Anutin orders crackdown on beach extortion in Phuket

Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul paid an unannounced visit to Phuket today to meet local officials over vendors encroaching on public beaches by paying protection money to influential figures.

The prime minister and his delegation first visited Bang Tao Beach, where many vendors complained of being threatened by “heavies” demanding protection fees or else facing forced eviction.

He said the extortionists were merely thugs and did not deserve to be called “influential figures”, urging honest vendors to report any intimidation to local authorities.

He said Bang Tao Beach is public land and that all structures on the beach belong to the state, adding that he had been informed by the district chief officer that no permits had been granted for any construction there. As such, all non-state-owned buildings and structures on the beach are illegal, he added.

The prime minister said he wanted to make Bang Tao Beach a model for how public land can be properly developed and utilised by honest people to earn a living free from extortion by thugs.

He stressed that his visit to Phuket was intended to ensure that the authorities concerned strictly enforce the law to protect innocent people.

He urged vendors and traders to have faith in him and his administration.