Thailand denies bail to suspected serial killer as cyanide poisoning toll rises to 13
The Criminal Court of Thailand denied bail to the suspected serial killer, Sararat “Am” Rangsiwuthaporn. The number of victims has increased from 8 to 13, with two of them luckily surviving the cyanide poisoning.
The Criminal Court of Thailand denied bail and issued a detention notice against Am for 12 days from April 26 to May 7. During this time, the court will question 10 witnesses and investigate the autopsy result of the latest victim. Bail was denied to prevent the alleged serial killer from intervening in the investigation process or escaping.
Yesterday, the Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn, revealed to the media that 13 victims were poisoned with cyanide, which killed 11 of them. Two of the victims survived, one of whom was a woman named Pla, who lives in the central province of Kanchana Buri. The other survivor, who resides in the Isaan province of Khon Kaen, is still under investigation.
The other three victims who were murdered by the serial killer were identified as:
- A female vendor, Jarin, died on August 19 last year at Maha Chai Market in the central province of Samut Sakhon. She handed over 100,000 baht for Am to keep in a kitty purse on August 4.
- A 39 year old teacher, Phasudee, who died on November 20 of last year at her house in the central province of Nakhon Pathom. She handed over 100,000 baht to Am’s kitty on August 4
- A woman named Chantarat passed away on August 15 at her house in the southern province of Phetchaburi. She gave 70,000 baht to Am and invested another 20,000 baht in an online shop on TikTok with the alleged serial killer.
A surviving victim, Pla, revealed in an interview with the media that she and Am were friends because her husband and Am’s ex-husband were police officers. The alleged serial killer borrowed money of 250,000 baht from her in September of last year. After she got infected with Covid-19, Am gave her herbal medicine claiming that it could treat her cough and Covid.
Pla said that she took the medicine on the same day when Am asked her to dine with her at a shopping mall. The symptoms started while she was travelling, and she could not breathe and her body was tense. She called Am and asked her to pick her up and take her to the hospital. However, Am pretended to get lost, so Pla contacted the emergency rescue team and was saved.
Pla said that she did not become curious about her symptoms or that Am poisoned her until she read news about Koy and other victims.
Am’s ex-husband, a deputy superintendent of a police station in Ratchaburi, stated that he did not see Am going to work but she always appeared to have money. The reported serial killer asked him for 2 million baht. He had to borrow the money from someone else to give it to her and he is paying back the debt.
Big Joke revealed that Am’s sister is a pharmacist and operates a drug store in Ratchaburi, where Am lived. Officers are now investigating whether her sister was involved in the poisoning or not.
Big Joke also urged anyone suspicious about the recent deaths of their family members or friends to file a complaint with the police as it might be linked to Am. He added that officers are still investigating to see if there are any more suspects or victims connected to the case.
Update: Suspected serial killer arrested for the deaths of 8 victims
Suspected serial killer Sararat “Am” Rangsiwuthaporn, believed to be responsible for the deaths of eight victims, was arrested by Police yesterday. The suspect, Am, denied all allegations, despite the mountain of evidence provided by the victims’ relatives.
The arrest of Am was made following the death of Siriporn “Koy” Khanwong on Friday, April 14. Koy collapsed and died while releasing fish into a river in the central province of Ratchaburi. Koy’s family had suspicions about the cause of her death and suspected that Am, her friend, was involved.
The autopsy results revealed that Koy had been poisoned with the toxic chemical cyanide. Further investigations into the case led to Am’s arrest and the police found cyanide at her residence in Ratchaburi.
According to a KhaoSod report, four other victims also died similar to Koy, they collapsed or fainted and then died. All of them had close contact with Am and previously gave her money or invested in a business with her. Even Am’s ex-husband died under mysterious circumstances.
The investigations revealed that eight victims, including Koy, were allegedly murdered by Am:
A Thai man named Fah. He passed away at his house in the central province of Nakhon Pathom on December 13 of 2020
A Thai man named Surat “Bee” Thongplub. He passed away at his house in the central province of Kanchanaburi on January 13 of 2021
A Thai female police officer, police captain Kanda “Nui” Torai. She passed away in front of the Global House construction material and decorative product store in the central province of Nakhon Pathom on August 10 of 2022
A Thai woman named Kanika “Ae” Tuladate. She passed away at a petrol station in the central province of Ratchaburi on September 12 of 2022
Am’s ex-husband named Suttisak “Dae” Poonkwan. He passed away at his house in the Isaan province of Udon Thani on March 12 of this year
A Thai female police officer, police major general Nipha “Pu” Saenchan. She passed away at a Buddhist stupa Phra Pathon Chedi in the central province of Nakhon Pathom on April 1 of this year
A Thai woman named Siriporn “Koy” Khanwong. She passed away at the pier in the central province of Ratchaburi on April 14 of this year
Initially, the families of most victims did not show interest in the cause of their loved ones’ demise, leading to a scarcity of evidence that eventually hindered the arrest of Am.
