Image caption It's not clear if Mr Boonsong realised that the gun was loaded

Police in Thailand say that they will charge a member of the Thai parliament with causing death by negligence for accidentally shooting his secretary dead with a submachine gun.

They say that the accident happened in a restaurant on Sunday night.

Senator Boonsong Kowawisarat took out a 9mm Uzi submachine gun while waiting for food, the Bangkok Post reported.

He told police the gun accidentally discharged and his secretary was shot in the stomach.

Police say that the shooting happened in Phrae province, northern Thailand.

Police say that because Mr Boonsong was in shock after the incident, the restaurant owner rushed the secretary to hospital where she succumbed to gunshot wounds.

Correspondents say that it is not clear whether Mr Boonsong knew the gun was loaded before the shooting.

"From our initial inquiry, the secretary's family will not sue because they were relatives and it was an accident - he did not mean to do it," a local police officer told AFP by telephone.

Officials said it was also unclear why the senator was armed at the meal.

Police have yet to arrest the senator - a member of the upper house of the Thai parliament - as he is protected by parliamentary privilege, the Bangkok Post reported.

Mr Boonsong faces a maximum of 10 years imprisonment and a 20,000 baht ($636;£405) fine if convicted.