On Sunday, police reported a group of 5 teens brutally assaulted a 15-year-old boy in Tambon Tha Kham, Amphoe Wiang Kaen, Chiang Rai.

Pol. Lt. Samak Phutthawong, Deputy Inspector (Investigation), Wiang Kaen Police Station, said at around midnight, he received a frantic call that approximately 5 young men wearing hoodies and face masks assaulted a 15-year-old boy in the village, slashing his face and arm before beating him severely.

The young boy was taken to Wiang Kaen Hospital but was later transferred for further treatment at Chiang Rai Prachanukroh Hospital, where doctors attended to his slash wounds.

At the hospital, the teen told police that he was called by a friend from a nearby village to visit and play video games. On his way to his friend’s house, a group of 5-6 teens riding motorcycles attacked him in front of a rice mill.

Teens, Chiang Rai — Police are examining CCTV footage in the area of the brutal attack

He said they were armed with machetes, and one of the teens slashed his left arm and face while the others kicked and punched him repeatedly.

He said he managed to break free and run for his life, leaving his motorcycle behind. He then hid in some bushes under the cover of darkness until the teens left. Afterward, he went to ask for help from villagers, who took him to the hospital and then contacted the Wiang Kaen Police Station.

He told police that before the attack, he had a disagreement with a boy from another school over a girl. The boy had been dating her, but they had recently broken up.

The girl chatted with him, and her ex-boyfriend got angry and told him to stay away from her. He told police he believed that the perpetrators must be a group of friends of the girl’s ex-boyfriend.

The doctors have held him in the hospital for observation and did not say when he would be able to return home. Meanwhile, his parents filed a complaint with the police and asked them to hunt down the perpetrators for prosecution.

Pol. Lt. Samak said they would interview the girl to determine her former boyfriend’s identity and then bring him in for questioning. He said investigators are already examining CCTV footage in the area that will be used as evidence for a criminal conviction.