BMA promises tighter security, better trained teachers after school stabbing
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) promised better security at schools in the capital, as officials expressed condolences over the fatal stabbing of a boy on Monday.
Wanthanee Wattana, BMA permanent secretary, said the BMA was deeply sorry over the incident and will rush to mete out remedies for the family of the victim and other affected students.
She said the BMA would also investigate to find out how the attacker managed to bring a knife into school.
A 14-year-old boy was fatally stabbed at the Nak Nava Upatham School on Soi Patanakan 26 at 8.30am, just after the morning assembly. The attacker, also 14, was said to be a boy with special needs and had apparently been bullied by the boy he allegedly stabbed.
Wanthanee said an initial investigation found that both the alleged attacker and the victim were in Class 8, but in different classrooms. The initial probe also found that the boy with special needs had harboured a grudge after being bullied by his schoolmate continuously for two weeks.
Meanwhile, the class teacher of the attacker said the boy had problems concentrating, Wanthanee said, adding that police were waiting for medical proof from the boy’s parents to prove he has special needs.
The BMA’s permanent secretary added that the city administration would also dispatch a team of psychiatrists to attend to teachers and children who are struggling with shock.
Meanwhile, Panumart Sukamporn, an adviser to BMA governor Chadchart Sittipunt, said the BMA was in the process of setting up training sessions for teachers at BMA-run schools on how students with special needs should be handled.
Once trained, the teachers would be able to tell if there is any chance of a violent incident. He added that the training sessions would possibly start mid-year.
