The complaint alleges that the teacher pushed their son with his foot into the school swimming pool, resulting in the boy hitting his head on the pool edge and requiring stitches to the wound.
The police complaint follows parents Prathompong and Jiraporn Klubsong filing a complaint at the Damrongdhama Centre (Ombudsman’s Office) at Provincial Hall yesterday (June 16), where they told officials that their son, A, was assaulted by the boy's gym teacher, Itsara Lianloy, on June 6.
Following the incident, the school contacted the parents, who immediately went to pick up the boy from school and take him to be treated at a Phuket hospital.
As they made their formal complaint yesterday, the parents brought with them a copy of a statement made to police at Thalang Police Station, a doctor certificate and pictures of A’s injuries.
“The gym teacher kicked A into the pool, which resulted in A injuring his head. We were contacted immediately after the incident, so we went to school and picked up A to take him to hospital,” Mr Prathompong said.
“Prior to this incident, A’s class teacher (Ms Nitirat Phimmee, who was also present when the gym teacher is alleged to have kicked A) allegedly threw books and a backpack at him during class. She often used intimidating language with A. He was frightened of her,” he alleged.
“At first we were not looking to receive any compensation or for anyone to pay for this incident, we just wanted our son to be transferred to a different class. The school’s chief administrator agreed that the school would move A to a new class when the school reopened on June 7, but that did not happen.
Our son even skipped class because he no longer wanted to be there.
“We have not heard anything from the school, so on June 9 we filed a statement at Thalang Police Station against the gym teacher for assault, but as nothing has happened we have today come to the Damrongdhama Centre,” he added.
“I am disappointed and hurt that a teacher can harm a student like this, and I am very disappointed with the school and how they have handle this situation,” Ms Jiraporn said.
A spokesperson at Kajonkiet Thalang School told The Phuket News today said that the school was aware of the incident, but denied that “a teacher” shoved A with his foot.
“We questioned the gym teacher and other witnesses, and we were told that the gym teacher used the side of his leg to bump A to get in line, but A fell into the pool, and while A was climbing up out of the pool, he hit his forehead on the pool edge,” the spokesperson said.
“We contacted the parents right after the accident and told them we wanted to take the injured student to a hospital nearby, but the parents refused and said they would take their kid to Phuket International Hospital.
“The next day, we apologised to parents about the incident and gave a written warning to the gym teacher and they were okay with that, but then the parents brought up a new issue to our attention – they said that their child was afraid of his class teacher because she threw a backpack at him. She received a written warning also,” the spokesperson said.
“The parents insisted that the punishment for these teachers was not enough and they wanted their child to move to a different class. Management at the school explained that changing classes would not solve the problem, that the student needed to adjust to their teachers and classmates and to give them at least two weeks to get to know each other. The next thing we know is that they have taken the matter to the Damrongdhama Centre and the police.”
The spokesperson added that the school pool area does not have CCTV installed, but that management at the school were now considering install CCTV in the pool area.