Murder-suicide: 6 Vietnamese deaths linked to 10 million baht debt

Following the suspicious deaths of six Vietnamese nationals at a hotel in Bangkok, Thai police discovered that one of the deceased, a Vietnamese-American woman, allegedly poisoned her friends before committing suicide with the toxin over a 10 million baht debt.

The Metropolitan Police Bureau of Thailand revealed more details of the case in a press conference, today, July 17, following an investigation into the deaths of the six foreigners, whose bodies were discovered last night.

The deceased were identified as American citizens Sherine Chong (56 years old) and Dang Hung Van (55 years old), and Vietnamese nationals 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).

Dang Hung Van and Thi Nguyen Phuong were a married couple. Police questioned their children and found that they invested 10 million baht in a hospital project in Japan with Sherine Chong. The project had not progressed, leading to a dispute over the funds.

The group, initially planning to meet in Japan to resolve the issue, changed their destination to Thailand due to visa problems. It remains unclear whether the other deceased were also investors in the project.

Seven hotel rooms were booked for the group but only six individuals checked in. The seventh person, a sister of one of the deceased, was not involved in the incident.

The individuals checked in on different days between July 14 and 15, later gathering in a room booked under Chong’s name.

Hotel staff reported serving food and tea to the group for the last time at 1.57pm. According to the deputy police chief, a waiter offered to make tea for the guests but Chong refused this. The waiter recalled that she “spoke very little and was visibly under stress.”

The waiter later left the room and no one else is believed to have entered apart from the six inside. Police say there were no signs of a struggle or a robbery.

Police suspect Chong used this opportunity to lace the tea with cyanide, serving it to others before consuming it herself. Police believe her motive was an inability to repay the investment money.

Cyanide was found in all six teacups, as well as in the blood system of one of the deceased and two stainless tumblers.

Searches of their luggage did not uncover any illegal items but a land litigation document dating back to 2022 was found in Chong’s belongings.

One of the victims, Dinh Tran Phu, was a well-known makeup artist in Vietnam with over 15,000 followers on his Facebook page, Phú Gia Gia (I’m Makeup Artist).

UPDATE 1: Cyanide poisoning suspected in deaths of 6 Vietnamese nationals

A Thai academic suspects that cyanide poisoning may have been used in the deaths of six Vietnamese nationals at a hotel in Bangkok.

The deaths of the six Vietnamese visitors came to light at approximately 7.30pm, yesterday, July 16. They were found lifeless in the same room on the fifth floor of a luxury hotel, reported to be the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel, located in Bangkok’s city centre. The original report stated they were found on the sixth floor.

Two of the Vietnamese nationals also held American citizenship. It was reported on DailyNews that each of them was frequent visitors to Thailand but the police have not yet confirmed this information.

According to reports from Brick Info TV, each Vietnamese tourist arrived in Thailand alone. They checked into separate rooms located on the fifth to seventh floors of the hotel, later gathering in a single room on the fifth floor.

The group had booked seven hotel rooms but only five members checked in. Despite this, six bodies were discovered in the room. According to the police report, they had not yet paid for their accommodation. Officers are also investigating whether there was a mistake in booking the room or if the seventh person did not attend the scheduled meeting.

Upon inspecting the room, investigators found that six plates of Thai food had been ordered, all left untouched. However, empty cups in the room indicated that each person had consumed tea or coffee before their death.

Two suspicious stainless-steel tumblers were discovered in the room, though their contents have not been disclosed. Additionally, officers located a packet of tea and two opened bottles of water and mineral water.

Cyanide effect

Samples of all the food and drinks were collected for further investigation, as poisoning is suspected to be the main cause of death. Officers also plan to investigate the luggage left unpacked in the room.

Police further reported that the fingers and toes of the deceased had turned dark. However, this does not confirm poisoning, as it could be due to the bodies being undiscovered for about 24 hours.

A well-known academic and professor from Kasetsart University, Weerachai Phutdhawong, suspected that the Vietnamese nationals may have been poisoned with cyanide.

Phutdhawong posted on Facebook that he had seen photographs of the bodies and other evidence from the hotel room. He suggested that cyanide might be involved because each deceased person had bruises and pink skin. Furthermore, he noted that a person dying from cyanide poisoning would not exhibit foam at the mouth.

The professor also highlighted that each Vietnamese individual appeared to have died suddenly, which is consistent with the effects of cyanide, known to cause rapid death in sufficient quantities.

However, Professor Phutdhawong advised the public to await comprehensive autopsy results for each body, as well as the examination of the food and beverages found in the room.

ORIGINAL STORY: 6 Vietnamese nationals found dead at hotel in Bangkok

Six Vietnamese nationals mysteriously died today at a luxury hotel in Bangkok after allegedly drinking tea and coffee mixed with poison. Police believe there may be a seventh Vietnamese but that individual has not been located.

The deaths of the six foreigners were reported to the Metropolitan Police Bureau at approximately 7.30pm today, July 16. They were reportedly found lifeless in the same room on the sixth floor of the luxury hotel near the Ratchaprasong intersection.

The name of the hotel has not yet been confirmed, but some news agencies reported that it was the five-star Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel.

According to a report on Brick Info TV, they were scheduled to check out today, and all of their belongings were packed up ready to leave.

Several Thai news agencies initially reported that all of the foreigners had died in a shooting. However, police later confirmed that there were no traces of fighting or struggling found at the scene.

The Commander of the Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, Teeradate Thammasutee, arrived at the scene at about 8.30pm. Teeradate reported that all of the deceased were Vietnamese nationals, and two of them also held American citizenship.

They are identified as below:

• Sherine Chong (56 years old)

• Hung Dang Van (55 years old)

• Thi Nguyen Phuong Lan (47 years old)

• Hong Pham Thanh (49 years old)

• Dinh Tran Phu (37 years old)

• Thi Nguyen Phuong (46 years old)

According to Teeradate, police suspected that the victims were poisoned, as leftover tea and coffee were found at the scene. However, officers will transfer the bodies to the Police General Hospital for a thorough autopsy.

Regarding the motive for the murders, officers believe it might be related to a business or personal conflict among the deceased. Another possibility is that the deaths were a sacrifice to some cult.

The Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, Torsak Sukvimol, arrived at the scene at about 8.30pm. According to Torsak, each Vietnamese individual arrived in Thailand at different times and entered the country on tourist visas.

The investigation into the cause and motive of their deaths continues.

More to follow.