Two Bangkok Schools Shut After Deadly Brawl

[webfact]

Schools shut after fatal brawl

By The Nation on Sunday

Education Minister Chinnaworn Boonyakiat yesterday ordered two schools in Bangkok to shut for a week following a fatal brawl on Friday in which two students died.

Bangkok School of Industrial Technology and the Technology Bang Kapi School were told to close from tomorrow, following the brawl between pupils from their schools on Ratpattana Road in Saphan Sung.

Chinnaworn also ordered the Office of the Private Education Commission to investigate what happened and, if it was found that neglect by school officials was a factor that led to the brawl, they might face permanent closure as per ministerial regulations.

Bang Chan police superintendent Pol Col Theerapong Khlaikaew said that following the brawl police had arrested 11 Technology Bang Kapi students and 4 students from Bangkok School of Industrial Technology.

Initial inquiries found that one of the apprehended Bang Kapi students was a prime suspect in the fatal shooting of a rival in the brawl. So police had taken fingerprints from the students to match with those on the murder weapon.

Theerapong said another shooting suspect, who remained at large, was allegedly a student of Bangkok School of Industrial Technology who lived in Lat Krabang's Rom Klao area. Police could not reveal suspects' names, as they were minors under 18.

-- The Nation 2011-01-23

[KKvampire]

no surprise. When I was teaching there were often mass brawls in the High school between boys from one mattayom class and another, Violence is bubbling under the surface in all parts of society here and it explodes with venom on occasions,

Edited January 23, 2011 by KKvampire

[saintofsilence]

These tech guys will never stop fighting and its not the first time students have died , I think it is a bit harsh if the schools get closed down the police should take some blame.

[sjjmmi]

Thailand have a police force

These tech guys will never stop fighting and its not the first time students have died , I think it is a bit harsh if the schools get closed down the police should take some blame.

[Heng]

Someone was quicker to edit perhaps.

Agree that there's a lot of anger under the surface though. Understandable when you're coming of age and pretty much know you don't have a future unless you can scale 85 degree cliffs.

[SICA]

Someone was quicker to edit perhaps.

Agree that there's a lot of anger under the surface though. Understandable when you're coming of age and pretty much know you don't have a future unless you can scale 85 degree cliffs.

This goes on all over the world. When i was a student in England, during an inter-school brawl. a student from another school got pushed in front of a bus, hit and killed. It's nothing to do with one' s future, class, race, religion, it's just the same as the primal urges in football violence. it will never end.

Sympathies to the families involved.

[Colabamumbai]

Casual weapons check some days at Ratchasima Wittalarai high school in Korat.

[elshaheen]

As my grandfather would say to us when we were little and wanted to get into a fight. "Get into the ring and go at it."

[waza]

Young men need a rite of passage, draft them into the army and send them south, that should get the aggression out of them.

[Scott]

A post related to grammar has been deleted, along with responses to it.

[Credo]

A certain level of competition will always exist between schools and young men are just naturally prone to an aggressive type of rivalry. In Thailand, however, this has reached a serious level. Way, way too much violence, and violence that is way, way too serious. A few fist fights is one thing; guns, knives and shooting into buses is much more like gang-related activity, than students.

[kuffki]

Perhaps more police presents and more security personnel around the schools which are known to have trouble would decrease the fatality's.

Alternatively more physical sports activity's should be introduced around schools, so the boys with too much testosterone can leave out on the field in controlled environment

Shutting down the school or saying"thats how it is all over the world" will not address the problem and problem will not go away.

[pacovl46]

Someone was quicker to edit perhaps.

Agree that there's a lot of anger under the surface though. Understandable when you're coming of age and pretty much know you don't have a future unless you can scale 85 degree cliffs.

well , the students should've put more of their energy into becoming diligent students instead of lazy, volatile brats then.

[usflyboy]

It is a shame that these waring students have placed extreme violence and petty school rivalries ahead of their future careers and success in the world market eager for bright intelligent technical people. They would get a very rude awakening if they were to study in North American technical institutes were Degrees/Diplomas are earned and not bought. No question they would be playing the Mr Macho role in jail or out on their ear on the street.

no surprise. When I was teaching there were often mass brawls in the High school between boys from one mattayom class and another, Violence is bubbling under the surface in all parts of society here and it explodes with venom on occasions,

[bangkokcitylimits]

These tech guys will never stop fighting and its not the first time students have died , I think it is a bit harsh if the schools get closed down the police should take some blame.

When at the U-turn / intersection, few km's from my house another big accident happens, they close the U-turn for a week, then they open it again. In stead of placing warning signs or other safety improving solutions. This happens 5-6 times a year.

