A blocked-off portion of Pattaya Beach has become a haven for homeless people and a base for petty thieves, beach chair vendors claim.
Umbrella renters told reporters May 9 that since a sheet-metal fence was erected on the sand near the Dusit Thani Hotel, homeless people have started living there and thieves who steal swimmers’ belongings use it as refuge. The vendors want the fence torn down.
The barricade was erected to fence off an area where a contractor had begun to refill and expand Pattaya Beach. However, the project was halted in December due to a lack of appropriate sand with no estimate on when the crucial erosion-mitigation project will resume.
Vendor Rampey Eaksamai, 65, said the squatters wait until beachgoers enter the water, then steal property left on the sand and quickly return to their hideout. The entire area has become unsafe, she complained.
Rampey said many vendors have complained to city hall to tear down the panels, but nothing has been done.
