Police Seeking Korat Teens For Brawl in Hospital ER

Screencap from mobile phone video of the brawl.

NAKHON RATCHASIMA — Police on Monday are looking for a group of drunken teens who started a brawl inside a northeastern hospital last night.

The police identified the perpetrators as youngsters intoxicated from a nearby concert who broke out in a fistfight at Pratai Hospital. Some were injured in an initial fight at the concert before being sent to the hospital. The rest followed into the emergency room and started another round of melee, police said.

Video footage posted online shows two groups fighting in front of the hospital before spilling into the emergency room. Their brawl sent staff members and patients scrambling for cover. The fight was later broken up by soldiers and police who arrived at the scene.

Read: ‘Toon Bodyslam’ Hands 1.3B Baht Over to Hospitals

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Officials are still assessing the damage at the facility. The fight came just three weeks after a similar incident occurred at another hospital in the same province.

“We have not made any arrests yet,” Pratai Police Station chief Thitinan Wannasan reported.

Provincial police chief Watcharin Boonkong told reporters that investigators already know the identities of the perpetrators, but did not elaborate

Police said Pratai Hospital is expected to file charges of property damage and nighttime intrusion later today.

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Medical facilities appear to have become popular sites of gang scuffles in recent weeks, causing much outrage on social media.

Nine people were arrested earlier this month for brawling at Huai Thalaeng Hospital in Korat on April 10. Four others were also apprehended for a fight at Kaeng Khro Hospital in Chaiyaphum just days later.

On April 15, as the Songkran water festival was in full swing, a similar melee involving over 20 men also broke out at Bang Saphan Noi Hospital.