Not capable of dealing with problems on a constructive way but automatically choosing the 'ignore modus', it's everywhere and will probably never change.

Time for a new party for "Improvements and Positive Developments"

[yellow1red1]

These tech guys will never stop fighting and its not the first time students have died , I think it is a bit harsh if the schools get closed down the police should take some blame.

ya, like everytbody knows this stuff is going on,,, for a long time. Who do these kids have as role models, though, yellows and reds?

[Lupolao]

A very bad generation /society is growing up in Thailand

[housepainter]

When at every level of Thai society violence seems to be the answer it is not surprising that youth follows that example. Also, the simmering fury that lies just beneath the surface of that calm Thai veneer is truly frightening. Loss of temper in Thailand is not a matter of foot stamping. Unless, of course, it's done repeatedly on someone's head.

We regularly see personality changes immediately the average Thai gets behind the wheel of a pick up. From normal to crazed lunatic at the turn of a key and press of a pedal.

Why should it be any different with their children? The mask slips and they are immeditaely tooled up and not for a fight but a savage slaughter. After all in Thailand you don't go to a fist fight armed with anything less than iron bars, knives, chains and of course the gun that kills. It wouldn't be fair, it certainly wouldn't be the Thai way to settle disputes by way of a mass fist fight, shake hands afterwards and all go home. Remember, Thais don't actually shake hands. Foreign concept. The wai resmbles a martial artist; hands ready to defend the face and attack.

For technical students, that some of you misguidely associate with bright futures, in fact being bright, they seem a pretty stupid bunch that can't figure out 3 years of further ed is better than 40 years of jail ed. But then why be any different from the rest of the male Thai popul;ation? But then what do I know? I only went to school to learn. Thai schools seem to have re-defined extra curricular activities. The after school class on ' Bus shooting' being regularly over subscribed. Whereas, ' Knife fighting for beginners' is being withdrawn as no Thai 16 year old is a 'beginner'. No take up there.

When the Tech school realised it had a problem with listless youngsters hanging around the local school after hours they tried to solve the problem by offering an evening course. It was entitled ' Serial Killers are made not born - learn how.' It sold out in the first day. The school made a killing.

Most of us however, were free from such a violent environment. Our schools were not scenes of murder other than to Chopin piano concertos, the works of Shakespeare and of course the poetry of Dylan Thomas. Any other kind of 'murder' saw you sign on at the Army Recruiting Office if you wanted to shoot people. I'm from the UK by the way not Dallas. It seems the Tech Students meet a hiatus at some point in their studies where they question the career path and wonder how it would have been in the Army. Hence, they take to the streets mob handed, tooled up, red shirt style, a further good Thai example of how adults conduct themselves, and the rest is just blood running off a blade's back.

May be if there were a few examples of debate as conflict resolution across Thai society rather than the shots fired from passing cars at Pilots; or the shot in the head of the shop worker catching his late night bus home; or the shot dead 12 year old by a passing car full of drug dealers. You get the idea. But of course there is debate resolution conflict : 'You gonna die MF'. Well, it's at least a start.

Society gets what it deserves and to blame the school is sheer madness. Welcome to Thailand then. The school didn't engender such attitudes. Those young men are in fact not children. They are older if not wiser individuals whose attitudes have been acquired through parenting, video nasties in the home, on the bus and on the streets, and what can be described as Thai society; it's concern to save children from the evils of smoking, hence the digitised TV screen, as the crazed killer in Saw II cuts his way through the neck of the young girl while her boyfriend watches. Smoking being more harmful that an axe weilding maniac. The Thai thinkingh being as long as they don't smoke everything will be OK. A bit wide of the mark then. But then this is the land of smiles after all. The latter being a particularly violent, if perhaps smoke free, place.

I expect the dead kids parents wil turn up to collect their dead, all non-smokers, all smiles as Thais do, careful not to lose face by way of complaining or lighting up a cigarette. Then the perpetrator, all psychosis and paranoia can utter 'sorry' and be forgiven. After all, no one actually wants to make a fuss in Thailand. What's the death of one child after all? It seems certainly not one too many. Mai pen rai has to stand for something. I think in this context it translates as 'kill who you like - or rather - don't like'. It's a sad thing if violent youth can't act without responsibility while weilding a gun on the streets of the capitol and trying to hack to death their peers with it. I said they weren't the brightest stars. But then, a hundred thousand red shirts aren't either.

