Koh Phangan Raid: Underground Nursery Operating Illegal School with High Tuition Fees
Authorities raided an illegal underground school on Koh Phangan operating under a childcare license, enrolling 163 students with tuition up to 32,000 baht per term and employing nine foreign staff without permits. Nine suspects including th
Koh Phangan Raid: Underground Nursery Operating Illegal School with High Tuition Fees
On May 2, 2569 (2026), authorities reported that on May 1, immigration police in Surat Thani (Koh Phangan) coordinated with Koh Phangan Police Station, Koh Phangan District administration, and Region 4 military command to conduct a raid on a childcare facility in Moo 3, Koh Phangan Subdistrict, Koh Phangan District, Surat Thani Province, following evidence of illegal operations.
Inspection revealed the facility had a license to operate as a corporate childcare center for children aged 2-6 years with no more than 18 children. However, authorities discovered it was actually operating as a full-fledged unlicensed private school with four grade levels serving children up to age 12, enrolling 163 students total.
The facility operates three terms per year with tuition fees as high as 32,000 baht per child per term, with classes running from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Staff issue certificates to graduating students. Foreign nationals were found working as teachers without work permits. Nine suspects were arrested, including three owners—one Thai woman and two Iranians—and six foreign teachers from the United States, South Africa, and France.
The owners face charges including hiring foreign workers without permits, failure to register foreign workers, violating child protection laws, and operating an unlicensed private school. The foreign teachers face charges of working without proper authorization and failing to report to immigration authorities.
Colonel Suwat Suksri, Surat Thani Provincial Police Commander, ordered investigation into the company's shareholding structure, as it has four Thai shareholders and three foreign shareholders (Iranian and Estonian), raising suspicion of nominee shareholding arrangements used to conceal foreign business operations in a tourism area.
