Bangkok cyanide poisoning: What we know so far

By Joel Guinto & BBC Vietnamese ServiceBBC News

EPA Grand Hyatt Erawan Bangkok uneaten food of cyanide poisoning victimsEPA

Before police officers opened the door to the second floor of the Grand Hyatt Erawan in Bangkok, there was little to suggest what had transpired.

No-one was heard to cry, or had rung for help. No-one had also made it to the entrance.

Yet inside, it appeared to be showing no signs of conflict, with the unopened late breakfast still waiting patiently on the table for the guests to enjoy.

The group’s soon check out of the resort was the only sign of the dread inside the locked area, according to the outside of Room 502.

And still in were six body, opposite tea cups laced with poison.

No time did it take the police to determine whether the room’s occupants had consumed the contaminated drink or to identify the suspected victims.

But time after authorities revealed the terrible discovery, great concerns remain: why them- and who did it?

Who were the six people who passed away?

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Four of the patients are Taiwanese citizens- Thi Nguyen Phuong, 46, her father Hong Pham Thanh, 49, Thi Nguyen Phuong Lan, 47, and Dinh Tran Phu, 37.

The various two are National people of Asian origin- Sherine Chong, 56, and Dang Hung Van, 55.

According to investigators, Chong was believed to have borrowed 10 million baht ($ 280, 000, £215, 000 ) from husband and wife Hong Pham Thanh and Thi Nguyen Phuong to invest in a hospital building project in Japan. The pair, who owned a design firm, had apparently tried in vain to get their money up.

In truth, it was scheduled to take place in Japan in a few days.

On the face of it, this appointment appeared to be an attempt to talk about the matter in advance of the situation.

Chong, who according to US media reported living in Oakland, California, had asked her to serve as her entity with the few regarding the purchase, so Thi Nguyen Phuong Lan was present.

But how were the various two connected to the situation?

At the meeting working for Chong, Dinh Tran Phu, a powerful make-up actor whose audience includes Vietnamese artists, actors, and beauty kings, was present.

His father, speaking to BBC Vietnamese, emphasised the point he had travelled to Thailand with his ordinary users, certainly with strangers.

A close companion, however, said he knew both Thi Nguyen Phuong and Thi Nguyen Phuong Lan, having introduced them to solutions at a friend’s resort in Da Nang, where he lived.

Dang Hung Van’s participation in the hotel suite meeting was not immediately clear.

The hotel appointment had a sixth name, according to police, the sister of one of the six. That man left Thailand last week and went back to Vietnam, but authorities said she was uninvolved in the event.

What transpired in the hotel hotel?

Over the weekend, the group checked into the hotel separately, and they were given five rooms, four of which were on the sixth floor and one of the second.

Chong checked into Room 502 on Sunday. The five others came to see her in her collection that morning, but they each returned to their particular sleeping quarters for the evening.

Before noon on Monday, Dang Hung Van ordered six cups of tea while Dinh Tran Phu, the make-up designer, ordered fried corn from their respective areas. They asked that it be delivered to Room 502 at 14: 00 local period.

Chong started receiving the meal purchases at Room 502 a few minutes before 14:00. At the time, she was by herself in the hotel.

According to authorities, she turned down the customer’s offer to make teas for her gathering. Additionally, the servant discovered that she” spoke very little and was clearly under anxiety.”

Shortly after that, the rest of the team began arriving. The pair went in lugging a briefcase.

At 14: 17, all six could be seen by the entrance before it was shut. From that point on, there was no indication of internal activity.

They had planned to arrive on Monday, but they omitted to do so.

Officers discovered the six dead on the floor when they entered the room at 16:30 on Tuesday.

Reuters A screen displays the crime scene diagram during a presser following a case of six foreign nationals who were found dead inside a room at Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel at Lumpini Police Station, in Bangkok, Thailand, July 17, 2024Reuters

The first investigation revealed that two initially attempted to get to the suite’s entry, but they were unable to do so on time.

All the body bore indications of poison poison, which may- in particular doses- kill within minutes. Their inner organs turned “blood purple,” another indication of cyanide poisoning, while their teeth and claws had turned black purple, indicating a lack of oxygen.

Researchers claim that” no other trigger” exists that would account for their deaths, “aside from cyanide.”

To rule out any additional waste and identify the “intensity” of the deadly substance, more checks are being conducted.

Cyanide starves the body’s tissue of air, which can cause heart attacks. First symptoms include dizziness, shortness of breath and diarrhea.

Those found using it illegally in Thailand are subject to two-year prison sentences.

Who poisoned them?

Police have not named the deceased, but they believe one of the deceased was responsible for the poison and was motivated by mounting debts.

According to Vietnamese outlet VN Express, investigators said Chong had been sued by all the other five over their failed investments.

The gathering in Bangkok was called to discuss a lawsuit, but the effort failed.

What additional turns are researchers chasing?

Getty Images Tourists in Thai traditional dress take a selfie at Wat Arun on Vesak Day in Bangkok, Thailand on May 22, 2024. Getty Images

Authorities have sought a declaration from the group’s visit manual in Bangkok, 35-year-old Phan Ngoc Vu.

According to the report, the arbitrator Thi Nguyen Phuong Lan, the guide, requested that anyone purchase standard medication containing snake bloodstream for her joint pains before she passed away.

Additionally, there are the two copper beverage containers that the hotel’s officers discovered in the collection.

The tanks were placed beside the cyanide-laced vases, near the dining tables.

Leaders want the issue to be resolved quickly, but one thing is for sure.

Authorities in Hanoi and their Thai rivals should work closely together on the investigation, according to Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh.

As for Thai authorities, it could n’t have come at a worse time for Thailand. To revitalize its tourism sector, a crucial financial foundation that has yet to completely recover from the crisis, it had just expanded visa-free access to 93 nations.

Barely a year before, a 14-year-old boy shot dead two people at a luxury shopping mall, also in Bangkok.

Srettha Thavisin, the prime minister, was with officers at the Grand Hyatt on Tuesday evening. He claimed that the public’s health was unaffected and that it was a personal matter.

For the people left on, the shock is evident.

BBC Vietnamese got hold of the make-up writer’s family, Tuy, on the phone, but she was sobbing but violently that she hung up after a brief chat. She claimed that she believed her son was simply going on a regular job vacation.

His parents, Tran Dinh Dung, claimed in a separate interview that when he last saw his brother, he did not notice anything unusual.