A warning regarding the penalties under the Hazardous Substance Act, which defines cyanide as a Category 3 substance, was released by the Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD) on Friday.
Cyanide has lately gained attention after a 36-year-old woman was detained in Bangkok last week while in possession of a vial of the deadly poison. She is charged with first-degree murder for allegedly poisoning a Kanchanaburi businesswoman on April 14 in Ratchaburi province.
According to further inquiry, Sararat “Am” Rangsiwuthaporn may be connected to the 18 other strange deaths. Police presume that the suspect poisoned them in order to avoid paying debts to the victims or to steal their property.
An authorization from the Industry Ministry is necessary to import or possess cyanide, according to Pol Maj-General Anant Nanasombat, the head of the CPPD. Infringers might face a maximum fine of 200,000 baht as well as a prison sentence of up to two years. According to him, both conventional and online means cannot be used to sell the chemical.
In the mining industry and for electroplating, cyanide is typically employed in the metal separation process. It serves as a substrate for the narcotics industry as well. Physical exposure can affect the body’s ability to utilise oxygen, and the chemical has the potential to be fatal. It can be found in chemical compounds as a colorless gas, liquid, or crystallized form.
The following symptoms, including chest pain or tightness, dizziness, eye pain or tearing, difficulty breathing, headache, nausea, rapid or slow heartbeat, dyspnea, vomiting, loss of consciousness, seizures, coma, and death, can occur as a result of cyanide exposure.
