Phuket police arrest 2 Canadians over alleged school nominees

23 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

A few Russian kids in there? it used to be, I remember the previous owner,

The previous owner was English. There were some Russian kids, but no specific Russian connection.

Just now, ronnie50 said:

Yes for sure. There must have been other bad guidance given to them - maybe from their staff. The school wasn't registered. They can't have been so naive to not register with the Ministry or Department of Education - they must have known they need to be certified to even turn the lights on. So - again maybe - their senior staff said all was being taken care of. But it wasn't.

The school was registered. They recently opened a second campus for their secondary school.

1 minute ago, stevenl said:

The previous owner was English. There were some Russian kids, but no specific Russian connection.

Were farangs always 'owners' and not school heads or something else with a Thai owner?

Just now, stevenl said:

The school was registered. They recently opened a second campus for their secondary school.

So how couold it be registered without using their names?

7 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

Yeah. Naive for sure. But I think this will sow terror now in the farang business community. I always felt this 'crackdown' was aimed at foreigners running businesses here to get rid of some competition and less about the hassle of going after every foreign 'home owner', though they have done both.

47,000 Thai companies have been identified as being set up using Thai nominees. Obviously, the loophole has got out of hand with too much foreign ownership of property for the Thai government's liking, not to mention how much money they can make with the seizure of assets.

With that amount, it will date back years for successful businesses, probably many of them still operating, and people who have been living in what they consider to be their own home for decades. Many would be elderly now.

"Returning Thai land to Thai people." The day was always going to come.

31 minutes ago, ronnie50 said:

So how couold it be registered without using their names?

I believe that the licensed-registered owner must have an advanced degree in Education, so the registered owner is often a Thai University professor who is paid to put his or her name on the license, but has little to do with running the school. The financial owner does not need to have an academic background.

50 minutes ago, Callmeishmael said:

I believe that the licensed-registered owner must have an advanced degree in Education, so the registered owner is often a Thai University professor who is paid to put his or her name on the license, but has little to do with running the school. The financial owner does not need to have an academic background.

Sounds like a great educational system here, and how does one become a Thai university professor, pay money as well. 😂

20 hours ago, zzzzz said:

check it out urself

how do u know what kind of company was set up?

As to being legit, it is not easy to get all the correct paperwork to open a school in Thailand.
The school has been around for awhile, its not a fly by night operation,
there is no way they could operate so openly, advertise and such if they weren't legit
Search for schools in rawai /chalong run by canadian's (Melissa , Dan - operation director, director- they have 6 kids at the school) and u will find their website.
there is only 1 that fits these criteria
I'm not going to risk being sued by posting the name here

BUT after u find them come back here and tell me they dont seem legit

I can only make a guess an say, palms were greased

You are correct that setting up any business in Thailand isn't quick and easy, but this being Thailand, there's always a quick and easy workaround that costs a nominal fee and is invariably illegal.

So why make excuses for them? They got caught breaking the law, and based on an earlier comment on the high enrollment fees, they did this while charging a king's ransom. I hope they silted enough away to pay for their legal defense but they better check the bona fides of any defense lawyer they retain. Phuket is chock full of sharks.

I was just told by a kid going to the school, that it will stay open. I know of another international school, Chinese owned, that was raided 10 years or so ago and is also still open.

22 minutes ago, stevenl said:

I was just told by a kid going to the school, that it will stay open. I know of another international school, Chinese owned, that was raided 10 years or so ago and is also still open.

Who owns it now?

1 hour ago, KhunHeineken said:

Who owns it now?

Don't know.

4 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

Were farangs always 'owners' and not school heads or something else with a Thai owner?

The original owner of the school in Rawai, was a English guy, then the school was called Palm House,

3 hours ago, Callmeishmael said:

I believe that the licensed-registered owner must have an advanced degree in Education, so the registered owner is often a Thai University professor who is paid to put his or her name on the license, but has little to do with running the school. The financial owner does not need to have an academic background.

Okay but two things..

One - the 'financial owner' cannot be a foreigner

Two - The Thai Uni Prof has no 'skin in the game' thus he or she too is an illegal nominee right?

On 8/9/2026 at 10:11 AM, NanLaew said:

Regardless of fees, quality of teaching and depth of learning, would you send your kids to a school if it is founded and trading on a totally illegal business construct?

