Cyanide found in teapots shared by six found dead in Bangkok hotel room

The three men and three women were discovered in a room that had been locked from the inside.

Wednesday 17 July 2024 16:56, UK

Traces of cyanide have been found in cups and two teapots in the room of a luxury Bangkok hotel where the bodies of six people were discovered in a suspected deliberate poisoning.

Medics at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital said initial post-mortem results also showed traces of the rapidly-acting deadly chemical in each of the victims' bodies, and confirmed they died from cyanide poisoning.

Doctors are still waiting for the results showing the exact cyanide levels in the blood of each victim.

Dr Kornkiat Vongpaisarnsin said CAT scans showed no signs of blunt force trauma on the dead.

Police in Thailand had said earlier this morning that poisoning by cyanide was the likely cause of death of the three men and three women.

The four Vietnamese nationals and two Vietnamese Americans were found by a hotel staff member in the room - which was locked from the inside.

Food ordered by room service was found untouched inside the room - but drinks had been consumed.

Four of the bodies were discovered in the living room and two in the bedroom.

Two of the victims appeared to have tried to reach for the hotel room door but collapsed before they could, police said.

Hotel records showed there were no other visitors to the room.

Police Lieutenant General Trairong Phiwpan, head of the Thai police force's forensic division, told a news conference on Wednesday one of the six is the one who committed the murders at the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel.

"After staff brought teacups and two hot water bottles, milk and teapots... one of the six introduced cyanide," he said.

Interviews with relatives of the dead revealed there had been a dispute over debt, police said.

Officers said the investigation also revealed a possible motive could be a conflict among the six victims regarding multi-million Baht investments.

The three dead women have been named as 46-year-old Nguyen Thi Phuong, Sherine Chong, aged 56, and Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan, also 46.

The male victims are Tran Dinh Phu, aged 37, Dang Hung Van, 55, and 49-year-old Hong Thanh Pham.

The six were last seen alive when the meal was delivered to the room on Monday afternoon.

The Vietnamese government said its embassy in Bangkok was working with Thai authorities on the case, while the US State Department said it was monitoring the situation.

The deaths were initially reported by some Thai media outlets as a shooting.

The hotel, operated by Erawan Group, has more than 350 rooms and is located in a popular tourist area in the Thai capital known for luxury shopping and restaurants.

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin had yesterday called for a swift investigation into the deaths to limit the impact on Thailand's vital tourism sector.

When asked if the deaths would affect a meeting with the Russian energy minister Sergei Tsivilev at the hotel later today, the prime minister said it was unlikely.

"This wasn't an act of terrorism or a breach in security, everything is fine," he said.

In 2023, Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, or "Am Cyanide" as she would later be called, became Thailand's first female serial killer.

She poisoned 15 people - who she had owed money to - with cyanide over several years.

At least 14 of them died - one survived.

Cyanide found in teapots shared by six found dead in Bangkok hotel room

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