An American Vietnamese woman allegedly used cyanide-laced tea to kill five people before poisoning herself at a luxurious Bangkok hotel after a legal dispute over bad investments, Thai police said on Wednesday. Police suspect that Chong Sherine, 56, is responsible for the killings after six bodies were found in a room at the upscale Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel on Tuesday.
Police sources cited by Vietnamese media believe that Chong poisoned herself and five others following huge debts linked to an investment in a hospital in Japan. She reportedly persuaded a married couple and two other victims among the dead to invest funds in the project, according to the Bangkok Post.
Murder-Suicide after Deal went Wrong
However, they reportedly suffered losses totaling around 10 million baht, equivalent to around $280,000
The six dead people, all of Vietnamese descent and aged between 37 and 56, were last seen alive when their room at the Grand Hyatt Erawan received a food delivery on Monday afternoon.
Investigators suspect that Chong poisoned them during a meeting to address the debt, and their bodies were discovered 24 hours later at 5 p.m. local time on Tuesday. The hotel room was found locked from the inside, and hotel staff have no record of any visitors during that time.
During autopsies, police found traces of the fast-acting poison on drinking glasses and a teapot inside the hotel room, authorities reported.
One couple among the dead had invested around 10 million baht ($278,000) in a hospital project in Japan. When the project did not take off as expected, they threatened legal action, according to Nopasilp.
The six were scheduled to appear in court later this month, but Chong arranged a meeting at the hotel beforehand to attempt negotiations, Nopasilp explained.
The exact location of the court proceedings scheduled for later in the month was not immediately clarified.
Planned Murder-Suicide
According to police, security footage revealed that Chong received a room service delivery shortly before the other five individuals arrived at the hotel. Reports indicate that Chong declined an offer from hotel staff to prepare the tea herself instead.
No one was seen leaving the room afterward, and the door was locked from inside.
Bangkok police chief Lt. Gen. Thiti Sangsawang said that four bodies were found in the living room and two in the bedroom. Two people seemed to have tried to reach the door but collapsed before reaching it.
Investigators had previously dismissed the possibility of a mass suicide because some members of the group had made plans for future parts of their trip, such as guides and drivers.
A hotel maid made the grim discovery after the guests did not check out on time.
Police immediately started testing the beverages after discovering suspicious substances floating in the cups and glasses inside the room.
Crime scene photos showed cups and teapots scattered on a table within the room, with untouched room service food visible nearby. Officials said that traces of cyanide were detected during the initial autopsies conducted at Chulalongkorn Hospital in Bangkok.
Chong and another guest, Dang Hung Van, 55, both held US passports. The four Vietnamese were identified as Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan, 47, Pham Hong Thanh, 49, Tran Dinh Phu, 37, and Nguyen Thi Phuong, 46.
Earlier, police had indicated they were searching for a seventh person, also Vietnamese, whose name was included in the hotel reservation. It has since been determined that this person, who is a sibling of one of the dead, left Thailand on July 10 and is not believed to be connected to the deaths.
