Migrant Workers Occupy Korat Home of Thai-Australian Couple

[webfact]

 

A Thai woman and her Australian husband have filed a complaint after discovering their home in Korat occupied by migrant workers.

 

Upon her return from Australia in February, 66-year-old Somporn Rolland found her house in Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, taken over and altered by a group of migrants. This startling discovery prompted her to rush and confront the unexpected occupants. Unfortunately, she was driven out of her own property.

 

Somporn co-owns the house with her 74-year-old Australian husband. The couple resides there occasionally, spending most of their time in Australia. Despite their sporadic stays, Somporn invested in a 19,200-square-metre plot and commissioned workers to build what she envisaged as her retirement home. The two-storey house, initially designed to be light blue, was unrecognisable upon her return.

 

Somporn initially reported the occupation to the police, but the complaint went unresolved. Frustrated by the lack of progress, she sought the assistance of a social media influencer, Phanumart Jitwasinkul, to amplify her case. This move appears to have expedited her request, as police and immigration authorities conducted a raid on May 22.

 

 

Upon arrival, the property was abandoned, although evidence like running electrical appliances suggested a recent departure. Further oddities included the presence of a mushroom farm, a business Somporn vehemently denies ever establishing.

 

This baffling situation mirrors incidents of property fraud cropping up across Thailand. Last June, an Indian national covertly turned a Thai man's building in Pattaya into an unlicensed club. Similarly, a Bangkok couple discovered their home hijacked and transformed into a fried chicken shop by neighbours.

 

As the investigation in Korat continues, authorities have yet to announce their next steps. For Somporn and her husband, the hope remains that they will eventually reclaim their home and restore normalcy.

 

TOP picture: video screenshot

 

 

-- 2024-05-23

 

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[stupidfarang]

Only when the media or social influencer gets involved is anything done. Otherwise forget it.

[Presnock]

wow! sounds just like New York except although some illegal immigrant has taken over one's house/property when the owner may have been on vacation...except the owner can't just kick the illegal immigrant out of the property, they must go to court, have a hearing (sometimes more than a month) and then although utilities are in the owner's name, if the owner has the utilities cut off, the NY athorities see that as a crime against the illegal immigrants!  Some immigrants have already put this occupation of a vacant property online for other illegal immigrants to copy.  World definitely has gone MAD! in my opinion.  Seems like every day now we hear stories about lack of police action for crimes or are they just being reported now?

 

 

[ChipButty]

Lucky they didn't strip it all out and sell it, 

[TroubleandGrumpy]

This is why is is a wise move to buya house in a gated community if you are going to be away for extended periods of time. 

[ChipButty]

5 minutes ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

This is why is is a wise move to buya house in a gated community if you are going to be away for extended periods of time. 

Or a condo/apartment 

[Bangkok Barry]

1 hour ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

This is why is is a wise move to buya house in a gated community if you are going to be away for extended periods of time. 

 

Not really. The security guard vanished the same day my friend's house was broken into and stripped. The police refused to investigate unless he paid them 100,000 baht. That's when he decided to leave this s**thole for good and return to Australia, and his Thai wife was only too happy to get out with him. 

[Funkymover]

maybe someone dodgy in their family decided to make some extra cash 

Edited May 23 by Funkymover

[RayWright]

Or install a covert CCTV, if you have WiFi then £20:00 or change of 1,000THB. Else SIM CCTV cameras are £100:00ish.

Going back to the OP, " ...suggested a recent departure...", sounds like a bit of a tip-off.

[chiman]

Can you evict them?  Cannot sir 

[Dogmatix]

1 hour ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

This is why is is a wise move to buya house in a gated community if you are going to be away for extended periods of time. 

 

Absolutely.  I paid double the price from my house in a gated community where some senior cops reside than it would have cost in the same area just outside the gates.  Never regretted it for a minute.  Friends who bought or built stand alone houses or even houses in low quality gated communities that hire dodgy guards have nearly all reported numerous burglaries.  One friend was burgled in a stand alone house in Bangkok by a very small person who climbed in through the small ensuite bathroom window and nicked his wife's handbag from the bedroom and departed without waking them up.  He also has a stand alone house on Samui that has been ransacked so many times that he gave up having a TV set or anything worth taking there.

Edited May 23 by Dogmatix

[Dogmatix]

 

Somporn co-owns the house with her 74-year-old Australian husband.

 

The article doesn't explain how this is possible.  He is unlikely to be a naturalised Thai citizen, since they spend most of their time in Australia.  Therefore it is more likely that she owns the home outright and he owns nothing.

