A Thai woman, reported to be one of the country’s most dangerous criminals, has been convicted and sentenced to death for poisoning a friend with cyanide, in the first of 14 murder trials.
The woman, named Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, 36, has been described in reports as an online gambling addict. She allegedly deceived thousands of dollars from her victims before killing them with cyanide. Thai reports suggest that she used the stolen money to fund her gambling habits.
On Wednesday, the Bangkok court sentenced her to death for poisoning and killing her friend Siriporn Khanwong. The two met last year near Bangkok airport to participate in a Buddhist ritual of releasing fish into the Mae Klong River.
Moments after the ritual, Siriporn collapsed and died. Investigators later found cyanide in her body.
Following the incident, authorities linked Sararat to a series of cyanide poisonings dating back to 2015.
“The court’s decision is just,” said Siriporn’s mother, Tongpin Kiatchanasiri, after the verdict. “I want to tell my daughter that I miss her deeply, and justice has been done for her today.”
Authorities revealed that Sararat funded her gambling addiction by borrowing money from her victims—one case involved as much as 300,000 baht (nearly £6,800)—before killing them and stealing their jewelry and mobile phones.
They further stated, “She asked people she knew for money because she had a lot of credit card debt… and if they asked her to repay them, she started killing them.”
According to reports, she lured 15 people, of whom only one survived, to take poisoned “herb capsules.” Sararat has been charged in 13 additional murder trials and accused of around 80 offenses in total.
Her ex-husband, a police lieutenant colonel, was sentenced to 16 months in prison, while her former lawyer received a two-year sentence for complicity in Siriporn’s murder.
(Inputs from Agencies)
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