BANGKOK: Easy access and trusting the wrong people may be fuelling a disturbing trend of cyanide poisoning murders in Thailand.
The toxic chemical cyanide is easy to find and trust plays an important role in murder via food poisoning, an unidentified forensic doctor told Nation TV on Thursday (July 18).
The use of this chemical surfaced in two cases in Thailand recently. The first time cyanide was found to have been used was when the case of serial-killer Sararat “Am” Rangsiwuthaporn made the headlines in April.
She was arrested on April 25 last year and charged with murdering up to 14 through cyanide poisoning.
The use of this toxic chemical surfaced again this week, when autopsy reports showed that the six people found dead in a room at Bangkok’s Grand Hyatt Erawan Hotel on Tuesday (July 16) evening had been poisoned with the chemical.
All six, three men and three women, were Vietnamese, though two were US citizens.
In both cases, police said, the chemical had been given to the victims in food or drink. Traces of the chemical were found in tea cups in the latest case.
Though cyanide is categorised as a controlled chemical in Thailand, people can still purchase it quite easily for purposes like repelling snakes and monitor lizards.
However, as per the Hazardous Substances Act, anybody caught producing, importing, exporting or even possessing cyanide can face up to two years in prison and/or a fine of up to 200,000 baht (US$5566).
Explaining that though this chemical is no longer used in the medical industry, the forensic doctor said it can be found naturally in vegetables like cassava, while the synthetic version is used in oil-based polish and car radiator cleaners.
“Synthetic cyanide plays an important role in daily life,” he said, adding that the chemical is so easy to find that it is even included in science kits that can be purchased at stationery stores.
He added that traces of cyanide can easily be detected during autopsy, adding that in the most recent case, the victims were possibly given cyanide-spiked tea.
Another crucial factor in murders through food poisoning becoming successful is “trust”.
“We won’t eat food offered by strangers, but will always accept it from people who we know. So, trust plays a big part in food poisoning,” he said. – The Nation/ANN
