Court sentences woman who stabbed students in 2005 to four years in jail

The court said Jitrada Tantiwanichayasuk, 37, who has mental problems for years, will be sent to receive medical treatment at a hospital after serving the jail terms.

On September 9, 2005, Jitrada Tantiwanichayasuk, then 34, stabbed and seriously injured four students at girls-only St Joseph School in the heart of Bangkok. One of the students was in critical condition but was later recovered.

After the attack, Jitrada easily escaped from the school by taking motorcycle. She was later landed a job at a restuarant in Chatuchak area. But the restaurant owner alerted police after recognising her from a police sketch that led to her arrest.

Psychiatrists treating Jitrada after the attack have decided she is mentally ill.

Wearing a pink spaghetti-strap top and a pair of blue shorts, Jitrada showed no signs of remorse at a police press conference in 2005, remaining silent and ignoring the throng of reporters and photographers.

But later Jitrada allegedly told police investigators she had heard "an order from heaven" telling her to "do something" to rich Indians and Chinese because they had taken advantage of Thai people.

She said she had visited both the Mater Dei School and the Saint joseph Convent School and chosen the latter because the children were richer and the school had a nicer and more orderly environment.

Motorcycle taxi drivers who work in the area said she had been seen around Saint joseph over the course of the last year.

Police said Jitrada had taken Bt500,000 from her mother several months before to prepare for the mission.

She had previously followed some students home to make sure they were from rich families, she told police, but had not dared attack them because Thailand's death penalty had been by shooting at the time.