The Chiang Rai Criminal Court has sentenced a man to 13 years and 4 months in prison for the attempted rape and assault of a 41-year-old school teacher. The defendant was also ordered to pay 378,000 baht compensation to the school teacher.
This incident occurred during a holiday on Saturday, January 20, 2024. The defendant threatened the second-grade teacher, who was on duty alone, with a knife at a school in Mueang District, Chiang Rai Province.
The attack was captured on CCTV and showed the female teacher trying to evade the man as he waved the knife around. He then grabbed her and physically assaulted her, kicking, punching, and beating her until she fell.
He then tried to drag her back into the room to rape her.
Fortunately, a fellow teacher and villagers heard her screaming and came to her rescue, causing the assailant to flee. They then took the injured teacher to the hospital.
The perpetrator, identified only as Mr. Niran, was a worker hired to cut down trees in the school, who was tracked down and arrested by the police the same day.
The news of this incident was widely shared on social media and caused panic among teachers. The Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) came under heavy pressure to cancel a rule requiring teachers to be on duty outside school hours to ensure schools are properly monitored after school janitors were phased out a few years ago.
On January 23, 2024, the Ministry of Education resolved to cancel the order.
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Geoff Thomas is an award winning journalist known for his sharp insights and no-nonsense reporting style. Over the years he has worked for Reuters and the Canadian Press covering everything from political scandals to human interest stories. He brings a clear and direct approach to his work.
