The parents of an autistic 4th grader at Ban Dong School in Dok Kham Tai district of Phayao province, who was videotaped being bullied and assaulted by a group of 8th graders, has demanded harsher punishment for her daughter's attackers.
They claimed they have been offered 4,000 baht as compensation from eight attackers' parents to withdraw their report, which they refused.
A two-minute-long video clip showing a group of 8th graders violently bullying the girl went viral on Wednesday and sparked outrage from netizens.
In the video, the victim is shown being kicked in the face while sitting in a classroom.
Her hair is pulled and she screams and cries before one of the attackers puts her hand over the victim's mouth.
Many disgruntled netizens have called on the Office of the Basic Education Commission (Obec) to severely punish those involved in the attack.
Ban Dong School director Nanthapol Fusrikul said the incident took place on Oct 5 and that the school had already conducted a basic investigation.
Mr Nanthapol said the school talked to the parents of the children involved in hope of putting the matter to bed.
He said the school also issued warnings to the children involved and placed them on probation, as per the Education Ministry's regulation.
If they commit another offence, they would get their behaviour score cut and face suspension from classes, he added.
"All students involved in the assault and the victim were given physical and psychological tests at the hospital," Mr Nanthapol said.
However, the victim's parents said the punishment was too lenient. They vowed to keep pressing so the bullies are punished.
The victim's parents claimed the school had offered to get the eight students involved to pay 500 baht each in compensation to the family.
They said they were asked to sign a document to not pursue the case, but they turned the offer down.
A settlement discussion involving all parents will be held today at City Hall. Later, all parties are due to head to the district police station to discuss criminal proceedings.
One of the attackers, whose name is being withheld due to his age, wrote on his Facebook account saying he was sorry about the incident and that he hoped the case could be closed as his group has been placed on probation by the school.
He also asked social media users to stop condemning his group, claiming the group did not intend to seriously assault the girl, but only wanted to disentangle the victim's messy hair.
Education Minister Teerakiat Jareonsettasin said he has acknowledged the incident and ordered Obec to look into it.
"Bullying is unacceptable as it cultivates violent behaviour, both among the bullies and the victims," Mr Teerakiat said.
"However, to handle the problem effectively, the Ministry of Education and Obec cannot act alone. All related agencies must join hands to resolve this," he said.