Squatters In Bangrak

[ClaudeFeller]

there is no 2 class systems !!!! there is only one law. the locals know it and know where, when and how to abuse it.

is it not same in every country??

No, most locals dont know about the laws, I know many locals, they have no idea of land or construction regulations. Come on Highdiver, most of them have no idea what "1 rai" is meaning. Hillbillys are not used to deal with right or wrong, they just try without thinking too much.

part of the big problem with squatting is in the definitions of the land code law. that if you grab a land that is public and hold on to it for long enough with out any one ressisting you can "stake a Claim"for the land.

That is not true. You must use the land for farming or other business activities and you must pay tax every year for this land. If you can prove that you have used the land for at least ten years you have a chance to get some kind of landpaper. My father in law has a coconut hill since 50 years now he has to fight longtime for a landpaper.

Highdiver, come to Nathon and explain the Thais next to me that they are violating the law because they built a small house on public riverside land. I pay you a beer if they understand what you mean!

[Mark Wolfe]

I see it in a different light. The harbor folks' reactions seem to me to be resentment toward the foreigner. They clearly had the paperwork to serve the squatters and must have had some inkling what they contained, yet they still had to make a snide remark regarding the legality of the BBC.

I am far from being an old Thailand hand (Taiwan and China are my areas of expertise), but I gather that making the squatters look bad and having to move, lose money, etc, will not go down well. I believe I mentioned something of this sort before.

I would be very uncomfortable with this. We have all heard the stories about how cheaply it can be arranged to have someone come in from the mainland and pop someone. I'm not suggesting that this is on the cards, but personally, I would not want any Thais to be smoldering with rage at me.

edited article confusion

Edited December 20, 2007 by Mark Wolfe

[highdiver]

High Diver,

PM me, we make a date and you can have a talking with the owner of the furniture shop. I will be by your side and I will drink your beer.

I would like to think positive but your positivism is really out of range. Like my customer last week in Isaan told me: With thai people you always must assume the worst case.

Thats true if it is about money and business.

claude you did not understand my reply.

i totaly agree with you. they Know what they are doing

they built a building ileagely on public land and it is up to the goverment to evacuate them.

since it is not your land the only thing you can do as you said is take pictures and send them to the Tae saban.

I dont disagree with you that they are breaking the law. they are and they do so knowingly. because they think they can get away with it.

my point is that this can happen anyhwere and not only in Samui as some of the posters belive.

[Mark Wolfe]

I notice that Samui Express did a window-dressing job of covering the story. I wonder what sort of information a Thai reporter -- a real one -- could uncover by interviewing the principles involved. Some basic questions are begging here, such as asking the squatter family, "Why? When you know this is illegal," and to the law enforcers: "Why is this eviction taking so long when the squatters are clearly in violation of the law?" (Bringing example of swift action to bear).

BCC, you must have asked, at some point in the last six years, "Why are you building here?" What did they say?

(On a side note, the problem with having a local reporter dig for the story is that few of them understand how to report investigatively. A reporter would have to be briefed on what to ask, how to follow up and what avenues of inquiry to follow.)

[bbcsamui]

BBC, you must have asked, at some point in the last six years, "Why are you building here?" What did they say?

I did ask many times and got many answers. (I am just stating what they said, I am not stating it is logical or not)

5 - 6 years ago they had a small bar and a small room for Dim to stay and I frequently asked Dim when she would be moving on, Her answer was always accompanied by softly spoken words and nice smiles ...

we want to keep the bar here and save money to build our new house in Plai Leam. (nice smile)

We want to keep the bar so I can find a new farang boyfriend (nice smile).

we want to keep the bar here so we can save money to put the kids through school (nice smile).

... that was before they started to build a 3 bedroom house on the beach (which is after the kids have left school and the majority of the house in Plai Leam is completed).

after they also said...

because we want our kids to save money so they can buy some more land for them selves (nice smile).

because we want to rent out our house in Plai Leam and make some more money (nice smile)

because we are Thai and can build anywhere (nice smile)

because we used to own your land (nice smile)

(Papa did own quite a lot of the land in the area some time ago but sold it off over the years. I purchased the plot from a lady who is still building on the hill just up from us. She bought it off Papa but got into financial difficulties seven years ago and then sold it to me).

