Cambodian Casino Encroaches On Thai Soil

[george]

Cambodian casino encroaches on Thai soil

SA KAEOW: -- Thai officials were preparing for urgent negotiations with Cambodia today after it became apparent that a casino in the Cambodian border town of Poi Pet has cleared land and constructed a wall encroaching on Thai soil.

Col. Kritchawit Thamornphon, commander of the local security forces on the Sa Kaeow border, this morning investigated the construction work carried out by the casino in tambon Pa Rai, where the casino has built a wall across the Prom Hot canal marking the Thai-Cambodian border.

Noting that the construction violated an agreement between the Thai and Cambodian governments signed in the year 2000, Col. Kritchawit this morning engaged in urgent talks with Maj. Gen. Sok Phiep, head of the Thai-Cambodian Liaison Office, to ensure the demolition of the 1 foot-thick concrete wall, which extends for a distance of 10 metres.

Describing the talks as ‘friendly’, Col. Kritchawit said that the Cambodian authorities acknowledged that the construction work violated bilateral agreements, and would order the Princess Crown Casino to return the site to its original state.

Representatives from the casino claimed to be unaware of the agreements in question, and while some of the wall was demolished this morning, other sectors remained, prompting the Thai side to promise further talks with the Cambodian authorities.

“Liaison between officials has proceeded well, and they have been prepared to operate in accordance with the agreements. But representatives from the casino are half-hearted about the agreements, and the Cambodian authorities will have to take further action”, Col. Kritchawit said.

--TNA 2004-12-19

[eljeque]

""""But getting 60,000,000 in the bank (30% down payment) is a very nice position to be in."""

I think you meant 30% of 118 million, not of 180 million.

But, either way, it is a good start to financing your development.

The typical developer out here generally wants about 100K to 200K down and

50K to 100K / month for 10 to 16 months for a total of about 30% to 40% of the

purchase price.

This "30%" upfront sounds like a sweet deal for the developer, although he has already built 3 or 4 houses out of his own pocket.

[eljeque]

"""Representatives from the casino claimed to be unaware of the agreements in question, and while some of the wall was demolished this morning, other sectors remained, prompting the Thai side to promise further talks with the Cambodian authorities."""""""

"Unaware of the agreements in question," but what about unaware of the fact that the land that being built upon did not belong to the casino. A simple reveiw of the Nor Sor Sam or ChiNote equivalent would have informed the casino of that very fact.

There is no way that these casinos were built on land that the owners did not have title to, or its equivalent.

[Heng]

Considering that a lot of local businessmen own swaths of real estate on both sides of the border, AND often have the local authorities in their pockets, I think it's easy for them to forget that the border is not actually theirs as well. After all, how much real estate is the 'line' between two of your properties?

In the city, it's quite common for people to own both sides of small rivers and canals. You can pretty much build whatever you want over them, and even divert them onto or away from your property and the government doesn't ever say anything (that I have heard of anyway).

[eljeque]

Thanks for that information, but I just thought that in this case, a CASINO cannot exist in Thailand as it is illegal, so it cannot own the land. Whether the parent company owns it or not, who knows? Also, if the land in Cambodia is owned by an individual, a Khmer for example, then he cannot also own land in Thailand. I do not know if a Thai can own land in Cambodia, but we all know that a Khmer cannot own land here.

If the property in Cambodia is owned by a corporation, which is quite likely the case in this situation, and it is a Thai Corp., then the possibility of the company owning the land on either side of the border is a strong posibility.