The Koh Samui Provincial Court has fined an Israeli man 5,000 baht for threatening the life of the owner of Samui Exotic Park, a zoo on the island in Surat Thani.

Koh Samui police said on Thursday 20 August 2026, that the man, identified only as Mr Jacob, was arrested after Jindarat Sattayapun filed a complaint over a Facebook post threatening her life.

Police had set up a safety checkpoint outside Samui Exotic Park from August 15 after learning of the alleged threat. They said they are still seeking another person accused of placing a 500,000-baht bounty on the zoo owner.

Dispute followed refusal of entry

The row began after an Israeli couple travelling with two children said they were refused entry to the park on August 12.

Ms Jindarat, described by police as the Thai woman operating the zoo, said she had decided not to admit Israelis after several visitors allegedly refused to pay entrance fees, took animal feed from other guests' baskets, ignored park rules and squirted milk into pigs' faces.

Deputy Interior Minister Polapee Suwunchwee said he had received reports of disputes between the zoo owner and Israeli expatriates living on Koh Samui. Separate reports said an Israeli national had ordered Ms Jindarat to close the zoo and leave the island.

Separate development referring to flags and online exchanges

In a separate development, Koh Samui district chief Amorn Chumchuay said officials, police, immigration officers and other agencies were investigating online claims involving the French co-owner of Samui Exotic Park and his Thai wife.

That account said the online dispute was linked to flags displayed at the entrance to the park in Moo 1, Mae Nam. Officials said a Palestinian flag bearing the words "Free Palestine" was displayed, along with an Israeli flag carrying a symbol saying Israelis were not welcome and a paper shooting target.

Authorities said these displays had offended Israeli people. Immigration officials reportedly found that an Israeli accused of making a death threat online, was in France, rather than on Koh Samui, and had exchanged criticism and challenges with the French zoo owner.

Amorn said authorities would establish the facts before deciding whether any law had been broken, and that safety and legal protection would apply equally to all nationalities on Koh Samui.

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Join the discussion?

21 August 2026

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Thailand needs to protect her sovereignty and quit being too nice to these people who don't follow the law.

They should send them back. Their country needs them.

Off topic post removed. @ronster the news team didn’t miss anything, the link to the other relevant topics are linked in the OP.

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This fits the mindset of many Israelis who think the world belongs to them. This country has managed in record time to be seen as a pariah state by the rest of the world... so: Free Palestine!

So, that's it?

should revoke his and his family visa and ban from Thailand.

FREE Palestine!!!!

... A Death Threat... (?)

...Slap On The Wrist... (?)

"Thailand (typically prosecuted under Section 392 of the Thai Criminal Code for causing fear or alarm through threats of violence) carries a criminal penalty of up to one month in prison, a fine of up to 10,000 THB, or both.

For a foreigner, any criminal conviction or arrest record empowers Thai Immigration to revoke a visa, deny extensions of stay, deport the individual, and place them on an immigration blacklist." (?)

Lucky Mr Jacob is. '5,000 baht for threatening the life' is cheap. In other — developed — countries you would end up some period in prison for just saying that, and there is no discount when doing it on SoMe.

9 hours ago, Georgealbert said:

Separate reports said an Israeli national had ordered Ms Jindarat to close the zoo and leave the island.

Who on earth does the Israeli think he is?

Time for a clean out of some people from the area. Wouldn't take immigration long if they looked closely at the populace.

Free Palestine indeed......from Hamas and Iranian influence.

Edited August 21Aug 21 by emptypockets

5000 baht? Pocket money! Should have included the month in jail which would certainly be an experience he would be willing to forget!!!

6 hours ago, SOTIRIOS said:

... A Death Threat... (?)

...Slap On The Wrist... (?)

"Thailand (typically prosecuted under Section 392 of the Thai Criminal Code for causing fear or alarm through threats of violence) carries a criminal penalty of up to one month in prison, a fine of up to 10,000 THB, or both.

For a foreigner, any criminal conviction or arrest record empowers Thai Immigration to revoke a visa, deny extensions of stay, deport the individual, and place them on an immigration blacklist." (?)

A 5000 baht fine for a death threat!

A slap -on-the-wrist as you say.

Why didn't the Thai cops get Interpol involved in a deep dive into this Israeli's possible connection to the people who firebombed the zoo owner's mother's house near Lyon?

2 hours ago, TooPoopedToPop said:

A 5000 baht fine for a death threat!

A slap -on-the-wrist as you say.

Why didn't the Thai cops get Interpol involved in a deep dive into this Israeli's possible connection to the people who firebombed the zoo owner's mother's house near Lyon?

A good question that comes under the rubric of "How powerful is Israeli influence becoming in Thailand?"

This country had better be careful or it will follow the USA down the road to perdition where radical Zionists control the best government that money can buy.

Should not be able to hide behind a Thai wife.

There is alot of uproar amongst Thais on social media regarding the leniancy of this.

This fits the mindset of many Israelis who think the world belongs to them. This country has managed in record time to be seen as a pariah state by the rest of the world... so: Free Palestine!

Thank you for stating Israel is a country.

A lot of your types don’t.

10 hours ago, DonniePeverley said:

Should not be able to hide behind a Thai wife.

Easy to do if it's my sister-in-law. She's enormous.

Post breaking forum rules removed @Hunz Kittisak rule 9. You will not post disruptive or inflammatory messages. You will respect other members and post in a civil manner. Personal attacks, insults or hate speech posted on the forum or sent by private message are not allowed.

31 minutes ago, Hunz Kittisak said:

Thank you for stating Israel is a country.

A lot of your types don’t.

It's a recognized country - but one that has illegally - through force of arms and intimidation, expanded and occupied land that does not belong to Israel. Pariah state is an appropriate title. Few friends left in the world. Oh there's Trump.

On 8/21/2026 at 4:48 AM, Georgealbert said:

The row began after an Israeli couple travelling with two children said they were refused entry to the park on August 12.

After they went there knowing they would be denied entry? Probably not tourists either.

Israelis behaving poorly, what a shocker !!! 🤪

On 8/21/2026 at 7:48 AM, Georgealbert said:

Thai woman operating the zoo, said she had decided not to admit Israelis after several visitors allegedly refused to pay entrance fees, took animal feed from other guests' baskets, ignored park rules and squirted milk into pigs' faces.

Yep, the worst thing about Thailand is some of the foreigners.

and squirted milk into pigs' faces.

I've never seen that before.

Why would they do that to the poor pigs?

It's a recognized country - but one that has illegally - through force of arms and intimidation, expanded and occupied land that does not belong to Israel. Pariah state is an appropriate title. Few friends left in the world. Oh there's Trump.

Not recognized by who? Oh about 30 countries in the entire whole. And many of those 30 countries are listed as terrorist states.