Koh Samui police confirm the arrest of French resident Sacha Bastok for trespassing in the park. A crowdfunding campaign of 40,000 euros has already been launched.
According to Khaosod, a 36-year-old Frenchman, identified as Sacha Bastok, was arrested on Saturday 19 September around 6pm in a hotel room in Lipa Noi, on Koh Samui. Police Colonel Panya Nirattimanont, commander of the island’s police station, said the man is being prosecuted for criminal trespass after a filmed intrusion at Exotic Park Samui in Mae Nam.
The Thai daily describes a masked individual in a black Spider-Man costume and hooded sweatshirt entering in front of the park building. Facing the camera, he declares he wants to “save all the Pokémon and bring peace to the world”, removes an Israeli-coloured tarpaulin bearing a prohibition sign, then unfurls a banner reading “Imagine all people living in peace”. He lines up soft toys, repeats “Save them all. Release them all”, scatters cards on the ground and flees on a motorbike. The owner has filed a complaint at the Koh Samui police station.
Investigators — the Koh Samui criminal investigation unit, the Mae Nam patrol and immigration from Surat Thani — seized 80 Pokémon cards, two soft toys, a banner, the Spider-Man costume, an Israeli flag and a motorbike. Sacha holds a Non-Immigrant (NON-RE) passport valid until 20 July 2027 and describes himself as the marketing manager of a company on the island.
During questioning, Khaosod reports, the man admitted the facts. He said he had acted because the flag and the park’s conflict “created division among tourists”. The cards and soft toys, presented as his personal collection, were meant to symbolise his opposition to keeping animals in captivity. Police say they have so far found no other criminal record.
The park is already at the centre of a national case: its French co-owner remains subject to a deportation order. A few days before the intrusion, his wife had published CCTV images showing a masked individual loitering around their home around 6:20am. She mentioned several acts of intimidation.
A GoFundMe campaign, “Help Sacha, aka SamuiSpyder get out from Prison in Koh Samui”, is now seeking 40,000 euros for legal fees. More than 13,000 euros had been raised by Monday.
“I never imagined that a humanitarian and symbolic gesture could lead me to risk prison in Thailand. I did it to protect the animals and send a message of peace. Today, I need help to defend myself and stay free.”
The fundraising appeal, launched very quickly, includes no court documents. Khaosod notes in particular that Sacha is the son of Stéphane — Stéphane Thierry Bastok, 74 — already being pursued by immigration in Surat Thani in a case involving nominee arrangements and an unlicensed hotel at IDA B Domain, Lipa Noi. Information published in August cited more than 26.4 million baht collected for a cannabis farm that was never built, and more than 9 million transferred to the accounts of the father and son.
A local source claims the son hosts parties as a DJ and that the father had already launched disputed fundraisers targeting the Jewish community. It is not improbable that this fund is in fact intended for others beneficiaries.
The man has been handed over to investigators at the Koh Samui police station in Nathon. The trespass proceedings continue.
Sources : Khaosod, ZoneSamui, ZoneSamui, Thai Examiner, Khaosod English, GoFundMe, Facebook