A 38-year-old man, accused of attacking a female teacher at a school in Chiang Rai province on Saturday, has told the police that he acted in self-defence, claiming that the teacher attacked him first.
The teacher, “Acharaporn”, suffered numerous cuts and broken ribs in the attack. The incident occurred while the teacher was on a weekend shift at the school.
Suspect “Nirun” stated that he was hired to prune trees at Banpong School in Muang district, adding “Normally, before starting the job, I notify the school principal and a teacher named “Oh”. On that day, however, I encountered a teacher whom I did not know by name and had never met before.’
Nirun claimed that, as he approached the teacher to inform her about being hired to prune trees, a plastic gun accidentally fell out of his pocket. Upon seeing this, the teacher assumed that he would attack her, prompting her to grab his long knife, used for pruning the trees, and swing it, presumably to defend herself.
“I told her to calm down, explaining that I had no intention of attacking her, but to no avail. When I attempted to retrieve the knife, it accidentally struck my nose, resulting in significant cuts on my mouth and nose, causing bleeding,” he claimed.
Nirun then said that he had attacked the teacher out of anger, before escaping to tend to his wounds. Subsequently, he surrendered to police.
The police are reviewing CCTV footage from the school. Some clips posted on social media apparently show that Nirun attempted to drag the teacher into a room, but eventually gave up before fleeing on a motorcycle.
A student, who was present at the school, told police that, when Nirun saw him, he indicated that he should keep quiet.
Nirun, who has previously been convicted on drug charges, has a history of assaulting people in the village.
