Mother Files Complaint After Abbot Slaps Son at School
A mother filed a police complaint after a Buddhist abbot slapped her Grade 7 son during a school alms-giving ceremony in Phichit province when the boy accidentally tossed instant noodles into the monk's bowl. The boy suffered facial injurie
An angry mother has filed a police complaint after a Buddhist abbot slapped her Grade 7 son across the face during a school alms-giving ceremony in Phichit province. The boy accidentally tossed instant noodles into the monk's alms bowl while trying to make an offering, prompting the abbot to strike him and later publicly scold him in front of other students. Despite the school principal's apology, the mother is determined to pursue the case to its conclusion.
On August 15, a reporter visited the home of Suphanni in the Ban Ko Kha Chang area of Samroong Chai subdistrict, Phichali district, Phichit province, after receiving a complaint that her Grade 7 son had been physically assaulted by an abbot at a nearby school. The boy suffered facial injuries and embarrassment so severe that he withdrew from school, too ashamed to face his peers and frightened by the incident.
The boy explained that on August 12, Mother's Day, the school organized a morning alms-giving ceremony with an abbot and monks from an adjacent temple. While holding instant noodles and preparing to place them in the abbot's bowl, he could not reach far enough because another student was standing in the way, so the noodles accidentally fell into the bowl. The displeased abbot asked for his name and then struck him hard on the cheek, before calling him to the front of the activity grounds to rebuke him publicly in front of other students.
"I had no intention of throwing the noodles in the monk's bowl. I simply couldn't reach the bowl properly," the boy said. He recalled feeling numb at first, but later experienced pain radiating from his jaw to his ear. When he returned home, his mother noticed his injury and took him to a doctor before filing a police complaint at Takhrau Police Station.
The boy noted that multiple teachers were present during the incident but offered no protection; instead, a teacher later scolded him for his misbehavior. A video was recorded of him tossing the noodles, but no footage captured the abbot hitting him, despite teachers filming throughout. This upset him further and contributed to his decision not to return to the school.
His mother, Suphanni, said that while her son's behavior was inappropriate, a monk should not slap a child in this manner. "As a monk, he should show more compassion. If he saw my son doing something wrong, he should have warned or even struck his hand, not slapped his face, causing his lip to split and his jaw to ache," she said. She provided a medical certificate confirming the injuries and insisted on pursuing the case.
Although the school principal visited the family with a gift basket to apologize, the mother refused to drop the matter. When the reporter spoke to the abbot, who is the subdistrict Buddhist committee leader, he admitted to striking the boy that day but denied it was severe, saying he was teaching a lesson about the impropriety of throwing objects into a monk's alms bowl. He also acknowledged calling the boy to the front of the assembly to address the students, though he claimed this was for educational purposes, not to embarrass the child. Regarding the police complaint, he said it would have to follow the legal process. He added cryptically, "Perhaps it is time I have learned my lesson." The abbot has been ordained for 36 years at the temple.
