Abhisit-loving grandmother kills herself

RAYONG: Dedicated supporters of the Democrat Party across Thailand have taken Yingluck Shinawatra’s sweeping victory over Abhisit Vejjajiva in the July 3 general elections hard, but none more so than Lamian Yusuk, an 80-year-old grandmother from Huay Yang subdistrict in Rayong province.

Ms Lamian killed herself by drinking weedkiller six days after her hero Mr Abhisit’s defeat.

Nantha Lap-insi, 59, said her mother was a devout Democrat Party supporter who had voted for the party in every general election.

She was particularly fond of Mr Abhisit, the Oxford-educated prime minister who resigned as leader of the Democrats to take responsibility for their crushing defeat at the hands of the Pheu Thai Party.

Mrs Nantha said her mother suffered from high blood pressure and was very frail. She had been obsessed with politics for a long time.

On July 3, Mrs Nantha drove her mother to a polling station, where she voted for the local Democrat Party candidate as well as choosing the party in the proportional representation “party list” vote.

“When we got home, we sat down to watch TV and saw that the candidates of the Democrat Party won in every district of Rayong,” Mrs Nantha said.

“My mother was very pleased, but when we knew that Mr Abhisit had lost to Mrs Yingluck, she became very upset,” she added.

Mrs Lamian became increasingly upset as the evening went on. Her children tried to comfort her, telling her not to take politics to heart too much or she would make herself ill.

On July 5, Mrs Lamian was left alone in the house.

“My mother grabbed some weedkiller and drank it. We rushed her to Klaeng Hospital, but she later died,” Mrs Nantha explained.

The family had Mrs Lamian’s body cremated at Huay Yang Temple on July 10.