Traces of the rapid-acting, deadly chemical were found during
autopsies of the bodies and on drinking glasses and a teapot in
the room at the luxury Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel where the dead
were discovered late on Tuesday, according to police and a
hospital.
Interviews with relatives of the three women and three men who
died revealed there had been a dispute over debt related to an
investment, according to police, who said they were
investigating how the cyanide was obtained.
The six were all of Vietnamese ethnicity, two of those U.S.
nationals. Police said the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation
had assisted with the investigation.
"We can assume that the six died from cyanide," Chulalongkorn
Hospital's Kornkiat Vongpaisarnsin told reporters, adding that
results of further tests would be available on Friday.
The U.S. State Department said it was monitoring the situation
and local authorities were responsible for the investigation.
Vietnam's foreign ministry confirmed four of the dead were
Vietnamese nationals and its embassy in Thailand was
coordinating closely with authorities.
"We hope that the victims' families soon overcome this great
loss," foreign ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang said.
The Grand Hyatt Erawan, operated by Erawan Group, has over 350
rooms and is located in a popular tourist district known for
luxury shopping and restaurants.
News of the deaths, initially reported by some Thai media as a
shooting, could be a setback for Thailand as it bets heavily on
its vital tourism sector reviving an economy that has struggled
since the pandemic.
The government had been eager to quickly get to the bottom of
what happened, concerned bad publicity could impact a sector
that is expecting 35 million foreign visitors this year and tens
of billions of dollars in spending.
Trirong Phiwpan, commander of the Thai police evidence office,
said the investigation indicated drinks in the hotel room were
spiked with cyanide by one of those who died.
"After staff brought tea cups and two hot water bottles, milk
and tea pots... one of the six introduced cyanide."
(Reporting by Panarat Thepgumpanat, Chayut Setboonsarng and Panu
Wongcha-um; Additional reporting by Khanh Vu in Hanoi; Writing
by Martin Petty; Editing by John Mair and Angus MacSwan)
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