Six people, including two Vietnamese Americans, were found dead at a luxury hotel in Bangkok, Thailand, from cyanide poisoning that police say was the cause, with one of them likely poisoning the others over a failed investment, Thai authorities said on Wednesday.
The grisly discovery was made just after 5.30pm on Tuesday at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok, a landmark five-star hotel at a central Bangkok intersection lined with shopping malls, government buildings and public transport, by a maid who discovered the bodies after they had failed to check out on time.
Four of the bodies were found in the living room and two in the bedroom. Police say all six of the deceased had died after drinking tea laced with cyanide. Police found traces of cyanide in cups and thermoses in the rooms.
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Thai police hold press conference following cyanide poisoning death (Chanakarn Laosarakham/AFP)
This was later confirmed by initial autopsies on the six bodies.
Kornkiat Vongpaisarnsin, head of the forensic medicine department at Chulalongkorn University’s faculty of medicine, said at a press conference that cyanide was detected in the blood of all six bodies and CT scans showed no signs of blunt force trauma, supporting the theory that they had been poisoned.
Bangkok police chief Lieutenant-General Thithi Sansavanh said the pair appeared to have tried to reach the door but fell before they could reach it.
Police said three of the victims were men and three were women, aged between 37 and 56.
Two of the dead were American nationals, identified as Chong She-Lin, 56, and Dang Hung Van, 55, according to the Bangkok Post.
Four of those found dead were Vietnamese, identified as Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan, 47; Pham Hong Thanh, 49; Tran Dinh Phu, 37; and Nguyen Thi Phuong, 46.
Police said a seventh person whose name was on the hotel reservation was a brother of one of the six. Police said that person had left Thailand on July 10 and was not involved in the fatal crash.
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Thai police hold press conference following cyanide death, with image of items on table (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
Prime Minister Sreta Tavisin visited the hotel and discussed the mysterious incident with investigators.
He denied the possibility of terrorism and said the incident was unlikely to affect a meeting he is planning to hold with Russian Energy Minister Sergei Tsybirev at the hotel later on Wednesday. “This is not an act of terrorism, it’s not a security breach. Everything is in order,” he said.
Bangkok deputy police chief Noppasin Pansawat said he had heard from relatives that one of the dead couple had invested about 10 million baht ($278,000) with two others and that this could have been the motive. The investment was to build a hospital in Japan and the group may have been meeting to settle the matter.
Police said one person killed the rest but did not say which of the six were suspects.
Lieutenant-General Trairong Piuphan, head of the Thai police’s forensic division, ruled out the possibility that the incident was a mass suicide as some of the victims had plans to travel in the future.
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Thai Prime Minister Surendra Thavisin (left) inspected the site. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A packed bag was left by the door, and the body was found scattered around the hotel room, giving the strong argument that she was poisoned. Food that had been ordered to her room was also left untouched.
He said the Vietnamese and US embassies had been contacted about the deaths and that the FBI was on the way.
Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman in Washington, said he was aware of the incident, offered condolences to the victims’ families, and said the US was closely monitoring the situation and would be in contact with local authorities.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The entrance to the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Bangkok. (Getty Images)
