Death of freshman Thai tech college pupil 'did not die of injuries'

[webfact]

Death of freshman
Tech college pupil 'did not die of injuries'
Anan Wichitpracha,
Kwanhatai Malakarn,
Supinda na mahachai
The Nation

But backlash over initiation continues

BANGKOK: -- PRELIMINARY autopsy indicates that a technical college student did not die from injuries found on his body while on an unsupervised initiation trip.

Pokai Saengrojrat, 17, a first-year student at Pathumthani Technical College, was reported dead on Saturday while at the seaside province of Prachuap Khiri Khan. Senior students were also on the trip.

A rumour spread that Pokai may have died after being the victim of violence and being forced to consume alcohol. "He had some minor wounds, bruises and scratches but they were not fatal," Institute of Forensic Medicine commander Pol Maj-General Pornchai Suteerakune said yesterday.

He said detailed examinations would determine if Pokai was exposed to a dangerous substance or anything harmful and results would be known in about two months.

The preliminary autopsy identified respiratory and blood-circulation failure as the likely cause of death. Pokai was the only child of Siriwimon and Panupong Saeng-rojrat. His mother said her son had records of leukaemia and respiratory problems.

In response to the death, the Office of Vocational Education Commission (Ovec) has launched a probe into the college's director, Kwanchai Panich-karn, who has been accused of negligence for failing to prevent the trip.

"I have already set up a fact-finding committee," Ovec secretary general Chaiprug Sereerak said. "All off-campus activities, whether held by students or teachers, must receive prior approval from the college's executive and have the consent of parents," Chaiprug emphasised.

He said the Ovec did not have a policy for colleges under its supervision to organise initiation trips.

"Colleges should hold activities that promote moral soundness and public-mindedness," he said. "And these activities must ban alcohol."

Speaking at a press conference, Kwanchai said he had assigned his deputy to look into what happened and results suggested that there was no use of violence. "The trip had 54 participants - 15 were first-year students. They joined the trip voluntarily and engaged in seven camp activities including how to deliver first aid and do squat jumps," he said.

According to Kwanchai, Pokai was doing squat jumps when he collapsed. "We gave him first aid and rushed him to a nearby hospital," students were quoted as saying.

Kwanchai said the college and the parents' association for the college would provide Bt40,000 in financial aid to Pokai's family.

"The family will also get to claim compensation under the life-insurance policy for students," he said.

Education Ministry permanent secretary Suthasri Wongsaman said the college director could not deny responsibility even though students arranged the trip on their own.

"It's necessary that the college executives monitor students and their activities," she said.

In the wake of Pokai's death, the Rajamangala University of Techno-logy now requires all activities to be conducted on campus. The university has five campuses in the Northeast. "We have assigned lecturers to monitor students' behaviour and activities," university president Asst Prof Viroj Limkaisang said.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Tech-college-pupil-did-not-die-of-injuries-30242309.html


-- The Nation 2014-09-02

[ramrod711]

Em-orn Kongkaew, a restaurant owner on Sai Noi beach, said she saw senior students order freshmen to line up in the sea at around 11 pm and kick them one by one, causing the students to fall back into the water. The activities continued until morning, when the senior students noticed that one of the freshmen was lying face down on the sand and brought him to hospital, Ms. Em-orn said.

According to Kwanchai, Pokai was doing squat jumps when he collapsed. "We gave him first aid and rushed him to a nearby hospital," students were quoted as saying.

Bit of a discrepancy between the two accounts, the first quote is from 08-31-14

[Chao Lao Beach]

He said detailed examinations would determine if Pokai was exposed to a dangerous substance or anything harmful and results would be known in about two months.

Why 2 months? Give it time to "disappear" ??

[Spoonman]

So this is not suicide yet 2 farangs found with severed heads possibly is...... amazing Thailand.

[Bob12345]

In response to the death, the Office of Vocational Education Commission (Ovec) has launched a probe into the college's director, Kwanchai Panich-karn, who has been accused of negligence for failing to prevent the trip.

Shouldn't they launch a probe about the activities taking place instead of "failing to prevent the trip"?

The trip is not the problem, what happened during the trip is.

Hope someone up high enough is held responsible so things like this can be avoided in the future.

[Thaimaishoe]

He said detailed examinations would determine if Pokai was exposed to a dangerous substance or anything harmful and results would be known in about two months.

Why 2 months? Give it time to "disappear" ??

Also so troublemakers like RamRod are less likely to remember and post quotes of eyewitness accounts from just days after the incident!

This is the new official version of nobody is responsible except the dead guy, so everyone should just get on board. We are going to have to PAY the parents to get on board which is to be expected, and is being taken care of as we speak, but mere observers need to just swallow it.

[yougivemebaby]

All this hazing $hit needs to stop. It's happening everywhere including the universities. It's not okay and it teaches violent behavior. Cause of death induced respritory failure? Manner of death Homicide due to blunt trauma, forced physical exhaustion.

Edited September 2, 2014 by yougivemebaby

[SamMunich]

Hazing is by idiots with idiots willing to be hazed in the name of an obscure bonding. Anybody with brains will laugh at the proposal by those upper level students to take part in a hazing. That is not for childredn, that is outright childish and shows, how little those involved have learned about the real life.

I still have problems to understand, how such a nonsense can take hold in Thailand...

[seajae]

those allowing and organizing these hazing events should be charged with murder or manslaughter at the least. They put others lives at risk for no other reason than to belittle them and to cause embarassment, its these idiots that need to be locked up. Those that make the females perform simulated oral sex etc are just as bad and this has no place in any university. It is way past time that these juvenille games are stopped and made to be illegal offences, any university participating in them should face huge fines, this death was no accident, it was a deliberate act by the university and the ring leaders but now they are trying to cover their ars*s by lying about what really happened.