Woman faces charges after allegedly slapping a student for not standing during national anthem

A woman is facing assault charges after she allegedly slapped a 15 year old student who didn’t stand up for the national anthem at a train station in Ayutthaya.

The woman, a food vendor at the train station, allegedly approached the student when the anthem ended. In a video shared by thousands on Twitter, the woman said “Stand up. Come here …What a waste. You’re a student wearing the student uniform.”

The student says she told the woman that she didn’t stand up because she was in pain from menstrual cramps. The student’s family later filed a complaint with police.

Thailand’s national anthem plays at schools and public places everyday at 8am and 6pm. People stop what they are doing and stand in silence until the song is over to show respect for the Thai Monarchy and the country.

With the recent pro-democracy movement, some have shown defiance against the government and monarchy by holding their hands up in the movement’s 3-finger salute, borrowed from the Hunger Games films, during the national anthem. Royalists have rallied and called on the protesters to stop “insulting” the Thai institution.

There are also cases of people not standing up before cinema films during the playing of the Royal Anthem.

SOURCES: Nation Thailand | Coconuts Bangkok