Mother says 7-year-old suffered facial swelling after being struck for being too slow at arithmetic

A Pattaya girl suffered facial swelling after being struck by her teacher for being too slow to answer questions, her mother says. (Photo by Chaiyot Pupattanapong)

PATTAYA: A teacher at a Pattaya school faces an investigation for allegedly using a wooden stick to hit a 7-year-old on the head for being too slow at arithmetic, causing the girl to suffer facial swelling.

Facebook user “J-juneny Nuchnanrt” posted pictures of the girl and provided details of the incident on her account on Friday. “Slow math calculation is a reason for the teacher to use a wooden stick to hit Jaja,” she wrote, using the girl’s nickname.

“Two rounds of X-ray scans show there is no skull fracture but there is internal bruising. A doctor gave her medicines to reduce pain and advised us to frequently massage her with a cold compress. She suffered swelling like this because she was hit in the middle of her head.

“We have already filed a police complaint and will go to the school on Monday to meet school executives. We want to know what action will be taken. The teacher must be held responsible. We will not compromise. If we don’t take action or keep silent, other children might face the same thing.”

The accused teacher drew a barrage of criticism after the story and photos of the girl went viral online. Images of the child drew hundreds of comments and were forwarded more than 5,000 times as of Saturday afternoon.

The Bangkok Post contacted the Facebook user, Nuchanart Tulaphan, 26. She is the mother of 7-year-old Chawannut, or “Nong Jaja”, a Prathom Suksa 2 student at Muang Pattaya 5 School in Bang Lamung district of Chon Buri. The school is run by the Pattaya municipality.

Ms Nuchanart said that on Thursday evening at the school her daughter complained of an acute headache. She initially thought her child might have been studying too hard and then took her to rest at their house.

That night, she said, she was shocked to see that her daughter had developed swelling on her face, both eyes and right cheek. She then asked her child what happened at the school and was told that the teacher had used a wooden stick to hit her on the head after she was unable to answer her arithmetic problems.

The woman immediately took her child to Bang Lamung Hospital for an X-ray, which showed no skull fracture, but there was internal bruising that caused the swelling. After receiving medication from a doctor, Ms Nuchanart filed a complaint with Pattaya police.

She took her daughter to undergo another X-ray at a private hospital on Saturday. If the results showed any other serious conditions, she said would fight to the end against the teacher for over-reacting.

Naruemol Inthapong, the director of the school, said the school would set up a fact-finding committee to investigate the incident. If found guilty, the teacher would face disciplinary action and would take responsibility for her action, said the director.

A Facebook user posted photos taken of her daughter at a hospital after the incident at the school in Pattaya.