Death penalty for Thai woman accused of murdering fourteen friends with cyanide
Bangkok: A 36-year-old woman in Thailand has been sentenced to death in the first of a string of cases in which she is accused of murdering 14 friends with cyanide.
The court in Bangkok on Wednesday found Sararat Rangsiwuthaporn, guilty of putting poison in a wealthy friend's food and drink while they were on a trip last year. According to a report by the Guardian, the two met near Bangkok in April 2023 to release fish into the Mae Klong river as part of a Buddhist ritual. Siriporn collapsed and died shortly afterwards and investigators found traces of cyanide in her body. Her phone, money and bags were missing when she was found.
Tongpin Kiatchanasiri, Siriporn’s mother, told reporters that the court’s decision is fair. “I want to tell my daughter that I miss her deeply and justice has been done for her today,” she expressed.
Sararat, described as an online gambling addict, is accused of swindling thousands of dollars from her victims before killing them with the chemical.
“She asked people she knows for money because she has a lot of credit card debt; and if they asked her for their money back, she started killing them,” Surachate Hakparn, deputy national police chief, was quoted as saying by the publication.
She has lured 15 people, one of whom survived, to take poisoned “herb capsules”. Sararat faces 13 more separate murder trials and has been charged with about 80 offences in total.
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Senior citizen duped of Rs 23.5 lakh on threat of digital arrest in Thane district
Thane (PTI): A 68-year-old man was allegedly cheated of Rs 23.5 lakh by cyber fraudsters who threatened him with digital arrest in Maharashtra's Thane district, police said on Monday.
This is a second such incident reported in the district this week, an official said.
Based on a complaint, the Kalyan police have registered a case under relevant provisions of the Information Technology Act, Assistant Inspector Vinod Patil of Mahatma Phule police station said.
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"The complainant alleged that two unidentified persons cheated him of Rs 23.5 lakh by threatening to place him under digital arrest and forced him to transfer money through online transactions between December 8 and 12," Patil said.
'Digital arrest’ is a growing form of cybercrime in which fraudsters pose as law enforcement officials or personnel of government agencies and intimidate victims through audio/video calls. They hold the victims hostage and put pressure on them to pay money.
He said that the accused allegedly contacted the victim on WhatsApp video calls and claimed that his bank transactions were suspicious and linked to alleged irregularities.
"The fraudsters told him that he could be placed under digital arrest, but assured him that they would help him avoid legal action if he cooperated," the officer said.
He said that the accused repeatedly threatened the senior citizen and put pressure on him to make multiple online money transfers amounting to Rs 23.5 lakh.
The fraud came to light after the victim narrated the incident to acquaintances and approached the police on realising he had been duped.
"We are analysing bank transaction details, call records and digital evidence to track down the accused," Patil said.
