A Thai woman in the central province of Chanthaburi allegedly poisoned members of her husband’s family with cyanide, including her mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law, leading to one death.
Non-profit organisation Saimai Survive accompanied Yupaporn to the Ministry of Public Health to seek justice for her mother, who had just died in hospital, and her grandmother, who managed to survive the poisoning.
In an interview with the media on December 19, the 30 year old woman accused her sister-in-law, Ying, of taking her grandmother, Chuay, to get a haircut. Ying offered Chuay a soft drink, which caused Chuay to lose consciousness.
While Chuay was in hospital, Ying picked up Yupaporn’s mother, Sommai, at the hospital to meet Chuay. The suspicious incident occurred on their way back home when Sommai lost consciousness after drinking water given to her by Ying.
Sommai remained in hospital for 11 days before she died. Yupaporn insisted that her mother had no pre-existing health conditions that could have caused this fatal symptom.
Yupaporn began to suspect that Ying had poisoned both Chuay and Sommai. However, Chuay only consumed a small amount, which enabled her to survive. According to Yupaporn, Ying’s motive was the debt she owed to Chuay and Sommai.
The poison is suspected to be cyanide, as Sommai’s hands and feet turned dark after her death. Yupaporn suspected that Ying took inspiration from the cyanide serial killer in carrying out the crime.
Ying is reportedly living in the family home in the Khlung district of Chanthaburi. Chuay has recently moved out of the house for her safety. People in the community have expressed their fears and concerns that Ying might use the chemical to harm anyone she has had a conflict with.
The Assistant to the Public Health Minister, Thanakrit Jitareerat, promised to conduct further investigations into Sommai’s death. He confirmed that Sommai’s lifeless body displayed signs of cyanide poisoning, and the medical team initially found traces of a chemical substance in her system.
However, Thanakrit urged the family and the public to await the official autopsy results to confirm the cause of Sommai’s death and identify the chemical substance, if any.
The accused woman, Ying, has not yet come forward to defend herself or provide her account to the public.
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