We all know to be cool headed and hearted. The same as we know not to react to bad driving as the guy at the wheel is likely to lose it and shoot you as that is his right; anytime, any place, any where, and usually he'll be wearing a uniform. Thais believe that as it is their country they have the right to do anything, any time, anywhere. And we're not talking chew gum and fart. They haven't mastered that yet. There are no consequences. And lets not forget that final clincher; it's all in the hands of Mr. Buddha.

Therefore, we would be wise to avoid schools as potentially dangerous places. Along with every where else the other side of your front door.

Edited January 23, 2011 by housepainter

[Bobr]

One can just hope that those who were killed and those who may die in the future are all willing participants in this silly fighting and not innocent victims. They're old enough to be responsible for the decisions they make, but I would feel sorry for anyone killed just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and wearing the wrong uniform.

[Felt 35]

This goes on all over the world.

It probably happens in other parts of the world, but everywhere, no. Students demonstrate yes, but fighting no.

The first time I personally hear about students fighting en masse against each other’s was after I settled in Thailand.

I really wonder how their parents are and the society the students spend their free time.

[anterian]

When at every level of Thai society violence seems to be the answer it is not surprising that youth follows that example. Also, the simmering fury that lies just beneath the surface of that calm Thai veneer is truly frightening. Loss of temper in Thailand is not a matter of foot stamping. Unless, of course, it's done repeatedly on someone's head.

We regularly see personality changes immediately the average Thai gets behind the wheel of a pick up. From normal to crazed lunatic at the turn of a key and press of a pedal.

Why should it be any different with their children? The mask slips and they are immeditaely tooled up and not for a fight but a savage slaughter. After all in Thailand you don't go to a fist fight armed with anything less than iron bars, knives, chains and of course the gun that kills. It wouldn't be fair, it certainly wouldn't be the Thai way to settle disputes by way of a mass fist fight, shake hands afterwards and all go home. Remember, Thais don't actually shake hands. Foreign concept. The wai resmbles a martial artist; hands ready to defend the face and attack.

For technical students, that some of you misguidely associate with bright futures, in fact being bright, they seem a pretty stupid bunch that can't figure out 3 years of further ed is better than 40 years of jail ed. But then why be any different from the rest of the male Thai popul;ation? But then what do I know? I only went to school to learn. Thai schools seem to have re-defined extra curricular activities. The after school class on ' Bus shooting' being regularly over subscribed. Whereas, ' Knife fighting for beginners' is being withdrawn as no Thai 16 year old is a 'beginner'. No take up there.

When the Tech school realised it had a problem with listless youngsters hanging around the local school after hours they tried to solve the problem by offering an evening course. It was entitled ' Serial Killers are made not born - learn how.' It sold out in the first day. The school made a killing.

Most of us however, were free from such a violent environment. Our schools were not scenes of murder other than to Chopin piano concertos, the works of Shakespeare and of course the poetry of Dylan Thomas. Any other kind of 'murder' saw you sign on at the Army Recruiting Office if you wanted to shoot people. I'm from the UK by the way not Dallas. It seems the Tech Students meet a hiatus at some point in their studies where they question the career path and wonder how it would have been in the Army. Hence, they take to the streets mob handed, tooled up, red shirt style, a further good Thai example of how adults conduct themselves, and the rest is just blood running off a blade's back.

May be if there were a few examples of debate as conflict resolution across Thai society rather than the shots fired from passing cars at Pilots; or the shot in the head of the shop worker catching his late night bus home; or the shot dead 12 year old by a passing car full of drug dealers. You get the idea. But of course there is debate resolution conflict : 'You gonna die MF'. Well, it's at least a start.

Society gets what it deserves and to blame the school is sheer madness. Welcome to Thailand then. The school didn't engender such attitudes. Those young men are in fact not children. They are older if not wiser individuals whose attitudes have been acquired through parenting, video nasties in the home, on the bus and on the streets, and what can be described as Thai society; it's concern to save children from the evils of smoking, hence the digitised TV screen, as the crazed killer in Saw II cuts his way through the neck of the young girl while her boyfriend watches. Smoking being more harmful that an axe weilding maniac. The Thai thinkingh being as long as they don't smoke everything will be OK. A bit wide of the mark then. But then this is the land of smiles after all. The latter being a particularly violent, if perhaps smoke free, place.

I expect the dead kids parents wil turn up to collect their dead, all non-smokers, all smiles as Thais do, careful not to lose face by way of complaining or lighting up a cigarette. Then the perpetrator, all psychosis and paranoia can utter 'sorry' and be forgiven. After all, no one actually wants to make a fuss in Thailand. What's the death of one child after all? It seems certainly not one too many. Mai pen rai has to stand for something. I think in this context it translates as 'kill who you like - or rather - don't like'. It's a sad thing if violent youth can't act without responsibility while weilding a gun on the streets of the capitol and trying to hack to death their peers with it. I said they weren't the brightest stars. But then, a hundred thousand red shirts aren't either.

