Newly Completed Hotel In Bangkok Faces Demolition After Court Verdict

[webfact]

Hotel faces demolition after court verdict

The Nation

A newly completed hotel in Soi Ruamrudee may have to be demolished following a landmark verdict by the Central Administrative Court yesterday.

BANGKOK: -- The court ruling said that highrises in Soi Ruamrudee had been built illegally as the soi is not 10 metres wide as claimed by a former Bangkok governor and a former Pathum Wan district chief, who approved the construction.

The verdict followed a petition by the Foundation for Consumers volunteer lawyer Chalermphong Klabdee, who represented 24 Ruamrudee residents - including Royal Household Bureau's Deputy Lord Chamberlain Khwankeo Vajarodaya - against the then Bangkok governor and then Pathum Wan district chief for allowing Tabtimtorn and Lapprathan companies to construct the highrises on Soi Ruamrudee.

Both companies are currently operating The Aetas Hotel inside those buildings.

Chalerm said the Bangkok governor and Pathum Wan district chief were obliged to enforce the demolition within 60 days if the complainants demanded it.

Several tall buildings were constructed in or near Soi Ruamrudee before and during 2004 with approvals from the Pathum Wan district chief, who said the soi was wider than 10 metres and could accommodate tall structures.

The construction of many buildings continued even after the residents lodged a joint petition with the Foundation for Consumers, which took the complaint to court in September 2008.

"A recently built luxury hotel is already in service and it is too late to be modified," he said. "The [incumbent] Bangkok governor or the [Pathum Wan] district chief are obliged to order the owners of the hotel to partly or wholly demolish it as the court ordered.

"The district office is authorised to seek a court order for detention of the property owners if they fail to abide by the verdict within the deadline, with the owners, architects, designers, foremen bearing the cost," he explained.

For more than 15 years, contractors and construction firms relied on the district office's false certification that the soi was wider than 10 metres to build many highrises in or near the soi. A testimony and a survey during the trial had proved that it was narrower than 10 metres.

BMA officials and operators of The Aetas Hotel vowed to appeal against the verdict.

-- The Nation 2012-02-10

[ozzieman05]

The official tape measure is 9.95 meters

The tape measure will be changed upon the correct tea money being paid to the people with the other tape measure

[moe666]

it sounds like tea money has already been paid in 2004.

[otherstuff1957]

I like that line toward the end of the article: "For more than 15 years.. " . So, are they going to charge the other ex-governors & district chiefs? I'm sure that there's plenty of more blame to go around.

[laurentbkk]

well , not everybody had their little enveloppe ..... I am ready to bet that this building will be completed and operational soon .... anyone for a bet ?

[virtualtraveller]

Watch this space.....think about all the other buildings illegally built there, behind them is enough incentive and influence to stop this 'landmark' ruling from having effect. It's about time a building was ordered demolished in Thailand, set an example.

[jalansanitwong]

Ask all the residences in the soi to move their fence back 1 foot....problem solved.

No need to pay tea money. The developer is obviously a person of great influence.

[yougivemebaby]

Proves to me once again to NEVER EVER wait.. NEVER EVER EVER EVER INVEST YOUR MONEY IN ANYTHING THAI OR CHINESE .

[Unkomoncents]

This is Exhibit A of why you don't do business in Thailand. Corruption like this is incredibly damaging to Thailand's image. The hotel management group bears no responsibility for this and yet their building must be torn down??? They try to blame natural disasters for Thailand's hurting economy but these kinds of things, I believe, just make floods the icing on the cake. If this is true, then I know of dozens of other high-rises that need to be torn down. I do have to say though: kudos to the former governors/corrupt lackeys that are behind this. It must be incredibly profitable to shakedown international hotel chains like this. Too bad it will only hurt in the end, like all financial 'schemes'.

[Bakseedaa]

Proves to me once again to NEVER EVER wait.. NEVER EVER EVER EVER INVEST YOUR MONEY IN ANYTHING THAI OR CHINESE .

And , pray tell us....Where should we invest..... all of life is a gamble..!

[Gone]

Plain and simple if that were to exist in Thailand: The corrupt Officials who signed off the documents and handed them back to the Business owners, contractors etc should have to pay for the demo NOT the owners etc.

[Reasonableman]

Plain and simple if that were to exist in Thailand: The corrupt Officials who signed off the documents and handed them back to the Business owners, contractors etc should have to pay for the demo NOT the owners etc.

Given the evidence provided so far, it is hard to be sure who is responsible or why (deliberate attempt to subvert the law, incompetence, laziness, corruption, etc, etc). We do not know if there was any collusion involved. Note, however, that the report says the court decision was against " the then Bangkok governor and then Pathum Wan district chief for allowing Tabtimtorn and Lapprathan companies to construct the highrises on Soi Ruamrudee". As usual, we cannot be 100% sure that this was reported accurately, or whether the Thai report and the English language report are identical.

