Students simulating oral sex in photos posted online as part of a university hazing incident won't be punished for their part in the simulation, Rangsit University official said this week.
Deputy Rector for Student Affairs Akechart Sompongse told reporters those involved showed enough remorse not to warrant any serious punishment, even though they would have to explain the 2004 incident to the Office of the Higher Education Commission.
The images showing female students simulating oral sex with male students were taken during hazing at a Rangsit compound and posted on the Internet six months later. Sompongse had said in earlier statements that the images were first misinterpreted due to "camera angles," according to reports in the Asian press.
Rangsit University is believed to be Thailand's first to hand down strict regulations governing hazing, regulations aimed at preventing violent acts and "conforming to high ethical standards," as one report described them.
The OHEC has also asked Thailand's universities to ensure hazing and cheering activities become voluntary and "free of lewd content and conduct," with a concurrent demand for disciplinary action against students who violate them. The OHEC has also threatened to take university administrators to court if students are harmed during future hazing activities.
