Lorn Sorakanit, one of the two school teachers accused of raping their pupils, blesses a student taking part in a rite held in support of the accused yesterday. The two teachers say they are innocent and have filed a suit against their accusers.

A Bangkok school yesterday held a rite to show support for two teachers accused of raping five primary students.

About 1,000 people gathered outside the gates of Prachanukul School in Sai Mai district to show support for Lorn Sorakanit and Pimol Chunsri, who were arrested last Thursday for the alleged serial rape of 8-year-old pupils.

About 30 police were on duty to prevent violence. No outsiders were allowed through the gates, from which banners were hung with messages such as "Who is the real wrongdoer harming our students?" and "The foundation with wrong information oppresses teachers of Sai Mai district".

At 3pm, the school allowed reporters to enter and brought the two teachers to worship before a monk's statue and swear their innocence. When the school director led a ritual to comfort the accused pair, they burst into tears.

Sixth-grade student Yonlada Korkijcharoenkul, who represented the pupils, made a speech on stage in which she said she had no idea whether the teachers were guilty, but to her they were good and kind.

After she finished her speech, the accused teachers went upstairs without giving an interview.

The pair were released on bail after parents of the alleged victims sought help from the Paveena Hongsakul Foundation for Women and Children, which filed a complaint with police. The girls underwent physical examinations, which revealed evidence of rape.

School director Patchanee Khamvit said she believed in the teachers and would wait for the justice system to run its course. She said the school was not protecting the teachers, but that people only had one side of the story and lacked real information.

"If it is finally found that our teachers are not the wrongdoers, I will ask the media to apologise to us for damaging the school's reputation," she said.

Police interviewed three of the five girls separately and said the girls insisted they were raped and threatened by the teachers. Maj-General Kamronwit Thoopkrajang, commander of the Division for the Suppression of Crimes against Children and Women, said the police had been considering withdrawing the teachers' bail.

After they were released on bail, the alleged victims' parents said they received many threatening calls from anonymous people asking them to drop the case, he said.

"We have only two witnesses to question and then we can conclude the [investigation phase] of the case," Kamronwit said.

Bangkok Governor Apirak Kosayodhin has set up a fact-finding committee and sent social workers to the school to look after the alleged victims and their parents.

The two teachers have filed a libel suit against Paveena, Kamronwit and the mother of a girl who was allegedly raped. They accused the three of incriminating them as rapists.

According to the suit, the teachers said Paveena might be displeased with them as a result of the last election, when Paveena was a candidate for the Sai Mai constituency and they were ballot officers at a poll booth.

Noppadol Srithaveekard

The Nation