Teacher faces jail after student’s punishment leads to crippling injury

A teacher faces prison and a hefty fine after punishing a student with squat jumps, leading to Myofascial Pain Syndrome.

The 15 year old boy required leg surgery after a high school teacher in the central province of Kanchanaburi punished him for missing a class by making him do 200 squat jumps on July 23.

The boy’s mother, Lek Au-Thong, revealed the story to Thai media yesterday.

The 59 year old said her son returned from school with pain in his legs and there was no change in the boy’s condition a week after the incident.

Lek informed the teacher, Rattanakorn, about the issue, and 31 year old later tried to help by taking the boy to a clinic twice.

The clinic couldn’t diagnose the problem so sent him to Lao Kwan Hospital where a doctor confirmed that he needed surgery because he had Myofascial Pain Syndrome, sepsis, and a pock on the legs.

The first operation took place on Monday, August 8, followed by a second one on Thursday, August 24.

The 15 year old has missed over a month of schooling and is still struggling to walk. His mother believes the disease was a result of the teacher’s punishment.

Lek said she later filed a complaint against the teacher at Lao Kwan Police Station but there has been no development.

The teacher discussed the issue with her but no compensation or offers have been made.

Lek demanded 250,000 baht compensation because she and her husband had to stop working to take care of their son.

The Director of the provincial Secondary Educational Service Area Office in Kanchanaburi, Anansak Phuponphan, informed the media today that the committee concluded Rattanakorn violated Ministry of Education laws. Teachers can’t punish students with squats.

Anansak said he would provide justice for both the student and the teacher. The compensation would be paid to the family, but the amount is still under discussion.

He said the family decreased the rate to 120,000 baht. However, the teacher said she could only pay 30,000 baht. So, the meeting to negotiate the compensation would happen again later.

According to the regulations of the Ministry of Education, teachers can punish students in only four ways, including admonishing and ordering students to attend activities or training to change their behaviour.

With this action, the teacher could face imprisonment from six months to 10 years according to Criminal Law Section 297: committing bodily harm which causes the victim to receive serious injuries.

SOURCE: Khaosod