Foreigner accused of taking over Phuket viewpoint for paragliding business

A foreigner and his Thai wife allegedly took over a public viewpoint in Phuket for their paragliding business and chased away Thai tourists who were visiting the popular attraction.

A Thai tourist posted a video on social media exposing the pair, claiming the foreign man ordered him to leave the Windmill Viewpoint, located near Phromthep Cape. In the video, the tourist is seen arguing with the foreigner, who shows him a document and repeatedly says, “You can’t stay here.”

The Thai man refused, responding with, “I can. This is a public space. This is a public area.”

The foreign man insisted he had the right to occupy the area because he had cleared the grass and maintained the spot for his activities.

According to the Thai man, the foreigner’s Thai wife later arrived with a group of men and joined the confrontation, which made him feel unsafe. He then called officers from Chalong Police Station to the scene.

In front of the police, the woman was heard asking, “Can we end the issue here if my husband and I apologise? Is that OK?”

Foreigner takes over Phuket viewpoint
Photo via Facebook/ เหยี่ยวข่าว ภูเก็ต Newshawk Phuket

The Thai tourist told officers he had no intention of causing trouble, but the foreign man repeatedly ordered him to leave despite the area being public land.

Newshawk Phuket reposted the videos and called on relevant authorities to investigate why a foreigner felt he had the authority to claim ownership over a public viewpoint.

The page reported that the document the foreigner presented was a paragliding training licence, suggesting he had been using the site for his personal training business.

Foeign man takes public space for personal business
Photo via Facebook/ เหยี่ยวข่าว ภูเก็ต Newshawk Phuket

Several Thai people commented that they had previously encountered the same foreigner, alleging he had been involved in multiple arguments at the viewpoint.

One man noted he had confronted the foreigner years ago, adding that the issue persisted because no formal complaint had ever been made.

As of now, officers from Chalong Police Station and local administrative officials have not yet taken action. Thai netizens are urging officials to intervene and prevent the foreigner from continuing to occupy public land for personal gain.

Crime NewsPhuket NewsThailand News

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Petch Petpailin

Petpailin, or Petch, is a Thai translator and writer for The Thaiger who focuses on translating breakingThai news stories into English. With a background in field journalism, Petch brings several years of experience to the English News desk at The Thaiger. Before joining The Thaiger, Petch worked as a content writer for several known blogging sites in Bangkok, including Happio and The Smart Local. Her articles have been syndicated by many big publishers in Thailand and internationally, including the Daily Mail, The Sun and the Bangkok Post. She is a news writer who stops reading news on the weekends to spend more time cafe hopping and petting dwarf shrimp! But during office hours, you can find Petch on LinkedIn and you can reach her by email at petch@thethaiger.com.