by the animal, according to Thai local media.
Gareth Crowe, 36, was trekking with the elephant alongside step-daughter Eilidh Hughes, 16, with a local guide on the tropical island of Ko Samui when it fatally gorged him on Sunday.
Police have said initial investigations suggest the trainer’s recklessness contributed to the death.
They say he neglected his duty by climbing down from the elephant’s neck to take photos of the tourists, before losing control of the animal.
The handler, also known as a mahout, is a Burmese national, working in Thailand.
Bo Put Provincial Police Station Director Pol Col Thewet Pluemsut has said pictures from Mr Crowe’s camera shows the moment the mahout climbed off the elephant to take photos, proving his “inattentiveness”.
According to the National News Bureau Thailand, the handler, named as Saw Win Tun, 37, told police that Mr Crowe and his step-daughter were feeding the elephant bananas.
But he he said when the animal put up its trunk asking for more, Mr Crowe would offer the fruit before pulling it away.
And he said he believes the flash on the camera is what caused the elephant to attack.
The mahout has been charged over his inattentiveness which resulted in death and injuries and was due to appear in Koh Samui Provincial Court yesterday (Fri).
Mr Crowe, from Linwood, Renfrewshire, was on the island with his partner Catherine Hughes, 42, mother to Eilidh and her brother Mark, who decided not to go on the trek.
Witnesses said the mahout climbed down to take photos of the tourists when the elephant threw the father and daughter off its back before trampling the man and stabbing him in the chest with a tusk, killing him instantly.
The teenage girl is said to have escaped with minor injuries in the fall as the elephant ran off into the forest.
She is being treated at hospital.
Earlier in the week, Mr Crowe’s brother, Michael, refuted claims that he had been provoking the elephant with a banana.
He also said their aim was to get him and his family home.
He said: “I don’t think that’s happened.
“From everyone that was there they have said that’s not the case. It’s not in his character.”
The family are understood to be making plans to bring Gareth’s body back to the UK.