Thai police said on July 17 that they had identified the suspect in the poisoning that killed six people (including four Vietnamese and two Vietnamese-Americans) at the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel in central Bangkok.
The suspect is a woman named Sherine Chong (56 years old, Vietnamese American), who is believed to have poisoned the other 5 people and committed suicide with cyanide.
Cause of debt?
In addition to the suspect, the remaining American citizen is Hung Dang Van (55 years old). The four Vietnamese were announced by Thai police under the names Thi Nguyen Phuong Lan (47 years old), Hong Pham Thanh (49 years old), Dinh Tran Phu (37 years old) and Thi Nguyen Phuong (46 years old).
Two of the six dead were husband and wife. According to investigators, the daughter of one of the six dead said her parents had come to Thailand to negotiate a debt worth millions of baht.
A screen displays photos of the scene of the incident at a press conference at Lumpini Police Station - Bangkok - Thailand on July 17. Photo: REUTERS
Authorities suspect the poisoning was the result of a failed negotiation. Trirong Piupan, director of the police forensic science department, said six cups at the scene containing black coffee from an aluminum thermos believed to have belonged to the deceased tested positive for potassium cyanide (KCN, which smells like almonds and looks like sugar) in tests.
Potassium cyanide is one of the most common cyanide (-CN)-containing compounds, extremely toxic and can be fatal at low doses.
At a press conference on the afternoon of July 17, Dr. Kornkiat Vongpaisarnsin from the Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University (Thailand) said that the CT scan results did not detect any signs of trauma due to strong impact on the victim's body.
However, initial autopsies have found traces of the fast-acting, lethal chemical in each victim’s system, confirming they died from cyanide poisoning. Doctors are still awaiting results on the exact levels of cyanide in each victim’s blood.
As for the investigation into the seventh person who booked a hotel room where the incident occurred, the results showed that this person is the sister of one of the six people who died. She flew back to the country on July 10 and the police believe that this person is not related to the poisoning, according to Thai newspaper Khaosod.
Strange sediment in 6 cups of water
The Bangkok Post quoted Major General Nopasilp Poonsawat, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Department, as saying that Chong had invited the other five to invest in construction projects. Among them, a couple is said to have invested the equivalent of 10 million baht (about 7 billion VND) in a hospital project in Japan. When the projects did not progress, they took legal action.
The six were scheduled to meet in court in two weeks. Ms Chong invited the other five to meet for out-of-court negotiations. They had originally planned to go to Japan but were unable to meet there due to visa issues. So they chose to go to Bangkok.
Overview of the case of many Vietnamese people dying in a hotel in Thailand
The group arrived in Bangkok at different times and stayed in different rooms at the five-star hotel. Five people checked out at noon on July 15 (local time), 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.
At that time, 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. Since 2:17 p.m. on July 15 (local time), no one left the room. It was not until the evening of July 16 that a housekeeper discovered their bodies in the room.
Next to four of the bodies was an untouched dining table and six glasses of water that had been drunk, with strange residue. None of the victims showed signs of a struggle or attack. The room was locked from the inside, with no signs of forced entry. This detail led the police to suspect that the perpetrator was one of the group and had died.
FBI joins investigation
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said on July 17 that the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has joined the investigation into the deaths of six people at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel. According to Mr. Srettha, the reason the FBI took this action is because two of the six dead people were American citizens.
The Thai prime minister said he was still waiting for forensic evidence and initial assumptions showed this was an individual incident, not related to theft or internal security.
Meanwhile, according to CNN, the US State Department said it was "aware of the deaths of two US citizens in Bangkok". US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said Washington was closely monitoring the situation and was ready to provide consular support to the families of the deceased.
According to Mr. Miller, in the event of a US citizen's death abroad, local authorities are responsible for determining the cause of death and Washington will regularly discuss this issue with local authorities.
Spring Mai
Source: https://nld.com.vn/tham-an-dau-doc-nhom-nguoi-viet-o-bangkok-196240717200841302.htm
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