Phonphee advances hotel regulation, emphasizing that the Department of Lands has fully exercised its authority over all complaints and has handed over the matter to relevant agencies for legal proceedings. Currently, 50 cases have been prosecuted.
At 16:00 on 10 Jul 2026 GMT+7, Deputy Minister of Interior Phonphee Suwanchavee chaired a meeting to review progress on urgent government and Ministry of Interior issues. The meeting included Porpote Penpas, Director-General of the Department of Lands; Chaiwat Juntirapong, Secretary to the Minister of Interior; Ronarong Tipsiri, Deputy Director-General of the Department of Provincial Administration; Chotinrin Kerdsom, Governor of Phuket Province; alongside Ministry of Interior executives, provincial officials, Phuket area MPs, and related agencies at the Phuket Provincial Hall, Chaofa Road, Mueang Phuket District, Phuket Province.
Phonphee praised the Governor, Deputy Governor, and Phuket provincial executives who, despite recently assuming their positions, have driven rapid and tangible progress. Particularly notable was their on-site enforcement of laws leading to rights revocation and Supreme Court rulings that successfully resulted in the demolition of illegal structures at Sirinat and Freedom Beaches. He urged Phuket to prepare land title documents for establishments and adjacent buildings for transparent public explanation.
He called on the Director-General of the Department of Lands to urgently and rigorously verify land title issuances on hilltops, forest boundary areas, and agricultural land (Sor Por Kor) zones, as aerial surveys have revealed extensive forest destruction. If improper land title issuances or forest encroachments are found, legal action must proceed immediately without fear of influence or powerful interests. He reaffirmed that the Department of Lands is actively and comprehensively addressing issues within its authority and has referred matters beyond its scope to relevant agencies such as the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, the Royal Forest Department, and local authorities for prompt legal enforcement.
Regarding investigations into entities suspected as nominees, the scope has expanded from over 300 cases to 353 cases submitted to the Board of Investment (BOI) for examination, with 38 more pending review. Direct coordination with the BOI Secretary-General enables identification of foreign company statuses within two hours. Only eight companies have exemption privileges; 307 do not qualify for any exemptions. Relevant agencies are urged to promptly and decisively prosecute these cases. This approach will serve as a model to screen data in cooperation with the Ministry of Commerce in other areas. Enforcement must integrate efforts with the Royal Thai Police and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to extend beyond rights revocation, tracing financial trails, identifying hidden controllers, and examining assets held by Thai proxies.
On organizing establishments and hotels, he commended Phuket province for expediting clearance of over 600 pending licenses, having approved licenses for small hotels and nearly 100 type 1–4 licenses within just three weeks. Establishments complying with building, environmental, fire escape, and legal regulations are to be granted licenses to operate legitimately and contribute taxes properly. Conversely, those without licenses, unlawfully modifying rooms, or illegally operating condos and apartments must be closed, arrested, and prosecuted rigorously without exception to protect compliant operators and prevent unfair competition or customer poaching.
He instructed related agencies to strictly scrutinize applications for establishing new shrines or foundations. Unless they are longstanding provincial shrines, close monitoring and strict legal compliance are required to prevent their use as fronts for criminal money laundering. Another urgent national agenda is drug problems, especially following a recent seizure of over 30 kilograms of marijuana smuggled onto a plane departing Phuket. He ordered district officers and local agencies to intensify inspections of cannabis-selling shops in tourist areas and walking streets. Unlicensed shops must be decisively shut down with no tolerance for negligence. He stated he would personally conduct random inspections and hold local officials accountable for any lapses.
The Governor of Phuket stated that the province has driven solutions to key local issues across five main topics and nine areas, focusing on strict regulation and law enforcement. This includes expediting hotel business license verification and systematization; suppressing and ordering demolition of structures encroaching on public beaches; integrating forces to decisively prosecute foreign nominee entities illegally holding land and conducting unlawful business; controlling foreign labor to protect reserved Thai occupations; and cracking down on influential figures, crime, drugs, and smuggled goods, resulting in numerous asset seizures and prosecutions. These efforts aim to maintain order, protect national interests, and build confidence in Phuket’s economic and tourism sectors.