In Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ron Phibun Police Station arrested a 57-year-old man carrying 2,000 baht in cash on suspicion of vote-buying after he admitted to meeting a local vote broker at the end of the village who told him to mark the ballot for a parliamentary candidate he did not know, having only seen the candidate on campaign signs.
On 7 February 2026 in Nakhon Si Thammarat, a reporter reported that around midnight, at approximately 23:30 on 6 February 2026, Police Lieutenant Colonel Weeraphong Chanapolchai, deputy chief of patrol at Ron Phibun Police Station, along with officers, took into custody Mr. Somnuk Chuayrod, 57, a resident of Village 2, Khuan Phang Subdistrict, Ron Phibun District, Nakhon Si Thammarat.
They seized as evidence two 1,000-baht banknotes and handed them over to Police Lieutenant Colonel Sanya Klomsuk, deputy investigation chief and duty investigator at Ron Phibun Police Station, to proceed with legal action.
During the investigation, it was revealed that while Lieutenant Colonel Weeraphong was performing his duties as the prevention and suppression duty officer, or duty officer 20, he received a report of suspicious behavior by a villager in Village 2, Khuan Phang Subdistrict, Ron Phibun District, and promptly led patrol officers to investigate.
They found Mr. Somnuk walking along a lane in the village, and upon searching him, discovered two 1,000-baht banknotes.
Initially, Mr. Somnuk, who appeared startled, told Lieutenant Colonel Weeraphong that he had been contacted by Mr. Tueang Romnuan, a villager, to meet at the end of the village, where Mr. Tueang asked him to use his voting rights in the parliamentary election on 8 February 2026.
He was instructed to vote for a candidate from a political party in Nakhon Si Thammarat’s 4th electoral district, whom he did not know personally and had only seen on campaign posters.
However, Mr. Tueang persuaded him to vote for that candidate and gave him the cash, which was the seized evidence. When Mr. Somnuk was leaving near the roadside, he was stopped, searched, and detained by the authorities.
During subsequent questioning by the investigators, Mr. Somnuk’s statements were consistent with what he had told the arresting officers.
At this stage, the investigators charged Mr. Somnuk with offenses under the Act on the Election of Members of the House of Representatives B.E. 2561 (2018).
Further investigation will be conducted to expand the case and address all offenses according to legal procedures.