And when they attached themselves to my house and I pointed out to them they had previously said they were going, they finally said

"we are staying! we want to stay here 10 years so that we can keep the "land" (nice smile)

... and you are a farang and cannot tell us to go (nice smile)

When the builders were climbing on my roof in order to attach their roof to mine, I yelled at them to f.... get off, they just smiled...

When I said I would call the police and get the authorities involved they said

We are not scared we will get our lawyers too (not such a nice smile).

When the police came and charged them with trespass and told them to move away 50cm, they said

Can you ask the Police to drop the charges now? (nice smile). I said…

Sorry, but it is out of my hands, it is with the authorities now (nice smile from me, frown from them).

When Poo Yai Wit asked them to take away the dwelling and sewerage tanks and go back to having a sala bar. They said

We are not going, we will put a wall around the tanks so the farang cannot see them.

And when the harbour board told them to move everything off the beach

Nothing said and I haven’t gone over to talk with them but I did see them take a pickup load of wood away to their Plai Leam house see before & after

[bbcsamui]

Well finally there appears to be some demolition. However, at this early stage I am not optimistic as I believe from the way they are going about it, they still have no intention of removing the bedrooms and just having the sala bar as per the agreement with Poo Yai wit. I think they are just demolishing some extraneous items in the hope that they can stay and that the authorities will leave them alone.

I apologise about the picture quality, but am trying to do it without being too obvious as it might cause them to get upset more.

We do believe that this is a sensitive time and could easily be the time that anger and or retaliation gets sparked off.

It is difficult not to sit in the house and watch, so we tend to go out as much as possible.

[PaulAllen]

From the looks of it, the inside of their house must be a real sh_t hole. It's just piece milled together with wood and aluminum.

It seriously looks like a dump as does the bar. Who the heck wants to drink there anyway?

I'm sure the smell of their crap is inside their house as well. They are living like homeless people really.

It seems they have no self-respect which means they will be extremely difficult to deal with (as we have already seen.)

[ClaudeFeller]

is this on samui?

Yes.

Return to topic: There are so many illegal buildings on Samui, most of them dont have to be removed because thais don't like problems with their thai neighbours.

One example? New resort in Lamai at the north end of the ringroad, almost ready for business:

Three storeys close to the beach = illegal. Additional building on the beach = illegal. Waste water sewage? Maybe they have now.

Highdiver, you can start the legal process, have a soft voice talking with Mr. Puujay Baan....

[Mark Wolfe]

One example? New resort in Lamai at the north end of the ringroad, almost ready for business:

What resort is that? Is this the one next to The Spa?

[bbcsamui]

4 January 2008

I couldn't hold myself back. While they are demolishing, they are also making cement and building up walls both inside and outside. I went down to the beach to take a photos of the recent work and they started yelling at me and saying I was crazy and should go away (actually much worse language but most of it in Thai).

The head builder who has been in many of the photos during the whole process came down to confront me so I took another photo.

I know I should stop, but I just cannot understand why they do not realise that they are to go and not to keep building new stuff.

5 January 2008

After yesterdays confrontation, I went out early and took some photos. Papa does not come anymore as he is probably the same as me - angry at what is going on.

This photo shows how they have trimmed the "balcony" but still have no intention of taking away the rock wall they sneaked out at night to put up .. or the other columns holding up the main dwelling.

They have disconnected one set of tanks, but still have the toilet inside so either they will truck it away, or they will put it to the other tanks or they just throw it over the side...

They obviously think this is it. They still have not realised that the agreement with Poo Yai Wit (which was confirmed by Poo Yai Wit the other day), is that they have to take away all of the bedrooms and toilets too ... not just trim the edges.

The Tessaban has not issued them any papers yet and this could be due to a number of reasons - i.e. too busy over elections, Christmas and New Year or because they do not intend to do it. We will wait until after January 7 when they are supposed to be totally off the beach.

