BANGKOK - Six people were found dead at an upmarket hotel in Bangkok on July 16, including at least one American national of Vietnamese descent, the Thai government said, as Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin ordered a swift investigation to stem any damage to the tourism sector.
The Thai police said in a separate statement that the six victims were all foreign nationals.
The incident, which took place at Bangkok’s plush Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel, comes as Thailand looks to further promote its tourism sector, a key driver of South-east Asia’s second-largest economy.
“The Prime Minister has ordered all agencies to urgently take action to avoid impact on tourism,” the Thai government said in its statement.
A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity, dismissed earlier reports in Thai media that the six people had been killed in a shooting.
“There is no sign of a shooting,” the official told Reuters.
The US and Vietnamese embassies in Bangkok did not answer a call from Reuters on telephone numbers listed on their websites.
The Bangkok Post reported that the six died of poisoning, citing police sources.
Lumpini police were alerted to the incident at around 5.30pm, the newspaper said.
It said officers found three men and three women dead inside a room at the Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel.
The hotel has over 350 rooms and is located in a popular tourist district known for luxury shopping and restaurants.
In a news briefing, Mr Srettha said investigators did not find any sign of assault or robbery.
Major-General Theeradej Thamsuthee, head of investigation at the Metropolitan Police Bureau, said at the same briefing that the six were likely poisoned.
Lieutenant-General Thiti Saengsawang, the Metropolitan Police commissioner, said, based on preliminary findings: “All of them were killed by other people”.
The Thai-language Matichon Online said police were now searching for two Vietnamese nationals who were deemed “persons of interest”.
More than 28 million foreign tourists visited Thailand in 2023, spending 1.2 trillion baht (S$44.8 billion) in the country, where other key sectors of the economy have been slow in recovering from the Covid-19 pandemic.
The government expects 35 million foreign arrivals in 2024, on the back of longer visa stay periods and waivers for several nationalities.
The tourism sector was shaken in October 2023 by a shooting spree at a luxury shopping mall, close to the Hyatt, in which two foreigners were killed, prompting government measures to improve confidence. REUTERS, AFP
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2024-07-16 15:03:46Z
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