Teacher Canes 9-Year-Old 19 Times for 19 Wrong Answers
Parents reported that a 9-year-old girl was caned 19 times by her teacher for getting 19 answers wrong on an English test, resulting in severe bruising and a high fever. The family sought help from the Paveena Hongsakul Foundation, which coordinated with police and education officials to launch an investigation. The teacher and school are now under investigation for possible child abuse.
Mrs. B tearfully disclosed that her daughter was struck 19 times with a rattan cane on the buttocks, leaving deep bruises that made sitting or lying down impossible. The girl said she was caned because she got 19 out of 22 questions wrong on the English test, receiving one strike for each incorrect answer. She also said other students in the class had been punished in the same way. The teacher made the children stand with their arms crossed over their chests and hold their skirts against their legs so the cane would hit flesh; the girl begged to rest between strikes but the teacher refused and continued striking rapidly. There are 14 students in the class, and the parents warned that if the teacher is not stopped she may continue to harm other children. They urged authorities to pursue the case to the fullest extent of the law.
The Paveena Hongsakul Foundation’s chairwoman, Paveena Hongsakul, coordinated with Police Lieutenant Colonel Somchai Thiwangsa, Superintendent of Mueang Chonburi Police Station, to have the parents file a formal complaint and arrange a multidisciplinary interview. She also contacted Assistant Minister of Education Akornan KanKitthinan, Dr. Phuthon Chanthahong, Assistant Secretary-General of the Basic Education Commission (OBEC), and Dr. Arunee Jiramasart, also an Assistant Secretary-General of OBEC, to request an inspection of the school under OBEC and to set up a committee to investigate the teacher.
