The fateful afternoon in the death room

The fateful afternoon

Hotel staff discovered the bodies in room 502 on the fifth floor of the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel at around 5:30 p.m. on July 16, a day after they were scheduled to check out.

All six people were found dead inside the room, with no signs of struggle. Their luggage was left near the front door.

CCTV footage shows that the housekeeping staff started cleaning room 502 at 1:01 p.m. on July 15, and then brought food into the room upon request. When the housekeeping staff left at 1:57 p.m., only Ms. Chong was in the room.

According to Thai media, the waiter offered to make tea but Ms. Chong refused.

At 2:04 p.m. on July 15, the others took turns dragging their suitcases into room 502. From 2:17 p.m. onwards, all six people were in the room and did not come out again.

Below is a security camera photo showing a group of 6 people apparently carrying luggage to room 502 on the 5th floor of the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel on the afternoon of July 15.

Preliminary investigation results of multiple deaths in hotel in Thailand

What do the forensic results say?

The Nation (Thailand) newspaper quoted police as saying that the autopsies of the first two bodies showed traces of cyanide.

At a press conference on the afternoon of July 17, Mr. Trirong Piupan, commander of the Police Forensic Science Department, confirmed that 6 cups of water in the room contained black coffee and tested positive for potassium cyanide. Hotel staff were the ones who brought the cups and 2 bottles of hot water, milk and teapot into the room.

"The group of six ordered food through the hotel's room service but did not touch it and only had a few drinks," said Bangkok police chief Thiti Saengsawang.

Photos of plates of fried rice, vegetables and tom yum soup still wrapped in their original packaging have gone viral online. Only one of the plates had its outer wrapping removed.

Sherine Chong, an American of Vietnamese origin, was identified by Thai police as the suspect in the poisoning of five other people. Photo: X

Related to debt

Khaosod and Bangkok Post newspapers quoted police Major General Theeradet Thumsuthee, from the Bangkok Metropolitan Police Department, as saying that Thai investigators reached their preliminary conclusions after questioning several witnesses, including the daughter of one of the dead.

"The cause is believed to be a debt problem. Police are not investigating other suspects because the room where the body was found was locked from the inside and no one else entered. There were no signs of a fight. The perpetrator was among the six people who died," Mr. Thumsuthee said.

Investigators said the dead were a group of borrowers, lenders and guarantors. The Royal Thai Police report said two of the dead were married. The amount of debt involved has not been disclosed.

Meanwhile, Khaosod newspaper wrote: "(Ms. Chong) owed a huge amount of money after she persuaded a couple in the investment group to build a hospital in Japan. However, they lost up to 10 million baht (about 278,000 USD). The couple kept asking for the debt so they finally made an appointment to meet in Japan to settle it. However, one of them failed to get a visa to Japan so they changed their plans and met in Thailand."

The group consisted of three men and three women, all of Vietnamese descent. Two of them – including Ms. Chong, 56 – are US citizens.

Multiple media outlets reported that one of the dead was Vietnamese makeup artist Phu Gia Gia, 37, who is said to have worked with Vietnamese celebrities and beauty queens.

Hotel staff found the bodies in a room on the fifth floor of the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel at around 5:30 p.m. on July 16. Photo: Bangkok Post

Bangkok police chief Thiti Saengsawang said the group booked several rooms with seven names on different floors. The seventh person was the sister of one of the dead, Khaosod said. She left Thailand on July 10 and is not suspected of being involved in the case.

The results of the autopsy are expected on July 18. The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is also assisting Thai police in the investigation. The Vietnamese Embassy in Bangkok said it is working with Thai authorities.

Grand Hyatt Erawan in the heart of Bangkok is a luxurious 5-star hotel and is very popular with tourists. The hotel is located next to Erawan Shrine, one of the most famous spiritual tourist destinations in Bangkok.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/tham-an-nguoi-viet-o-thai-lan-buoi-chieu-dinh-menh-o-can-phong-tu-than-19624071714372046.htm