BANGKOK, Thailand – Two students were stabbed on the platform of Siam BTS station yesterday morning in the latest confrontation between long-time rival colleges, despite a heavy police presence deployed specifically to prevent violence on the first day of on-site classes following a previous fight.

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The assault occurred at approximately 8.30am on the crowded third-floor platform, in full view of officers stationed at the scene, as students from Rajamangala University of Technology Tawan-ok’s Uthenthawai Campus and Pathumwan Institute of Technology confronted each other.

Police from Pathumwan station had been deployed at the station and along the skywalk as part of preventive measures against clashes between the rival groups, whose decades-old enmity has resulted in numerous deaths and injuries over the years. Officers initially observed about 30 Pathumwan students waiting to board a train to National Stadium station, with seven officers positioned between the groups on the platform to prevent any confrontation.

The situation escalated when approximately 30 Uthenthawai students alighted from a train, prompting both groups to run towards each other and engage in a melee. Police moved in to break up the fight, but not before two Pathumwan students, aged 19 and 21, suffered stab wounds to their backs. Both were taken to hospital and later reported to be in stable condition.

The two colleges had previously agreed to stagger their students’ commuting and class times to minimise the likelihood of encounters, but yesterday students from both institutions arrived at the station at roughly the same time, prompting police to investigate whether they had arranged to meet through social media to fight. Pathumwan police chief Pol Col Sirichart Chanpromma stated that officers had been deployed at high-risk points on every floor of the station and along the skywalk before the incident, yet some students ignored police orders to disperse while attackers managed to evade officers and use knives against their rivals.

Teachers of the injured students have filed a complaint with Pathumwan police, and investigators are now collecting evidence, reviewing closed-circuit television footage and questioning witnesses to identify those responsible. Discussions with the two institutions revealed that they had requested changes to their students’ commuting schedules for this academic year, but the two sides had yet to reach an agreement on a clear timetable. If authorities assess the risk of further clashes to be high, students may have to return to online classes.

Senior Metropolitan Police officers have instructed Pathumwan police to compile information on all incidents involving the two institutions for discussion with the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Research and Innovation, with the aim of finding a long-term solution. Police have stressed that resolving the decades-old rivalry will require cooperation from all parties and cannot be left solely to law enforcement agencies.

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While stepped-up weapons searches have led to a significant decline in the use of firearms, officers still seize an average of 10 knives a month from students of the two institutions, with each seizure reported to the respective institution. Both institutions maintain strict disciplinary measures for students found carrying weapons, with those caught carrying firearms facing expulsion.

-Thailand News (TN)