Ministry of Foreign Affairs speaks out about the deaths of 4 Vietnamese in Thailand

Regarding the death of a group of four Vietnamese tourists and two Americans at a hotel in Bangkok (Thailand), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has directed the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand to coordinate with relevant agencies to clarify the matter.

The information was stated in the citizen protection bulletin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the morning of June 17. Immediately after receiving information about the incident at a hotel in Bangkok (Thailand), following the direction of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Vietnamese Ambassador to Thailand Pham Viet Hung and embassy staff went to the scene and are closely coordinating with Thai authorities and relevant units of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to closely monitor the incident. The units are clarifying information, identifying the victims, and are ready to deploy necessary citizen protection measures.

Thai police work at the scene on July 16 (Photo: Thaiger).

Earlier on July 16, Thai police said they had discovered the bodies of six foreign tourists at the luxury Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel in Bangkok. Police received the report late in the afternoon of the same day. According to the Bangkok Post, among the victims were two Asian Americans, Dang Hung Van (55 years old) and Chong Sherine (56 years old). The remaining four victims were Vietnamese: Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan (47 years old), Pham Hong Thanh (49 years old), Tran Dinh Phu (37 years old), and Nguyen Thi Phuong (46 years old). Thai media quoted police as saying that the victims' bodies were discovered in one of the hotel rooms when staff came to check because the guests were about to check out. Their luggage had already been packed. The incident was discovered at around 7:30 p.m. on July 16 local time. At a press conference late on July 16, Bangkok police commander Major General Thiti Saengsawang said: "This is not a suicide but a murder case. We are tracing all the details from when they got off the plane." The official added that a preliminary examination found no evidence of injuries related to a fight or theft, but showed that all six victims were poisoned.

Police at the hotel where the bodies of a group of Vietnamese tourists were found in Bangkok (Photo: Reuters).

"We need to find out the motive for the case. What we can prove now is that they did not commit suicide but were murdered," he said. Police added that only one victim had a wound on the face, possibly from falling on a hard object. The two victims, a man and a woman, appeared to have tried to crawl to the door. Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin arrived at the scene at the hotel with senior police officials and directed a quick investigation to clarify the incident, avoiding negative impacts on the domestic tourism industry. Speaking at a press conference, Prime Minister Srettha said authorities needed to conduct an autopsy, but ruled out the hypothesis that this was a murder or robbery. "Investigators suspect the victims died about 24 hours ago. According to initial observations at the crime scene, there were no signs of robbery and violence," he said. Source: https://dantri.com.vn/xa-hoi/bo-ngoai-giao-len-tieng-vu-4-nguoi-viet-tu-vong-o-thai-lan-20240717090229418.htm