... and I will try to keep discreet to minimise confrontations - it's just too hard, I have a lot of pent up frustration and anger and I hope no tourist pulls out on me on a motorbike as I will potentially explode above and beyond what should be expected. I am not an angry person by nature, but can feel the tension.

a couple of more photos here: 5 January update

[nod]

I'm afraid to say, it's looking a bit like the message they're getting from the Tessaban guy and the one you're getting, is not being interpreted in the same way!

Better make sure nothing has been "lost in translation". The majority of Thais do not like giving bad news. This is generally part of the Thai nature and causes a lot of confusion amongst us "Farang" because you never get the full picture because certain distasteful elements are left out!

I sincerely hope not, but it is just possible that you have not been given the full "bad news" and neither have they!

Regards.

[bbcsamui]

I'm afraid to say, it's looking a bit like the message they're getting from the Tessaban guy and the one you're getting, is not being interpreted in the same way!

Better make sure nothing has been "lost in translation". The majority of Thais do not like giving bad news. This is generally part of the Thai nature and causes a lot of confusion amongst us "Farang" because you never get the full picture because certain distasteful elements are left out!

I sincerely hope not, but it is just possible that you have not been given the full "bad news" and neither have they!

Regards.

Nod

You might be right or it might be that they are just being obstinate. We will be asking the authorities about it all later in the week as it appears that they have finished the demolition... my report for today:

6 January 2008

Well, the septic tank was broken today.

They did not empty it first so there was a bit of a smell as it emptied out onto the beach, and it is lingering around through the heat of the day... they did try and get rid of some of the smell by covering it with rubble.

I asked the builders / demolishers if they were going to take away the rubble and they said it was not their job, I should talk with the owner.

I also asked about the other columns and the rock wall that they put up secretly at night.

They said that they were not told to demolish them ... go talk with the owner.

As far as the builder is concerned, he has finished what he has been paid to do.

He is shown here between the remaining concrete columns stuck into the beach ... doesn't look too keen to take any more away does he...

I believe things are just starting to fester and when / if they have to break the rest of the dwelling, things might just explode.

This builder did say some nasty words the other day and threatened to hurt me if I did not stop taking pictures of him. We just reminded him he was on the crown land and we can take pictures and that if he continues to build he could potentially go to jail too. The usual answer from him is "I am just doing what I am paid to do ... go talk with the owner".

Edited January 6, 2008 by endure
Photo of builder removed

[sbk]

Since it appears the builder did give you explicit directions about photographing him, then posting his photo on this forum seems very inappropriate. I have deleted his photo from your posts. Feel free to post photos of construction but refrain from posting people's faces, especially after they have asked you to not take their photos.

[bbcsamui]

Ok, sorry.

I did actually try to take the photo discreetly and zoomed in using the computer, but I have certainly lost respect for their wishes as they certainly have no respect for mine... They ignored me when I asked them to get off my roof. They ignored me when I asked them to stop building against my house. They ignored me when I asked them to stop using a sledgehammer on the kitchen sink nailed into Anna's wall, They ignored me when I asked them to stop putting their raw waste onto the beach, They ignored me when I said I would go to the police, they ignored me when I ask them to clean up the mess. I feel I am not stooping to their level, but I am certainly not backing off.

I am taking photos to record the events and the people involved. As I have stated at the beginning, this is for 2 reasons. 1. To provide warning to others. and secondly to provide evidence in the event that something happens to me or my family.

I will not post any more close ups here on the forum, but I will continue to take some for my records.

[Mark Wolfe]

Why would they take down just a smidgen of the illegal structure unless they were under the impression that was all they needed to do.

Of course they might be whistling in the dark in the hopes that this will be sufficient.

The more I ponder this situation, the more I get the creeping feeling that there is something going on with the Thais that we and BBC doesn't know about. As you all know, nothing is what it seems here and when you think you have something all figured out, that's when you should take a big step back and try to pull the hook, line and sinker out of your gullet.

This shouldn't be taking so long and the fact that more "positive" work is being done by the squatters (vs "negative," removal work) makes me wonder what they know that we don't.

After nothing happens on the 7th, I would advise doing one of the following:

Go national with a feature story in the Post

Shave your head and count beads all day

Dynamite the place back to the beach age

[highdiver]

Highdiver wrote:

BBC from the beginning of this thread I told you to relax and have faith in the system. it works... sometime slowly but it does.

