Police remove illegal food and drink venues at Phuket beach

Police have on Wednesday removed illegal food and drink venues from a beach in Phuket‘s Thalang district. The police found three venues on Layan Beach that were providing food and drinks, as well as beach chairs, sunbeds, and umbrellas.

Two people who said they were owners of two of the outlets were arrested for seeling alcohol without permission, and violating the Land Code and the Forest Act.

Police then confiscated the tables, chairs, and sunbeds, The Phuket News reported. They warned that the encroaching structures would be demolished.

Eviction notices were served in 2017 when the Supreme Court ruled that occupiers were illegally encroaching on state land. Several “final warnings” were issued, with the last eviction notice delivered on September 12. The notices were posted in four different places and the business owners on the popular Phuket beach had run out of options to appeal the eviction.

The officials’ patience had finally snapped after the string of notices were ignored dating back to 2017.

Officials believed they had demolished the last remaining illegal buildings on some 178 rai of state land at the Layan Beach site on September 30.

The demolition on Wednesday was carried out under the instruction of Phuket Governor Narong, Deputy Governor Anupap, the chief administrator of the Phuket Provincial Office Somprat Prabsongkhram, Thalang District Chief Bancha Thanu-in, and other major officials.