5 Thais, 3 Indonesians Get 3 Years for Enslaving Fishermen

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11 March 2016, 06:45

Burmese fishermen prepare to board a boat during a April 3, 2015, rescue operation at the compound of Pusaka Benjina Resources fishing company in Benjina, Aru Islands, Indonesia. Photo: Dita Alangkara / Associated Press<br />
<br /> — Burmese fishermen prepare to board a boat during a April 3, 2015, rescue operation at the compound of Pusaka Benjina Resources fishing company in Benjina, Aru Islands, Indonesia. Photo: Dita Alangkara / Associated Press

AMBON, Indonesia — Five Thai fishing boat captains and three Indonesians were sentenced Thursday to three years in jail for human trafficking in connection with slavery in the seafood industry.

The suspects were arrested in the remote island village of Benjina last May after the abuse was revealed by The Associated Press in a report two months earlier. The men were tried separately in Tual, an island in southeastern Maluku province, about 2,900 kilometers east of Jakarta.

The three-judge panel also ordered the defendants to pay fines of about USD$12,250 (about 432,000 baht) each or serve two more months in jail. In addition, the Thai captains — Youngyut Nitiwongchaeron, Boonsom Jaika, Surachai Maneephong, Hatsaphon Phaetjakreng and Somchit Korraneesuk — have to pay a total of $67,800 (about 2.4 million baht) in compensation to their crew members.

"They all have been proven guilty of violating the anti-human trafficking law," said Edi Toto Purba, who led the panel. "They deserve the jail sentences as well as the fine."

He gave one week for the prosecutors, who had sought heavier sentences, as well as the defendants to appeal the verdict. Indonesian prosecutors had demanded prison sentences of up to 4 1/2 years for the five Thais and Indonesian Hermanwir Martino, and 3 1/2-year sentences for two other Indonesians, Yopi Hanorsian and Muklis Ohoitenan. They also demanded compensation ranging from $3,750 to $26,000 for the crew members.

Thirteen fishermen from Myanmar testified under protection of Indonesia's Witness and Victim Protection Agency. They told the court they had been tortured, forced to work up to 24 hours a day and not paid. They also said they were locked in a prison-like cell in a compound owned by fishing company Pusaka Benjina Resources, which has since been shut down. Martino and Ohoitenan worked for the company, and Hanorsian was known as the "enforcer" among the fishermen, who accused him of beating and torturing them in front of an Indonesian flag until they collapsed.

Some workers were angered by the outcome.

"They should be sentenced more because they tortured many fishermen for years. It's not fair for us," said Win Ko Naing, 26, who was enslaved in Benjina for almost six years. He has been following the case closely from Myanmar, but did not testify at the trial.

"They will never pay us compensation because they know how to get away from punishment," he added. "I will never forget what they did to many people over many years. Three years imprisonment is too easy for them. "

The AP investigation found that thousands of poor migrant fishermen, mostly from Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, were recruited in Thailand and brought to Indonesia using fake travel documents where they were subjected to brutal labor abuses. Some had been enslaved for years or decades. The AP found some men locked in a cage and saw others calling out for help over the railing of their trawler. A company graveyard with dozens of bodies buried under fake names was also located. The Indonesian government carried out a dramatic rescue in Benjina in April, just over a week after the report ran.

More than 2,000 men were freed and sent home last year as a result of the investigation, which traced slave-caught seafood to some of the most well-known U.S. grocery stores and pet food brands, including Wal-Mart, Sysco, Kroger, Fancy Feast, Meow Mix and Iams. In addition, U.S. congressional hearings have been held, legislation has been changed, more than a dozen people have been arrested and multi-million dollar seafood cargo ships have been seized.

Story: Daniel Leonard / Associated Press

‘This is First Time That an Ethnic Chin Can Serve as Vice-President’

By

Myanmar Now

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10 March 2016, 18:54

Henry Van Thio, a Chin member of parliament for the NLD who is one of two people nominated for presidency by the party, in his housing quarters in Naypyitaw, March 10. Photo:- Swe Win / Myanmar Now

NAYPYITAW — In a historic parliament session on March 10, the National League for Democracy (NLD) nominated Htin Kyaw, a longtime Aung San Suu Kyi aide, and Henry Van Thio, a NLD Upper House lawmaker, for the presidency.