Really? To what do you owe your acumen on this topic? Seems to me that the situation has been going on for the better part of SIX YEARS. When you say "slow," do you mean like the lifespan of a coconut palm, for example? So BBC will only have to wait 70 more years?

I think that the Thais know that they can massage the system and drag their feet, flirting with non-compliance until the water buffaloes come home.

Three more days until the 7th...anyone gullible enough to take bets on everything being copasetic by then?

I owe this to the fact that since BBC has started this thread and shared with us his trouble he has had a visdit from tae saban officials, marine police officials, police, and that with in a month they have been served a request to evacuate.

and a week later demilishion has begun.

iI still belive that he doing it the right way.

[ClaudeFeller]

As per your question about thailand and my reply to claude. the squatters know exactly what they are doing.

under the thai law if you prove that you have been using a land for over seven years you can stake a claim. as such the squatting pays off if you can get a way with it.

Are you sure about 7 years? Are you sure this law is including beachland? Are you sure that the law is not "usage of farm land for 10 years and paying small tax every year?

BBC, littering the beach is not welcome on Samui. The Samui Mermaid group should react on this - go to see Ms. Peepum behind J&P Minimart in Bangrak, she is a member.

[bbcsamui]

7 January 2008

This is "about 20 days" from when the Harbour board issued the papers regarding the squatters having to evacuate off the beach. No further progress on what can be seen in the photos for the 6th.

They still have large columns directly into the beach which support some living quarters.

They still have the rock and cement wall that they sneaked out at night to build which supports another bedroom.

The rubble is still lying on and buried under the sand.

The broken septic tanks and steel are just lying on the beach.

They have been doing some building work inside but for now the builders appear to have left the scene. Maybe they have finished demolishing, maybe they have no money to pay, maybe something else...

Aree went around to see Poo Yai Wit on his own accord. He said he went to complain about the rubble. He said that the squatters were just leaving everything on the beach and I was raking it up into tidy piles and getting Aree to cart it away ... so Aree complained to Poo Yai Wit that he was getting tired.

Poo Yai Wit explained that the squatters have been issued the papers by the Tessaban and have about 30 days to demolish all the living areas and cart them away. Aree forgot to ask when they issued the papers, but we are assuming it was in the last few days (otherwise why would they still be building walls over the weekend and why would they just trim the edges of the dwelling?)

Poo Yai Wit said he would get one of his staff to go around in the next few days and tell them to clean up the beach so Aree doesn't have to do it.

I sort of feel sad, I sort of feel relieved, I sort of feel scared.

We have been pushing for this for so long and just as it appears to be going the way we want it, it leaves very mixed feelings. We do not want them to lose money or to lose face, we just want them to go and have a good life in their new home, to be able to make a good living from the nice little sala bar overlooking a clean beach and a beautiful sunset etc. We don't want them to go away with a sense of hatred toward us. While we were not the only people complaining, we will be seen to be the major instigators so any anger or hatred is going to be focused on us.

So, 30 days from today is 6 February. 7 February 2008 is Chinese New Year and this year is a year of the Rat. I was born in a year of the Rat so hopefully it means good luck. Time will tell.

(evidently... Those born in rat years tend to be leaders, pioneers, and conquerors. They are charming, passionate, charismatic, practical and hardworking. Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Affleck, Samuel L. Jackson, William Shakespeare, and Mozart were all born in the year of the rat. )

[highdiver]

As per your question about thailand and my reply to claude. the squatters know exactly what they are doing.

under the thai law if you prove that you have been using a land for over seven years you can stake a claim. as such the squatting pays off if you can get a way with it.

Are you sure about 7 years? Are you sure this law is including beachland? Are you sure that the law is not "usage of farm land for 10 years and paying small tax every year?

BBC, littering the beach is not welcome on Samui. The Samui Mermaid group should react on this - go to see Ms. Peepum behind J&P Minimart in Bangrak, she is a member.

oh yes very sure about this... and its not onyt farm land its any land and you dont pay when you squat.

the land usage you are referring to is titled Tor Bor 5 and its the title used for land that is alllowed to be used to farm in excahnge of paying a small tax. this is done so the user of the land can not claim rights as by paying the tax he admits that it is goverment land.

