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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.

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Activist Veera Somkwamkid says he is seeking to impeach members of the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for ignoring a court order to disclose details about their investigation into the luxury wristwatch saga involving Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon.

Mr Veera, in an interview with the Isra News Agency, accused the NACC of defying the order by the Supreme Administrative Court, which ruled the disclosure must be completed within 15 days of the order being passed on April 21.

The NACC reportedly decided in a 5-to-1 vote on Wednesday not to reveal the details of its probe, reasoning it may need to refer the matter to the Constitutional Court for help with interpretation.

The commission said the investigation contained accounts of several individuals in the case, which were confidential. The agency indicated it might need the Constitutional Court’s opinion on how far it can go in terms of disclosing details.

In December 2018, the NACC found there were no grounds for claims that Gen Prawit had falsely declared his wealth when he did not include 22 luxury watches and rings in his list of assets. Gen Prawit claimed they belonged to friends and had been returned. Mr Veera later petitioned the Supreme Administrative Court requesting the disclosure order, which was subsequently granted.

Yesterday, Mr Veera said that he would work with Somchai Srisutthiyakorn, chairman of Seri Ruam Thai’s policy steering committee and a former election commissioner, to mount a campaign aimed at collecting at least 20,000 signatures to launch the impeachment process against the commissioners over their failure to follow the order.

On his Facebook page, Mr Veera also alleged that by failing to comply with the court’s order, the commission, as an anti-graft agency, has clearly ignored the law it is supposed to enforce.

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The Thai Chana Party was officially inaugurated on Thursday and nominated MR Chatu Mongol Sonakul as its only prime ministerial candidate.

Jakkraphong Chuenduang, the party leader, joined other members in holding a shrine instalment ceremony at the party’s new operations centre on Pradiphat Road before releasing their campaign cars around Bangkok.

Registered in 2021, the party is sending 49 of its members to contest the upcoming election. Ten have registered as constituency MPs, with the other 39 signed up as party-list MPs.

Mr Jakkraphong said MR Chatu Mongol was selected as their PM candidate because of his background as a financier and marketeer. That is expected to help the country with its financial and trading development, he added.

Regarding its campaign policies, Mr Jakkraphong said the party will not prioritise populism.

Many of its policies aim to improve people’s lives, including those related to public health and resolving economic problems, through a campaign that “wins people’s hearts and beats poverty”, he said.

Establishing a ministry for SMEs is one of the highlights of its campaign pledges, Mr Jakkraphong said.

Other pledges focus on improving administrative structures, such as trimming the number of cabinet members from 35 to 20 and transitioning the national police system to more of a locally operated system.

Asked why the party was inaugurated two weeks before the May 14 general election, Mr Jakkraphong said it wants to use its policies to win over eligible voters who were still undecided, which polls show could be as much of 32.6% of the electorate. He said the party’s policies should win the hearts and minds of many middle-aged voters as they aim to boost their finances.

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The Fine Arts Department (FAD) is building a national museum in Pathum Thani’s Khlong Luang district with a warehouse for over 100,000 artefacts, according to Chandrajoti Phanombootra, its director-general.

Mr Chandrajoti said the warehouse will include the biggest database for artefacts in Thailand, while the museum will be the first in the country that meets international curation standards.

The warehouse will have 24,000 square metres of usable space, ready to exhibit over 200,000 artefacts, he said, before adding the space will open in August.

“The FAD is grateful that Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn has given her advice on the warehouse construction and promotion as a research centre,” he said.

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The Move Forward Party (MFP) yesterday revealed a roadmap for its first 100 days in office, believing it will form the next government and make good on its 300-point campaign promises.

MFP leader Pita Limjaroenrat outlined policy priorities for implementation within that time frame. He added those not among priority policies would be progressively implemented within the first year of government.

Mr Pita promised within the first 100 days in office, the party would exercise its power as the executive branch to push for a referendum to be held that would pave the way for the constitution to be rewritten by a drafting assembly made up of elected members.

He said the party would propose the cabinet to immediately seek an immediate resumption of the deliberation of the contentious Marriage Equality Bill currently put on the back burner.

The pending legal cases of a political nature will be reviewed, while an amnesty law will be put forth to absolve those being prosecuted or who had been prosecuted in such cases.

In addition, new rules and ministerial regulations will be issued, while some existing ones will be abolished to reform the entire bureaucratic system for transparency reasons. Specifically, many regulations enforced by the Interior Ministry deemed to hold back the progress of local administrative organisations and keep them from achieving administrative independence will be cancelled.

Other priority tasks include pushing for enacting the party’s progressive liquor bill, which was shot down in its second and third readings in the House last year. The bill sought to amend the Excise Tax Act, with supporters claiming it would break the monopoly held by a few corporate distillers and allow small-scale producers to enter the market.

Mr Pita added the urgent policies would extend to the distribution of title deeds covering 6.5 million rai of land to people in the cooperatives and self-established settlements.

Also, the party will introduce “net metering”, an electric billing tool that uses the electric grid to “store” excess energy produced by a home solar panel system. Under the policy, energy produced by household solar panels left unused will be credited back to the household.

The party leader said the MFP has prepared 45 draft laws to be put to the parliament if and when it gets to work as the government.

Mr Pita said the party stands ready to pass the legislation to scrap military conscription and replace it with voluntary enlistment. He added that the MFP would also revive the criminal cases related to the crackdowns on the red-shirt protests in 2010.

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