School shifts online after threat from former South African teacher

This raises the uncomfortable question: how far can Thai police go when the alleged perpetrator might already be outside the country, and will schools now default to online classes at the first sign of threat?

29 minutes ago, Jim Waldron said:

and will schools now default to online classes at the first sign of threat?

The school director knows who is this fired employee and how seriously or not to take his threat.

UPDATE

Former foreign teacher making threats has left Thailand

Picture courtesy of Komchadluek

Police in Hat Yai have said a former foreign teacher connected to alleged threats against Hat Yai Wittayalai School left Thailand on 19 July, confirmed by immigration and has not officially returned.

The confirmation came after reports that the school would switch to online learning on 10 and 11 August 2026. Hat Yai Police Station said it was working with Songkhla immigration investigators to check information about the individual.

Police confirm departure from Thailand

According to police, immigration records show that the person departed the Kingdom to Malaysia, on 19 July 2026, at 2:39 PM via the Padang Besar border crossing in Sadao District, Songkhla Province.

There is currently no record of a subsequent entry into Thailand. Authorities have placed him on the watch list, to prevent him returning to the country.

Officers also checked the former address registered in official databases and found that nobody was living there, police said.

Before the alleged firearm threats, Dreyer had been posting about the dispute on TikTok and Reddit. On his @hatyaiwiteducator TikTok account, he discussed what he described as irregularities in the education system, including corruption, possible money laundering and court cases.

Following concerns about Dreyer’s conduct, a school-appointed committee investigated and concluded that he had breached or failed to comply with his employment conditions. His contract was terminated under school regulations.

Security measures remain in place

Hat Yai Police said it had put close security monitoring in place for people and locations connected with the matter.

The school has made a formal daily report with police as evidence for the legal process. Authorities said the safety of those involved and of educational premises was their priority.

Police urged those connected to the school, as well as the wider public, not to panic and to have confidence in the security arrangements. They said relevant agencies were coordinating their work systematically and officers were still proceeding with legal action based on the facts of the case.

Anyone with direct information relevant to the case should provide it to police rather than sharing unverified claims online. The school has already announced its temporary online-learning arrangements for 10 and 11 August and has not yet issued any update.

9 August 2026

1 hour ago, Georgealbert said:

The report, filed at Hatyai police station at 4.20pm on August 8, concerns messages and images of weapons allegedly posted by a former foreign teacher in a large LINE open chat group.

I guess until police/immigration can establish if he's actually in Thailand, and therefore a real threat, it's better safe than sorry.

How hard up does a foreign "teacher" need to be if the best 'teaching' job he can find is at a Wittayalai school in Hat Yai?

Edited 6 hours ago6 hr by ronnie50

I don't disagree.

For some people teaching is a calling and not for the money. Maybe he felt like a Missionary, trying to do good deeds.
Maybe he was retired and wanted to give kids in the Far South something better than a Filipino-trained teacher.
But, yeah, why Songkhla of all places? "Ballistic Vest for Aisle Three"

33 minutes ago, Stocky said:

I guess until police/immigration can establish if he's actually in Thailand, and therefore a real threat, it's better safe than sorry.

They can't, really. Unless they find him, they can't 100% know he's not in Thailand. There's a real long land border, and it's quite possible to sneak in. Hopefully, they'll get cooperation from the Malaysian government to confirm his whereabouts, and hopefully in jail if he actually made the threats.

Wonder what he was fired for ...?

Ridiculous. The man left the vountry alrrady si there is no threat at all. Just xenphobic behavior, to dhoe that not only Thais can be dangerous ir seems. And Wednesday all problems gone? Probably bevause of the celebrations they prepared. And it is stated not cause panic. What is this than?

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by ikke1959

17 minutes ago, BusyB said:

Wonder what he was fired for ...?

Breach of contract. It is speculated that he was bringing attention to what he perceived as corrupt practices for a number of months to relevant authorities before, but was ignored. It's online on a post on FB and the reactions from the Thai public are there.

16 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

Ridiculous. The man left the vountry alrrady si there is no threat at all. Just xenphobic behavior, to dhoe that not only Thais can be dangerous ir seems. And Wednesday all problems gone? Probably bevause of the celebrations they prepared. And it is stated not cause panic. What is this than?

Chip on your shoulder - paranoid nonsense. It's the right call until they can 100% establish it is safe. No compromises with children's safety. It would 100% be the same if it was a Thai, so don't be ridiculous.

Our kids' school in Bangkok was due to hold a major event when they got threats from a (Thai) ex student to shoot it up. They cancelled the event immediately and rescheduled for when the threat was gone. I am glad they did it, whether it was 100% a credible threat or not we'll thankfully never know.

Edited 5 hours ago5 hr by josephbloggs
Typo

1 hour ago, Georgealbert said:

Police in Hat Yai have said a former foreign teacher connected to alleged threats against Hat Yai Wittayalai School left Thailand on 19 July, confirmed by immigration and has not officially returned.

Somehow I doubt he'll be returning

1 hour ago, The Oracle said:

I don't disagree.

For some people teaching is a calling and not for the money. Maybe he felt like a Missionary, trying to do good deeds.
Maybe he was retired and wanted to give kids in the Far South something better than a Filipino-trained teacher.
But, yeah, why Songkhla of all places? "Ballistic Vest for Aisle Three"

You clearly haven't visited the south.

1 hour ago, josephbloggs said:

Chip on your shoulder - paranoid nonsense. It's the right call until they can 100% establish it is safe. No compromises with children's safety. It would 100% be the same if it was a Thai, so don't be ridiculous.

Our kids' school in Bangkok was due to hold a major event when they got threats from a (Thai) ex student to shoot it up. They cancelled the event immediately and rescheduled for when the threat was gone. I am glad they did it, whether it was 100% a credible threat or not we'll thankfully never know.

But this man has left the country already.... Was the person who threated your school also out of the country??? So there is a big difference imo

1 hour ago, ikke1959 said:

Ridiculous. The man left the vountry alrrady si there is no threat at all. Just xenphobic behavior, to dhoe that not only Thais can be dangerous ir seems. And Wednesday all problems gone? Probably bevause of the celebrations they prepared. And it is stated not cause panic. What is this than?

What drivel was that ?

3 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

But this man has left the country already.... Was the person who threated your school also out of the country??? So there is a big difference imo

He left across a land border. He could easily come back if he had genuinely nefarious intentions, anyone can sneak across the porous 600km border with Malaysia.

If they said he left via Suvarnabhumi and boarded a flight to South Africa then I would say worry over, the threat is gone and he could not come back undetected. But he crossed by land in to Malaysia - that is a very different thing. If he is set on doing what he threatens he can slip over the border and do it.

What is your problem exactly with exercising some caution over this when children's lives could be at stake? They've done the right thing.