Dont let the smiles or the amazed faces fool you. the locals are very much aware of the law and they know what they are doing trying to take over public land.

[sbk]

I don't believe that applies to the beach highdiver.

[Mark Wolfe]

Well, I went 'round to actually see what was going on in person on the 7th. I met Mr. BBC and had a nice chat (thanks for the coffee and eggs).

To be honest, I had not been in that area ever, even though I have been living here for almost two years, and visiting for the better part of nine years.

One thing that struck me was that this dwelling is not the only rag-tag hovel on the shore in that area. And having seen the old grandpa (I noticed him as I was going home – slow moving, dark elephant skinned portly gentleman wearing a tatty sarong and 1950s-style framed eye glasses), I thought, "He must think, 'What is the deal with this farang? I've been here forever, I am not taking up much space, I don't make noise, I don't bother his customers, my place can't even be seen by patrons of the very large dining area, and (the kicker) other Thai people have been doing this for years on the beaches without some big shot white guy bothering them. I'll be damned if I am going to just knock everything down lock, stock and barrel and move on the whim of some Johnny-come-lately farang!'"

On the other side of the coin, the structure is an eyesore, and one that is visible clearly from BBC's house. But…this is Southeast Asia and esthetics (at least as we in the West generally think of them) do not apply. Nor does avoiding pollution. So I can see how the squatters feel that they are being targeted by a "narrow-minded" farang.

To a certain extent, this is a clash of cultures ingrained so deeply that neither side can accept the other. I wonder if BBC's wife were hypnotized whether she would say, "Yeah, if it weren't for the fact that Mr. BBC has made such a stink over this – once they moved away from our house that is, that was wrong in anyone's book – I would most likely have forgotten about it by now. I mean, I'd like them to be gone, but by Thai standards, this is a storm in a tea kettle."

I am not suggesting that the squatters shouldn't be evicted, it's important to not only have laws, but have them enforced; however, I wonder if the entire matter ought not be deemphasized. Keep rattling the cages of the powers-that-be from time to time, but stop dwelling on this issue.

I mean it will either be resolved or it won't: getting an ulcer over it won't affect the outcome.

Also, the idea of allowing them to have a small bar next to the road is inconsistent with your position, BBC. The placement of the bar, however small, is smack-dab in the middle of the roadway easement, which is illegal and if you want them to move out of the illegally occupied areas of the beach, you can't split hairs over the easement section.

I don't believe they own enough of the land between the roadway easement and the beginning of the beach to meet the 10 meter restriction, unless like you, they can claim preexisting structures. Or do they own any of that area?

My point is that they can't have a little bit of the illegal land in exchange for leaving most of it.

Another thing that struck me was why would a successful businessman want to live in such a small home next to the restaurant? It seems to me that you would purchase/rent a nicer home in the nearby hills as your primary domicile while keeping the cottage next to the beach for, well, beach activities. You could tear down part of the front wall and create a nice enclosed veranda-like area and perhaps put in a trellis on the side to block the view of the squatters' shack.

I think this "about 20 days" and "about 30 days" thing has to be clarified. If you have a lawyer, have him find out the exact dates on the legal instruments, if they actually exist (I'm not taking any bets here). If you don't have one, get one to do that. Get copies of the orders. Having a Thai lawyer do with will most likely yield results since they will know which palms to grease for the release of information.

In the meantime, don't sweat it.

[bbcsamui]

Mark

Thanks for coming and looking for yourself.

You do raise many good points and I probably cannot answer all of them, but will attempt to do so.

• You are right, it is no longer my business, it is the responsibility of the Tessaban etc now. I am attempting to keep out of it totally.
  
• You are right, I should not be living in the small house. I have previously stated it was always intended to be temporary as we always had intentions to redevelop. It was originally designed for the Manager (my sister was here looking after it while we were in New Zealand having our 4 year old son) plus the chef or boat skipper. When we came back from New Zealand we thought it would only be temporary while we waited for Dim to go, for the business to build up etc and then we would rebuild. So we made the 2 single bedroom dwellings temporarily into a 3 bedroom dwelling.
  