This ruling appears to give some hope to residents affected by high rises popping up without warning in tiny, narrow sois, something that is happening all over Bangkok, turning peaceful residences into living hell.

Edited February 10, 2012 by Reasonableman

[noitom]

This is Exhibit A of why you don't do business in Thailand. Corruption like this is incredibly damaging to Thailand's image. The hotel management group bears no responsibility for this and yet their building must be torn down??? They try to blame natural disasters for Thailand's hurting economy but these kinds of things, I believe, just make floods the icing on the cake. If this is true, then I know of dozens of other high-rises that need to be torn down. I do have to say though: kudos to the former governors/corrupt lackeys that are behind this. It must be incredibly profitable to shakedown international hotel chains like this. Too bad it will only hurt in the end, like all financial 'schemes'.

And then there is the shakedown on the shakedown. Tiers of shakedowns. Like a pyramid scheme. Somewhere out there, there must be a greater fool.

[Shurup]

One thing I didn't get is how the architects, designers and foremen could be held responsible??? Those are the people who get paid to do the job, they don't get involved in decisions where why and how the buildings get built. Using this logic they may as well include all the labourers and material suppliers to "bear the costs".

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

[ginjag]

well , not everybody had their little enveloppe ..... I am ready to bet that this building will be completed and operational soon .... anyone for a bet ?

Demolished, and no one died of heart failure there did they, ???? is this Downtown" area.

[scorecard]

One thing I didn't get is how the architects, designers and foremen could be held responsible??? Those are the people who get paid to do the job, they don't get involved in decisions where why and how the buildings get built. Using this logic they may as well include all the labourers and material suppliers to "bear the costs".

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Ever heard of aiding and abeting,,, similar concept applies here. The architect unless he/she was 12 years old would have had all the measurments etc., readily available and would know the appropriate laws, and would have known there was tricky measurment involved.. Sam for the others involved.

As already said a landmark ruling and I hope the building is demolished and the others involved are punished. Thailand desperately needs any examples of strict compliance with the law.

Edited February 10, 2012 by scorecard

[Unkomoncents]

Plain and simple if that were to exist in Thailand: The corrupt Officials who signed off the documents and handed them back to the Business owners, contractors etc should have to pay for the demo NOT the owners etc.

Given the evidence provided so far, it is hard to be sure who is responsible or why (deliberate attempt to subvert the law, incompetence, laziness, corruption, etc, etc). We do not know if there was any collusion involved. Note, however, that the report says the court decision was against " the then Bangkok governor and then Pathum Wan district chief for allowing Tabtimtorn and Lapprathan companies to construct the highrises on Soi Ruamrudee". As usual, we cannot be 100% sure that this was reported accurately, or whether the Thai report and the English language report are identical.

This ruling appears to give some hope to residents affected by high rises popping up without warning in tiny, narrow sois, something that is happening all over Bangkok, turning peaceful residences into living hell.

Agreed but you can't possibly believe that this sudden, completely arbitrary move could be acceptable when you're talking about a chronic problem that is abstract enough to be nearly impossible to explain, let alone decry, to Thai government officials. They start at the bottom (8,000THB/month) and some rise and most 'low-middle' (nevertheless, merit, of the earning variety, has nearly nothing to do with it). Zoning laws are basically unheard of outside of Singapore. Such laws are also practically meaningless when there are such flexible (no) codified rules concerning general construction in the first place.

[Reasonableman]

Plain and simple if that were to exist in Thailand: The corrupt Officials who signed off the documents and handed them back to the Business owners, contractors etc should have to pay for the demo NOT the owners etc.

Given the evidence provided so far, it is hard to be sure who is responsible or why (deliberate attempt to subvert the law, incompetence, laziness, corruption, etc, etc). We do not know if there was any collusion involved. Note, however, that the report says the court decision was against " the then Bangkok governor and then Pathum Wan district chief for allowing Tabtimtorn and Lapprathan companies to construct the highrises on Soi Ruamrudee". As usual, we cannot be 100% sure that this was reported accurately, or whether the Thai report and the English language report are identical.

This ruling appears to give some hope to residents affected by high rises popping up without warning in tiny, narrow sois, something that is happening all over Bangkok, turning peaceful residences into living hell.

Agreed but you can't possibly believe that this sudden, completely arbitrary move could be acceptable when you're talking about a chronic problem that is abstract enough to be nearly impossible to explain, let alone decry, to Thai government officials. They start at the bottom (8,000THB/month) and some rise and most 'low-middle' (nevertheless, merit, of the earning variety, has nearly nothing to do with it). Zoning laws are basically unheard of outside of Singapore. Such laws are also practically meaningless when there are such flexible (no) codified rules concerning general construction in the first place.

In that case, we may have to invoke BVC Rule 303

Just kidding!

