Thai cyanide serial murder case spans eight years
SingTao · 1 SOURCESabout 3 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Thai investigators have tied 15 poisoning cases across eight provinces between 2015 and 2023 to Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, a woman widely dubbed “Am Cyanide”, with 14 deaths and one survivor linked to the inquiry. Police suspect she used informal debt, lending and rotating savings relationships to approach victims, then poisoned them with cyanide to steal valuables or escape repayment pressure. The case gained momentum after the April 14, 2023 death of 32-year-old Siriporn “Koy” Khanwong, whose family rejected an initial natural-death explanation and pushed for an autopsy. Thai courts are trying the deaths separately; in August this year, Sararat received another death sentence in what was the seventh ruling among the 15 cases, although she has also been acquitted in one case
Key Points
- Siriporn travelled with Sararat to the Mae Klong River in Ratchaburi province on April 14, 2023 to release fish, then suddenly collapsed and later died
- CCTV captured the pair together, but Sararat allegedly left without helping, while Siriporn’s phone, handbag and other belongings later disappeared
- A post-mortem requested by Siriporn’s family found cyanide in her body, leading police to review communications, CCTV footage and bank records
- Police later grouped 15 poisoning cases in eight provinces into one investigation, after taking more than 900 statements and compiling about 26,500 documents
- Financial investigators found roughly 78 million baht had moved through Sararat’s bank accounts, with some funds suspected of being transferred to online gambling accounts
Why It Matters
For Hong Kong readers, the case is a stark warning about the risks inside private lending and “hui” or rotating savings networks that rely heavily on personal trust rather than formal oversight. It also shows how poisoning deaths can be missed when there are no obvious injuries, especially if families do not press for targeted toxicology tests after a sudden collapse