Vietnamese tour guide in Bangkok hotel poisoning case arrested

The Tourism Department of Thailand, in coordination with the country’s tourist police, apprehended 35-year-old Phan Ngoc Vu at a hotel in Bangkok on Friday.

Police had monitored Vu’s activities for a month and suspected that he was working as a tour guide in Thailand without the required license, Khaosod reported.

On July 17, Vu served as a witness in the investigation into the deaths of six individuals—Vietnamese and American nationals—at the Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel in Bangkok. Their bodies were found by a hotel staff on July 16.

Vu had been the group’s guide during their time in Thailand, and the police were working to establish the sequence of events leading up to their deaths.

Investigators later determined that cyanide poisoning from tea cups was the cause of death.

Authorities suspect that a Vietnamese American woman named Sherine Chong had laced the tea leaves with the toxic substance before the group, including herself, brewed and consumed the poisoned tea.

The other victims were American national Dang Hung Van, 55, and Vietnamese nationals Nguyen Thi Phuong Lan, 47; Pham Hong Thanh, 49; Tran Dinh Phu, 37; and Nguyen Thi Phuong, 46.

The police believe the group had a dispute over debts related to an investment, and they are still investigating how Chong obtained the cyanide and whether she had any accomplices.

General Noppasin Poolsawat, deputy chief of the Bangkok police, informed reporters that the dispute was related to a hospital construction project in Japan.

After questioning Vu, police became suspicious and decided to monitor his activities closely. According to the Bangkok Post, they observed him several times leading Vietnamese tourists to different attractions in Thailand.

Vu was charged with operating a tour business and working as a tour guide without the necessary licenses and work permit. He was subsequently taken to the Phaya Thai police station for legal proceedings.