Kevin Dimino #

Introduction #

Kevin Dimino is a French national who co-owned the Samui Exotic Park zoo on the Thai resort island of Koh Samui with his Thai wife. On September 7, 2026, Thailand announced it would deport him after he banned Israeli visitors from the zoo, hung a Palestinian flag at the entrance, and responded to online threats with what AFP described as overt antisemitic statements. The deportation order was signed by Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who also serves as interior minister, and followed a viral video of Dimino altercating with an Israeli family. His case became the test for sweeping new Thai regulations on expelling foreign visitors for bad behavior, and it arrived alongside a mirrored order against the Israeli man who threatened him — both men removed in the same feud.

Background Information #

Dimino operated Samui Exotic Park, a small zoo on Koh Samui featuring big cats and other exotic animals, which he ran with his Thai wife; press photos from the park’s own Facebook page showed him handling lion cubs. Reporting that traced his background identified him as originally from Villeurbanne, France, though that detail circulated via an X account tracking alleged antisemitic activity and was not independently verified. Before the feud that ended his time in Thailand, the park appears to have been a routine tourist attraction; his name entered international news only in August 2026, when a dispute at the gate escalated into threats, litigation, and ultimately his expulsion. Thai officials later stressed they viewed the episode as a dispute between private individuals rather than a confrontation between Israeli tourists and local residents.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation #

Allegations. The claims in this section about Dimino’s conduct come from Thai government statements and press reporting on the feud. The deportation order is a real administrative act, but its underlying characterizations — aggressive behavior, harassment, and causing religious division — were never criminally charged or adjudicated in court, and Dimino has disputed the government’s account.

Tensions began in August 2026, after Dimino said some Israeli visitors had behaved badly at the park; he responded by hanging a Palestinian flag and putting up signs stating Israelis were not allowed to enter. An Israeli resident of the island, Yaacov Ohayon, entered the zoo, noticed the flag, and an argument with staff ensued; videos later circulated appearing to show Dimino confronting and headbutting the Israeli, and Ohayon was summoned to a police investigation after the zoo’s owners filed a complaint claiming he had threatened them. The Koh Samui Provincial Court initially sentenced Ohayon to one month in prison and a 10,000-baht fine for causing fear or panic through threats, reduced after his guilty plea to 15 days suspended and a 5,000-baht fine. A video of Dimino in an altercation with an Israeli family went viral, and he received a wave of online threats — which he answered with what AFP called overt antisemitic statements; unverified posts attributed to him included telling Jews not to visit his business. Dimino claimed the threats against him escalated so far that his mother’s home in France was set on fire.

Public Reaction and Consequences #

On September 4, 2026, the Thai government ordered Ohayon deported, and on September 7 it announced the identical fate for Dimino, in an order signed by Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul. The order stated that Dimino had engaged in threatening, harassing, and physically abusive behavior, that his conduct was contrary to public order, good morals, and public welfare, and that he had also been fined 5,000 baht by a local court for violating a law on the use of roads and vehicles. He was further accused of causing serious religious and racial division among visitors to the island, per an Interior Ministry statement cited by Israel Hayom. Anutin told reporters: “We want tourists, but when they come, they have to respect our laws, Thai people and our customs and tradition… We have the right to ask them to leave the country if they have done anything inappropriate.” Both orders were issued under new regulations, published the week before, on when foreigners may be expelled — rules that have triggered national debate in Thailand.

Current Status #

Dimino’s deportation order can be appealed within seven days of being served. Asked about it on September 7, he told AFP: “Let the government do its job… it’s nothing to get worked up about.” He also maintained that Ohayon “started the story.” Security checkpoints were stationed near the park and the homes of those involved from August 15 to prevent further confrontations. Thai police also investigated an allegation that another Israeli had offered 500,000 baht for information that could lead to Dimino being harmed. As of the September 8, 2026 reporting, no appeal outcome had been announced, and Dimino remained subject to removal from Thailand.

Impact on Their Career/Life #

Dimino lost his Thai business and residence in a matter of weeks: a flag and a ban sign turned into a viral altercation, a criminal complaint against his antagonist, online threats answered with antisemitic statements, and finally a prime-ministerial expulsion order. The zoo he co-owned with his Thai wife became the centerpiece of Thailand’s first high-profile tests of its new bad-behavior deportation rules — alongside the very visitor whose threats made him a complainant in his own right. His case drew coverage across Israeli, French, and international press as a cautionary tale running in both directions: a foreign businessman expelled for stoking religious division, and an Israeli tourist expelled for threatening him. Whether he returns to France, fights the order, or attempts any future venture in Thailand, his name is now attached to the regulations Thailand passed to keep such feuds off its resort islands.