The Glass House Cafe and Space was at the centre of a wildlife abuse scandal last year for the same practice with now-rescued lion cub ‘Nong Kiwi’. In that incident, a Chinese woman who remained unnamed by police was reportedly charged for doing exactly the same thing.
Armed with a search warrant, officers from Region 8 Police raided The Glass House Cafe and Space at 1:30pm yesterday (Jan 22).
Inside, the officers found a large number of customers using the café’s services. The establishment had brought in three lion cubs for customers to photograph and touch.
The café charged B500 per person for five minutes with the larger cubs, and B1,000 per person for five minutes with the smaller ones.
An investigation revealed that the café’s true owner is a Chinese national, who had hired another Chinese individual to act as an interpreter, catering specifically to Chinese and other foreign customers.
During the inspection, two Chinese nationals were found working at the café: Police identified the two as: Mr Bin Bin Cai, aged 42; and Ms Chen Hong, aged 38.
Police made no mention of whether Ms Chen Hong was the same Chinese woman arrested and charged last year.
Both individuals possessed passports but lacked work permits, police noted.
They were charged with working illegally as foreign nationals without proper authorisation, confirmed a report of the raid.
The two were taken to Phuket City Police Station for questioning and further legal proceedings. Police have stated that investigations into the matter are ongoing.
See also:
Officials hunt lion cub misuse at tourist cafe
Lion cub ’Nong Kiwi’ in care, owner faces wildlife animal charges