Thailand Orders Legal Action Over Alleged Encroachment in Phuket Reserved Forest
Thai authorities arrested people accused of clearing 1 rai, 3 ngan and 22 square wah of reserved forest land and constructing a building in Karon, Phuket. The ministry ordered legal action and plans to seek a court demolition order.
Thailand’s Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment has ordered immediate legal action against people accused of clearing and building on reserved forest land in Phuket, saying enforcement will be carried out without exceptions.
Officials inspected an area in Moo 2, Soi Khuan Ton, in Karon subdistrict of Mueang Phuket district on July 14, according to the Royal Forest Department. The operation involved the Phuket Provincial Forestry Center, provincial administrative officials, Mueang Phuket district officials and Forest Protection and Conservation Units PhK.1 (Thalang) and PhK.2 (Phuket).
Authorities found three men — Thawatchai Phatkhim, Anuwat Sawatdi and Manoch Thongthomya — allegedly constructing a steel-frame building with a metal-sheet roof and fiber-cement walls inside the reserved forest. A man identified as Thapatsan Phanmanee said he was the employer and owner of the site and acknowledged that there were no legal title documents, according to the ministry.
Officials said the site covered 1 rai, 3 ngan and 22 square wah of cleared and encroached reserved forest land. They seized a metal-cutting grinder, concrete drill, welding machine and chainsaw as evidence.
The people involved face charges under Thailand’s National Reserved Forest Act of 1964 and Forest Act of 1941 for allegedly occupying, clearing, constructing on and making use of reserved forest land without permission. They were sent to Karon Police Station investigators for legal proceedings.
The ministry also instructed the Forest Resource Management Office 12, based in Krabi, to assess the damage to natural resources and the environment and seek a court order for the demolition of structures built on state land.
Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin said the ministry would not allow forest encroachment for private gain and would continue efforts to reclaim public forest land for future generations.
