PM visits Bang Tao amid Phuket beach vendor dispute and illegal land claims
PM visits Bang Tao amid Phuket beach vendor dispute and illegal land claims — confirmed details at this stage for Phuket readers.
Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul visited Bang Tao Beach in Thalang on May 10 after complaints over seized shops and disrupted livelihoods on Phuket’s west coast. Vendors and business operators sought help during the visit, saying closures and demolitions had left workers without jobs and affected businesses on about 5-6 rai.
Vendors seek relief over closures and demolitions
Shop operators from the nearby Surin Beach area waited with signs to ask for intervention after their businesses were torn down, according to the report. Another group that included about 300 employees submitted a petition for fairness over orders shutting shops they rented.
They told officials they were tenants, not land encroachers. The closures had cut off income for workers and operators tied to the affected beachfront businesses.
The inspection party included Deputy Interior Minister Vorasit Liangprasit, Permanent Secretary of the Interior Arsit Sampantharat, deputy national police chief Pol Gen Samran Nuanma, Phuket Governor Nirat Pongsitthaworn, Thalang District Chief Wilailak Rueangphon and Phuket Forestry Center director Sorasak Rananan.
Officials cite 18 encroachment plots, 46 unlicensed buildings
After hearing from both sides, officials said the case broke into three parts. They said 18 plots involved construction encroaching on public land and evidence was being gathered for legal action.
They also identified 46 structures built without local construction permits, and local authorities had already posted orders suspending their use under the Building Control Act.
A separate active case covers 6 rai that officials said was a mango orchard in 2014 before permanent structures were built there in 2021 and rent was collected. Phuket later received complaints in 2026 that the site was operating in a manner similar to an entertainment venue, and investigators found the land had no title documents.
Officials then seized 34 buildings and filed complaints. During questioning, tenants said they rented from an Indian man through a former military officer, with some units charging monthly rent of B150,000. Forestry officials said the land is protected forest under the Forest Act of 1941 and cannot be issued title deeds.
Source: https://www.thaipost.net/columnist-people/994101/
