A Mathayom 6 (grade 12) student has turned himself in to police after he allegedly kicked a 15-year-old Mathayom 3 student from the same high school, which left him in a coma during a hazing ritual in Nakhon Pathom late last month.
The 18-year-old faces a charge of assault causing critical physical and mental harm, according to deputy Nakhon Pathom police chief Anurak Yotprasit.
Pol Col Anurak said the suspect was being questioned and when the process was completed, he would be sent to the Central Juvenile and Family Court where he will be remanded in custody.
On June 29, three Mathayom 3 students visited a house in tambon Wat Samrong in Nakhon Chaisi district to have a meal with three senior students from Mathayom 6 of the same school.
The younger boys had asked for metal bracelets worn by the senior students. The bracelets are embossed with the symbol of the older boys' fraternity group.
The senior students, according to the police, told the boys they had to undergo physical and mental strength tests as part of the fraternity's induction, said Pol Lt Col Pinyo Muksiksan, deputy chief of Nakhon Chaisi police.
Each younger student was paired with a senior student, who kicked the boy three times to test his tolerance.
Pol Lt Col Pinyo said one boy was kicked in the chest three times, causing him to collapse and pass out. He was sent to hospital which found the boy had suffered a ruptured lung causing him to slip into a coma.
The three Mathayom 6 boys were being treated as attackers but only one of them had turned himself in to police so far, Pol Lt Col Pinyo said. Nine people are believed to have witnessed the incident.
Pol Col Saksri Kaeo-eiaw, superintendent of Nakhon Chaisi police, said the police had received an initial complaint about the incident although that account had been inaccurate claiming the boy was attacked by four men who also damaged his motorcycle.
"In fact, this was a matter of the senior students resorting to extreme violence against junior students," he said, adding those who filed the false complaint will face prosecution.
The injured boy remains in a coma, hooked up to a ventilator.
Government deputy spokesman Werachon Sukondhapatipak said Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha is paying close attention to the case and has called on senior students to refrain from mistreating junior ones or engaging in activities that endanger the lives of others.
"Some senior students are still doing this and nothing good can come out of it," the deputy spokesman said, quoting Gen Prayut.
He also urged educational institutes to monitor the issue closely.
Police have been instructed to investigate the case thoroughly, according to Lt Gen Werachon.