Deadly diet pill maker caught

Police have arrested the co-producer of a weight loss pill which caused the death of three people after he breached bail conditions set by the court.

Crime Suppression Division police detained Natthawat Warodommakorn, 50, outside a condominium in Huai Khwang district of Bangkok on Thursday.

Mr Natthawat was wanted under an arrest warrant issued on Jan 18 by the Kanchanaburi Provincial Court after he broke bail conditions by not attending the hearing. He and a business partner, whose name was not released, were charged with adding substances to a drug that led to the deaths of consumers.

The two produced Lyn, a brand of diet pill. Three customers died in 2018 after taking them, one in Kanchanaburi's Muang district.

The Institute of Forensic Medicine later said two illegal chemicals had caused their deaths. They were sibutramine, an appetite suppressant, and bisacodyl, a laxative. The two substances were banned by the Food and Drug Administration in 2010.

Mr Natthawat's partner died last year. He claimed his partner was responsible for adding the harmful chemicals. Mr Natthawat said he had no intention of breaching the court order, citing health problems.

He was later sent back to the provincial court in Kanchanaburi province.