BANGKOK — Thai police have uncovered the circumstances surrounding the deaths of 6 foreign tourists in a luxury hotel in central Bangkok. It is presumed that one person among this group of 6 administered a drug more potent than cyanide due to debt problems.
On July 17 at Lumpini Police Station, Police Major General Thiradej Thammasuthee, Commander of the Investigation Division of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, arrived for a meeting. He revealed that last night, they had interviewed the daughter of one of the six deceased individuals, as well as additional witnesses. Each person provided useful information.
According to the information, it is believed that the motive was likely related to debt issues, with no other factors involved. The room on the 5th floor was locked from the inside and there was no record of anyone entering or leaving the locked room.
Therefore, the perpetrator is not thought to be connected to anyone outside of the six deceased individuals, as checks on room entry and exit showed only the group of deceased persons.
Regarding the toxic substance that caused the deaths, it cannot yet be concluded what type of substance it was. They must wait for forensic experts to examine the evidence first.
However, there are reports from forensic officials that the substance found in the glasses resembles cyanide but is more potent, causing rapid death.
As for the investigation into the seventh person who booked the hotel room where the incident occurred, the Immigration Bureau has traced this individual and found that she is the sister of one of the six deceased. She had flown back to her country on July 10. Initially, it is presumed that she was not involved in the deaths.
It is suspected that the deaths were caused by one of the six deceased individuals, who drugged everyone else before dying last. Later, sources disclosed that the suspect was Ms. Sherine Chong, 56, who was a US passport holder and had a record of entering and exiting Thailand 5 times. She also took her own life by drinking poison.
The motive stemmed from her huge debt after she persuaded the couple in this group to invest in building a hospital in Japan. However, they ended up losing 10 million baht (or about 278,000 US dollars).
This married couple had been constantly asking her for their money back. Eventually, both parties agreed to meet in Japan to clear things up, but one person couldn’t get a visa to Japan. So they changed the meeting place to Thailand, where they could also pay respects at Wat Yannawa, which is a popular place for Vietnamese people as well.
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