On Tuesday, as a conference on the case was announced, General Surachate Hakparn warned firms involved in the supply chain relating to cyanide are being looked at and legal proceedings will be taken if it is found that proper protocols and safety regulations were not followed. It is believed the suspected killer obtained the supply from a Bangkok-based firm. It has also emerged that the alleged serial killer suffered from mental illness and was addicted to online gambling which caused a state of chronic financial instability, a possible contributing factor to the killing spree.
Police working on the ‘Am Cyanide’ serial murder case on Tuesday revealed that an arrest warrant was being sought for a police officer in connection with the matter. Although the announcement by General Surachate Hakparn, the task force leader, failed to identify the officer, it is believed to be the husband of the main suspect Ms Sararat Rangsiwutthaporn. She faces a further 10 arrest warrants for murder and charges with police focusing on her addiction to online gambling as a reason for the nightmare she unleashed. Police are also probing the source of the cyanide used by the suspected serial killer. General Surachate has warned that any firm found guilty of ignoring or being negligent in the enforcement of safety protocols designed for the control of the quick-acting and deadly poison will also face legal proceedings. It comes as there are now 14 confirmed deaths linked to the suspected killer as police review the increasing number of cases before them. General Surachate has assured the public the circumstantial evidence against the accused woman is both compelling and mounting at this time.
On Tuesday, Deputy National Police Chief General Surachate Hakparn told reporters that a police officer has been implicated in the ongoing serial murder probe linked with Am Cyanide or Ms Sararat. However, police are not yet sure of the extent of the involvement of the senior officer in Ratchaburi who has also been reported to have been shifted again from his position as a deputy inspector of investigations in the province.
General Surachate, who did not name the suspect, said that an arrest warrant would be sought from the Criminal Court within the next few days.
Strong speculation that the senior officer facing arrest is the husband of the suspected serial killer who is a Police Lieutenant Colonel in Ratchaburi
Although not confirmed, there is strong speculation that the officer involved is the Police Lieutenant Colonel husband of the accused woman who is a serving officer in Ratchaburi where reports suggest that the couple, although divorced for the last three years, still live together with their children as a family.
An investigative committee is also believed to have been set up to look at the involvement of the police officer in his wife’s alleged nefarious activities.
According to police sources he has been linked to ferrying his wife from Udon Thani after the death of her new husband Mr Suthisak Poonkhwan who died on March 12th in what police believed to have been another murder.
On Tuesday, General Surachate Hakparn or ‘Big Joke’ hinted strongly that the senior officer will be arrested in connection with the serial murder investigation although there is no indication as to what sort of charges the officer may face.
Police are looking at reports that the duo stopped at a pawn shop in Nakhon Pathom on the way.
Big Joke says an arrest warrant will be issued
‘The important thing about today’s meeting is it will speed up the making of the case firmly, for the court to consider punishing the offender. And we will come to see the evidence linked to the people close to the suspect as well. We have found evidence that supports the charges against Am. As for the details of those who may also have participated in the criminal activity? Any kind of wrongdoing has yet to be disclosed. Initially, it was a police officer who had already come to give evidence. It is expected that within one to two days, we will be able to request an additional arrest warrant for this police officer from the court.’
The same reports suggest that the officer had helped facilitate a loan business operated by the accused woman with some financial assistance although in Thailand this would normally be a matter of course between husband and wife.
The main focus of police enquiries in recent days has been on the source of the cyanide that the task force believes the killer used to carry out her campaign of death going back to at least 2015.
Online gambling addiction, money woes
There is also, according to police sources, evidence that the woman at the centre of the swirling series of murders, Ms Sararat Rangsiwutthaporn, may have suffered from a serious mental illness some years ago.
Other reports from witnesses who have spoken to police, suggested that woman was prone to bouts of suicidal thoughts because of her money woes.
It appears that her life was financially unstable as the woman had a gambling addiction and ran up large credit card debt in connection with this pursuit.
Some sources within the investigation suggest that the police officer may not have been fully cognisant of his wife’s suspected brutal campaign of murder
Investigators sift through suspect’s bank details with reports of large transfers from her bank account to her divorced husband who still lived with her
Investigators also have revealed that the senior police officer may have benefited from the dealings of his divorced wife with substantial amounts of money, estimated to be in the millions of baht being transferred from her account according to a forensic examination of the accused’s bank accounts.
Ms Sararat, now notoriously known as ‘Am Cyanide’, has been held at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution Bangkok since April 26th last.
