The case of 6 people leaving in Thailand: the business director and his wife came to pray for good luck

The family of the construction company director and his wife in the cyanide poisoning case in Thailand are saddened by the sudden death and still have many unfinished tasks left to do.

Regarding the poisoning incident in Thailand, on the morning of July 24, the family held a funeral for Mr. Pham Hong Thanh (51 years old) and Ms. Nguyen Thi Phuong (47 years old, Mr. Thanh's wife). The remains of Mr. Thanh and his wife were taken to be buried in Long Thanh, Dong Nai.

Family members said that Mr. Thanh is the Director of TNP Company and Ms. Phuong is the company's accountant. Mr. Thanh and his wife have 3 children (2 girls, 1 boy), the first two are in college, the youngest daughter is in 12th grade. Mrs. Phuong is related to her husband Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan (residing in Da Nang City), from there I knew Ms. Sherine Chong (56 years old, Vietnamese American).

Ms. Sherine Chong introduced herself as a billionaire's wife and through Ms. Phuong Lan and her husband, Mr. Thanh and his wife lent Ms. Sherine Chong about 7 billion VND.

'In early July 2024, Mr. Thanh and his wife told their family member, Ms. Sherine Chong, to go to Thailand to meet a monk to pray for blessings, peace and luck. From there, Mr. Thanh and his wife and Ms. Phuong Lan flew to Thailand to meet Ms. Sherine Chong. To be honest, when we left, we only thought we were going to a ceremony to pray for good luck, so Mr. Thanh and his wife went. Mr. Thanh works in a construction business and has a busy job, so he doesn't have time to go anywhere,' Mr. Pham Thanh Long (50 years old, Mr. Thanh's younger brother) choked up.

Regarding the amount of 7 billion VND, family members confirmed that Mr. Thanh and his wife did ask for Ms. Sherine Chong, but it was not as harsh as the media reported. 'Regarding business and investment, Mr. Thanh and his wife do not share much. We only know that Ms. Sherine Chong often appears with a rich appearance. Ms. Phuong's younger sister met her once in Vietnam, and her family was not close to her,' Mr. Long added.

Upon receiving the bad news, Mr. Long, his eldest son Mr. Thanh and two relatives immediately flew to Thailand to find out information. In Thailand, Mr. Long's family received legal and paperwork support from the Thai police and the Vietnamese Embassy in Thailand. After performing forensic procedures to serve the investigation, on July 21, Mr. Thanh and his wife's bodies were brought back to Vietnam.

Regarding the progress of the investigation of the case, according to Khaosod English, the Bangkok Police and the Immigration Police in Thailand are agreeing on three main lines of investigation in the hotel tragedy, related to the unusual testimony of the guest. about 'the 7th person'.

Previously, 6 people, including 4 Vietnamese and 2 Vietnamese Americans, were found dead in a hotel room in Bangkok, suspected of being poisoned with cyanide. The hotel said this group of guests initially booked 5 rooms for 7 people, but only 5 people showed up to check in. When the tragedy was discovered, the number of deaths at the scene was 6.

Therefore, the police are focusing on 3 areas of investigation including: Verifying whether the 7th person actually entered Thailand or not; collect detailed information about 6 victims; If '7th person' does not exist, begin investigation into motive.

'We are looking for a 7th person because the numbers do not match the check-in records. If they travel together, there will be information about the itinerary, seat number and detailed information about the airline' - Lieutenant General Thiti Saengsawang, Director of the Bangkok Metropolitan Police Department, said.

The police also asked the Vietnamese embassy to check the victims' occupations and their purpose when coming to Thailand. Police also questioned food service staff to see if they noticed anything unusual.

At the scene, 6 people including 3 men and 3 women died in the living room and bedroom of one of the rented rooms. 5 of them checked in in 2 groups on July 13 and 14, respectively, and were expected to check out 4 rooms at noon on July 15. But no rooms have been paid for and no money has been paid to the hotel.

There is a dining table in the living room where 4/6 people were discovered. The food was intact but the 6 glasses of mixed drinks had been consumed, all with residue. In the bathroom there is 1 box of tea, 1 bottle of electrolyte water and 1 open bottle of filtered water. All victims showed no signs of scuffle or attack. Initial suspicions revolved around the theory of cyanide poisoning.

They were determined to have "logged out" at about 1:35 p.m. on July 15. According to the police, the victims will be examined at Chulalongkorn Hospital of the Thai Red Cross.