[sparebox2]

After tea money, just widen the Soi by 10 cm. Problem solved.

[necronx99]

One thing I didn't get is how the architects, designers and foremen could be held responsible??? Those are the people who get paid to do the job, they don't get involved in decisions where why and how the buildings get built. Using this logic they may as well include all the labourers and material suppliers to "bear the costs".

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Ever heard of aiding and abeting,,, similar concept applies here. The architect unless he/she was 12 years old would have had all the measurments etc., readily available and would know the appropriate laws, and would have known there was tricky measurment involved.. Sam for the others involved.

As already said a landmark ruling and I hope the building is demolished and the others involved are punished. Thailand desperately needs any examples of strict compliance with the law.

Sorry, silliest thing I've heard all week.

They had approval. The only people liable are any directly involved in any criminal activity that may have taken place to obtain that approval, if there was any.

[julemanden]

well , not everybody had their little enveloppe ..... I am ready to bet that this building will be completed and operational soon .... anyone for a bet ?

+1

[tragickingdom]

The real measurements of the Soi solely depend on the money that the appeal judges will receive during a trip to Australia or another destination where casinos operate legally.

[Pib]

The court has decided the construction was illegal, but compensation money will make all the plaintiffs and soi residents happy again so the complaint will just finally fade away...it's how business is done in Thailand.

[sparebox2]

One thing I didn't get is how the architects, designers and foremen could be held responsible??? Those are the people who get paid to do the job, they don't get involved in decisions where why and how the buildings get built. Using this logic they may as well include all the labourers and material suppliers to "bear the costs".

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Ever heard of aiding and abeting,,, similar concept applies here. The architect unless he/she was 12 years old would have had all the measurments etc., readily available and would know the appropriate laws, and would have known there was tricky measurment involved.. Sam for the others involved.

As already said a landmark ruling and I hope the building is demolished and the others involved are punished. Thailand desperately needs any examples of strict compliance with the law.

Sorry, silliest thing I've heard all week.

They had approval. The only people liable are any directly involved in any criminal activity that may have taken place to obtain that approval, if there was any.

Sorry, but the past few BKK govenor who sign the apapers are Dems. Mark will say that this is a political plot by PT. And it is.

[ToffeEFCpower]

The Nation should At least use a newer or relevant pic for the headline. K-Tech went bankrupt 3 years ago.

[newermonkey]

The official tape measure is 9.95 meters

The tape measure will be changed upon the correct tea money being paid to the people with the other tape measure

No it looks like the tea money system has failed. And that's a good sign that Thailand might be coming out of the third world stigma it has at present.

Just start to jail the thousands of bent cops close, down the whore-houses and then ill be mighty impressed.

[hellodolly]

Proves to me once again to NEVER EVER wait.. NEVER EVER EVER EVER INVEST YOUR MONEY IN ANYTHING THAI OR CHINESE .

Kinda makes food shopping tough.

[hellodolly]

Watch this space.....think about all the other buildings illegally built there, behind them is enough incentive and influence to stop this 'landmark' ruling from having effect. It's about time a building was ordered demolished in Thailand, set an example.

You are quite correct all the buildings that don't conform to code should be demolished. It would definatly send amessage and bring builders and their backers into more respect for the codes A giant ste forward for Thailand.

But as you say probably never going to happen. Those little envelopes still dictate munch of the going on in Thailand

[hellodolly]

One thing I didn't get is how the architects, designers and foremen could be held responsible??? Those are the people who get paid to do the job, they don't get involved in decisions where why and how the buildings get built. Using this logic they may as well include all the labourers and material suppliers to "bear the costs".

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

Ever heard of aiding and abeting,,, similar concept applies here. The architect unless he/she was 12 years old would have had all the measurments etc., readily available and would know the appropriate laws, and would have known there was tricky measurment involved.. Sam for the others involved.

As already said a landmark ruling and I hope the building is demolished and the others involved are punished. Thailand desperately needs any examples of strict compliance with the law.

Sorry, silliest thing I've heard all week.

They had approval. The only people liable are any directly involved in any criminal activity that may have taken place to obtain that approval, if there was any.

And a architect planning a building in a unzoned place for it is innocent.

[spidermike007]

Several tall buildings were constructed in or near Soi Ruamrudee before and during 2004 with approvals from the Pathum Wan district chief, who said the soi was wider than 10 metres and could accommodate tall structures.

So, the only one to be held responsible is the district chief. He gave the approval, and everyone else just did their job. To hold the architect responsible is lunacy, and the utmost disregard for taking responsibility, which I realize is common in the LOS. But, the district chief was the one paid millions of baht to approve this, and he is the one who should be spending year in prison. Also, his family should be fined many millions of baht. A precedent like this would send a real message, that Thailand is joining the league of civilized nations. I know you are going to say dream on, but I cannot help but dreaming on.