Suicide cited in hotel fire

A 45-year-old hotel worker who died in a fire at the Grand Tower Inn on Rama VI Road on Saturday night left a suicide note and is a prime suspect in what's being treated as an arson case, Bangkok police chief Pol Maj Gen Khamronwit Thoopkrajang said yesterday.

The fire, which ripped through the eight-storey hotel, killed Pongsakorn Boon-aram and caused 11 others, including several foreigners, to be hospitalised with smoke inhalation.

After a meeting with investigators, Khamronwit said witnesses saw Pongsakorn going to eight spots where fires started, while a lighter was found near his body. Pongsakorn's suicide note stated that he was "attached" to the hotel and "was ready to go down with it".