Thai cyanide poisoning that left six dead linked to $415,000 failed property investment

A businesswoman killed herself and five associates with cyanide-laced drinks at a “last supper” in a luxury hotel, say police.

US citizen Sherine Chong, 56, is thought to have carried out the mass murder-suicide in Bangkok after losing around £215,000 ($415,000) in a failed property investment.

The three men and three women of Vietnamese origin aged between 37 and 56 died in a suite at the five-star Grand Hyatt Erawan on Monday afternoon, local time.

They had flown into Thailand from other countries.

They were found by a housekeeper late on Tuesday.

Police say they were poisoned by Chong at a meeting to discuss the debt – which arose from investment in a Japanese hospital.

Though booking different rooms around the hotel, they were due to gather in a suite on the fifth floor.

Food and drink was delivered to the room and received by Ms Chong – the only person present at the time.

A waiter offered to make tea for the guests but Ms Chong refused this.

The waiter recalled that she “was visibly under stress”, said the authorities.

The other guests joined her in the suite shortly after this.

Post-mortem examinations confirmed traces of cyanide were found in the cups of coffee and in the bodies of the victims, two of whom – including Chong – were American citizens.

Police released a photo of the morbid ‘last supper’ scene, with all the ordered food seemingly untouched.

“We are convinced that one of the six people found dead committed this crime,” said Noppasin Punsawat, Bangkok deputy police chief.

Forensic police chief Lieutenant General Trairong Piwpan said a mass suicide was unlikely because some of the victims had made arrangements for later in their visit to Thailand, such as guides and drivers.

He added that the bodies were not grouped in the same place – some were in the bedroom, some in the living room – suggesting that they did not knowingly consume poison and wait for their death together.

Bangkok investigators also said the bodies were foaming at the mouth. Their lips and nails had turned dark purple, indicating a lack of oxygen from cyanide poisoning, the investigators added.