Phuket Scandal: DOPA Official Accuses Ex-Deputy Minister of Pressure in Land Seizure Case

A political scandal is brewing in Phuket, linked to a campaign against illegal land encroachment on beaches, particularly Bang Tao. The cleanup of Freedom and Bang Tao beaches from illegal businesses, which began after the high season, led to personnel changes in the Phuket administration by the end of May and the publication of compromising material related to the February elections. Five high-ranking officials were recalled to the capital for investigation; one of them was Ruangrang Thimabut, who was the public face of the current campaign against influential shadow structures. He was replaced in Phuket by Napat Eamon, an inspector from the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA), who personally familiarized himself with the situation in Bang Tao on May 29. The order to transfer Ruangrang Thimabut was signed by the DOPA director on May 20. On May 28, a request was submitted to the parliamentary committee on political development to investigate this order. A similar appeal was publicly made to the head of government, Anutin Charnvirakul, who visited Freedom and Bang Tao beaches in May and stated that he would not allow Phuket's influential figures to challenge the state's authority. "I see this as being set up by those very influential figures. They want to ensure that I am not in the province," said Ruangrang Thimabut. According to him, during the operation against beach clubs in Bang Tao, he was pressured by an unnamed "former deputy minister." "On the day I was detaining suspects in the case of illegal land occupation on Bang Tao beach, a former deputy minister called me and demanded the release of the detainees, threatening that he knew high-ranking officials in the Ministry of Interior. When I refused, he called the vice-governor. Apparently, I touched someone's interests," Mr. Thimabut claims. Speaking in parliament alongside Ruangryang Thimabut, MP Chalermpong Saengdee presented screenshots of a conversation in the LINE messenger. The participants in this conversation discuss achieving "correct" election results in Phuket in 2026. The person requesting help from Phuket's influential figures is identified as Narucha Khosasinwipal, head of the Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA). It was he who signed the order to transfer Ruangryang Thimabut from Phuket.