We all know to be cool headed and hearted. The same as we know not to react to bad driving as the guy at the wheel is likely to lose it and shoot you as that is his right; anytime, any place, any where, and usually he'll be wearing a uniform. Thais believe that as it is their country they have the right to do anything, any time, anywhere. And we're not talking chew gum and fart. They haven't mastered that yet. There are no consequences. And lets not forget that final clincher; it's all in the hands of Mr. Buddha.

Therefore, we would be wise to avoid schools as potentially dangerous places. Along with every where else the other side of your front door.

Thais are both hot tempered and cowards, hence you get mob violence rather than individual fights. Those who are truly brave, not alcohol brave, simply avoid fights.

As Housepainter rightly says, will most parental and social role models available, what else can you expect?

[asiawatcher]

It would appear ignorance of the matter such as closing the school - is a typical knee jerk reaction over what has occurred. So why make all the students in the school suffer the ignorance of young adults with raging hormones and testosterone? Surely 'some' common sense can prevail or is the Minister one of the many with no idea how to handle the issue?

[OzMick]

Any student involved in a brawl should be instantly and irreversible expelled. Wanna be an electrician or a taxi driver?

[AleG]

This school rivalries... I'm going to presume that kids are not born with the Hate School XXX gene, further, I'm going to go out on a limb and say that they don't give a flick one way or another regarding this or that school until they get enrolled in one. Assuming this is correct then the environment inside the schools is what instills and nurtures this hatred into the students. My opinion is that there must be an institutionalized system that turns some of the students into this feuds against a "rival" school. Whether this comes from the faculty or student body I don't know, possibly both I suppose.

Of course simply closing a school for a short period of time does nothing to solve such a situation.

[skybluestu]

Someone was quicker to edit perhaps.

Agree that there's a lot of anger under the surface though. Understandable when you're coming of age and pretty much know you don't have a future unless you can scale 85 degree cliffs.

This goes on all over the world. When i was a student in England, during an inter-school brawl. a student from another school got pushed in front of a bus, hit and killed. It's nothing to do with one' s future, class, race, religion, it's just the same as the primal urges in football violence. it will never end.

Sympathies to the families involved.

Finham Park & Bishop Ullathorne?

[Thunder26]

I come from South East Europe and I have never heard students killing each other. This I learnt in Thailand that some male students don't take easy and hate the students from other schools. It's so wrong that it's scary.

Three years ago I witnessed a fight near Pakkret area. I could not believe it. A group of students with machetes and guns were assaulting the students in the bus 90. <deleted>? Luckily I wasn't in that bus!

Edited January 23, 2011 by Thunder26

[Heng]

Someone was quicker to edit perhaps.

Agree that there's a lot of anger under the surface though. Understandable when you're coming of age and pretty much know you don't have a future unless you can scale 85 degree cliffs.

This goes on all over the world. When i was a student in England, during an inter-school brawl. a student from another school got pushed in front of a bus, hit and killed. It's nothing to do with one' s future, class, race, religion, it's just the same as the primal urges in football violence. it will never end.

Sympathies to the families involved.

It goes on all over the world, but less so in more affluent areas (or anywhere kids know they have a future). IMO it is related. It's easier to go just a little further over the line when you know you're already on a dead end road.

[Heng]

Someone was quicker to edit perhaps.

Agree that there's a lot of anger under the surface though. Understandable when you're coming of age and pretty much know you don't have a future unless you can scale 85 degree cliffs.

well , the students should've put more of their energy into becoming diligent students instead of lazy, volatile brats then.

They should, but they also know that even the top of their class end up in menial 200-250 Baht a day technical jobs. As for going the entrepreneurial route, well... some folks say that because they have just been introduced to the paper and metal money system in the last hundred+ years, there's not much hope there either.

[midas]

no surprise. When I was teaching there were often mass brawls in the High school between boys from one mattayom class and another, Violence is bubbling under the surface in all parts of society here and it explodes with venom on occasions,

Why is this happening ?

Do they have the equivalent of a counselor in these schools and do they talk about this ' problem ' in class ?

I dont know of any other countries which has this level of violence in its schools - or are there other similar places ?

[scorecard]

One factor is the teachers (not all of course) who brainwash and encourage these kids into these actions for the glory of their school.

My understanding is that this 'factor' is well known, and the teachers concerned are well known to school principals, the police., etc, but there is never any action taken.

Edited January 23, 2011 by scorecard