Founder of Phuket news page petitions House committee after 5 million baht lawsuit over Bang Tao reporting

The founder of a Phuket news page has petitioned a House committee after being sued for 5 million baht under the Computer Crime Act over reporting on alleged public land encroachment at Bang Tao beach.

At parliament on June 17, 2026, Pakamon Nunanan, chair of the House Committee on Political Development, Mass Communications and Public Participation, and Phuket MP Chalermpong Saengdee received a petition from Worapong Yuraman, founder of the "Khao Hot Jung Changwat Phuket" news page.

Worapong said he had been affected by legal action stemming from his coverage of alleged encroachment on public land in the Bang Tao beach area. He said the plaintiff was a relative of a senior official and that the case was filed at the Criminal Court in Bangkok, which he described as making travel difficult and amounting to harassment.

He said the 5 million baht damages claim was linked to a post on his page that referred to Phuket provincial officials in connection with the Bang Tao beach crackdown. He also said he was sued over an earlier analysis post in which he predicted that provincial officials involved in suppressing influential figures in Phuket would be transferred within two weeks, a prediction he said was later borne out.

Worapong said he had come to Bangkok to acknowledge the accusation and continue fighting the case. He said he wanted national media to follow the case because local media were facing heavy pressure when reporting information seen as negative toward influential figures.

Pakamon said the influential figure mentioned in the complaint was close to a Phuket deputy governor who had recently been transferred. She said Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra had previously told a meeting at the Interior Ministry that the official had engaged in benefit-seeking behavior. Pakamon said the transfer was only "one scene in a play" because there had been no serious disciplinary or criminal inquiry, and the official had instead been moved to a larger province, Nakhon Si Thammarat, his home province.

She also said the recent changes involving the Phuket governor and deputy governor could be part of a political reshuffle to reorganize influence networks ahead of the next election. According to Pakamon, suppression of influential figures had become secondary to political interests.

Chalermpong said patronage, influence and rent-seeking in Phuket had been chronic problems for decades, with senior officials allegedly helping business and influence groups encroach on public land. He said repeated changes of provincial governors had not addressed the problem at its roots, prompting some local civic groups to push for the election of provincial governors so Phuket residents could determine their own future.

The petition centers on the lawsuit against the Phuket media page founder and broader allegations of pressure on local media reporting on powerful interests in the province.