Police are now looking for her son.
Phuket City Police Lt Col Chalaew Taihu was notified at 2pm that an elderly woman was crying and sitting on the ledge of a bridge near the intersection of of Komaraphat Rd and Thepkrasattri Rd, on the north side of town.
Three technical college students at the scene told police that the woman seemed intent on jumping, a five-metre plunge to the narrow canal below.
Col Chalaew and his team arrived to find the 70-year-old woman, named by police only as “Ms Lai”, crying with bruises on her face and around her eyes.
“At first, she did not respond to questions. We continued to talk to her until she talked back. It took us more than 15 minutes to talk her into stepping down from the ledge,” he said.
Ms Lai was taken to Phuket City Police station where she told police that she had run away from her home because her son verbally and physically abused her.
She said that her son had punched her several times in the eyes and face.
“Ms Lai said she could not take it any more, so she came to the bridge which is not far from her home to end her life by jumping off it,” Col Chalaew said.
“Ms Lai has bruises on her body and a laceration on her eyebrow. We are contacting the Phuket Shelter for Children and Families (run by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security) so they can help take care of her, especially her mental condition,” he said.
“We will bring her son in for questioning regarding the domestic abuse allegation. If we believe he is guilty of this action, he will be be charged.”
Col Chalaew did not name the son.