School rampage hints at wider breakdown

The mother of the ordained youth and a monk of Wat Sing react to questions about the Sunday attack on an examination session at Mathayomwatsing School. (Post Today photos)

Is the law still relevant in today's Thailand? The answer to this question is probably more pressing than the much-anticipated one about who the next prime minister will be.

The incident on Sunday, in which a group of men stormed into a school on the outskirts of Bangkok and reportedly attacked its director and teachers, while harassing some of the students, after they had asked them to turn down the volume at their next-door event, has brought the question into many people's minds.

This suburban hullabaloo is disturbing at many levels.

Atiya Achakulwisut is a columnist, Bangkok Post.

First, the students were taking a university admission examination, a crucial step for the youngsters who were presumably trying to concentrate and deliver their best scores.

Second, the attack, which reportedly left 12 people injured, was at a primary school, a place which should always be a safe zone, no matter what.

Third, the group of men who forced their way into the school and went on the rampage, reportedly beating up people at will to vent their anger, had come from a nearby ordination ceremony.

The sacred and the profane? How can the two switch so instantly? What is even more bewildering is that the group of people who were supposed to act in a reserved manner on a solemn occasion were reportedly under the influence of alcohol.

Police on Monday arrested 24 men, aged between 18-41, for trespassing on, and destroying, government property and physical assault. Some may also face sexual harassment charges as per accusations by some female students.

The incident may not be "serious" in terms of damage to human life and property, but psychologically it seems to have shaken many people and disrupted their sense of security.

For one thing, Sunday exams versus ordination ceremonies provides yet another case of conflicting rights among increasingly diverse groups of people.

Remember the case of a temple bell and complaint from a nearby resident? The controversy ended peacefully after the temple's abbot agreed to soften the tolling of the bell during the wee hours of the morning while the condominium's administrator apologised for the complaint.

But a happy ending is a rare one. In reality, there are no clear rules or guidelines about what the acceptable levels of noise are that people or organisations can make in public, at what time and under what circumstances.

After all, the law only says that those who make noise without due cause which alarms or disturbs other people may be subject to a fine of no more than 1,000 baht.

Can an ordination ceremony be cited as reason enough to make some noise? How do we define what level of noise may alarm, or disturb, people?

Back to the school attack, what has driven people's anger even further than the blatant flouting of the law, or drunken debauchery during what should have been a sacred Buddhist ceremony, is the self-righteous claim by one of the event's hosts.

According to news reports, the host and other ordination ceremony attendees claimed that they had the right to make noise. An ordination ceremony is boisterous by nature, they said.

Besides, they said they had already paid 20,000 baht for a band to perform during the procession. It would have been a waste if they were not allowed to turn up the volume and enjoy the celebration, which might be a once-in-a-lifetime event.

While the school rampage and violence against its personnel are inexcusable, is noise made during a special event, as argued by the ordination ceremony's host, permitted under the law?

Or traditions? Another equally pertinent question is why a rowdy procession, complete with a marching band and dancers on some occasions, has become an integral part of an ordination ceremony? Is it really a Buddhist tradition that we should follow?

In the end, what is most shocking about the school attack is the fact that the marauders seemed to have little or no regard at all for the law or legal consequences. That they might have been drunk is no excuse.

Consider the outrageous Sunday incident together with a young man stabbed to death by a rival school member, motorcyclists driving on pavements, taxis continuing to refuse passengers despite warnings from the land transport department, and taxi drivers attacking Grab drivers, and we begin to see a pattern of ordinary people either flouting the law because it is no longer practical or applicable to them, or taking it into their own hands.

The shock factor of the school trespass and brawling will fade away after a day or two. The increasing lawlessness that the incident has shown, however, should make a more profound impression.