Thai school expels students after mother assaults teenage girl

Dispute between students escalates as one mother assaults another student outside school, demanding compensation and causing psychological distress for the girl involved; the school expels both students.

Recently, a Thai mother assaulted a teenage girl outside a secondary school in Samut Sakhon, hitting her with a bag, after the girls resolved their dispute in May. The mother demanded 20,000 baht (US$580) in compensation, but police negotiations reduced the amount to 2,000 baht (US$58).

The incident occurred when the mother discovered the argument between the two students on one girl’s Facebook page. Yesterday morning, the mother confronted the girl outside the school, accompanied by five others. Following the attack, the victim and her mother reported the incident to Bang Nam Chuet police station. The school subsequently dismissed both students, although they had already reconciled and agreed to put aside past issues.

The mother demanded compensation of 20,000 baht, which the attacker’s family questioned, stating that she must be in need of money. Police helped negotiate an agreement for them to pay 2,000 baht instead. However, the attacking mother tried to avoid paying, arguing that it was only a 500 baht (US$15) fine. The police clarified that the case involved minors and must be treated accordingly.

In an interview, the girl identified as ‘A’, recalled the attacker’s family yelling for her, pulling her shirt, and assaulting her as shown in the video. She feared further harassment from the attacker’s family after the incident.

A week ago, a confrontation between students at a school in Sisaket province, Thailand, escalated into a knife fight, resulting in one fatality and three injuries. The school informed the police, who launched an investigation.