The contingent of beach vendors, led by Phuket MP Natthee Thinsakoo of the Palang Pracharat Party, met with Phuket Vice Governor Supoj Rotreuang Na Nongkhai at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday (Jan 6) to file their appeal.
Also present to hear the vendors’ complaints were Phuket Provincial Office Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Anupong Wawongmoon, Thalang District Chief Adul Chuthong and Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor) Chief MaAnn Samran, among other officials.
Mr Natthee explained that Cherng Talay OrBorTor posted a notice on Dec 23 ordering all vendors to vacate the sands at Surin Beach by Jan 12 – or face having their business demolished by the OrBorTor and the vendors themselves face legal action.
Not wanting to tempt fate, the beach vendors all vacated their areas immediately.
At the meeting, the vendors said they had continually suffered under the beach-management policy introduced in Phuket under the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), which ran the country after the coup in 2014.
Of note, Phuket is the only place in the country where any beach-management policy was introduced.
Under the policy, Surin Beach was designated a “virgin beach”, meaning a “vendor-free beach”, as it was to be left bare for all people to enjoy.
“Since the beach was designated [as a ‘vendor-free’ beach] under the NCPO, local residents have always suffered,” one representative said.
The move denied local residents the opportunity to work on the beach, and caused worry among the villagers, the representative added.
“If we cannot work here to make money so we can eat, where can we work?” he asked.
“Therefore we would like to ask [for the government] to set up an area where the villagers can work and comply with the law and make a sustainable living. At present, around 40-50 vendors at Surin Beach of various types of trade are out of work,” the representative said.
Vice Governor Supoj said that Phuket government had no choice but to follow the order by the NCPO to designate Surin Beach as a beach honouring King Rama 9, and therefore no persons were permitted to operate any businesses on the beach.
“Therefore, the Phuket government cannot allow the vendors to do as they want,” he said.
Cherng Talay OrBorTor Chief MaAnn also said that he was just following the order by the NCPO to clear all vendors, including bed and umbrella operators, from the beach.
“We warned local vendors twice and posted announcements on the beach in December,” Mr MaAnn said.
“If we did not do this, we may have been charged under Section 157 of the Criminal Code,” he said.
Section 157 of the Criminal Code specifically states, “Whoever, being an official, wrongfully exercises or does not exercise any of his functions to the injury of any person, or dishonestly exercises or omits to exercise any of his functions, shall be punished with imprisonment of one to ten years or fined of two thousand to twenty thousand Baht, or both.”
“Nowadays, there are more than 80 vendors on the beach, and at the same time local people want the OrBorTor to clear the beach and be strict with enforcing the law so that the beach can really be a public beach open to everyone to use,” Mr MaAnn said.
Vice Governor Supoj in concluding the meeting said plainly, “The beach is a public area and declared to be a beach in honor of King Rama 9 – which means there must not be any activity on the beach, especially occupying areas on the beach. Government officials must follow the aforementioned steps.
“If the affected persons do not agree with the order [to vacate the beach], they must file an appeal with the relevant office within 15 days – in this case, by January 7.
“All affected people must submit an appeal with the Cherng Talay OrBorTor. The appeal will be considered within 30 days before being forwarded to the governor for further consideration,” Vice Governor Supoj said.
Additional reporting by Eakkapop Thongtub