• Over time we have had many thoughts on what to do with the site in total. Should we knock the whole thing down and make a very expensive single dwelling on the site? (when you hear about the high prices some people are getting this sounds attractive). Should we build 3 or 4 villas on the site? Should we make it totally commercial?
  
• We think we have nearly made the decision what to do. Our current thoughts are that we will knock the house down soon and build the restaurant there having beach access and better views of Big Buddha etc. The design will be such that we can still have good views etc whether the squatters are there or not. Now that the septic tanks are gone, it is at least more healthy, just not totally aesthetically clean.
  
• We will go and live somewhere else - and that could be on Samui or not. We certainly do not feel so enchanted with Samui any more, so are considering other places. This should not be seen that we are scared or blaming the fight with the squatters, it is just that since the children need better schooling, plus we are going to change house, plus the business is getting big enough to have a full time manager, plus other reasons … it is appropriate to consider all options. It might just be the right time for us to change locations.
  
• I agree that letting them have the sala bar is inconsistent. I personally did not want it to be there, but as part of the negotiating position with Poo Yai Wit it was a compromise that was seen to be OK, in that it would get the eyesore dwelling out of our face, it would get the septic tanks off the beach, it would give Poo Yai Wit some face by saving their income ... and in fact, if done well it could be something worthwhile to the whole community at the gates to Big Buddha. I will clean up the beach, put some parking there, make some nice seats, put an information sign there telling tourists about Big Buddha etc. I personally wanted them totally gone, but compromised on the basis that it seemed the right thing to do. It can be legally done since the Tessaban own the side of the road and it is up to them if they want to lease it.
  
• The Squatters own no land where the house and bar is. There is no land to own as according to the title maps at the land office, my land is the last piece of titled land before Big Buddha, the rest is either beach or road easement (they have stolen both of those for their own use). They own land across the road and around in Plai Leam.
  
• My understanding is that road easement and beach cannot be claimed by squatters in Thai law. It used to be possible to claim hill land and other titled land if you stay there long enough and pay the taxes … but you cannot pay the taxes on beach land and road easement.
  
• You are right in your statements about my wife. It has come up in many of our tense arguments over the years and I have been known to say things like “if you want to go on their side, then please go and live with them” - Not the most intelligent things to say to someone I intend to spend the rest of my days with, but the heat of the fight over the years has caused some silly statements to come out on both sides.
  
• In summary. We are leaving the house no matter what happens now. We might even leave Samui. I am going to try and stay calm as it is totally out of my hands. It is not the outcome we were looking for 6 years ago, but it might not be such a bad thing.
  

Edited January 8, 2008 by bbcsamui

[sbk]

OK , per member complaints, off topic posts have been deleted. ALL off-topic posts

[Mark Wolfe]

We will go and live somewhere else - and that could be on Samui or not.

I have been told that the Maldives is the best place in the entire known universe...

Seems like you have had a sea change regarding making firm decisions about what to do.

I'm sure you could rent the small house for a decent price (if you throw in free coffee and eggs every morning... ).

I still think putting up a trellis on your property line to block whatever remains of the Thai-smilers is a good idea (I'll eat my hat if they are ever totally evicted).

[Khun Jean]

...

• In summary. We are leaving the house no matter what happens now. We might even leave Samui. I am going to try and stay calm as it is totally out of my hands. It is not the outcome we were looking for 6 years ago, but it might not be such a bad thing.
  

Did i hear it right that you decided to leave? A 'victory' for the squatters?

Nothing but good wishes and sympathy, i would do the same.

I just hope that this time the 'right' thing will happen.

Any update?

[bbcsamui]

...

• In summary. We are leaving the house no matter what happens now. We might even leave Samui. I am going to try and stay calm as it is totally out of my hands. It is not the outcome we were looking for 6 years ago, but it might not be such a bad thing.
  

Did i hear it right that you decided to leave? A 'victory' for the squatters?

Nothing but good wishes and sympathy, i would do the same.

I just hope that this time the 'right' thing will happen.

Any update?

