Nonthaburi: An adviser to the interior minister and founder of the Sai Mai Tong Rod (Sai Mai District Must Survive) Facebook page, Ekapop Luengprasert, on Monday took the mother of a 13-year-old boy who had been brutally beaten by a youth gang in this Central Plains province to file a complaint with Ratthanathibet police.
Mr Ekapop said the incident took place on Jan 10. The leader of the so-called Sai Thong gang, also known by the name of its leader, Tee Tha Sai, and seven other members assaulted Ms Chatmongkot's (surname withheld) son at a local public park near Samakkhi Road over a problem with his ex-girlfriend, who is a gang member.
Mr Ekapop said Ms Chatmongkot's son suffered a broken nose, a ruptured eardrum, a pulmonary haemorrhage and other severe wounds. The doctor said he would require surgery to make a full recovery.
Ms Chatmongkot said the gang members had told his son not to tell his mother about the beating, but he had eventually told her the truth.
She also revealed that her son had later received a death threat from the gang, saying they would burn their house. That was why she took her son to meet with Mr Ekapop and asked him to help seek justice.
Pol Col Pisut Chantharasuwan said he would ask his investigators to look into the case immediately and would set up a special team to hunt down and capture gangs of teenage thugs, especially the Sai Thong gang, who have been making trouble for locals for several years.
Earlier on Monday Mr Ekapop, along with his team, visited Sai Thong village, which is known to be the gang's stronghold, and inspected the area where Tee Tha Sai was reported to have terrorised locals and their children.
According to one victim, who called himself Poom, the gang consists of more than 100 members ranging from teenagers to the elderly. They tended to beat random victims, use guns and grenades and get into fights to increase their notoriety.
Another victim, Wanchai, aged 80, said that the gang had been around for more than 30 years and that the police had never taken the matter seriously and consistently ignored complaints by victims.
Following his meeting with Mr Ekapop, Police Superintendent Pisut Chandrasuwan said he was going to form a special team to hunt down and capture the gang.