Bangkok, Police are urgently checking CCTV footage inside a famous hotel in the Ratchaprasong area to solve the mystery of finding 6 bodies in a room. They are also inviting relatives and those related to the deceased to come in for further questioning.
Yesterday (July 16) in the early evening, it was reported that 6 people were found dead in a room on the 6th floor of a hotel in the Ratchaprasong area. Inside the room, it was found that the luggage had been stored and all of them were foreigners.
Pol. Col. Thiradech Thamsuthee, Commander of Investigation Division, Metropolitan Police Bureau, revealed that the deceased were three men and three women. Nationality checks revealed that all were Vietnamese, and two of them were American.
From the initial examination of the crime scene, there were traces of drinking tea or coffee, so the police suspect that it was probably a drugging or death from poison, but it is not yet clear. Whether it was a murder due to business betrayal, revenge, or a strange cult, the
police have not yet concluded, but have raised several investigative issues.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Thiti Sangsawang, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, revealed that from the inspection of the scene, there were no signs of a struggle. The bodies were found in the same room. The room must have been checked out on July 16, 2024. The luggage had already been packed. The forensic officers are conducting a thorough autopsy and examining all relevant evidence.
Information on the six deceased: 1. Ms. SHERINE CHONG, a 56-year-old American woman. Last entered Thailand on July 5. Has traveled in and out of Thailand 5 times.
2. Mr. HUNG DANG VAN, a 55-year-old American man. Last entered Thailand on July 7. Has traveled in and out of Thailand 1 time.
3. Ms. THI NGUYEN PHUONG LAN, a 47-year-old Vietnamese woman. Last entered Thailand on July 4. Has traveled in and out of Thailand 17 times.
4. Mr. HONG PHAM THANH, a 49-year-old Vietnamese man. Last entered Thailand on 12 July. Entered and exited Thailand 1 time.
5
. Mr. DINH TRAN PHU, male, 37 years old, Vietnamese nationality. Last entered Thailand on 12 July. Entered and exited Thailand 11 times.
6. Ms. THI NGUYEN PHUONG, female, 46 years old, Vietnamese nationality. Last entered Thailand on 12 July. Has entered and exited Thailand 3 times. Regarding the
issue of 6 Vietnamese bodies, a glass of tea was found that was drunk before dying.
Mr. Settha Thavisin, the Prime Minister, along with Pol. Gen. Torsak Sukwimol, the National Police Chief, Pol. Lt. Gen. Thiti Sangsawang, the Metropolitan Police Bureau Commissioner, and relevant parties traveled to the aforementioned hotel to hold a press conference detailing the incident that occurred.
The Prime Minister revealed that at approximately 4:00 p.m., officials were notified of the discovery of a dead Vietnamese man. At the scene, there were no signs of a struggle or assault, so it is assumed that the cause of death may have been drinking some kind of beverage. However, it will not affect tourism. He has already spoke
n to the Vietnamese embassy.
Pol. Lt. Gen. Thiti Sangsawang, Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, gave a detailed statement on the case, saying that all six people who died were Vietnamese, two were American, and four were Vietnamese. The incident occurred on the fifth floor of the hotel.
The history of the hotel stay found that there were 7 bookings for 7 people, 7 rooms, 5 people checked in, 5 rooms, but 6 people died. The 5 people who were checked matched the people who checked in at the hotel, but the other person got there somehow, and the 7th person must be proven to exist or not. If so, how is it related to this incident?
The deceased checked into the hotel at different times. The first four checked in first on the 7th floor, with four rooms. The next day, they checked in on the 5th floor. The incident occurred on the 5th floor.
The day the body was found was July 16, 2024, which was the day that the 5th floor room was supposed to check out of the hotel in the afternoon, but there was no
check-out. All 4 rooms on the 7th floor checked out on July 15.
The 5th floor checked out on the afternoon of July 16, the day the body was found, and there was no check-out from the hotel. It is possible that everyone had taken their bags from the 7th floor room and gathered in the 5th floor room.
At around 4:00 PM, the maid went into the room to clean, but the front door was locked from the inside. The maid had to go and open the back door. Since the room was a private area similar to a villa, there was also a back door. When she went in and found the deceased, she informed the management, who then contacted the local police station.
Police and forensics officers went to the scene at approximately 5:00 p.m. and found a total of 6 deceased people in the room: 4 people died on the floor in the front reception area, 1 person died in front of the door, and 2 people died in the bedroom. Initially, no signs of wounds were found, no struggle was observed, belongings were normal, but one person died with a wound
to the face. Police and doctors assumed that the victim was hit by a hard object while falling.
Police believe that she died at 1:53 p.m. on July 15, having been dead for over 20 hours because the Thai food she ordered was a single dish and was placed in the living room, uneaten. There were 6 white tea cups that had been drunk, 5 on the counter and 1 on the dining table. There was sediment left at the bottom of the cup. Officers have now collected all the evidence. In addition, a green tea jar with mineral water and honey that had been opened was found in the bathroom.
All of the deceased’s bags will be examined for evidence or witnesses that can prove who was involved. But the conclusion at this time is that they did not harm themselves, but were killed by others and intended to harm their lives and bodies. However, in what way, we must wait for the results from forensic science.
The police are currently checking all the CCTV cameras in the hotel since the first group arrived at the hotel on July 13 and t
he second group on July 14. They are also tracking the timeline from the time they arrived in Thailand and where they went to find the cause of death. They are also checking the passport to see if they really arrived, when, on which flight, who was sitting next to them, who booked the ticket, and who paid for it. They are currently waiting for the hotel to send all the information to the police and are coordinating with the Immigration Bureau to check who they traveled with during the passport checks into the country. The most important thing is to find out whether the 7th person who made the booking is real or not.
There were also five other witnesses who were invited by the police for further questioning, including relatives of the deceased. The commander of Metropolitan Police Division 5 and the superintendent of Lumpini Police Station were the ones who questioned them themselves.
Pol. Col. Witthawat Chinkam, Commander of Metropolitan Police Division 5, revealed that the five witnesses invited for quest
ioning included the secretary of the Vietnamese ambassador to Thailand and a friend of the deceased’s younger sister who lives in Thailand. When the police learned of the news, they invited them to provide information and help translate documents found in the deceased’s luggage.
In addition, from searching the deceased’s bag, it appeared ready to check out of the hotel. Common medicine tablets were also found, but they must be sent to the forensic science center for examination to compare the characteristics of the medicine found at the scene to see if it is the same type.
The bodies of the six deceased were sent to the Department of Forensic Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University, for an autopsy to determine the true cause of death.
It was reported that this afternoon (17 July), Pol. Lt. Col. Noppasin Poolsawat, deputy commissioner of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, will announce the progress of the case.
Source: Thai News Agency