[newbee2022]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

 

A Thai woman and her Australian husband have filed a complaint after discovering their home in Korat occupied by migrant workers.

 

Upon her return from Australia in February, 66-year-old Somporn Rolland found her house in Nakhon Ratchasima, also known as Korat, taken over and altered by a group of migrants. This startling discovery prompted her to rush and confront the unexpected occupants. Unfortunately, she was driven out of her own property.

 

Somporn co-owns the house with her 74-year-old Australian husband. The couple resides there occasionally, spending most of their time in Australia. Despite their sporadic stays, Somporn invested in a 19,200-square-metre plot and commissioned workers to build what she envisaged as her retirement home. The two-storey house, initially designed to be light blue, was unrecognisable upon her return.

 

Somporn initially reported the occupation to the police, but the complaint went unresolved. Frustrated by the lack of progress, she sought the assistance of a social media influencer, Phanumart Jitwasinkul, to amplify her case. This move appears to have expedited her request, as police and immigration authorities conducted a raid on May 22.

 

 

 

Upon arrival, the property was abandoned, although evidence like running electrical appliances suggested a recent departure. Further oddities included the presence of a mushroom farm, a business Somporn vehemently denies ever establishing.

 

This baffling situation mirrors incidents of property fraud cropping up across Thailand. Last June, an Indian national covertly turned a Thai man's building in Pattaya into an unlicensed club. Similarly, a Bangkok couple discovered their home hijacked and transformed into a fried chicken shop by neighbours.

 

As the investigation in Korat continues, authorities have yet to announce their next steps. For Somporn and her husband, the hope remains that they will eventually reclaim their home and restore normalcy.

 

TOP picture: video screenshot

 

 

-- 2024-05-23

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

So nothing serious happen. No vandalism. Just a bit business and maintaining the house to protect it from burglary. I hope the Ozzi will provide appropriate accommodation for the migrants🙏

[hotchilli]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

she sought the assistance of a social media influencer, Phanumart Jitwasinkul, to amplify her case. This move appears to have expedited her request, as police and immigration authorities conducted a raid on May 22.

Upon arrival, the property was abandoned, although evidence like running electrical appliances suggested a recent departure.

Lucky it's here in Thailand... some countries would have given the squatters the right to stay there and charged her.

[Classic Ray]

13 minutes ago, Dogmatix said:

 

Somporn co-owns the house with her 74-year-old Australian husband.

 

The article doesn't explain how this is possible.  He is unlikely to be a naturalised Thai citizen, since they spend most of their time in Australia.  Therefore it is more likely that she owns the home outright and he owns nothing.

As a foreigner he is allowed to own the house, but not the land on which it stands. Some couple take this route to avoid the Thai spouse being able to take both the house and the land should there be marital discord. 

[CygnusX1]

2 hours ago, Presnock said:

wow! sounds just like New York except although some illegal immigrant has taken over one's house/property when the owner may have been on vacation...except the owner can't just kick the illegal immigrant out of the property, they must go to court, have a hearing (sometimes more than a month) and then although utilities are in the owner's name, if the owner has the utilities cut off, the NY athorities see that as a crime against the illegal immigrants!  Some immigrants have already put this occupation of a vacant property online for other illegal immigrants to copy.  World definitely has gone MAD! in my opinion.  Seems like every day now we hear stories about lack of police action for crimes or are they just being reported now?

There’s no way that can be correct. Surely once sufficient evidence was shown to police that you’re the actual owner, which wouldn’t take long to get, the illegal occupants would be immediately arrested for trespassing on another person’s property.

[Zack61]

Reminds of that movie Pacific Heights. Landlords have few rights. 

[The Theory]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Upon arrival, the property was abandoned, although evidence like running electrical appliances suggested a recent departure. Further oddities included the presence of a mushroom farm, a business Somporn vehemently denies ever establishing.

It seems they were informed that need to take off🤔. They had a manager in fact. 

[The Theory]

5 minutes ago, CygnusX1 said:

A house is by far the most expensive thing almost all of us will ever own, and it’s beyond all reason that the law in NY at least doesn’t adequately protect you from someone stealing it.

I believe those immigrants were not there just because they decided so. There is someone (not an immigrant) behind this. Even police were not interested in the case 🤔. You go figure. 
People need to be more smarter and have some cameras around their property and pay someone to look over their property. 

[Jai Dee]

Several deflective off-topic posts about property rights in the US have been removed as they are in violation of our Community Standards.

[wensiensheng]

3 hours ago, stupidfarang said:

Only when the media or social influencer gets involved is anything done. Otherwise forget it.

