Six bodies found slumped in a luxury hotel suite, a seventh guest mysteriously missing, and a chilling residue detected in used tea cups – all signs pointing to a murder-by-poisoning in the heart of Bangkok that has stunned Thailand and left authorities scrambling for answers.
On Wednesday, Thai forensic police will attempt to unravel the disturbing case, which unfolded in the five-star Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel, a popular destination for upscale tourists, celebrities, and dignitaries. According to authorities, the six Vietnamese victims – three men and three women, two of whom also held American passports – had been dead for roughly 24 hours before a maid stumbled upon the grisly scene on Tuesday afternoon.
“Someone wanted these people dead, but we are waiting for forensics to prove how,” said Thiti Saengsawang, chief of Bangkok’s Metropolitan Police Bureau, noting that six of the tea cups contained suspicious “residues” at the bottom.
The locked hotel room, the untouched room service, and the missing seventh guest have only added to the mystery, sparking a frenzy of speculation on social media – only heightened by erroneous early reports that the six had died in a shoot-out.
Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin was quick to address the nation, reassuring visitors of their safety and characterising the incident as an isolated event. “There were no signs of a struggle,” Srettha told a late-night press conference at the hotel in Pathum Wan district.
Our working hypothesis is there was a seventh Vietnamese person
“Our working hypothesis is there was a seventh Vietnamese person” and the victims were poisoned, he said.
Police revealed that five rooms had been booked for a group of seven Vietnamese guests, but only six bodies were found in the fifth-floor suite – leaving one person unaccounted for and potentially a suspect.
In the early hours of Wednesday, Thai authorities took possession of the victims’ packed luggage as part of the ongoing investigation. Photos released by police showed plates of room service that had gone untouched, alongside an open bottle of water and a partially consumed soft drink. Notably, several used tea cups were found on a nearby table, along with a pair of metal flasks.
The disturbing crime scene has fuelled a flurry of conjecture over the motive, from business disputes to outlandish conspiracies. But one expert offered a more scientific observation. Weerachai Phutdhawong, an assistant professor of chemistry at Bangkok’s Kasetsart University, suggested the evidence pointed to cyanide poisoning.
“The only thing that was fully consumed was the tea, and for whatever liquid substance is in the flask to kick off this fast, it must be cyanide,” Phutdhawong said.
The mysterious deaths of the foreign tourists have sent shock waves through Thailand’s government, with Prime Minister Srettha acutely aware of the potential reputational damage. Since taking office last August, Srettha has aggressively courted international visitors, offering visa-free travel to help revive an economy still reeling from the pandemic’s impact: weighed down by massive household debt and retreating foreign investment.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, Thailand had welcomed nearly 40 million tourists annually. But the rush to lure visitors has also fuelled concerns about criminals slipping through with less scrutiny. This latest incident follows a spate of high-profile kidnappings of Chinese nationals by their own compatriots on Thai soil, dampening the recovery of Chinese tourism in the first quarter of the year.
While both Vietnamese and American travellers can visit Thailand without a visa, unconfirmed social media reports suggest one of the deceased had made multiple recent trips to Bangkok. This has only amplified worries about the reputational fallout Thailand may face from a scandal involving the mysterious deaths of foreigners on its soil.
“Good luck saving Thailand’s reputation as a top tourist destination,” lamented one social media user. “It still hasn’t recovered from before Covid, and now Thailand is full of criminals from all over the world.”
As the investigation into the grisly hotel deaths continues, the Thai government finds itself navigating a delicate balancing act – between courting much-needed international tourism and ensuring the safety and security of its visitors.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg, Agence France-Presse
