Phuket police bust lion café owned by Chinese national

Phuket café with lion cubs raided; Chinese staff arrested for working without permits

Phuket police raided a café on Wednesday that housed three lion cubs after it was discovered that the establishment was owned by a Chinese national who had hired Chinese staff to operate it.

During the raid at the Glass House Lion Café in Phuket’s Mueang district, police arrested two Chinese staff members—a man and a woman identified as Binbin Chai, 42, and Choen Hong, 38.

Authorities stated that both individuals had entered Thailand on tourist visas and did not possess work permits. They were taken to Mueang Police Station to face charges of working in the kingdom without a permit.

The café featured three lion cubs, which patrons could interact with and photograph for a fee. Customers were charged 500 baht for spending five minutes with the largest cub and 1,000 baht per five minutes for taking photos with each of the younger cubs.


 

Police are still attempting to locate the café’s owner to pursue legal action.

(2025/01/23-00:00)