Update: Villa owner’s violent act leads to demolition in beach assault scandal

[webfact]

 

Following the assault scandal of Swiss national Urs Fehr, aka David, Phuket Peninsula Estate Co., owner of beachfront villa No. 23, took a startling step today, sending a backhoe to erase the encroaching structures, including the contentious stairway.

 

Before their obliteration, these steps had witnessed a fateful encounter on February 24. Swiss national David allegedly kicked 26 year old Dr Thandao Chandam, accusing her of trespassing on his rented property. However, investigations later unveiled that the steps stood unlawfully on public land, triggering a viral uproar and damning criticism of the villa couple.

 

Amidst mounting pressure, David and his wife, proprietors of the Green Elephant Sanctuary Park, issued a public apology, asserting the Swiss’ slip on the steps was unintentional. Yet, the events further unfolded as enraged locals and activists, numbering over 500, gathered on Yamu beach, demanding justice and public beach restoration on Sunday, reported Bangkok Post.

As legal proceedings loom, Phuket’s deputy governor, Adul Chuthong, sheds light on David’s visa status and business credentials, underscoring the gravity of the case.

ORIGINAL STORY: Swiss national’s visa status under review following Phuket assault

 

The visa status of a Swiss national, embroiled in an assault case in Phuket, is set to undergo review by the immigration police, according to Deputy Phuket Governor, Adul Chuthong. The Swiss national, known as Urs Fehr or David, whose visa is due to expire on March 13, is the operator of several Thai businesses and has a registered foundation under his name, said Adul.

 

“Immigration will review Fehr’s visa status and decide whether or not to extend the visa when it expires.”

 

Adul added that the legality of Fehr’s businesses and foundation in Thailand are also under investigation.

 

The scrutiny of Fehr intensified after an assault report was lodged by Thandao Chandam, a 26 year old doctor at Dibuk Hospital. The incident, which took place on February 24, involved Fehr kicking Chandam and her friend in their backs as they were stargazing on the beach, positioned in front of his rented villa. Fehr alleged that the pair were trespassing on his property, however, subsequent investigations found that the steps were built on public land.

 

Adul stated that Fehr has been given a 30-day notice to remove the steps. Failure to comply will result in local authorities dismantling them and imposing the cost of the work on him.

 

While Fehr has been charged with assault, the incident has sparked demands for a comprehensive investigation into his property and businesses.

 

Assurances have been given by the deputy governor that action will be taken against individuals infringing on public land and those acting above the law.

 

In the meantime, Phuket Governor, Sopon Suwanrat, has tasked district chiefs and security officials to initiate an investigation and report their findings.

 

Provincial Police Region 8 Commissioner, Police Lieutenant General Surapong Thanomjit, stated on Monday that the police will delve deeper into the case, as immigration police hold the power to revoke visas of criminal offenders and deport them back to their home countries, reported Bangkok Post.

 

by Mitch Connor

Photo courtesy of Bangkok Post

 

Source: The Thaiger 2024-03-06

 

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[flyingtlger]

19 minutes ago, webfact said:

David and his wife, proprietors of the Green Elephant Sanctuary Park, issued a public apology

A day late and dollar short...

[Nordic summer]

Butterfly effect

[ChipButty]

This is getting nasty now

[ChipButty]

Lets hope the owner of the villa has got all his ducks in a row, Building permits and so on, 

[vinny41]

18 minutes ago, ChipButty said:

Lets hope the owner of the villa has got all his ducks in a row, Building permits and so on, 

There appears to be an issue with land titles

Mr. Adul Chuthong, deputy governor of Phuket province, has instructed provincial administrators to inspect the area around the villa on Yamu Beach where David and his Thai wife are staying. They have already inspected over 10 houses out of a total of over 30 and have revoked the land titles of all ten houses.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2024/03/05/phuket-authorities-conduct-extensive-land-inquiry-after-swiss-man-case/

[findlay13]

“Immigration will review Fehr’s visa status and decide whether or not to extend the visa when it expires.”  Money talks.I reckon he'll buy his way out of this [unfortunately]

[daveAustin]

Bit ott all this. If only the Thais were so gung-ho about changing their illegal governments. 

