Pol Capt Chiernchai Duangsuwan and officers from Chalong station, called to the wat, found the woman walking around, “eyes wide open”.
“It was a holy day, and people who had come to the temple to make merit were gathered in a group some distance off, watching her,” an officer said.
Teachers at the wat school had ordered their students to stay inside their classrooms, with the doors closed.
Officers tried to calm the woman but she continued to walk back and forth with the knife, so, when she was momentarily distracted, Rawai Municipality officers Anad Samart and Danai Koomban rushed her and pulled the knife from her hand.
She was handcuffed and taken to Chalong police station. Police did not identify her, and no charges against her were reported.