BANGKOK: Six foreign nationals were found dead in a luxury hotel room in central Bangkok on Tuesday, Thailand’s Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin said, with police suspecting they were poisoned.

“There were no signs of a struggle,” Srettha told a press conference at the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel in the upscale Pathum Wan district, where the incident took place.

“We need to conduct an autopsy to see if they had ingested anything,” he said, dispelling rumours the deaths were connected to a theft and had involved a shooting.

The prime minister said all six of the deceased were Vietnamese, two of whom had dual US nationality.

The case was reported at 4:30pm after cleaning staff discovered the bodies when they arrived to make up the room on the fifth floor, police said. Srettha arrived on the scene shortly after. He said it was believed a seventh Vietnamese person could have been involved in the incident.

The chief of Bangkok’s Metropolitan Police Bureau Thiti Sangsawang said the guests had failed to check out of the hotel that afternoon. “The staff found dead bodies and reported to the executives (of the hotel), and then the police,” Thiti said.

A preliminary examination found no evidence of injuries related to a fight or theft but suggested all six had ingested a toxic substance, he said. “We need to find out the motives,” he said. “What we can prove now is that they are not dead from suicide but from the killing of others.”

Earlier a police officer denied initial reports that the six had been killed in a shooting, saying the investigation was currently focused on a “link with a toxic substance.” Some of the six foreigners appeared to be on their first trip to the country, while others appeared to be return visitors, he added.

In a statement, the police said they were still investigating the scene and the cause of death.

Published in Dawn, July 17th, 2024