Police are preparing more charges against Sararat “Am” Rangsiwuthaporn, a woman suspected of being involved in the deaths of over a dozen people.
Crime Suppression Division investigators are looking to obtain statements from two key people in connection with the case, CSD deputy commander Pol Col Anek Taosupap said yesterday.
They were identified as Kantima “Pla” Phaesa-ard, 36, who survived a poisoning attempt allegedly made by the suspect, and Raphee Chamnarnrue, who took the family of a dead woman to file a police complaint.
Pol Col Anek said he had assigned another team to meet with doctors who specialise in poisons and chemicals to learn more about the dangers of cyanide and determine the amount needed to harm someone and cause death.
The information is expected to be included in a police report together with test results showing toxic substances in the body of one of the victims linked to the suspect.
“We are confident that we have firm evidence to prosecute […] the suspect in the case,” Pol Col Anek said. “Now, police investigators are preparing to press additional charges, aside from the premeditated murder charge.”
The additional charges are premeditated murder with intent to steal property, poisoning and theft, he said, adding “some offences carry the death penalty”.
Other leads the police are expected to follow are related to the suspect’s alleged involvement in money lending and a pyramid scheme.
Ms Sararat, 36, ex-wife of a senior police officer in Ratchaburi province, was apprehended on Tuesday at the government office complex on Chaeng Wattana Road in Bangkok by CSD police with an arrest warrant issued by the Criminal Court. She had a bottle of cyanide in her possession and refused to give police a statement.
Her arrest followed a complaint filed by the mother and elder sister of the late Siriporn “Koy” Khanwong, 32, from Kanchanaburi. Siriporn collapsed and died on a bank of the Mae Klong River in Ban Pong district of Ratchaburi, where she allegedly had gone with Ms Sararat to release fish for merit-making on April 14. Cyanide was found in the victim’s bloodstream.
Investigators believed that Ms Sararat might have mixed cyanide in Siriporn’s food, causing her death. She allegedly also stole the victim’s valuables.
Pol Gen Surachate Hakparn, deputy national police chief, said yesterday that one more dead victim in Nakhon Pathom has been found, bringing the total number to 13.
On Wednesday, the Criminal Court approved a police request to further detain Ms Sararat without bail on a charge of killing Siriporn.
Pol Col Anek said investigators had called Nipawan Khanwong, 35, the elder sister of Siriporn, who was with her sister before her death, to give a statement yesterday. Ms Nipawan had reportedly asked the suspect about the death.
Investigators are seeking to question a Mukdahan man whose wife had allegedly been given capsules by the suspect, who said they were a tonic. The woman is said to have consumed the capsules before she died.
Police are also looking into whether Ms Sararat’s elder sister, a pharmacist, was involved in the provision or use of cyanide. The initial investigation, however, showed that the suspect had purchased cyanide from another channel, Pol Col Anek added.
At this stage, investigators have not yet found any other people involved, and they believe Ms Sararat had acted alone, he said.
Initial questioning of the suspect did not indicate any mental problems that might have led to the crimes. She spoke as a normal person, Pol Col Anek said.
Cyanide is a controlled substance used in industries and cannot be purchased at drug stores.
A source close to the investigation said Ms Sararat had reportedly purchased cyanide online. Five teenagers called in for questioning told police she brought them five parcels containing bottles of drugs with her name as the recipient and asked them to bury them, the source said.
They claimed she had paid them 500 baht to do the job, the source said.
One of them reportedly suspected what was inside the parcels, so he opened one and sniffed one of the bottles. He reportedly developed symptoms, including dizziness and confusion, for about three days.
As it turned out, the teenagers never got around to burying the bottles she gave them because they were busy celebrating Songkran, the source said. Ms Sararat phoned them to ask whether they had done what she asked, but by then it was too late as police had already found the bottles, the source said.