A bitcoin investor from America who had set up a “Seasteading” structure off the Phuket coast earlier this week, his new home may be getting demolished by the Thai navy, but now has had his visa revoked and has now been put on a blacklist.
The reason? The Thai navy has accused him of violating the country’s sovereignty by building a waterborne homestead.
Chad Andrew Elwartowski and his Thai girlfriend, Suprenee Thepdet (also known as Nadia Summergirl), started making their new home off the coast of Phuket on February. On Sunday the Royal Thai Navy along with Phuket Maritime personnel boarded the structure and are now charging the couple with threatening the kingdom’s independence as their structure violates criminal law and posed a navigational hazard.
The immigration Chief in Phuket (Lt Col Kathatorn Kumthieng), On Wednesday, had said that as Elwartowski had been deemed to be a threat to Thai society, Thai citizens and the national security under Article 12 of immigration law, his office has revoked Elwartowski’s 90-day non-immigrant Visa.
After his Visa has been revoked Elwartowski can no longer stay in Thailand and has to report to the police. As everybody knows a 90-day Visa is issued to persons who wish to enter Thailand for study, business, retirement, investment, and other purposes, Not to build a home in the sea and try to start a new colony.
The American had decided to live in Thailand late last year to be with his girlfriend in Phuket. So after the police were unable to find Elwartowski and there was no information on his whereabouts or even if he had left the country, the police started looking for him across various provinces.
Elwartowski Had claimed yesterday that his home is outside Thailand’s Maritime boundaries. However the Siam Legal international law firm has said that under “Section 119: Intent to cause injury to the nation” states: “Whoever does any act with intent to cause the country or any part thereof to descend under the sovereignty of any foreign state, or to deteriorate the independence of the state, shall be punished with death or imprisonment for life.”
The structure is not yet been demolished as the authorities are still studying the floating homes legal status
The case continues…
