Police will file additional charges against Sararat, a suspect in the poisoning of a string of victims over the course of several years, after traces of cyanide were detected in the blood of a deceased victim.
Sararat, aka “Am”, is being held on remand at the Central Women’s Correctional Institution pending further investigation.
Police now believe that the number of victims killed by cyanide poisoning may be as high as 11, including the latest victim, Siriporn, whose remains have been impounded for further examination.
Police have searched the drug store of Sararat’s pharmacist sister in Ratchaburi province on suspicion that Sararat might have obtained cyanide from there.
Meanwhile, a Facebook post on the “Frontier Doctors” webpage recalled the case of victim of suspected poisoning who was admitted to Mae Sot District Hospital in Tak province last September.
According to Dr. Kamolwan, the 60-year-old patient was admitted to an emergency ward upon her arrival. She was in a coma but still breathing, prompting doctors to put her on a ventilator.
Initially, doctors suspected that she might have suffered a stroke, but blood tests showed a high concentration of acid in the blood and a high white blood cell count, which suggested that she might have a serious bacterial infection.
The patient was sent for an X-ray and administered antibiotics and fluids. Dr. Kamolwan became suspicious, however, because the patient’s symptoms also suggested that she might have been exposed to a poison of some sort. She then consulted the toxicology centre at Ramathibodi Hospital and, as a result, administered an antidote.
Luckily, the patient’s heart was not damaged by the poison and she gradually recovered.
Specimens sent for analysis showed traces of cyanide at about 3.2µg/mL.