Exactly the point I have made several times. Thailand isn’t ruled by law, it’s ruled by social influencers. Once they get involved, the police, local authority, government, will start to take action. Without a social influencer preferably backed by a video from a mobile phone, nothing gets done.

[Trevor Collins]

My Thai wife and I have had a house built on inherited land in Issan. Her sister has had similar house built on her portion.

She is on site 24/7 and we also have wifi cameras connected to wife's smart phone here in the UK. We can watch an ant

crawl across the property and tell it to get off through the inbuilt mic and speakers. THAT'S SECURITY! Would advise the Oz

to invest in some decent cameras and record everything that goes on.

[MangoKorat]

1 hour ago, Dogmatix said:

The article doesn't explain how this is possible.  He is unlikely to be a naturalised Thai citizen, since they spend most of their time in Australia.  Therefore it is more likely that she owns the home outright and he owns nothing.

He can own the house. Its only land that foreigners can't but and the house can be separated from the land.

[IndomitableSpirit]

14 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

Exactly the point I have made several times. Thailand isn’t ruled by law, it’s ruled by social influencers. Once they get involved, the police, local authority, government, will start to take action. Without a social influencer preferably backed by a video from a mobile phone, nothing gets done.

It's always the image which is important, there are advantages but more disadvantages. The police know how the media and socmed influencers can spread their incompetence like wild fire. 

[Bday Prang]

12 minutes ago, Trevor Collins said:

My Thai wife and I have had a house built on inherited land in Issan. Her sister has had similar house built on her portion.

She is on site 24/7 and we also have wifi cameras connected to wife's smart phone here in the UK. We can watch an ant

crawl across the property and tell it to get off through the inbuilt mic and speakers. THAT'S SECURITY! Would advise the Oz

to invest in some decent cameras and record everything that goes on.

So if your house gets occupied by "squatters" you simply instruct them to leave,  from the UK via your wifes smart phone, and you expect that they will immediately comply?  You may consider "Thats' Security"   I beg to differ

I live in a small village in  Issan in a house situated on land  surrounded by the wifes extended family, 4 of which are police, no need to invest in security cameras or speakers and seldom even lock the door, Have made several extended trips away over the past 30 years, and never had a single issue  I prefer my kind of security, but each to their own

Edited May 23 by Bday Prang

[Bday Prang]

3 hours ago, TroubleandGrumpy said:

This is why is is a wise move to buya house in a gated community if you are going to be away for extended periods of time. 

If you are away for extended periods why even buy a house at all ?

[Bday Prang]

25 minutes ago, wensiensheng said:

Exactly the point I have made several times. Thailand isn’t ruled by law, it’s ruled by social influencers. Once they get involved, the police, local authority, government, will start to take action. Without a social influencer preferably backed by a video from a mobile phone, nothing gets done.

Even the news these days looks like merely a review of current postings from facebook and the like, Its quite rare to see a full screen picture or video, it always seems to be in mobile phone camera format

[Bday Prang]

4 hours ago, stupidfarang said:

Only when the media or social influencer gets involved is anything done. Otherwise forget it.

Thankfully there is plenty that can be done here provided one has the necessary funds,  Simply round up a posse and forcibly throw the trespassers out, It is as simple as that.   But try that in the UK. for example  and there would be consequences,  Its so much simpler here with no politically correct left wing nutters putting the rights of criminals before those of honest people

[Wanderer555]

2 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

 

Somporn co-owns the house with her 74-year-old Australian husband.

 

The article doesn't explain how this is possible.  He is unlikely to be a naturalised Thai citizen, since they spend most of their time in Australia.  Therefore it is more likely that she owns the home outright and he owns nothing.

According to Thai property law a foreign national can own a house but cannot own the land under the house. 

The land is often leased or held under a contract such as a superficies, with the agreement registered at the land department with name of foreigner on the Chanote and no sale or loans against the land permitted without the foreigners consent. 
 

This is more common than some realize and is best organized at the start of building the house, with the foreigner being named on the building permit, retaining all financial records and similar. 
Thai courts will also recognize the ownership claim in the event of a dispute. 
cheers

[Bday Prang]

2 hours ago, Dogmatix said:

 

Somporn co-owns the house with her 74-year-old Australian husband.

 

The article doesn't explain how this is possible.  He is unlikely to be a naturalised Thai citizen, since they spend most of their time in Australia.  Therefore it is more likely that she owns the home outright and he owns nothing.

Does it really matter who owns the house, they are an elderly married couple and its theirs   the issue is the  illegal occupation !     not the usual abysmal standard of journalism, which to be honest is well overdue being the subject of a thread in its own right