The director of Pathumthani Technical College is facing a disciplinary probe after a 17-year-old student died on Saturday during a hazing ritual in Hua Hin.
The parents (left) of Phokhai Saengrojrat grieve at the sight of the body of their son at the Police Hospital in Bangkok. Phokai's father is considering legal options, and says he wants his son's death to be the last by hazing. (Photo by Thanarak Khunton)
Phokhai Saengrojrat had been taking part in student initiation activities on Sai Noi Beach in Prachuap Khiri Khan. He was a first-year vocational student in the college's construction programme. There were 40 freshmen in his class, but only 15 of them willingly took part in the hazing activity.
A witness told police he saw three to four men force Phokhai to consume what looked like an alcoholic drink. The men then pressed his face into the sand on the shoreline, as the tide came in.
The cause of death has not been verified but it is thought the teenager drowned.
As the tragedy on the beach unfolded, Bangkok Post Sunday ran a special report on hazing, warning that the dangerous practices were still present.
Chaiyapruek Serirak, secretary-general of the Office of the Vocational Education Commission, said all kinds of hazing activities are strictly prohibited.
Off-campus activities for new students must promote unity and be approved by parents whether organised by the institution, lecturers or groups of students, he said.
"A disciplinary probe will investigate whether the director has neglected his institutional duties resulting in a tragedy. It will take five days," Mr Chaiyapruek said.
Director Kwanchai Panichkarn insisted the institution knew nothing about the hazing activity. He said the college has banned all hazing, but a group of senior students and alumni organised the event in secret.
- Our Sunday feature: The dangers of hazing
"A committee has been set up to question students who participated in the ritual and their parents. All the students have said the same — that Phokhai fell down and lost consciousness during the last activity of the event," he said.
Alcohol was provided at the hazing ritual, but students were not forced to drink and no physical assault took place, he added.
Doctors at the Police General Hospital's Institute of Forensic Medicine conducted an autopsy on the student. They said he suffered respiratory and blood circulatory failure. Biopsy results will be available within two months.
Commenting on witness accounts that Phokhai had been forced to drink alcohol, Institute of Forensic Medicine commander Pol Maj Gen Pornchai Sutheerakun said that the claim will be investigated.
Pol Col Supichai Limsiwawongse, a forensic expert at the institute, said water was found in Phokhai's chest cavity. The student is believed to have died from asphyxia, but biopsy results are needed to determine the exact cause of death, he said.
Phokhai's parents, who say their son had suffered from leukaemia, collected their son's body from the Police General Hospital on Monday.
His father Phanupong said he wanted his son to be the last young person to die as a result of hazing. More must be done to tackle the problem of student initiation rituals, he said.
He is thinking about laying a police complaint about his son's death. The funeral rites are being held at Wat Chin Wararam Worawiharn in Pathum Thani's Muang district.