UPDATE: Another Unauthorized Café at Chabad House Patong Still Standing Say Officials

Patong –

Another unauthorized extension that turned part of the Chabad Patong parking area into a restaurant and café has not yet been demolished, despite a formal order from Patong Municipality requiring its removal.

Our previous stories:

The six‑story Chabad House Patong, a prominent Jewish community center in the heart of the resort town, has come under scrutiny after municipal officials discovered unauthorized structural modifications.

Now for the update:

Phuket Governor Chotinirin Koetsom has confirmed that authorities continue to enforce orders against unauthorized modifications at the Chabad Patong building, where a parking area was converted into a restaurant and café and a rooftop structure was added without permission.

Patong Municipality earlier issued an order suspending use of the affected parts of the building and requiring demolition of the unapproved work. The governor said the operators are currently removing the rooftop extension on the sixth floor. The ground-floor section that had been turned into a dining area and café has already been closed and is no longer in use.

The case remains within the 30-day window allowed for an appeal to the relevant committee after the order was received. If no appeal is filed and the unauthorized structures are not removed once the period expires, officials can lodge a formal complaint and pursue legal action for constructing and modifying a building without the required permits. Construction must follow the approved plans; any changes require a formal amendment application rather than unilateral alterations.

Governor Chotinirin also noted that officials are compiling information on companies linked to Chabad Patong, which appear connected across two companies and four branches in Phuket, for referral to the appropriate agencies.

Kittisak Morasin, director of the Patong Municipality Engineering Office, provided further background. The building received a construction permit in 2015 for a six-storey structure intended for restaurant and club use, with no application for religious premises. Subsequent inspections found that a tent had been added on the sixth floor and that the parking area had been converted into a restaurant and coffee shop. The municipality therefore ordered the suspension of use and the demolition of the non-compliant sections.

At present the upper-level addition is being dismantled and the ground-floor space remains closed. The owners have 30 days either to complete the demolition or to exercise their right of appeal. Failure to do either will allow the municipality to file a criminal complaint, seek court orders and enforce the Building Control Act.