A family in Khon Kaen is seeking legal action, alleging that their 18 year old son endured repeated bullying and physical abuse by three to four classmates from the age of 16.
The family recently shared details of the bullying at Khon Kaen Witthayayon School with several news agencies after the boy’s mother noticed an injury on his face. She repeatedly asked him what had happened before he disclosed the alleged bullying.
According to his parents, the teenager had been subjected to the alleged abuse since he was 16. They said they are both doctors who regularly work in remote areas and therefore spent limited time with their son, who mostly lived with his grandmother.
The family provided screenshots of conversations that they said showed classmates repeatedly asking the boy for money. According to the screenshots, he asked them to stop the alleged bullying, while one classmate reportedly demanded 1,000 baht for the abuse to end.
The teenager also allegedly told his parents that the classmates physically assaulted him and placed lit cigarettes on him, leaving injuries on different parts of his body, including near his eye.
His grandmother told the media that the teenager had previously said he wanted to set fire to one of the alleged classmates because of the repeated problems he was experiencing.
The grandmother said she contacted the other student’s family after learning about the situation. According to her, the family asked her not to pursue the matter and questioned whether she wanted their child to be jailed.
The grandmother said she was not seeking to blame anyone and had approached the family because she was concerned about her grandson’s wellbeing.
The case attracted public attention as it came shortly after the fatal shooting at a school in Nonthaburi. Some people expressing concern that prolonged conflict between students could escalate into violence.
The school subsequently issued a clarification, saying it was aware of the allegations and had already taken action. The students involved reportedly apologised to the teenager and his family, while the school separated the students by placing them in different classrooms.
However, the school director disputed the allegation that the students had extorted money from the teenager. The director said the students had borrowed money from him but sometimes failed to repay it.
The mother of one of the accused students told Channel 8 that she had repeatedly asked her son about the alleged bullying, but he denied assaulting the teenager. She said her son and the teenager had previously been close friends.
The mother also questioned the teenager’s account of his facial injury, saying her son claimed the injury came from a pimple rather than an assault. The accused students reportedly continued to deny physically attacking him.
She added that her family did not have financial difficulties and said her son had no reason to extort money from the teenager.
Despite the school’s clarification and the denials from the accused students, the teenager’s parents reportedly remain determined to pursue legal action. The school director said the school respected the family’s decision and would cooperate with any investigation.
The case remains subject to further investigation, with conflicting accounts from the teenager’s family, the school and the families of the accused students.
The story Khon Kaen students involved in alleged bullying provide conflicting accounts as seen on Thaiger News.
