Wayward teens said to be behind stone-throwing attack on Bangkok canal boat

The Thai social media was abuzz on Friday after popular Twitter account called “Red Skull” highlighted the incident that took place on Thursday with the picture of a blood-stained shirt.

“A group of young people like throwing stones and firecrackers at boat passengers,” the tweet read.

The event reportedly took place near a boat stop located next to the Nualjit community in Bangkok’s Ekkamai area.

A resident, who wanted to be only identified as “Noo”, said similar incidents had taken place “many times already”. She said the perpetrators were mostly teenagers aged 13 to 17 living in the community who often gathered at an abandoned water pumping station near the pier in the evening until late at night.

“Sometimes they throw stones into the water or at passing boats,” she said, adding that they are probably doing this for fun.

She also said that she was concerned for her own safety as she takes canal boats regularly.

A boat fare collector said the latest incident took place on Thursday, though he could not say the exact time. He said he had seen some young residents of a canal-side community throw stones at passing boats.

One resident said the children may be annoyed because speeding boats sometimes splash them and make their uniforms wet while they head to school. “You can’t put the blame on the children alone,” the person said.

Another resident, however, said youngsters from two nearby communities often gathered at the abandoned pumping station in the evening to smoke marijuana and drink kratom tea.

“Sometimes they spit at passing boats or throw stones at passengers. Those who do this often are dubbed ‘cool’ by their peers,” the resident said.

He also showed a video recording of a noisy group of youngsters annoying community residents.