Foreigners who died in Bangkok hotel were poisoned, Thai police say
They say some of those involved had argued over a property investment.
Updated July 17, 2024, 11:10 a.m. ET.
The six foreigners whose bodies were found by staff at Bangkok’s luxury Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel were poisoned, Thai police said at a news briefing Wednesday.
There were traces in cups in the room where the three men and three women were discovered on Tuesday evening. Two of the six were Vietnamese Americans and four were Vietnamese nationals.
“We found cyanide in the teacups. One of them was definitely the culprit,” Police Maj. Gen. Noppasin Punsawat, Bangkok deputy police chief said, adding that CCTV cameras showed no one else had entered the room.
Noppasin said there had been a dispute between U.S. citizens Sherine Chong, 56, and Dang Hung Van, 55, and at least two of the other four. He said Chong was given an equivalent of 10 million baht (US$278,000) to invest in the construction of a hospital in Japan but was suspected of cheating her partners after the project made no progress.
“This case is about personal conflict. No trans-border criminals were involved,” he said.
Police identified the four Vietnamese citizens as married couple Pham Hong Thanh, 49, and Nguyen Thi Phuong, 46 – who believed they had been cheated by Chong – along with Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan, 47, and Tran Dinh Phu, 37.
A seventh person, thought to have been part of the group and a sibling of one of the dead, returned to Vietnam on July 10, police said, adding that they believe she had no involvement in the deaths.
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Hotel security staff entered Suite 502 from the back door after the group failed to check out on Tuesday. The front door to the room had been locked from the inside. Police said the bodies had probably been there for around 24 hours. Thai authorities said Wednesday that an initial autopsy found traces of cyanide in the bodies of the six.
The FBI and Vietnamese officials are working alongside Thai police to track the group’s movements and interview any witnesses, Noppasin said.
Coordination and verification
Vietnam’s ambassador to Thailand Pham Viet Hung met with Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin on Tuesday to discuss the case, Vietnamese media reported.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, Pham Thu Hang, said in a statement on Wednesday that the ministry was working with Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security to verify the identities of the four Vietnamese citizens.
“Additionally, the Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok was also working closely with Thai authorities to investigate the incident and with relevant Vietnamese agencies to inform the bereaved families and take necessary citizen protection measures,” she said.
The U.S. State Department said it was aware of the deaths of two of its citizens.
“We offer our sincere condolences to the families on their loss. We are closely monitoring the situation and stand ready to provide consular assistance to those families,” spokesman Matthew Miller said at a briefing in Washington.
After visiting the scene Tuesday night, Thailand’s prime minister ordered a swift investigation to avoid any negative impact on tourism.
Former Police Col. Wirut Sirisawatdibutr, a secretary-general of the Institute for Justice System Reform, said the police should resist any political pressure to wrap up the case too quickly.
“There’s an effort to minimize damage to the country’s image, as the prime minister immediately visited the scene and stated it’s not related to safety issues, to avoid impacting tourism and the economy,” he said.
“The police must clarify the case to eliminate public doubts. They must find evidence of how much cyanide was used to cause multiple simultaneous deaths, and how it was mixed into the drink.”
Edited by Mike Firn and Taejun Kang.
Nontarat Phaicharoen in Bangkok contributed to this story.
This story has been updated to add comment from Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