Htin Kyaw is the main candidate to become a ‘proxy president’ under Suu Kyi’s authority, as the NLD leader is controversially blocked from the position by the military-drafted Constitution. The Union Solidarity and Development Party nominated two candidates for presidential roles ahead of a vote in the NLD-dominated parliament; the army has yet to announce its candidate(s).

Henry Van Thio’s nomination for a possible vice-presidential role drew attention as he would be the first an ethnic Chin to take up such a high government position. The candidate represents constituency (3) in Chin State, an impoverished and isolated region on Myanmar’s western border with India. The father-of-three, who turns 58 in August, was an army captain for 20 years before retiring. He followed up his military career with a stint at the Ministry of Industry (1) that lasted almost a decade.

In a short meeting with reporters at his residential quarters in Naypyitaw, he talks about what he plans to do if he is elected as the vice-president of Myanmar. Nominee Htin Kyaw was not available for comments to the media.

What is your first reaction to being nominated as one of the vice-presidential candidates?

It was just four or five days ago that Daw Aung San Suu Kyi offered this position to me. I never aspired to this status. My intention was just to present the needs of my region to the parliament. So, I was quite emotional to (be nominated as a candidate) because it was unexpected. Our Chin State has fallen behind in development compared to other states and regions. Because I’m doing my best for Chin State, my family is supportive and proud of me.

If you were elected as vice-president, how much will you be able to work beyond the nominal figurehead role?

My view is that Aunty Suu (Kyi) is bringing all the ethnic groups on board. As an ethnic representative, I wan to strive to build peace in all ethnic regions. The main thing to do in Chin State is to improve the transportation infrastructure. If I were elected as vice-president, this will be the first time that someone from the Chin ethnic group could serve in that capacity.

As a former military officer, do you think you would be able to play a significant role in any discussions with the military?

(The people) voted NLD because of the belief that the party led by Aunty Suu is able to develop the country beyond where it is at the moment. We are trying to build our nation to reach global standards, as such both the military and the NLD desire to fulfil the people’s wishes and the needs of the country.

Story: Swe Win and Ei Cherry Aung

Footbridge Across Chao Phraya Floated by City Hall, Again

By

Sasiwan Mokkhasen, Staff Reporter

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10 March 2016, 18:27

The Wang Lang pier on the Thonburi side of Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River in a 2010 photo. Photo: Maythee Anegboonlap / Flickr

BANGKOK — City Hall today revived a plan to build a pedestrian and bicycle bridge spanning Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River.

Forty-nine million baht will be spent to study the construction of a walkway and cycling lane linking Rattanakosin Island to the Thonburi side between the Tha Prachan and Wang Lang piers.

The bridge would provide a safer alternative to ferries for pedestrians and also serve a recreational function, Pransan Pitakworarat of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration said.

First mentioned in 2010, the project was never brought forward.

Pransan said there will the feasibility study would include possible impacts to the environment.

More than a dozen bridges currently span the Chao Phraya throughout metropolitan Bangkok, and another 10 are planned over the next two decades.

River’s Friends Float Hope for Public Hearings on 14B-Baht ‘Promenade’

Radical Makeover of Chao Phraya River Delayed

Chao Phraya Promenade Should be Sent Back to Drawing Board, Architects Say

‘Please Touch’ Brings Visual Arts to the Visually Impaired

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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10 March 2016, 16:59

A ladybug drawn by a visually impaired girl. Photo: Klong Dinsor / Facebook<br /> — A ladybug drawn by a visually impaired girl. Photo: Klong Dinsor / Facebook

BANGKOK — A group of visually impaired children will experience the world of visual arts for the first time Tuesday with the help of a dozen sighted artists.

Nearly 20 children and well-known artists will use special drawing kits to create works to be displayed alongside each other at the Please Touch Exhibition coming to the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

The 12 well-known artists include Wutigorn Kongka, political cartoonist Chai Rachawat, Wisut “Tum” Ponnimit and National Artist Ittipol Tangchalok. They will use the same kits created for blind and visually impaired children to express themselves in tactile form for visitors to enjoy whether they can see or not.

They will draw using Lensen, a system which uses a pen, velcro pad and yarn to allow the sight-impaired to express thoughts and communicate through touchable, protruding lines.