Surachate “Big Joke” Hanparn, the Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), yesterday held a media briefing on the case. He disclosed that Am intended to target the financial assets of each victim, as she was aware of their wealth and focused on them.
Big Joke mentioned that the case was being investigated as a serial murder, but further evidence was required to bring Am to justice. The challenge in this situation was the lack of evidence since several families of the victims did not exhibit curiosity regarding the deaths and did not demand an autopsy to ascertain the actual cause of death.
Am, who is currently in police custody, declined to grant an interview with the media. Due to her pregnancy, police officers maintained a distance between her and the reporters.
Yesterday, the husband and daughter of Kanika “Ae” Tuladate, one of the victims, visited the Police Sports Club to meet with Big Joke and shared information regarding the death. According to Kanika’s daughter, See, her mother had visited a temple in Ratchaburi with Am before collapsing and passing away at a petrol station. See did not observe any suspicious activity, so the family conducted a regular funeral. However, after learning about Koy’s case, they became inquisitive about the cause of Kanika’s death.
A friend of Am’s ex-husband, A, informed the media that he suspected Am had murdered Dae using cyanide. Despite Dae’s demise, Am arranged a birthday party and did not attend the funeral. She only met with relatives to request money, claiming to be carrying Dae’s child.
As the investigation into the case persists, other families of the victims have also been providing information to both the media and the police.
As per the latest report, Am was taken to the hospital in the middle of last night due to high blood pressure caused by stress. She was treated at the hospital before being returned to custody.
ORIGINAL STORY: Thai woman arrested for allegedly killing 5 with cyanide
A Thai woman has been arrested for the alleged poisoning and killing of five people using cyanide. The arrest was made after the sudden and unexplained death of the alleged murderer’s most recent victim, Siriporn “Koy” Khanwong, a 32 year old Thai woman from the central province of Ratchaburi, on Saturday, April 1.
Koy was found dead at the Baan Pong Pier in Ratchaburi at 9am on Friday, April 14. Koy reportedly went to the pier to make merit by releasing fish into the river with her Thai friend, later identified as Sararat “Am” Rangsiwuthaporn.
The vendor who witnessed the incident reported that Koy went to the pier to release the fish alone and suddenly fainted. The rescue team came to the spot and provided her with CPR, but she did not respond to the operation. Koy was sent to the hospital and later pronounced dead from a heart attack.
The vendor revealed that she was curious why Koy’s Thai friend, Am, did not come to help her and disappeared from the scene.
The CCTV cameras at the place featured Koy and Am getting out of Am’s Toyota Vios sedan. The victim held a plastic bag of fish and went directly to the pier. However, the alleged murderer did not go with her. Instead, the Thai woman walked back and forth, as if she was waiting for someone.
Koy fainted at the pier, but the footage showed that Am did not go to her aid, instead, she drove off with the victim’s belongings and mobile phone.
Koy’s family was curious about her death as well and believed that the death was murder and that Koy’s friend, later identified as Sararat “Am” Rangsiwuthaporn, was involved.
Koy’s sister, Nipawan “Som” Khanwong, reported that she learned that her sister went to the pier with Am because Koy posted about it on Facebook. She contacted Am immediately to ask about Koy, but Am claimed she had not gone to the pier with Koy and was in another province.
Som said Am did not do anything suspicious. She kept asking her about Koy and expressed concern about the issue. Som did not suspect Am until the officers confirmed to her that they found Am on CCTV cameras.
Koy’s mother, 63 year old Thongpin Kianchanasiri, revealed that Am borrowed 50,000 baht from Koy but she did not know whether Am paid it back or not.
The family then sought help from the Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), Surachate “Big Joke” Hakparn. A thorough investigation of the case was conducted until the officers discovered that four other victims, who had close contact with Am, all passed away mysteriously. Three of the four people reportedly died from heart attacks similar to Koy.
The first deceased was a police officer named Kanda Torai who passed away on August 10 of last year after investing in a business with Am.
The second one was a teacher who died in September of last year after giving gold necklaces worth about 1 million baht to Am to invest in her business.
The third person was Am’s ex-boyfriend, who passed away on March 12 of this year. Am claimed to the deceased’s family that she was pregnant with the man’s child. So, the family gave her cash, a valuable amulet, and a gold necklace worth about 260,000 baht.
The fourth person was a police officer who frequently visited temples with Am. She fainted and passed away at a temple in the central province of Nakhon Pathom, and her assets disappeared.
After an investigation, officers later confirmed that Am was involved in Koy’s death and arrested Am today at 11am. Officers believe that Am poisoned Koy with cyanide to steal Koy’s assets.
Am was initially charged with Section 288 of the Criminal Law: intentional murder. The penalty will be life imprisonment or imprisonment for 15 to 20 years. Further investigation will be conducted to see whether Am was involved in the deaths of the other four deceased or not and how exactly she operated to kill her victims.
