Phuket MP alleges Bang Tao Beach encroachment network still defies authorities

A Phuket MP has alleged that an influential figure accused in a Bang Tao Beach land case is still operating in the area and suing local media and members of the public despite a recent inspection by Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul.

Chalermpong Saengdee, a Phuket MP from the People’s Party, said on June 14 that there had been no progress since Anutin visited the site. He said the individual involved in the Bang Tao Beach land encroachment case had filed lawsuits against local media outlets and against people who commented online.

Chalermpong alleged that the person had ties to the current deputy governor of Phuket and therefore did not fear the law. He said the person was still trying to open some shops to serve tourists.

He said the encroached area sits directly on a beach and involved public land worth several hundred million baht. According to Chalermpong, foreigners were being allowed to conduct business there while influential people controlled the area and tried to suppress complaints.

He called on the prime minister to act, saying that although Anutin had previously gone to Bang Tao and described the local influential figure as a thug, that person was now responding by suing local media, people who commented online, and those trying to point out alleged links to the deputy governor.

Chalermpong also said local access to the area had previously been difficult because guards or caretakers were present. He alleged that taxi drivers trying to pick up customers near the business had previously been involved in fights and assaults, and that only vehicles prepared by the operator were able to collect customers there. He said legally operating ride-hailing cars could not enter the area to pick up passengers, forcing customers to walk a considerable distance outside, which he said was inconvenient for tourists and damaged Phuket’s image as a tourism destination.

He further alleged that the person controlling Bang Tao Beach was related through the deputy governor’s wife’s side of the family and had supported the deputy governor’s rise. Chalermpong said the official had moved from Kathu district chief to provincial clerk and then to deputy governor of Phuket in just two years.