In a chilling incident that has sent shockwaves through the Thai capital, six individuals, including two Vietnamese-Americans, were discovered dead in a high-end Bangkok hotel.
The victims, according to Thai authorities, succumbed to cyanide poisoning, with one of them suspected of poisoning the others over a contentious investment.
The grim discovery was made at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok, a five-star hotel that stands as a landmark in a bustling intersection of the city, teeming with malls, government buildings, and public transit. A hotel maid stumbled upon the bodies on Tuesday evening, after the group failed to check out as scheduled, as reported by Fox News.
The victims were found scattered across the hotel room, four in the living room and two in the bedroom. The police have confirmed that all six individuals had consumed cyanide-laced tea, as evidenced by traces of cyanide found in the cups and thermoses in the room. The initial autopsy results corroborated this theory.
Kornkiat Vongpaisarnsin, head of the forensic medicine department at Chulalongkorn Universitys medical school, confirmed the presence of cyanide in the blood of all six victims. A CAT scan revealed no signs of blunt force trauma, further supporting the poisoning theory. Bangkok police chief Lt. Gen. Thiti Sangsawang added that two of the victims seemed to have attempted to escape but collapsed before reaching the door.
The victims, three men and three women aged between 37 and 56, included two American citizens identified as Chong Sherine, 56, and Dang Hung Van, 55. The remaining four victims were Vietnamese nationals. A seventh individual, a sibling of one of the victims, was part of the hotel booking but had left Thailand on July 10 and was not implicated in the deaths.
Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, who visited the hotel to discuss the case with investigators, dismissed the possibility of a terrorist act. He assured that the incident would not impact a scheduled conference with Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsivilev at the hotel. "This wasnt an act of terrorism or a breach in security. Everything is fine," he stated.
Bangkok deputy police chief Noppasin Punsawat suggested a possible motive behind the tragedy. He revealed that a couple among the deceased had invested about 10 million baht ($278,000) with two of the other victims for a hospital project in Japan. The group might have convened to resolve issues related to this investment. While the police believe one of the six victims poisoned the others, they have not yet identified the suspect.
Lt. Gen. Trairong Piwpan, chief of the Thai police force's forensic division, ruled out mass suicide, citing future travel plans of some victims. The presence of packed luggage at the door and untouched food in the room further bolstered the poisoning theory.
The Vietnamese and U.S. embassies have been notified about the incident, and the FBI is on its way to Bangkok. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and assured that the U.S. is closely monitoring the situation and will maintain communication with local authorities.
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