After spending over three decades at the Interior Ministry, Phuket governor Sophon Suwannarat must have thought he could handle anything thrown at him by its chiefs.
However, he got a big shock last week when Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul summoned him back from Europe to address a scandal in his province. Sophon had been in Germany to attend a global tourism event.
The problems in Phuket started when a Swiss resident allegedly kicked a female Thai doctor as she sat on steps that he claimed were part of his beachside property.
News of the incident quickly went viral, and the subsequent investigation uncovered illegalities that went beyond mere assault.
“I was in Germany when the scandal broke. The time difference between Thailand and Berlin is six hours. So, I woke up at 3am to hold talks with my vice governors,” Sophon said at his first press conference after returning.
Hot issue
The conference was called on March 9, just one day after Anutin announced to reporters: “I am going to summon him [Sophon] back. He must return from Germany to take care of his province because it is full of problems.”
Public outrage greeted reports that a foreign man had kicked a 26-year-old doctor, Thandao Chandam, who had done nothing to offend him other than sit on a stairway that looked like a public area of the beach on February 24.
The doctor’s side of the story was told in a social media post written by her father, a prominent author.
The post said that when police officers arrived at the scene, they appeared to be siding with the foreigner instead of helping his daughter. It was only after the post went viral that the authorities decided to investigate the case further.
The alleged attacker was identified as 45-year-old Swiss national Urs Fehr, also known as David. He was apparently unhappy that the doctor was hanging out on his beachside villa property.
However, it was subsequently found that the steps she had been sitting on were encroaching on the public beach. They were duly demolished, along with other structures encroaching along the same beach.
Investigators also found that Fehr’s elephant sanctuary – which locals said used hired elephants rather than curing them – had been operating illegally. Authorities duly revoked its license.
Several locals came forward to say they had experienced problems with Fehr before and hoped he would be kicked out of Thailand.
As of press time, Fehr’s business visa had been cancelled, as had his licenses to hold firearms. “This is a lesson. We need to check thoroughly for hidden motives when applications for licenses are filed seemingly in line with law,” Sophon said.
Interior Ministry veteran
Born in the southern province of Phatthalung, Sophon took over as Phuket governor in October. Though he was new to the province – Thailand’s largest island boasting a prosperous tourism economy – Sophon had plenty of experience in the field.
He began his public service career in 1988 and climbed the ladder steadily over the following decades. In 2008, he was named “people’s favorite district chief” in Loei province.
The following year, the registrar’s office he supervised won the first runners-up award in a nationwide contest, and by 2013, he had been named an outstanding civil servant.
In 2017, he became vice governor of Satun, before taking the same job in Loei a year later. Between 2018 and 2019, he was credited with helping Loei earn a name for cleanliness.
In 2021, he became inspector general at the Interior Ministry Permanent Secretary’s Office. In 2022, he was promoted to the post of Chaiyaphum governor but left the following year to take up the important post of Phuket governor.
Sophon has a bachelor’s degree from Ramkhamhaeng University’s Faculty of Law, a master’s in political science from Chulalongkorn University and a doctorate in social development from Loei Rajabhat University.
By Thai PBS World’s General Desk
