Police grab grannies over polling booth confusion in which papers are damaged
Two elderly women and a man were arrested after mistakenly destroying their ballot papers
at polling booths yesterday.
In Ayutthaya, Pranom Hiranmas, 72, said she had marked her papers incorrectly and destroyed them without realising that she was breaking the law. After questioning, the police concluded it was a mistake and Pranom was temporarily released while prosecutors consider whether to send the case to court. "I have always voted but I really didn't know that destroying the papers broke the law," Pranom said. Duang Boonrak, 81, in Surat Thani's Thung Luang sub-district, was arrested after leaving a booth with damaged papers. The provincial EC director Chusak Eakphet concluded that Duang had not intended to violate the law but had accidentally damaged the papers while trying to fold them. Later, an administrative officer arranged Duang's bail. In Khon Kaen, Sutham Chumhin, 39, tore his ballot papers and told police he did not remember that it was forbidden as he had only voted twice before. "I tore the papers to show my friend I had voted," he said.
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