On July 17, Matichon reported that the investigation team extracted the surveillance camera in front of room number 502, Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel in Bangkok - the scene where four Vietnamese and two Vietnamese-Americans were found dead on July 16.
The hotel recorded booking requests from 7 people but only 5 people checked in, and there were 6 bodies.
The Thai Immigration Department investigated and found that the 7th person was the younger brother of one of the 6 people who died.
However, this person flew back to Vietnam on July 10 and had nothing to do with the incident.
The investigation agency identified the suspect as one of the six people who died, according to CNA. Police announced this was a case of murder by poisoning and the suspect committed suicide. The cause of the murder was determined to be a dispute over debt.
CCTV footage from 2:09 p.m. to 2:17 p.m. on July 15 recorded the scene of 6 people dragging suitcases into the room. That was the last image recorded, after which all 6 people were in the room together.
At 1:00 a.m. on July 17 (local time), the authorities took evidence and 8 suitcases of 6 victims out of the hotel room.
At 3:20 a.m. on July 17, police summoned five witnesses for further questioning, including relatives of the victims.
Initial examination results of the victims' suitcases showed that they were preparing to check out of the hotel. However, all luggage must be sent to the Forensic Department for examination and comparison with characteristics found at the scene.
The victims stayed in rooms on the 7th floor with a check-out schedule on the afternoon of July 15. They took their luggage to the room on the 5th floor. This shows that these two groups know each other even though their entry and hotel check-in dates are different.
Hotel staff went to room 502 to check because the guest was 24 hours late to check out and discovered the room was locked.
Major General Witthawat Chinkam, Commander of the 5th Metropolitan Police Team in Bangkok, said that among the 6 people who died, there were 3 men and 3 women. All 6 departed from Vietnam and entered Thailand as tourists but not at the same time.