Judging by some of the previous comments on this thread by other members, maybe the social cache of having one's progeny attend an "international" school is more important?

In that regard, and bearing in mind the typically high fees charged for such an education, maybe the majority of students were from lower income, all-Thai families?

Absolutely, I would. The law has nothing to do with pursuit of a good education. If there were good teachers, good facilities, good prices, that's where I'd want my kids to go. A member above had his kids in this school. I feel sorry a decent solution could not have been worked out where the law is inflexible.

6 minutes ago, unblocktheplanet said:

Absolutely, I would. The law has nothing to do with pursuit of a good education. If there were good teachers, good facilities, good prices, that's where I'd want my kids to go. A member above had his kids in this school. I feel sorry a decent solution could not have been worked out where the law is inflexible.

Did you have the same opinion when Israelis recently got arrested for doing exactly the same thing in Thailand ?

6 minutes ago, Nick Carter icp said:

Did you have the same opinion when Israelis recently got arrested for doing exactly the same thing in Thailand ?

You don't read my replies? I said precisely the same thing!

On 8/9/2026 at 12:57 PM, KhunHeineken said:

Sounds like a great educational system here, and how does one become a Thai university professor, pay money as well. 😂

Around ten years ago or so, there was quite a famous case of a Kiwi guy in Bangkok who worked for, among others, some UN agencies. He had a PhD in some technical agriculture or environment field. Anyway, his entire PhD thesis was plagerized by a Thai guy who was the head of one of the Thai government's specialized agencies (I forget which one - innovation or something like that). The Thai guy was awarded a Doctorate from Chula after they accepted his plagerized thesis. The Kiwi guy comes across it on the Web and immediately contacts Chula and demands that it be withdrawn. No reply, but he doesn't give up. Eventually Chula agrees and the plagerized thesis is withdrawn. Not clear if the Thai guy's PhD was revoked. And he wasn't fired from his senior job either. At least not initially. But revenge was in the air. The Kiwi guy was threatened over the phone several times, a rock was thrown through the back window of his car. This harrassment went on for quite some time I recall.

3 hours ago, ronnie50 said:

Around ten years ago or so, there was quite a famous case of a Kiwi guy in Bangkok who worked for, among others, some UN agencies. He had a PhD in some technical agriculture or environment field. Anyway, his entire PhD thesis was plagerized by a Thai guy who was the head of one of the Thai government's specialized agencies (I forget which one - innovation or something like that). The Thai guy was awarded a Doctorate from Chula after they accepted his plagerized thesis. The Kiwi guy comes across it on the Web and immediately contacts Chula and demands that it be withdrawn. No reply, but he doesn't give up. Eventually Chula agrees and the plagerized thesis is withdrawn. Not clear if the Thai guy's PhD was revoked. And he wasn't fired from his senior job either. At least not initially. But revenge was in the air. The Kiwi guy was threatened over the phone several times, a rock was thrown through the back window of his car. This harrassment went on for quite some time I recall.

Interesting case. Here it is.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20120818084937660

It appears plagiarism is systemic in Thai education institutions.

Interesting case. Here it is.

https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20120818084937660

It appears plagiarism is systemic in Thai education institutions.

I just visited both their primary and secondary campus. Both will stay open.

18 minutes ago, stevenl said:

I just visited both their primary and secondary campus. Both will stay open.

Thanks for the update. It must be better for the students if the school remains open.

On 8/11/2026 at 10:04 AM, brewsterbudgen said:

Thanks for the update. It must be better for the students if the school remains open.

I do think though, that this may be temporary. Without owners and onsite supervision, i think the quality will decrease.

I also learned they have 2 more companies, a language school and a significant share in another school. Apparently they have not been very careful with assigning workpermits, leading to immigration visiting but not finding the person they were looking for.

9 minutes ago, stevenl said:

Without owners and onsite supervision, i think the quality will decrease.

I wonder who would control the finances (who would effectively sign off on the direct deposits/payroll for teaching and admin staff). I guess the Canadian owners won't be allowed to do that now. Maybe a Thai Officer in Charge?

Perhaps we will be chucking out the baby with the bathwater.