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Meanwhile, Ban Metta Remand Home yesterday took in 15 boys for "shock therapy" after they were arrested on Sunday night for street racing.

Thon Buri district court yesterday sentenced 12 street racers to onemonth jail terms, confiscated their driver's licences for six months and seized 14 motorcycles.

Sutha, on his first day in his new job yesterday, said his ministry must find something constructive for youths to replace the thrill of illegal street racing. He said former minister Wattana Muangsuk's idea of building race tracks could possibly be a solution to this problem.

Following the arrest of 33 street racers and the seizure of 20 motorbikes on the RatchadaTha Phra elevated bridge early on Monday morning, Talad Phlu police took 15 boys to Ban Metta Remand Home and four girls to Ban Pranee Remand Home to undergo a fiveday "shock therapy" rehabilitation programme.

The youths cannot be bailed out until completion of the programme. Of these youths, two boys were repeat offenders, one from another criminal case and the other from a previous street racing case who had undergone the "shock therapy" programme before.

At the same time, Tha Kham police sent 14 boys and one girl to remand homes following the Sunday evening arrest of street racers on Anamai Ngamcharoen Road.

Later yesterday, Talad Phlu police took 14 street racers over the age of 18 to the Thon Buri district court. The court found 12 youths guilty of racing on public roads as charged and sentenced each one month in jail, confiscated their driver's licences for six months and seized their motorbikes. The court determined that the other two were passengers and confiscated their driver's licences for six months before releasing them.

Tha Kham police took seven street racers from the Sunday evening arrests into detention for six days from February 11 to 16. All were aged over 18 and all denied any wrongdoing.

Justice Minister Sompong Amornwiwat said yesterday that he would talk to the youths kids and their parents to try to find solutions to the issue. He said parenting issues rather than strict discipline - which seemed only to engender resistance from the youths - may be the root of the problem.

Sompong said there would also be further study into the suggestion that the government get tough on the manufacturers of exhaustpipe modifiers used by the street racers.