Lensen was developed by Klongdinsor Co., a Bangkok company which develops creative products for the disabled. Company Founder Chatchai Aphibanpoonpon said it has been in use for two years already.

“I want regular people understand the world of the blind, and how they imagine their surroundings,” Chatchai said by phone Thursday afternoon. “In meantime, I also want blind kids to finally appreciate artworks made by Thai famous artists.”

The Please Touch Exhibition runs for 10 days Tuesday through March 24 at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre. The young artists will be present for the opening reception.

On March 20, visually impaired musicians from the Network of Music and Arts of Persons with Disabilities will perform live along with a drawing contest and discussion session about the artists’ inspiration.

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee can be reached at[email protected] and @chayaniti92.

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Superstar Boxer Buakaw Demands Justice as His Cat Clings to Life

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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10 March 2016, 16:15

Clockwise from left: Buakaw Banchamek in happier times with cat Tiger and dog Fighter; Tiger in hospital; Tiger in recovery. Photos: Banchamek Gym / Facebook

BANGKOK — In his rise to becoming Thailand’s most beloved kickboxer, Buakaw Banchamek probably made a few enemies along the way.

But he has no idea who it was that slashed his pet cat Tiger on Sunday night and left him fighting for his life at an animal hospital.

“I feel heartbroken. Tiger is like a member of our gym,” Buakaw 33, said over telephone Thursday. “When he’s around, he likes to snuggle my legs. He likes to play with me. I even put him on my bed when I go to sleep sometimes.”

According to the multiple-title winning Muay Thai champion, Tiger was behaving strangely when he stumbled back into his Banchamek Gym on Monday morning after a night out. Buakaw said he did not notice the injuries because the cat hid from everyone for the entire day.

Buakaw said it wasn't until Tuesday when Tiger crawled into his office that he saw what looked like deep slash wounds to the cat’s haunches. He immediately took Tiger to an animal hospital and on Wednesday filed a complaint with police.

“I have a dog, and he’s a friend of Tiger. I’m afraid something will happen to my dog, too, so I alerted the police,” Buakaw said.

The boxer said he also found out another cat in the neighborhood that often played with Tiger was attacked in a similar but more brutal manner. That cat, which died, suffered a slash wound so large he was nearly decapitated, Buakaw said.

“I’m perplexed,” Buakaw said. “I have no dispute with anyone, and everyone in the neighborhood has no problem with my cat and dog. They admire them.”

Although Buakaw wanted to file a charge under the animal cruelty law, he had to settle for merely filing a report because he could not prove for certain a human attacked his pet. Col. Saksith Meesawasdi, commander of Lat Phrao Police Station, said police have not yet determined what caused the cat’s injuries.

Buakaw Banchamek talks to police Wednesday in Bangkok. Photos: Banchamek Gym / Facebook

“We still don’t know what caused the wounds. There’s only wounds,” Saksith said. “If it was a human with intent to hurt the cat, then it falls under the [animal abuse] law.”

But Buakaw said he’s pretty convinced it was a person. “Police told me he could have been assaulted by another animal. But that’s hard to believe, because his friend was also slashed to death.”

Like Buakaw, Col. Saksith said he’s in the dark about who could be responsible for the assault.

“We have no suspect, we have no clues, and we have no trace. We are looking for information, but it will take us several days,” the police colonel said.

Buakaw said Tiger’s vets told him the cat has only a 50-50 chance to survive, and they are having trouble treating his infected wound.

Buakaw’s not the only one feeling down about Tiger’s assault. His dog friend, Fighter, has been in poor spirits since the incident, Buakaw said.

The two animals enjoyed a warm inter-species relationship. Buakaw said the brown-and-black striped tabby, whose stocky build reflects that of his owner, even stood up for Fighter.

“He and Fighter, they like to play with each other. Now, Fighter is downcast. He just looks around for Tiger,” Buakaw said. “And the other day something lovely happened. Other dogs came inside our gym and they bullied Fighter because he’s a small dog. And Tiger jumped in there to help his friend and scared off the dogs!”

Buakaw wants to see whoever hurt his pet cat brought to justice.

“Now that I’ve seen him suffer like this, I’m heartbroken. I want to find the person responsible to be punished. But now I’m in the dark.”

