A woman suspected of using cyanide to murder 14 people has been sentenced to death by the Criminal Court, having been found guilty of killing one victim, Siriporn Khanwong, during a merit-making trip last year.
On Wednesday, the court pronounced the sentence on 37-year-old Sararat “Aem cyanide” Rangsiwuthaporn. She was convicted of poisoning Siriporn, 32, by adding potassium cyanide to her food or drinking water while they were releasing fish into the Mae Klong River in Ban Pong district, Ratchaburi, on April 14, 2023. Siriporn fell unconscious and died near the river.
The court noted that Sararat showed no surprise as her friend collapsed. Instead of assisting Siriporn, she left the scene, taking the victim’s belongings, including her bag and mobile phone, valued at 154,630 baht. The court interpreted Sararat’s actions as indicative of her expectation of Siriporn’s fate.
The medical examination revealed lethal levels of potassium cyanide in Siriporn’s blood, stomach, and liver, suggesting she ingested the poison in Sararat’s car before they arrived at the river. After the incident, Sararat attempted to conceal the victim’s belongings and the potassium cyanide, purchasing the substance and arranging for its delivery via a motorcyclist.
The court’s investigation uncovered that Sararat’s bank accounts reflected transactions totaling approximately 95 million baht from January 1, 2020, to May 5 last year, linked to online gambling networks. It was also revealed that she had accumulated significant debts, exacerbated by heavy losses in online gambling in 2021 and 2022, coinciding with the unexplained deaths of several acquaintances, leading police to suspect Siriporn was Sararat’s 15th victim.
In its ruling, the court found Sararat guilty of premeditated murder aimed at theft. Additionally, her ex-husband, Withoon Rangsiwuthaporn, 40, a former chief of the Suan Phueng police station, and her lawyer, Thanicha Aeksuwannawat, 36, received two-year prison sentences for aiding in concealing the victim’s belongings. Withoon’s sentence was reduced to one year and four months due to his valuable testimony.
The court mandated the three convicted individuals to pay approximately 2.34 million baht in compensation to Siriporn’s family, despite all three denying the charges.
Sararat is also under suspicion for poisoning another 14 individuals between 2015 and 2023 either to evade debts or to steal their valuables. In most instances, the poison was reportedly administered through food, and in one case, it was incorporated into diet pills, with only one of the alleged victims surviving.
Sararat was arrested on April 25, 2023, and has been held at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution. She was pregnant at the time of her arrest but suffered a miscarriage during the fifth or sixth month of her pregnancy as police completed their investigation into her case in June last year.
