The cyanide poisoning drama involving a pregnant suspect in Kanchanaburi is a shock, not only because of the high number of victims but also the legal loopholes that enabled the suspect to obtain and allegedly misuse a highly hazardous substance.
According to the police investigation, Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, dubbed "Aem Cyanide" by the media, is implicated in 14 untimely deaths that spanned the course of three years, starting late 2020.
Only one victim who fell ill after taking "medicinal pills" -- allegedly provided by Ms Sararat -- survived. One of her former husbands, Pol Lt Col Withoon Rangsiwuthaporn, also faces charges of receiving stolen goods, forging documents and using them.
The latest victim, Siriporn "Koy" Khanwong, died on April 14 while on a trip, accompanied by Ms Sararat, to release fish as a part of merit-making at a Ratchaburi pier. Ms Sararat's alleged lies about her whereabouts, trying to convince the victim's family that she did not see the woman that day, triggered suspicion.
CCTV footage show she was with the victim until Siriporn went down to the pier, where she collapsed. Traces of cyanide were found in Siriporn's body and the car they rode in together.
The suspicion led police to expand their investigation. They came across some shocking data: at least 14 people, mostly colleagues and friends of Ms Sararat's, and one of her ex-husbands, had died one after the other since late 2020, in what looked like separate cases.
However, the investigation suggested all cases are linked to Ms Sararat and her money trail: they were either members of her informal money lending programme or individual lenders.
Her alleged victims were of working age, in good health, and died suddenly.
Initially, it was reported that Ms Sararat bought some potassium cyanide online. Netizens complained that adverts for potassium cyanide, a substance used in extracting gold and silver from ore, fumigating, and electroplating, had flooded the net.
Only after the heinous nature of the suspected crime hit headlines have those adverts disappeared. The poisoning drama suggests the online marketplace where people can easily obtain illicit products, like guns, needs to be regulated at once.
With regard to the poisoning drama, the purchase of a certain amount of deadly cyanide is technically not illegal. The law requires a buyer's permit only when they buy a substantial amount. This law must be reviewed immediately.
More importantly, the saga speaks volumes about investigation loopholes, particularly the omission of an autopsy when unusual deaths have occurred. The blunders were due to a lack of forensic laboratories, equipment and experts in the health system and a hospital budget shortage. For this reason, an autopsy, which demonstrated poisoning as a cause of death, was conducted on only two of Ms Sararat's alleged victims.
Forensic expert and senator Khunying Porntip Rojanasunan said some health reformers have tried to make an autopsy mandatory, especially in unusual deaths.
In practice, most hospitals, especially those in the provinces, have limited capacity, and they are reluctant to carry one out, even when they have handled deaths in suspicious circumstances. The cyanide poisoning case shows the need for an immediate change.
Had potassium cyanide been singled out as the cause of death earlier, more than a few lives might have been saved.