[ChipButty]

20 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

There appears to be an issue with land titles

Mr. Adul Chuthong, deputy governor of Phuket province, has instructed provincial administrators to inspect the area around the villa on Yamu Beach where David and his Thai wife are staying. They have already inspected over 10 houses out of a total of over 30 and have revoked the land titles of all ten houses.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2024/03/05/phuket-authorities-conduct-extensive-land-inquiry-after-swiss-man-case/

Im guessing the swiss guy go down in history, 

[Mike Lister]

This is out of all proportion now, the very public punishments no longer fit the crime. I wonder what would have happened if the roles had been reversed, I'm guessing absolutely nothing.

[rwill]

I'm guessing that if he had just gone down and talked to them nicely and told them they were on private property they would have moved on.  But some peoples personalities don't allow for that.

Or perhaps he should have contacted some of his supposed police friends and had them handle it.

[Rampant Rabbit]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

Assurances have been given by the deputy governor that action will be taken against individuals infringing on public land and those acting above the law.

Bet all the govt ministers are sheeting themselves

[Rampant Rabbit]

39 minutes ago, daveAustin said:

Bit ott all this. If only the Thais were so gung-ho about changing their illegal governments. 

or  in fact almost anything of importance, although seeing the election gives you the answer.

[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Adul added that the legality of Fehr’s businesses and foundation in Thailand are also under investigation.

I'm sure it's all under a Thai name... ie his missus, however that will not interest immigration as  "David" is now under investigation as a tourist on a visa, due to be renewed soon.... if he's really lucky.

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Adul stated that Fehr has been given a 30-day notice to remove the steps. Failure to comply will result in local authorities dismantling them and imposing the cost of the work on him.

As far as I know David [Fehr] is not the owner of the property, so as a tenant he has no right to remove the steps.

[however it seems the owners have already taken matters into their own hands and have removed them].

I'm sure they don't need the publicity surrounding their home and will probably be canceling their tenancy agreement with Fehr in the near future.

[RobU]

9 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

I'm sure it's all under a Thai name... ie his missus, however that will not interest immigration as  "David" is now under investigation as a tourist on a visa, due to be renewed soon.... if he's really lucky.

As far as I know David [Fehr] is not the owner of the property, so as a tenant he has no right to remove the steps.

[however it seems the owners have already taken matters into their own hands and have removed them].

I'm sure they don't need the publicity surrounding their home and will probably be canceling their tenancy agreement with Fehr in the near future.

Apparently he is on a long term work visa renewed yearly (charity official) not a tourist visa

[hotchilli]

12 minutes ago, RobU said:

Apparently he is on a long term work visa renewed yearly (charity official) not a tourist visa

Same applies, he might find it difficult to renew it on the 13th March

[RobU]

2 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

Same applies, he might find it difficult to renew it on the 13th March

I agree and hope that is what happens, but he is not a tourist.

[proton]

1 hour ago, Mike Lister said:

This is out of all proportion now, the very public punishments no longer fit the crime. I wonder what would have happened if the roles had been reversed, I'm guessing absolutely nothing.

 

The punishment that fits the crime of a foreigner kicking a Thai women in the back is deportation.

[nobodysfriend]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Assurances have been given by the deputy governor that action will be taken against foreign individuals infringing on public land and those acting above the law...?

 

[ronster]

Seemingly on Thai news it said he gave the cop a million bht for his birthday ! 🙄🙈

[soalbundy]

2 hours ago, vinny41 said:

There appears to be an issue with land titles

Mr. Adul Chuthong, deputy governor of Phuket province, has instructed provincial administrators to inspect the area around the villa on Yamu Beach where David and his Thai wife are staying. They have already inspected over 10 houses out of a total of over 30 and have revoked the land titles of all ten houses.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2024/03/05/phuket-authorities-conduct-extensive-land-inquiry-after-swiss-man-case/

From an acorn grows a mighty oak tree. He is a very unpopular man.

