Suspect's deadly offer

The above information was provided by Thai police on July 17 and published by the Bangkok Post.

Major General Noppasin Poonsawat, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Department, said the group arrived in Bangkok at different times and stayed in different rooms at the five-star Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel.

Apart from suspect Chong, the other five checked out at noon on July 15, but Ms. Chong kept room 502 and invited them back to continue talking. Security camera footage showed the five people arriving at room 502 with their luggage.

Ms Chong also ordered food and tea for everyone. The room service staff offered to make tea for her in the room, but the woman refused and said she would make it herself.

Trong phòng có 6 ly/tách uống dở, gồm 5 tách trên khay và 1 ly trên bàn. Ảnh: Khaosod — There are 6 half-drunk glasses/cups in the room, including 5 cups on the tray and 1 cup on the table. Photo: Khaosod

Since 2:17 p.m. on July 15 (local time), no one had left the room. On the evening of July 16, a room attendant discovered their bodies in the room, including Ms. Chong.

Police suspect that the 56-year-old Vietnamese woman used cyanide to poison the five people who were with her. Police are investigating the source of the poison. Police Forensic Science Department Chief Trairong Phiewphan said there was also cyanide in the tea bags in the room.

Gen Nopasilp said the suspects had invited the five to invest in construction projects. The couple in the group were said to have invested the equivalent of 10 million baht in a hospital project in Japan. When they saw the project stall, they sought legal intervention.

The six were scheduled to meet in court in two weeks. Ms. Chong invited the five to meet outside the court to negotiate. They had originally planned to go to Japan, but visa problems prevented them from doing so. They eventually settled on Bangkok.

The victims who died in addition to Ms. Chong were Mr. Dang Hung Van (55 years old), Tran Dinh Phu (37 years old), Nguyen Thi Phuong (46 years old), Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan (47 years old) and Pham Hong Thanh (49 years old).