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Samui zoo owner's wife fights deportation order

The French owner of Samui Exotic Park in Surat Thani has been ordered deported from Thailand, with his wife preparing to appeal the Interior Ministry's decision on Friday, 11 September.

Kevin Dimino was formally informed of the order by Surat Thani Immigration on 8 September, a day after the ministry issued the deportation decision. He has been held at Koh Samui Police Station while awaiting removal to his country of origin.

The case follows a dispute involving Israeli tourists at the animal park on Koh Samui.

Ministry order and detention

The Interior Ministry's 7 September order said Mr Dimino had engaged in threatening, harassment and physical assault, and had caused annoyance to others. It also alleged conduct that created racial and religious division, caused problems among tourists, and risked harm to people or property through reckless behaviour.

Mr Dimino attended Surat Thani Immigration with his wife and lawyer on 8 September. Pol Col Narawat Phutthawiro, superintendent of Surat Thani Immigration, notified him of the deportation order, read it to him officially and took him to make an official police record.

He was then placed in custody at Koh Samui Police Station pending the process of being sent back to France.

The order comes after an earlier deportation case involving the same dispute. On 24 August, Jindarat, 35, and Mr Dimino, described as the owner of Samui Exotic Park, filed a complaint against a group of Israeli tourists, saying they had been seriously threatened and feared for their lives.

On 4 September, the Interior Ministry ordered the deportation of Yaacov Ohayon, an Israeli national identified as Mr Dimino's opposing party in the Samui Exotic Park case.

Appeal planned at Interior Ministry

Mr Dimino's wife is now preparing to file an appeal with the Interior Ministry. Tae Achiva, from the Thai Mai Thon team, wrote on Facebook that he would take Mr Dimino to submit the appeal at 10.30am on Friday, 11 September.

In the post, he questioned whether the outcome was appropriate, saying Mr Dimino had been protecting his business and family.

IMG_2411.png

Picture courtesy of Komchadluek


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10 September 2026

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Recommended Comments

ronnie50 Platinum Member

ronnie50

Advanced Member

Do we know yet if the Israeli Yaacov Ohayon was actually deported or did he appeal too?

jacko45k Star Member

jacko45k

Advanced Member
(edited)
1 hour ago, brfsa2 said:

if he was smarter, could have still kept the sign in the zoo,

Having the inciting sign was a mistake here in Thailand, it being seen was for sure and someone reacting eventually would have happened. A shame to put what sounds like a reasonable lifestyle at risk. Beware, I think this is likely to happen more frequently.

Edited by jacko45k

Bangkok Barry Star Member

Bangkok Barry

Advanced Member
5 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

The French owner of Samui Exotic Park in Surat Thani has been ordered deported from Thailand, with his wife preparing to appeal the Interior Ministry's decision on Friday, 11 September.

Appeal on what grounds?

Captain Flack Star Member

Captain Flack

Global Moderator

Post breaking forum rules removed @LarryLEB rule 17.News articles are collected from recognised sources and may be consolidated or rewritten with AI assistance. Respectful discussion of the article content is welcome. Disrespectful comments about the articles, the use of AI, or the news team (e.g. “clickbait,” “slow news day,” mocking grammar, or AI taunts) are not permitted. Posts breaching this rule will be removed, and posting suspension or account closure may result. If you see an error in an article, please use the report function.

Captain Flack Star Member

Captain Flack

Global Moderator

Off topic posts, discussing headlines removed

BusyB Platinum Member

BusyB

Advanced Member
5 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Having the inciting sign was a mistake here in Thailand, it being seen was for sure and someone reacting eventually would have happened. A shame to put what sounds like a reasonable lifestyle at risk. Beware, I think this is likely to happen more frequently.

Agreed.

But it is exactly the kind of thing a person with a violent rap sheet like his would do. It's a pure, permanent provocation inviting a confrontation sooner or later. The Israeli bit instead of taking his money elsewhere.

A perfect case of two people finding each other.

phetphet Ruby Member

phetphet

Advanced Member
4 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

Appeal on what grounds?

apparently "protecting his business and family."

Hotchilli123 Senior Member

Hotchilli123

Member
10 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

In the post, he questioned whether the outcome was appropriate, saying Mr Dimino had been protecting his business and family.

That's what the police and law courts are for.. should have recorded it and reported it to the authorities and stayed quiet.

roo860 Star Member

roo860

Advanced Member
15 minutes ago, Bday Prang said:

she should save her money this has been signed off by Anutin himself ain't nobody gonna reverse it Personally I don't care what happens to him, one way or the other

Send her with him. 🫰

PingRoundTheWorld Gold Member

PingRoundTheWorld

Advanced Member
10 hours ago, motdaeng said:

it’s very likely that the real list of his assaults, harassment, conflicts, and other negative incidents is much longer.

not every incident gets reported to the police, so the official record may only show a fraction of what actually happened ...

There's a whole lot of crazy stuff and violent incidents that go unreported and unprosecuted - especially in places like Samui and Patong. The French-Arab mafia is well connected there and get away with a lot of things that would normally get people banned or behind bars. If a guy has a list of accusations against him then it's almost sure there's a much longer list of other things he got away with unreported.

Jonathan Swift Platinum Member

Jonathan Swift

Advanced Member
(edited)

12 hours ago, Liverpool Lou said:

Nonsense, it is not "very likely" that he "has a list of other assaults harassments and conflicts", that is just your uncorrobrated speculation and imagination. Because certain nonexistent situations are being claimed to exist does not make them "very likely".

Human nature. I think the point is that this type of behavior usually represents a pattern and personality type. It doesn't emerge in a vacuum. Assaulting and threatening are not typically one time occurrences. Statistically it is therefore likely that he has done these things before. Ask any law enforcement person and they will concur. I mean, does this sleeve tatted guy guy look like he would have a history of such things (ignore the cute kitty)?

Screen Shot 2026-09-10 at 11.37.51 AM.png

Edited by Jonathan Swift

Priorexpat Silver Member

Priorexpat

Advanced Member

The laundry list of this guy's offenses, all put together, just say "bad guy". I hope the authorities hold up and ship him out.

thai006 Silver Member

thai006

Advanced Member

End the story and send him back to france we dont need that kind of people in thailand

Jim Blue Platinum Member

Jim Blue

Advanced Member

Wonder how well this compassionate man treated the

captive animals ?

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