Teeranai Charuvastra can be reached at [email protected] and @Teeranai_C.

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Thaksin Says Junta Seeks 'Backward Democracy'

By

Associated Press

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10 March 2016, 14:44

Thailand's former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra responds to questions during a news interview Wednesday, March 9, 2016, in New York. Photo: Frank Franklin II / Associated Press

NEW YORK — Former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, who was ousted by a military coup in 2006, has accused the ruling junta of trying to push through a new constitution designed to limit democracy.

After dismissing Thaksin and seizing power, the military held elections in 2007, which Thaksin's party won easily. But after a series of political upheavels, during which Thaksin fled the country, new elections were held in 2011 that also were won by Thaksin's party led by his sister, who became the prime minister.

But her government was removed in a 2014 coup by the military, which is now drafting a constitution that allows for an unelected prime minister and proposes giving wide powers to the Constitutional Court and appointing an unelected Senate. Coup leader Prime Minister Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha has promised to hold elections by the end of 2017.

Thaksin said any elections held under the new constitution will deny the will of the majority of the people. "That is backward democracy," he said. "Under democracy, you have to give the power to the people."

He said Thais are very patient people, and were willing to believe the military when it said it is taking over power to "reconcile the differences of the people in the country."

"But so far, one-and-a-half years (later), they have nothing (to show for) on reconciliation," he said, adding that in fact the opposite is true. The military rulers are "only trying to use the law to benefit their own politics."

Thaksin was convicted of corruption in absentia in 2008 and sentenced to two years in jail. His passport was revoked, and he now travels on passports from Montenegro and Nicaragua. His sister, former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, has also been charged with alleged mismanagement of a rice subsidy program for which she faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted.

Thaksin Shinawatra responds to questions during a news interview Wednesday, March 9, 2016, in New York. Photo: Frank Franklin II / Associated Press

Thaksin, 66, said he speaks to Yingluck "quite often, but everyone knows this is the only case in the world" where a prime minister has been prosecuted over a policy, which has effectively banned her from politics for five years.

"This is really ridiculous and we worry about the justice that she will receive," he said.

Thaksin said he misses home but is not really in a rush to return.

"I wish I can go (home). I'm quite settled outside Thailand and if I go back to Thailand it should benefit the country and the people. Otherwise I'm not really serious about going back," said Thaksin, who lives in the United Arab Emirates.

It was an attempt by Yingluck's government to push a plan for an amnesty bill that would have allowed her brother to return to Thailand that triggered the 2014 coup.

Story: Associated Press

'Ben I Sabbah' on Remixing Mo Lam Even Groovier

By

Cole Pennington

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10 March 2016, 14:40

Dr. Lum and friends. Photo: Studio Lam / Facebook

BANGKOK — Mo lam, the groovin’ music of Isaan, has in a short time gone from shunned to celebrated in the capital and even grown to reach a global audience.

With the Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band touring Europe, and films such as “Y/Our Music” winning awards overseas, its profile is rising in the international music scene.

Locally we're still a few steps ahead, mo lam takes new forms and twists under the capital’s international influence.

Case in point: Dr. Lum. Ben I Sabbah calls his music “oriental and Asian underground.” The 52-year-old Swiss musician blends the traditional molam of his buddy from Ubon, Frank O-B Rom, with electronic beats to create a new style of music that’s gaining traction.

On Wednesday, Ben I Sabbah, his Ubon Ratchatani collaborator Frank O-B Rom and some friends will mix twangin’ traditional mo lam with contemporary beats for their public performance at Studio Lam. I had the chance to put some questions to him about their music.

Khaosod English: You've developed a style you call Lum Step. What’s that?

Ben I Sabbah: If Paradise Bangkok Molam International Band plays 21st century mo lam, this is mo lam for the 23rd century! With my partner Frank O-B Rom from Ubon Ratchathani, we started the project Dr. Lum. He plays the traditional instruments and traditional melodies [phin, khene, wode, ponglang et. al.] and I loop it, crack it and reconstruct it with beats and grooves from dubstep, dub, trance and house in a way that retains the Issan soul but is still very much original music.

KE: What are some examples of unique elements or sounds that you incorporate into your music?