[bbko]

2 hours ago, findlay13 said:

“Immigration will review Fehr’s visa status and decide whether or not to extend the visa when it expires.”  Money talks.I reckon he'll buy his way out of this [unfortunately]

If he extends his visa, Immigration will renew it for legal reasons rather than for business purposes. It is effective for 90 days and may be extended until the case is resolved. He will be unable to continue running the business in Thailand.

 

Ouch, ain't that a kick in the pants?

[vinny41]

5 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

From an acorn grows a mighty oak tree. He is a very unpopular man.

And the police are now investigating weapons legislation violation allegedly involving the Swiss guy.

https://www.chiangraitimes.com/news/phuket-governor-ask-immigration-to-revoke-swiss-mans-visa/

there are reports on Facebook anyone that attempted to access the beach were chased away by a foreigner waving a shotgun stating this is a private beach

Edited March 6 by vinny41
add

[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, RobU said:

I agree and hope that is what happens, but he is not a tourist.

Noted.... thx

[zakalwe]

I thought David might be able to pay his way out of this but now the Prime Minister is involved?

 

"It’s more than simply kicking or driving rudely; the Swiss man and his Thai wife in Phuket have been investigated for their elephant business and for their villa, which has sparked protests from locals, and the man’s visa may be revoked.

Now the Phuket police officers who used to be close with them have also been investigated.

The Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and the National Police Chief Pol. Gen Torsak Sukwimol said they had instructed the Phuket provincial police commander to set up a committee to investigate the veracity of allegations circulating on social media against police officers in Phuket province that they may have received money from foreigners or foreign gangs."

 

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2024/03/04/phuket-police-who-have-tie-with-the-swiss-man-will-be-checked/

 

I'm not sure how reliable khaosodenglish is though. Do they translate Thai articles?

[Tropicalevo]

3 hours ago, vinny41 said:

There appears to be an issue with land titles

Mr. Adul Chuthong, deputy governor of Phuket province, has instructed provincial administrators to inspect the area around the villa on Yamu Beach where David and his Thai wife are staying. They have already inspected over 10 houses out of a total of over 30 and have revoked the land titles of all ten houses.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2024/03/05/phuket-authorities-conduct-extensive-land-inquiry-after-swiss-man-case/

It is a shame that it takes a high profile incident like this to make the officials think about doing their job.

I do not know how old the building is, but chances are all that will happen is that the the titles will be revoked but the building will be allowed to stand.

The owner will be unable to sell it though.

Edited March 6 by Tropicalevo

[ross163103]

This is a perfect example of why you should "keep your head under the radar" in Thailand; pop your head up and bad things happen! And also, not be so cocky and disrespect/assault the locals, especially when you're in the wrong.

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, vinny41 said:

There appears to be an issue with land titles

Mr. Adul Chuthong, deputy governor of Phuket province, has instructed provincial administrators to inspect the area around the villa on Yamu Beach where David and his Thai wife are staying. They have already inspected over 10 houses out of a total of over 30 and have revoked the land titles of all ten houses.

https://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/2024/03/05/phuket-authorities-conduct-extensive-land-inquiry-after-swiss-man-case/

 

Now this is very interesting. So far 10 out of 10 houses there are found to be illegal. If immigration don't get him his neighbours might, for putting their place in paradise - and I use the term loosely as it's Phuket - in jeopardy. How many are owned rather than rented, I wonder. Might be some great imminent business for the local removal company. But corruption in land title deeds? Nah, it must be a misunderstanding.

[Mr Meeseeks]

 

54 minutes ago, soalbundy said:

From an acorn grows a mighty oak tree. He is a very unpopular man.

 

He is a rich farang with a successful business, massive house and a very nice car. He's got more than 99% of the locals will ever have.

 

Don't worry, if they keep swigging that Lao Khao, and popping into the temple to pray to win the lottery, one day it might happen. 😆

[Mr Meeseeks]

53 minutes ago, vinny41 said:

there are reports on Facebook anyone that attempted to access the beach were chased away by a foreigner waving a shotgun stating this is a private beach

 

Completely unsubstantiated.

 

As were the false allegations that he was waving a gun while driving his car, hit pedestrians etc.