27-year old Natthaphol Thavornpibul, the owner of the Ban Phi Nath military cadet tutorial boarding school in Nakhon Sawan province, was sentenced to death today, by the Nakhon Sawan provincial court, after being found guilty of beating and killing one of his students with a baseball bat.
His wife, Mrs. Phiraya Palasen, and mother-in-law, Mrs. Nonglak Pala, were both sentenced to life in prison for aiding and abetting the fatal assault on the 14-year old boy, Thapakorn (Chaidaen) Sapsin.
Requests for bail for all 3 were rejected by the court.
The victim’s mother reportedly found a note in the boy’s room at the school, complaining of being beaten frequently and expressing his desire to return home.
According to the police, the boy was badly injured in a beating on June 9th last year. He asked to call his parents, to ask them to take him to a hospital, but this was rejected by Natthaphol who, again, beat him until he lost consciousness and was rushed to a hospital. After two days in a coma, the boy died and a doctor said that the victim’s pancreas had been severely damaged.
During the trial, Natthaphol pleaded not guilty to all the charges, claiming that he merely punished the boy, like any teacher who needs to discipline their student, and had no intention to kill him.
The victim’s body, which has been kept at King Taksin Hospital, will be moved to a temple on June 12th, which marks the first anniversary of his death.
