Nan Teacher threatens pupils with gun
NAN SCHOOL
Teacher in hot water for berating kids at gunpoint
RARINTHORN PETCHAROEN
Nan _ Around 300 residents of Ban Nam Liang in Nan's Thung Chang district yesterday demanded the removal of a school director they claimed threatened pupils at gunpoint. The incident happened on May 25, 10 days after the school reopened following the holidays.
Somporn Onsuwan, director of Ban Nam Liang school, found out that nine male students had tattoos on their ankles.
The students were called into his office to be given a warning, and he drew a pistol and pointed it at the head of each student, terrifying them.
''The principal told us to get rid of the tattoos. He then asked whether we wanted to know if the tattoos made us bullet-proof. He went to get his gun from a car and pointed it at our heads,'' said Kamol Homdokploy, 13, a Mathayom 2 (Grade 8) student.
Theerawat Taokham, 13, also a Mathayom 2 student, thought it was a toy gun until he saw the real bullets.
''At first, I thought it was a toy gun. But when the principal started loading three bullets into the magazine, we were frozen with fear,'' the boy said.
The parents found out about the incident on May 31 and were upset with Mr Somporn's behaviour. They petitioned Samai Thanasri, the acting director of the provincial education zone 2 office, to have him transferred.
Mr Samai formed a fact-finding team and the findings are expected to be available this week.
Mr Somporn argued that he was joking and said the gun was a toy he seized from another student.
He said he had been the target of foul play, adding his 19-year record of working at the school was trouble-free and he had never been in conflict with any villagers.
Most teachers at the school believed Mr Somporn might have acted in a fit of rage. He meant to teach the students how to behave, although the way he did so might have been inappropriate, they said. Parent Suthep Homdokploy said warnings and punishments are acceptable, but not when pupils' lives are threatened. The school has 15 teachers and 187 students from kindergarten to Mathayom 3.
Bangkok Post
