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More Than 600 Phuket Families Face Possible Eviction in Long-Running Land Dispute

More than 3,000 residents of Phuket’s Khok Tanod community are seeking government assistance as lawsuits over privately owned land threaten 669 households with eviction. Community representatives submitted a petition to the Phuket Damrongdhama Centre on September 21 asking authorities to protect residents’ rights during the legal process and prepare housing assistance if families are forced to leave. Many of those affected are described as low-income residents with no alternative homes available to them. Some of the legal cases have already reached final judgments at the Supreme Court level, and provincial officials acknowledged that they have no authority to overturn or interfere with court decisions. The dispute stretches back decades, with records showing private ownership claims and eviction proceedings involving more than 600 Khok Tanod families as far back as 2005.