According to sources in Bangkok, police investigators working on the case searched several buildings in recent days linked with the company that police believed supplied the deadly poison to the main suspect.
Police probe the source of the cyanide
The premises consisting of a double four-storey building houses the Bangkok-based firm which, ordinarily, sells the poison to laboratories which use the lethal substance for scientific and experimental testing.
Police, apart from searching the suspect’s cars where substantial quantities of cyanide were found, have also sent up to 400 items linked with Ms Sararat for testing to ascertain more about how she used the substance.
On April 25th last, when first arrested by the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) in Bangkok, she was found to be carrying cyanide in a container.
14 deaths believed to be at the hands of the suspected serial killer who now faces more charges of premeditated murder as well as other offences
On Tuesday, General Surachate disclosed that the confirmed death toll in the investigation has now risen to 14 deaths but this is expected to rise as over 20 cases are being investigated with others still being reported.
There has been one person who police think is the survivor of a poisoning attempt by the key suspect who is now facing further charges of premeditated murder as well as further charges linked with the deadly activity that police strongly suspect she was involved in.
A week after the suspect’s arrest last Tuesday, the task force chief, General Surachate, held a full conference of all officers involved between the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) and police officers working on the case from Regions Four and Seven.
It reviewed all the evidence and strands of information available at this point as the investigators pursue a methodical approach to the probe by which they hope to gain a fuller understanding of what appears to be a monstrous killing spree linked with financial greed and avarice.
Case conference between all police forces working on the case as officers reviewed the poison’s supply chain and the enforcement of security protocols
The probe by officers into the source of the deadly poison has also shone a light on the need for a stricter licence and regulation enforcement into its control, said the top police officer on Tuesday.
The supervising bodies for the poisonous substance include the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Industrial Works.
Police are investigating the supply chain that contributed to this outrage to see if all procedures and regulations were complied with by the firms involved. This includes looking for failure to conduct audits and enforce safeguards surrounding its importation and distribution.
At the same time, the deputy police chief said that the evidence against the accused woman is both strong and mounting.
‘If found to be involved, legal action will be taken. Police will also compile evidence to support an application for a court arrest warrant in a day or two. I assure you that police have the evidence to prosecute ‘Am’ in all cases. There is both circumstantial evidence and autopsy results,’ General Surachate said.
Suspect’s husband recalled for questioning on Tuesday after Friday’s intense probing by officers
On Tuesday, it is understood that Police Lieutenant Colonel Withoon Rangsiwutthaporn was called back in by the task force for a second round of questioning following his meeting with officers last Friday with an interrogation, on that occasion, lasting for 10 hours.
Afterwards, the officer told reporters that his mental condition was frayed as he declined to answer questions.
Officers said on Tuesday that more information was required in connection with key circumstances which were now the focus of the probe.
Police forensic accountants are examining in detail the financial relationships between the estranged husband and wife with one officer on Tuesday suggesting that the amount of profit linked with a loan business undertaking transferred by the main suspect to the Ratchaburi-based officer was minimal while other indications suggest large transfers into his account from his wife.
Police Lieutenant Colonel Withoon explained to officers the couple lived in separate bedrooms but they needed to cohabit to tend to their children.
10 other arrest warrants reported as sought
Police are also investigating new cases concerning the wide-ranging investigations with reports that 10 other arrest warrants have been issued for other charges of murder against Ms Sararat.
On Tuesday, police also confirmed that Nim Nuchit, the wife of Dr Nitiphan Nuchit, whose emotional appearance on Thailand’s Channel 3 TV a few days ago stirred the country, is among the 14 confirmed deaths now confirmed as suspected to be at the hands of the alleged serial killer.
Thailand’s biggest serial killer suspect legally protected from the death penalty as horror grows
She died when Am Cyanide or Ms Sararat sent her what her husband believes to have been a poisoned diet pill on November 25th 2020.
Police are looking to interview further witnesses in connection with the shocking serial murder investigation with further developments likely.
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Further reading:
Thailand’s biggest serial killer suspect legally protected from the death penalty as horror grows
Damning evidence mounts against what police now believe to be a prolific cyanide serial killer
Killer sentenced to death for the 2nd time for the murder of a woman 7 months after being paroled
Sadistic rapist, drug dealer and serial murderer is sentenced to life in prison by Thon Buri court
Death sentence for murderous trio who executed a loving Thai wife and her UK husband in Phrae
Lopburi child killer is a primary school director who murdered 3 people this month just for kicks
93% of Thai people want to see the death penalty put to use to curb shocking murders and drug gangs