BIS: I listen and play music with my belly more than my brain. Feeling is everything. I’m focused on the sound more than anything else, like melody or harmonies. The sound is the basic element that deeply touches the listener. The next element is the groove. I like working with endless multi-layered reverbs. I try to build dozens of different beat patterns that transform constantly.

KE: Who is this kind of music popular with?

BIS: In the late ‘90s and early 2000s, the Asian underground scene was very popular, and I played a lot in bigger clubs, but since then the trends have changed. Now I play more in smaller underground clubs, where the crowd isn’t so young anymore.

KE: What's the creative process like when producing your tracks? Where do your sounds come from?

BIS: I am always looking out for new music. I try to go through life with open ears. Years ago I spent days in record shops to find something unexpected, but now, since the glory days of record stores are gone, I spend a lot of time surfing the net to find records in online shops from all over the world. I prefer physical stuff; I only download what I can’t find on vinyl or CD.

Today’s consumers create their musical taste by the recommendations of search engines. The worst is YouTube, because it makes the consumer need eye candy to listen to anything. Simply listening with your ears doesn’t happen; now everyone needs clips to hold their attention. The smartphone generation should dig a little deeper.

Catch Ben I Sabbah and Frank O-B Rom as Dr. Lum starting at 9pm on Wednesday at Studio Lam. They’ll be joined by Nupap “Nupachino” Savantracha on electric sitar and guitar, Naake “Tum” Thanapakklunladej on acoustic guitar and “Pod” on tabla. Door is 300 baht.

Watch Y/our Music and hear from its creators tonight at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Thailand.

Aung San Suu Kyi Will Not Become Myanmar's Next President

By

Associated Press

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10 March 2016, 11:53

In this Jan. 4, 2016 file photo, NLD party leader Aung San Suu Kyi delivers a speech during a ceremony to mark Myanmar's 68th anniversary of Independence in Yangon, Myanmar. Photo: Gemunu Amarasinghe / Associated Press.

NAYPYITAW, Myanmar — Nominations by the National League for Democracy party make clear that Aung San Suu Kyi will not become the next president of Myanmar.

Unofficially, she has vowed to be the de-facto leader by calling the shots from behind the scenes, and party members said Thursday that's how things will work in Myanmar's first democratically elected government in more than a half century.

The party nominated two Suu Kyi loyalists for the post including the front runner Htin Kyaw, a 70-year-old Oxford graduate. The nomination will be followed by a vote among legislators later this month before the new president is installed April 1.

For the past several weeks Suu Kyi is believed to have held closed door talks with the powerful military generals to suspend a constitutional clause that bars her from presidency.

The outcome of the negotiations was not known until Thursday when the names of the loyalists were announced, signaling the end, at least for now, of Suu Kyi's longtime ambition to be Myanmar's leader.

Suu Kyi did not attend Thursday's high-profile nomination session but posted a message on Facebook to her legions of supporters. She called it a "first step toward realizing the expectations and desires of the people who overwhelmingly supported the National League for Democracy in the elections."

"It is our will to fulfill the people's desire," Suu Kyi said in the letter posted on her Facebook page. "We will try as hard as we can to do that."

The longtime former political prisoner led her National League for Democracy to a landslide victory in Nov. 8 general elections, paving the way for the country's first democratically elected government since the military took power in 1962.

Despite her massive popular support, the 70-year-old Suu Kyi is blocked from the presidency because the constitution bars anyone with a foreign spouse or children from holding the executive office. Suu Kyi's two sons are British, as was her late husband. The clause is widely seen as having been written by the military with her in mind.

Military representatives of Myanmar parliament attend a session of Union Parliament Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2016, in Naypyitaw, Myanmar. Photo: Aung Shine Oo / Associated Press

During Thursday's parliament session, the NLD nominated, from the lower house, Htin Kyaw, a longtime confidante and associate of Suu Kyi. He is widely respected and seen as a frontrunner. His father was a national poet and a National League for Democracy lawmaker from an aborted 1990 election, while his wife is a prominent legislator for the party in the current house. His father-in-law, a former army colonel, was a co-founder of the NLD.

From the upper house, the NLD nominated Henry Van Hti Yu, an ethnic Chin minority and upper house NLD lawmaker.

The outgoing ruling party, the Union Solidarity and Development Party, also nominated two candidates — Sai Mauk Kham, currently a vice president, and former upper house speaker Khin Aung Myint.

