Police are stepping up patrols around movie theatres and vocational schools to prevent clashes between groups of students from rival institutions following the theatrical release of the movie 4Kings -- which they fear may result in copycat behaviour.
The movie, which revolves around a group of vocational students in the 1990s, contains graphic depictions of clashes between rival student gangs which the police fear may exacerbate tensions between the groups.
Pol Lt Gen Panurat Lakboon, deputy inspector-general of the Royal Thai Police, on Tuesday held a meeting with representatives from government agencies and the private sector to discuss the matter.
Separately, Thai Civilized Party leader Mongkolkit Suksintharanon on Monday invited vocational students to join him at Esplanade Cineplex Ngamwongwan-Khae Rai to watch the movie.
Pol Lt Gen Panurat said authorities did not see Mr Mongkolkit's action as a provocation, saying it was just an invitation to watch the movie which was unlikely to lead to a fight.
But the police will instruct provincial authorities to ramp up monitoring at schools, he said, adding parents should keep a close eye on their children.
Since the movie's release last Thursday, the Metropolitan Police Bureau has received one report of a clash between student gangs, in which one person died.