The squatters have won by helping us to lose our love of Samui and we are certainly going to move out of the house, but we have no intention of selling the land or restaurant, as far as we are concerned it will always be a good location and worth keeping for the kids. In fact we have plans to invest more in the restaurant over the next 2 years.

We have some days when we want to leave Samui and some days we do not want to leave. 2 days ago we were thinking we would move the family off the island, today we are not sure... partly this is due to the Squatters, partly to the state of the roads, partly the state of the schools, etc. We will not leave Samui just because of the squatters, if we go, it will be due to a total package of reasons.

The squatters appear to be moving over to their house in Plai Leam. Much of the pot plants and extraneous items have gone, only one boy appears to be sleeping in the dwelling with the rest sleeping in their house in Plai Leam. But they were still doing a small amount of cement work yesterday on the steps down to the beach, and there has been no demolition of the dwellings and no cleaning up of the mess so not sure if they do intend to meet the supposed deadline of 6 February.

It is the Tessabans job now and we will quietly ask them what’s happening after the 6th if there is no more movement.

We have finally managed to get less stressed by it. My wife and kids went to Phuket for a weeks break, I stayed here and went to the gym every day got some good nights sleep and we now just feel much better.

I must admit I did get too obsessed but with the help of Thai Visa and locals and the family have finally been able to step back (but it did take a while).

Time will tell. But I have no intention of letting them win by driving me more crazy or breaking up my family or forcing us to sell up.

[bbcsamui]

13 February 2008

The supposed deadline of 6 February 2008 has passed by a week ago now.

There has certainly been a clearing out of furniture etc from the dwellings, but no further demolition has occurred. The concrete poles are still going into the sand, the illegal retaining wall is still there, the 2 bedrooms that they were supposed to demolish (according to my understanding) are still there, the majority of the mess is still there (we did do some cleaning of it and the older son did spend 30 minutes one night clearing out some of the rubble on the beach), but essentially no major change from prior to the notice being given.

Aree will go and make enquiries with Poo Yai Wit in the next day or so, to see where the situation stands.

[Mark Wolfe]

Seems like it's time to start calling a spade a spade.

I'd say to Mr. Poo-bah, "Did I not understand you? You said that this would be resolved by January 7, then again the date was moved to about 30 days after that. Do you see anything different from the last time you were here? I'd like a straight answer now, please. Either the squatters think you are a toothless fool who has no power to do anything, or you don't care to make good on your word. Or is there something else that I'm missing?

"When I say that I will do something, I do everything in my power to actually do what I say. What about you?"

[Robski]

Money talks. How much would it cost you to get rid of this problem?

[bbcsamui]

Seems like it's time to start calling a spade a spade.

I'd say to Mr. Poo-bah, "Did I not understand you? You said that this would be resolved by January 7, then again the date was moved to about 30 days after that. Do you see anything different from the last time you were here? I'd like a straight answer now, please. Either the squatters think you are a toothless fool who has no power to do anything, or you don't care to make good on your word. Or is there something else that I'm missing?

"When I say that I will do something, I do everything in my power to actually do what I say. What about you?"

Mr Poo Yai Wit was just as unimpressed as we were to see that they were still there after the deadline. He stated that recently the Tessaban has been very slow to action a number of similar items and he believes it is because they are willing to accept some cash to slow or halt the actions.

Those were his words (interpreted through a couple of people).

He could be totally honest in his assessment or he could just be trying to push the blame away from himself. I believe he is honest. From what I have seen over the later part of this drama is that Poo Yai Wit tries to keep straight. Also, with the elections coming up soon I believe that the Tessaban are probably trying to rake in as much cash as they can before the new administration takes over.

Poo Yi Wit is going to check with the Tessaban and get back to us.

I don't believe that the squatters have enough money to keep the Tessaban away for too long - they are certainly not raking in much from the bar. Maybe they are spending the wages from their jobs at 4 Seasons etc to try and hold onto it longer. I still cannot understand why unless they think that there will be some change in the situation that gives them legal right to stay. At this point in time, I am just putting it down to the fact it is not a high priority for the officials at the moment, so is just moving at the slow pace that can often occur here on Samui.