The military bloc, which holds a constitutionally mandated 25 percent of seats, is also allowed to nominate one candidate from each house of parliament. The candidates have not yet been announced, one of whom will likely become the country's other vice president.

A vote will be held later this month to elect the president and two vice presidents.

The NLD candidates are assured of a victory given its control of both chambers. One of them will become the president and the other will become a vice president.

Suu Kyi fought for decades to end dictatorship in Myanmar, and remains her party's unquestioned leader. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel prize while under house arrest, where she spent 15 years locked away by a junta that feared her political popularity.

Suu Kyi has made clear that even if she is not president she will be in charge.

Kyaw Thiha, an upper house NLD lawmaker, said Thursday that the new president will take orders from Suu Kyi.

"She cannot become the president, but it doesn't really matter because she will be controlling everything. She will be the one to control us," Kyaw Thiha said. "It doesn't really matter that she is not becoming the president."

Political analyst Toe Kyaw Hlaing predicted that the people won't have a problem with that arrangement.

"The public voted for change, so now the public wants a pure civilian president," he told The Associated Press. "So when the civilian president comes to power, I think the public will support him, and the public may not care whether he is a proxy president or not."

Story: Esther Htusan and Jocelyn Gecker / Associated Press

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Chulalongkorn Freshmen Seriously Injured by Falling Tree

By

Chayanit Itthipongmaetee, Staff Reporter

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10 March 2016, 11:46

A falling tree struck benches and injured seven students at Chulalongkorn University on Wednesday afternoon in Bangkok.

BANGKOK — Seven students at Chulalongkorn University were injured yesterday afternoon when a large tree fell on the campus of Chulalongkorn University.

Seven freshmen students were reportedly reading on benches under the tree near the Engineering Faculty’s building when the tree snapped in half and fell onto them. Three were seriously injured.

Natthapat Assawasuraroek, one of the injured students who was suffering head pain, said that he and his friends were there when the tree fell. Fortunately the tree trunk fell in another direction and missed them, Natthapat said, while its branches fell onto his group.

All seven students were hospitalized for treatment.

Termites were blamed for causing the tree to topple, according to Thanit Thongtong, vice rector of student affairs, in a report on the university’s radio station Thursday morning. He said the termite damage was not apparent before the accident.

All students will be compensated under the university’s insurance, he added.

Workers were cutting the tree up with chainsaws on Thursday while other large trees on campus were checked to prevent such incidents occurring again in the future.

Photo: Grean Suan Kularb / Facebook

Parents File Charges Over Classroom Sex Video

By

Teeranai Charuvastra, News Chief

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10 March 2016, 11:40

LAMPANG — Parents of two high school students who were filmed having sex in a classroom in the northern province of Lampang have filed criminal charges against the person who recorded the video.

The video, apparently filmed without the knowledge of the students involved, surfaced on the internet Monday and was subsequently republished by several news agencies.

Sarawut Chanmano, deputy commander of a police station in Lampang’s Thoen district, where the high school is located, said parents of the two students want police to prosecute the person who made the video under the Computer Crime Act. The law bans dissemination of pornography on the internet.

According to Lt. Col. Sarawut, the parents suspect that a classmate of the students filmed the video.

“We will have to inquire about the student who filmed the clip, and all other students who are involved,” Sarawut said. “We believe it will take some time, because the kids are in the middle of their final exams [season], so we have to wait for the exam to be over first.”

He added, “As for the two students who appeared in the video, I know from the parents that they are rather stressed about what happened, and they are stressed about the exam.”

Pixelated versions of the video and screenshots were reproduced by a number of Thai-language media agencies. Some openly condemned the two students.

“Morally-Degrading Beyond Words! Video of Male-Female Students Having Sex on Their Teacher's Desk in Lampang Gone Viral,” read the headline of an article by Manager Online.

Karun Sakulpradith, secretary general of the Office of Basic Education Commission, said he has instructed psychiatrists and teachers to lecture the two students about the inappropriateness of their behavior.

“They told them to learn about restraint,” Karun told reporters Wednesday.

The official added that the female student seen in the video wished to move to another school right after exams. He said officials will facilitate the request.

Teeranai Charuvastra can be reached at [email protected] and @Teeranai_C.

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