Senior cop's wife arrested, suspected of 7 murders
published : 26 Apr 2023 at 09:07
writer: Gary Boyle
ORIGINAL SOURCE/WRITER: Wassayos Ngamkham
The wife of a high-level police officer has been arrested for the murder of a woman from Kanchanaburi, and investigators suspect her involvement in the deaths of six other women.
Police identified the suspect as Sararat "Aem" Rangsiwuthaporn. The husband's name was not revealed, but he was reported to be a deputy provincial police superintendent in Ratchaburi province.
Police arrested Ms Sararat on Tuesday about 11am at the government office complex on Chaeng Wattana road in Bangkok. She had a bottle of cyanide in her possession.
The arrest followed a complaint by the mother and the elder sister of Siriporn "Koy" Khanwong, 32, who was from Kanchanaburi. Ms Siriporn collapsed and died on the bank of the Mae Klong river in Ban Pong district, where she went with friends to release fish for merit-making on April 14. Cyanide was found in her body.
Investigators came to the belief that Ms Sararat might be the person who mixed cyanide in Siriporn's food, causing her death. She allegedly also stole the victim's valuables.
Police said the investigation was being expanded into whether Ms Sararat had anything to do with the deaths of six other women she had been in contact with and who died in a similar manner. Two of the seven who died were policewomen.
About 11pm on Tuesday, the death of another woman, Kanika Tuladecharak, 44, was brought to the police's attention by her father and daughter. The two believed Ms Sararat was responsible for Kanika's death.
The daughter said that on Sept 11, 2022, Kanika drove from her home in Bangkok to meet Ms Sararat in Ratchaburi. From there, her mother travelled in the same car with Ms Sararat. According to an account given to her family, Kanika later fainted and died at a PTT petrol station. She said some of her mother's valuables had disappeared, including a mobile phone, cash and some gold jewellery.
The family suspected Ms Sararat was responsible for Kanika's death.
Learn from listening
Vocabulary
- belief (noun): something that you think is true - ความเชื่อ
- collapse: (of people and business) to fail suddenly; to suddenly be unable to continue or work correctly - ล้ม (ธุรกิจ)
- complex: an area that has several parts - พื้นที่ประกอบด้วยส่วนต่าง ๆ
- faint: to suddenly become unconscious for a short time, and usually fall to the ground - เป็นลม
- identified (verb): named, searched for a discovered - ระบุ
- investigation: the process of trying to find out all the details or facts about something - การสอบสวน
- manner: way - วิธีการ
- possession: having or owning something - การครอบครอง
- responsible for: deserving to be blamed for something that has happened - มีความรับผิดชอบ
- suspect: a person who is thought to have committed a crime - ผู้ต้องสงสัย
- suspect: to believe that something is true, especially something bad - สงสัย, เป็นที่สงสัยว่า
- valuables: small possessions that are worth a lot of money, for example jewellery - ของล้ำค่า