A Vietnamese American, Sherine Chong, has been identified by Thai police as the suspect who is believed to have poisoned five others at the luxurious Grand Hyatt Erawan hotel in Bangkok, before killing herself with the poison. Cyanide poisoning is likely the cause of the deaths, police said. Chulalongkorn Hospital said on July 17 that an autopsy of the six people found dead in a hotel suite found traces of cyanide. The bodies showed traces of the rapid-acting chemical and had purple lips, indicating a lack of oxygen, the hospital’s Dr Kornkiat Vongpaisarnsin told reporters, adding that more tests were…
Author: Asia News Network
The ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO) revised Vietnam’s economic growth forecast upward to 6.3 per cent for 2024 in its latest update released on Tuesday. The growth rate is 0.3 percentage points higher than the 6 per cent forecast in April and is the highest among ASEAN countries for 2024. The Singapore-based organisation maintained its forecast for Vietnam’s GDP growth in 2025 at 6.5 per cent. In its flagship report, AMRO revised the growth of most ASEAN countries downward for 2024, with the Philippines projected to have the second-highest growth rate at 6.1 per cent, followed by Cambodia at 5.6…
Some key points in the investigation of the mass murder of six at a luxury hotel in Ratchaprasong Thai police are investigating the deaths of six foreign nationals whose bodies were found in a room at an upmarket hotel in Bangkok on Tuesday. Sources from the Metropolitan Police investigation team and the Forensic Department of the Royal Thai Police have outlined several initial assumptions regarding the mass murder. All six victims were of Vietnamese descent, with two of them holding US passports, and checked into the hotel at different times, arriving on Saturday and Sunday. Police suspect that the perpetrator…
Six people were found dead at an upmarket hotel in Bangkok on July 16, the Thai government said, as Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin ordered a swift investigation to stem any damage to the tourism sector. Two of the dead were Americans of Vietnamese descent and four were Vietnamese nationals, according to Mr Srettha. “From the preliminary examination of the scene, it was assumed that they had been poisoned,” said Major-General Theeradej Thumsuthee, chief investigator of the Metropolitan Police Bureau. He added that there were signs that all six, before they died, drank coffee or tea. A preliminary autopsy did not…
Seeing that the gold price in Vietnam was higher than in Cambodia, the defendants established two smuggling rings to import gold bars from the neighbouring country to sell to domestic gold shop owners. Investigations revealed that both rings smuggled a total of more than six tonnes of gold bars. The trial began on Tuesday of a group of people accused of smuggling a large amount of gold from Cambodia into Vietnam, to take advantage of higher prices for the precious commodity, with the gang expected to make around $700,000 from the illicit deal. The court heard that a gang planned…
Thailand has witnessed nearly 2,000 factory closures in the last year, upending its manufacturing sector that contributes nearly a quarter of its GDP. When Chinese electric vehicle maker BYD opened its first Southeast Asian factory in Thailand earlier this month, the nation of 66 million people basked in the limelight and won praise for its industrial vision. What, however, received less attention was an announcement by another big automobile manufacturer – Suzuki Motor – just a few weeks earlier that it will shutter a Thai factory that produced as many as 60,000 cars a year. The Japanese automaker’s move mirrors…
China’s GDP grew by 5 percent year-on-year in the first half of 2024 to 61.68 trillion yuan ($8.49 trillion), showcasing a steady economic rebound, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday. In the second quarter, the economy rose by 4.7 percent in comparison to a year earlier after a 5.3 percent growth in the first quarter of the year. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, China’s GDP increased by 0.7 percent in the second quarter of the year, the NBS said. Figures released by the NBS showed China’s value-added industrial output, a gauge of activity in the manufacturing, mining and utilities…
Chinese automotive companies have expedited their overseas operations and production, fueling sustained and stable industry growth abroad. Geely’s new energy pickup truck brand, Radar, established its first subsidiary in Thailand on Tuesday, marking its debut in an independently operated international market. The brand will showcase its models under the new name Riddara at the Thailand Motor Show in November. Radar started its overseas journey in July 2023 and has expanded to 17 markets across Latin America, the Middle East, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Africa. Among them, the Thai market is a key focus for Radar’s global expansion in 2024.…
Air conditioners equipped with AI (artificial intelligence) systems that allow them to conserve more energy are gaining popularity among consumers. As it has become difficult to differentiate air conditioners based on their basic heating and cooling functions alone, manufacturers are proactively trying to appeal to customers based on points such as how little energy their products consume. Mitsubishi Electric Corp., which offers the Kirigamine series of room air conditioners, is boosting its production of AI-equipped models with high energy-saving performance. The head of the company’s main factory in Shizuoka emphasized that “AI-based functions are directly linked to the user’s comfort…
Japanese automaker Honda Motor has announced it will cut production capacity in Thailand by 50%, citing fierce competition from Chinese counterparts. Honda has two car assembly plants in Thailand. The Ayutthaya plant will stop auto production by the end of next year and switch to making auto parts, NHK World Japan reported on Wednesday. The move will reduce Honda’s production capacity in Thailand from 270,000 vehicles per year to 120,000, the report said. It added that company executives do not expect a rebound in sales. Honda’s plant in Prachinburi province will continue to assemble cars after next year, focusing on…