‘Am Cyanide’: The story of Thailand’s female serial-murder suspect

Police have launched an investigation into what they suspect is Thailand’s first female serial killer. The number of her alleged victims rose over the past week as more people came forward to voice their suspicions.

Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, 36, was arrested on April 25 after police were alerted to the death of her friend, 32-year-old Siriporn Khanwong. As of press time, the investigation had expanded to cover as many as 14 deaths and one suspected survivor of poisoning. Cyanide has been identified as the likely murder weapon, and money as the motive.

Background of suspect

Sararat, nicknamed “Am”, is a graduate of Nakhon Pathom Rajabhat University just west of Bangkok. Lecturers recall nothing out of the ordinary about her looks or behavior during her university years. Sararat majored in public relations and completed her studies in 2009.

She had reportedly been married to a policeman, Pol Lt-Colonel Witoon Rangsiwuthaporn, until last year. The couple had two children together.

Residents of the Kanchanaburi police flats where the couple used to live said Sararat was reserved and only talked to well-off police families.

At least two of her suspected victims are policewomen.

Late last year, Sararat became the common-law wife of Suttisak Poonkwan. He died on March 12 and police have now listed him as a potential poisoning victim.

Sararat was four-months' pregnant at the time of her arrest.

14 sudden deaths

Police are investigating the sudden deaths of 14 people who suffered symptoms associated with cyanide poisoning shortly after spending time with Sararat.

Some died after lending money to the suspect. Others were missing valuables.

For example, the latest alleged victim, Siriporn, drove with the suspect to make merit by releasing fish in the Mae Klong River in Ratchaburi. Soon after, she collapsed and died on the riverbank. CCTV recordings show Siriporn looking perfectly healthy as she walked down to the pier holding the bag of fish.

Investigators found that Sararat had accompanied Siriporn to the spot but then left the scene as bystanders attempted to save her life.

Siriporn’s relatives raised suspicions after Sararat claimed she was not with Siriporn at the time of the incident. She only admitted to accompanying Siriporn on the merit-making trip after being confronted with the evidence. Suspicions grew further when Siriporn’s possessions – a luxury bag, about 40,000 baht in cash, and two cellphones – were discovered to be missing.

After Siriporn’s suspicious death made headlines, several families raised the alarm that their loved ones had also died after being last seen with Sararat.

The oldest suspected case involving Sararat took place in 2015, when Montatip Khao-in succumbed to acute heart failure shortly after returning to Thailand. Montatip had lived overseas after marrying a foreigner. Sararat picked her up at the airport when she arrived back in her homeland. Montatip died soon after, and her mother said Sararat then stepped in to handle her assets under the pretext of demands from her foreign husband.

Between 2020 and last month, another 13 alleged victims died after encounters with Sararat.

Pol Major Nipa Sanjan succumbed to respiratory and heart failure on April 1. Lab tests detected cyanide in her blood. She fell dead just after accompanying Sararat to pray at the Phra Pathom Chedi in Nakhon Pathom. Following her death, her family discovered 10,000 baht of her cash was gone and 140,000 baht had been mysteriously withdrawn from her bank account.

The other policewoman allegedly poisoned by Sararat was Pol Captain Kanda Torai. She had lent Sararat money before being found dead inside her car without any sign of injury on August 10 last year. Her smartwatch, iPad, cellphone, and car dashcam were missing.

If Thailand had a coroner system in place, Sararat’s crimes could have been exposed sooner and many lives could have been saved, commented renowned forensics expert Dr Porntip Rojanasunan.

In other countries, including the US, Britain, Hong Kong and Australia, the coroner is a public official charged with investigating the cause of deaths, especially those deemed suspicious.

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Sole survivor

Kantima Pae-saard, who lent 250,000 baht to Sararat, believes she might have died just like Kanda had help not arrived in time. Kantima told police that Sararat gave her pills that she described as cough medicine at a department store during their outing together in Kanchanaburi. While driving out of the mall, Kantima felt a tightness in her chest and tried to call Sararat for help, but she just cut off the phone call. Fortunately, Kantima got through to the 1669 hotline for medical emergencies. She stopped breathing but help arrived in time to resuscitate her.

“Now, I suspect that she tried to poison me,” Kantima said, as she lodged a complaint with the police.

Plea of innocence

Sararat has so far pleaded her innocence, as has her ex, Witoon. After Sararat came under investigation, Witoon was transferred from his post as deputy superintendent for investigation at Ratchaburi’s Ban Pong Police Station. Both Sararat and Witoon have been interrogated.

On May 2, Deputy National Police Commissioner Pol General Surachate Hakparn revealed that investigators had interrogated a suspect close to Sararat.

“Her likely accomplice is a policeman,” Surachate said, without mentioning a name. “We should be able to get an arrest warrant for the accomplice within two days”.

Serial killers in Thailand

If Sararat is found guilty of multiple poisonings, her name will be added to a list of Thailand’s serial killers over the past century that so far comprises only men. Notorious killers on that list include “Iron-chest” Boonpeng, who was beheaded in 1919 for killing victims, stuffing their bodies into chests and throwing them into canals.

In more recent times, Somkid Pumpuang was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing five masseuses in 2005, while Chamlong “Nirut” Sornkamharn committed suicide while in detention for allegedly poisoning at least eight truck drivers in 2011-12. Others on the list include convicted child-killer Si Ouey, who was executed by firing squad in 1959, and Charles Sobhraj, the “serpent” who somehow slipped through the hands of police in the 1970s after killing 14 people in Thailand.

Death penalty?

While the families of several of the alleged victims have demanded the death sentence for Sararat, some legal experts say her life will be spared even if she is convicted.

Public prosecutor Poramate Intarachumnum said the Criminal Procedure Code, which was amended in 2007, states that no convict shall be executed while pregnant.

“And although the death sentence is only supposed to be delayed by three years, it will automatically be commuted to life imprisonment if her child is still alive after three years,” he said.

By Thai PBS World