D S I Uncovers Skullduggery In Phang Nga, And Phuket

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DSI uncovers skullduggery in Phang Nga, and Phuket
Nattha Thepbamrung


Pol Lt Col Paisit Wongmuang of the DSI engages in polite conversation with one of Blue Sand Co’s directors, Pol Sgt Kanongdech Palasuwan.

PHUKET: -- Officers from the Bangkok-based Department of Special Investigations (DSI) have rolled their sleeves up and launched a wide probe into all kinds of problems over land cheating problems on Phuket and in Phang Nga.

Yesterday (February 26) the team, led by Pol Lt Col Prawut Wongseenil, arrived in Phang Nga and started at the graveyard in a Moken village in Haad Koh Plew Island, off Kokkloy. The land has surrounded by the sea and mangroves.

A complaint was lodged with the Ministry of Justice, of which the DSI is a branch, that a business person had claimed ownership of the entire island – an area of 25 rai.

The DSI quickly established that the underlying SorKor 1 paper for the land actually referred to a plot in Tambon Loh Yoong, several kilometres away – a classic case of a “flying SorKor 1”.

They also found that in the Chanote based on this SorKor 1 paper the area had been expanded from 2.2 rai to 25.

Not only that, but almost the entire island is within the protected Pa Klong Yong mangrove forest reserve.

In 2003, a Mangrove Development Department (MDD) officer found that in the mangrove area on the island, 11 rai had been dug up. Finding that a chanote existed for the land, the MDD filed a complaint with the Phang Nga Provincial Land Office – which took no action.

The original SorKor 1 had been issued based on a claim that the island had long been a coconut plantation, but aerial photographs, the DSI officers found, showed that coconuts had never been planted on the island, which had been covered in mangroves right up to very recent times – a stark contradiction to the claims of the Chanote holder and Land Department officials.

After checking the condition of the mangroves in the area yesterday, Col Prawut said the DSI would take this case on as a special investigation.

Today (February 27), DSI officers led by Pol Lt Col Paisit Wongmuang went to Blue Sand Co in Thalang, which supplies sand and gravel to the construction industry. Some of its employees were arrested last year by the DSI when caught digging up sand in a forest reserve in Phang Nga, using trucks and diggers with the company’s signage on them. Col Paisit said today the company was suspected of being directly involved in this case.

“Today we came with a searchwarrant to seize documents such as bills or orders for sand, as well as their computer and data. After we collected the evidence we need we will begin following the money, as well as checking the company’s tax payments.

“Whoever takes natural resources for trading is breaking the law. In their computers, we believe that there is information about orders for sand. We will check their turnover to see whether it matches with the information we have.

“We have evidence that leads us to believe the company has been encroaching on protected land and digging up the sand but if it is proved that they were selling the sand, or that money was being laundered, we will bring more charges.”

He said that the company could prove its innocent by showing evidence that it had bought the sand legally and in good faith and was operating legally.

“We are checking which assets belong to the company. Last time when we seized equipment used for encroaching on the reserve forest, it belonged to Blue Sand Co. The excavators and trucks were worth a total of B50 million.

The closing of the illegal sand mine in Phang Nga last year after the DSI raid resulted in soaring prices for sand infill – in heavy demand by property developers in Phuket.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/dsi-uncovers-skullduggery-in-phang-nga-and-phuket-37382.php


-- Phuket News 2013-02-28

[Tatsujin]

Pol Lt Col Paisit Wongmuang of the DSI engages in polite conversation with one of Blue Sand Co’s directors, Pol Sgt Kanongdech Palasuwan,

So one of the Directors of the (allegedly) illegally operating companies is a Policeman himself? Interesting.

[billd766]

Who else would have enough money and the right connections?

[nevets]

RTP =Mafia nuff said.

[Old Croc]

More like skulldiggery.

[belg]

this is one story uncovered, but how many are not ? where papers are falsified and become 10x larger or more... some people are gettting super rich on protected land that does not belong to them, but hey, what else is new ?

nobody gets rich for working honestly, right ...

[JetsetBkk]

this is one story uncovered, but how many are not ? where papers are falsified and become 10x larger or more... some people are gettting super rich on protected land that does not belong to them, but hey, what else is new ?

nobody gets rich for working honestly, right ...

Read my signature.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

This being Thailand, can't help but thinking that some other business venture in the sand providing business may have been better connected and was able to prevail on the DSI to help put their competition out of business, or at least throw a wrench in their works.

To believe the DSI was simply enforcing the law and acting altruistically in the case is a bit too much to buy... especially considering their broader politically partisan performance in recent years.