Israeli man ‘wheelies’ into trouble with viral Phuket beach stunt

A viral video of an Israeli man carelessly riding a motorcycle on Kamala Beach in the Kathu district of Phuket led to him receiving a 5,000-baht fine yesterday, November 5.

The video of the Israeli motorcyclist was shared by a witness in a chat group on both LINE and Facebook. The witness captioned it, “Kamala Beach Racing!” The footage showed the back wheel of the motorcycle stuck in the sand.

The foreign rider was seen attempting to free his vehicle from the sand, while his friend, a passenger, stood nearby holding a helmet. The video cut off before it showed whether they managed to get the motorcycle out.

The video eventually reached officers at Kamala Police Station, who promptly began searching for the two foreigners and discovered they were Israeli nationals. Officers managed to stop the rider, 30 year old Amira Midhat, near the scene.

Midhat claimed he did not know that vehicles were prohibited on Thai beaches as he did not see any warning signs. He added that such a law did not exist in his home country.

Despite his claim of ignorance, police fined Midhat 5,000 baht for violating Section 397 of the Criminal Law: causing a public nuisance. Police asked to see his driving licence and confirmed he possessed an international driving licence.

However, some Thai netizens disagreed with the fine, expressing that foreigners who violate laws should face harsher punishments to deter repeat offences.

Others commented that the fine was too low. Under the law, a 5,000-baht fine is the maximum penalty for violating Section 397.

In a related case, a Thai man was fined 1,000 baht in April for driving his black sedan on Kamala Beach. He claimed he was unaware of the law and only drove on the beach so his children could see it up close.

When a video of him driving on the beach was released, many Thai netizens initially assumed the driver was a foreigner, which sparked significant criticism. They were surprised when the driver turned out to be a Thai national.