A 25-year-old man has admitted to poisoning his female friend in what is believed to be an attempt to claim an insurance payment, say police, who are now preparing additional charges against him.
The suspect identified only as Patipat (surname withheld) was arrested on Wednesday in Phayuhakhiri district of Nakhon Sawan for allegedly attempting to bribe officials.
The charge was laid during a police investigation into the death of Chonlada Khongdam, who was taken to a hospital in Lop Buri on Feb 2 this year after a minor motorcycle crash.
Her injuries were minor but her condition deteriorated, and she died the next day. An autopsy showed traces of cyanide in her system, and given the level found, it was suspected that she had ben poisoned.
Mr Patipat acted on behalf of Chonlada’s family after the tragedy.
As police were about to conclude the cause of death in June, they questioned Mr Patipat and he allegedly offered investigators 200,000 baht to rule the case as an accident.
On Aug 1 he raised the amount to 1 million baht but police refused the offer. They reported the matter to a supervisor and Mr Patipat was charged with bribery.
Police subsequently found that Chonlada had four life insurance policies worth 11 million baht and listed Mr Patipat as the beneficiary.
They also found that the suspect had ordered a bottle of cyanide online in January.
Following his arrest this week, Mr Patipat initially denied any involvement and claimed he and the victim were high-school friends, and she trusted him to take care of her son.
However, the suspect confessed after being presented with evidence of the cyanide purchase, police said.