Hotel owner with Nghe An guest 'suspected of poisoning' explains insecticide spraying

On the morning of September 25, Ms. Tran Thi Be - Deputy Director of a hotel in Son Tra district (Da Nang), where three guests died and two were promptly treated for suspected poisoning, said she had provided the authorities with the necessary information to assist in the investigation.

"The police came to take samples from the hotel, so now we are also eagerly waiting for the results," said Ms. Be.

The hotel on Ho Nghinh Street managed by Ms. Be has 17 rooms (not 40 rooms as previously reported by a witness). At the time the group of guests who had the accident checked in, the hotel had about 12 rooms open for rent and only some rooms were sealed because they had just been sprayed with insecticide.

Ms. Be said that on September 15, she hired a company to spray insects twice a month at the hotel. The reserved rooms were sprayed first, and the empty rooms were sprayed later, then sealed.

In addition to the above hotel business, Ms. Be said that she also manages many other hotels. "A few days ago, we also hired a company to spray insects at some hotels and nothing happened to the guests," Ms. Be said, adding that she has been in the hotel business for 5 years, and every month sprays insects in the rooms to ensure there are no flies or mosquitoes inside.

"This is the first time my business has had a problem. If it had happened before, I would not have opened a hotel," she said.

In response to the opinion that the hotel was rushing to open new rooms to spray for insects for guests, potentially posing a safety risk, Ms. Be explained that "normally when guests come to stay, the hotel can still spray for insects in rooms that are not occupied by guests."

"Spraying for insects is normal, big hotels still do it, so I don't think this is a problem. People have the right to be suspicious, but we have to wait for the police to make a conclusion," Ms. Be stated her opinion.

Explaining why her hotel stopped operating, Ms. Be said that at first, the authorities asked for a temporary suspension to sign a commitment and allowed it to resume operations, but "I felt insecure so I continued to suspend it for repairs, for the safety of the guests."

The hotel is sending staff to the phone to contact guests who have booked rooms in advance to notify cancellations.

Mr. Ton That Thanh, Director of the Da Nang City Center for Preventive Medicine, said that when spraying insects in rooms, hotels do not have to notify the authorities. "This is because the hotels proactively contract with licensed companies," Mr. Thanh said.

At 8:00 a.m. on September 16, Danang Hospital admitted three people to the Emergency Department. The four-year-old boy was confirmed dead. The 27-year-old mother showed signs of fatigue, dizziness, cyanosis, and low blood pressure. CPR was ineffective due to poor health, so the victim later died.

The victim's husband, Mr. Do Ngoc Van (29 years old, from Nghe An), initially showed mild symptoms, but the disease progressed very quickly, indicating that the patient had acute poisoning. Hoan My Hospital immediately transferred the patient to Da Nang General Hospital for treatment. On September 24, Mr. Van was discharged by the doctors. He said that when he checked into the hotel on Ho Nghinh Street, many rooms were sealed with notices of insect spraying.

In addition to the case of Mr. Do Ngoc Van's wife and children, there was also a three-year-old boy staying at the same hotel who also had health problems and did not survive when hospitalized.