' Entrepreneur' Smashes Down Phuket Mangroves

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'Entrepreneur' smashes down Phuket mangroves
Naraporn Tuarob


Mangroves? What mangroves. Police and other officials at the construction site.

PHUKET: -- Following complaints from local people, the Chairman of Pa Khlok OrBorTor on Wednesday led police and other officials on a raid on an allegedly illegal construction site among mangroves in Moo 2.

They found the mangroves had been removed, the site had been levelled and construction of a property development was well under way.

They seized seven trucks and a bulldozer. The case has been passed to the Thalang police to follow up and charge those responsible.

The chairman, Punya Sumpaorat, said “Pa Khlok Municipality continually checks for mangrove forest encroachment by ‘entrepreneurs’ because most of the area [along the shore] is forest under the protection of HM the Queen, and locals and the municipality have replanted regularly.

“If business people would like to invest in property in the Pa Khlok area, they should ask for proper permission from us and we will check on the area in order to ensure they are not encroaching and are not likely to run into problems with local people in the area.”

Mangroves forests in Phuket have come under attack again and again by unscrupulous developers and others who see knocking down the forests as a way to acquire land for nothing.

In some cases this has led to extreme violence between the businessman and local people, who understand that mangroves offer protection from severe weather and tsunamis, and are an essential nursery for fish and other marine life.

In 2001 a local environmental activist, Jurin Rachapol, was shot dead by a hitman allegedly hired by a Bangkok-based businessman, Somsak Wongsawanond, after Jurin and others opposed his wiping out of mangroves to establish a prawn farm.

Another campaigner, Siripoj Cheechang, was knocked off his motorbike and run over, twice, by the same hitman. He survived.

The hitman, Bancha Noppawong, was eventually arrested and is serving a life sentence.

Somsak was arrested on charges of conspiracy to murder but eventually was only fined for illegal possession of a weapon and firing a weapon in a public place.

He was fined and his prawn farm was closed down.

Source: http://www.thephuketnews.com/%E2%80%98entrepreneur%E2%80%99-smashes-down-phuket-mangroves-39998.php


-- Phuket News 2013-06-07

[dahinni]

If they know he hired the hitman, he should get even harsher punsihment

[JulesMad]

Is there anything good, fair and honest in Phuket???

[LivinginKata]

If they know he hired the hitman, he should get even harsher punsihment

That was a previous case. Nothing to do with this encroachment AFAIK.

[Wavefloater]

Is this going to be a situation where the developer pays off the bib BIB and continues to build his illegal structures? I think that the only real deterrent is to demolish what has been done (a fair bit, BTW) and heavily fine this guy. It seems that the legal system here often doesn't do enough to send the message that there are serious consequences to breaking the law.

[allan michaud]

Clearly this had been going on for months so why did it take so long to crack down? Local officials and police must have known it was happening, you can't hide the construction site do who was turning a blind eye?

[JetsetBkk]

Clearly this had been going on for months so why did it take so long to crack down? Local officials and police must have known it was happening, you can't hide the construction site do who was turning a blind eye?

Maybe they waited until there were "seven trucks and a bulldozer" to be seized and sold. Ker-ching!

No point raiding it with only a couple of blokes cutting down the mangroves.

Cynical? Moi?

[Ianatlarge]

Glad it is not farang this time who are accused of stealing Thai land. What will the governor say?

[jacko45k]

Think of the poor guys who bought the dwellings off plan!

[drdoom6996]

The hitman, Bancha Noppawong, was eventually arrested and is serving a life sentence.
Somsak was arrested on charges of conspiracy to murder but eventually was only fined for illegal possession of a weapon and firing a weapon in a public place.
He was fined and his prawn farm was closed down.

By those standards I should think about what to do with the wife.

[Skorz]

The human apple is rotten from the inside out. This kind of shit will never end and is going on all over the world. Wave a big enough wad of cash at the biggest hippy in the world and they would take a spade to a mangrove swamp.

[iSabai]

Is there anything good, fair and honest in Phuket???

Sadly, it seems not. One only needs to spend a bit of time away from Phuket to realize just how bad it's getting. (Yeah, just back from a short holiday.) Was a bit depressing coming back here. Nothing but mercenaries from the minute you get back on the island. Nowadays you only get that once famous Thai smile in Phuket when you (over) pay for it.

Edited June 7, 2013 by iSabai

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Seems the locals were MORE than a little bit late to the party...

The "entrepreneur" levels the trees, graded the land and was well into construction of the units....

And only then somebody notices or decides to do something???

[12DrinkMore]

Is there anything good, fair and honest in Phuket???

Sure, all those lasses in Patong.

[iSabai]

Is there anything good, fair and honest in Phuket???

Sure, all those lasses in Patong.

Ah yes of course, those fine young lasses. Forced into debauchery in order to support their poor loving families (that need new Fortuners) and sick loving buffaloes (and buffaloes' families), by conning and conniving unsuspecting (yet generously humanitarian) male tourists (and others) into buying ฿250 lady drinks, ฿1,000 BF's, and ฿3,000 ST's. Poor young innocent things.

And for some reason, they always get a free pass from all. Including the whingers that will complain long and loud about overpaying ฿100 for a tuk tuk ride (even though they never even use tuk tuks).

The irony…

[fasteddie]

Glad it is not farang this time who are accused of stealing Thai land. What will the governor say?

Who says it isn't?

[JulesMad]

Is there anything good, fair and honest in Phuket???

Sure, all those lasses in Patong.

So sorry, 12DrinkMore, even the 'lasses' in Patong are outmatched by their colleagues in Pattaya, Bangkok and other places. Never seen a more greedy bunch with (in general) bad service in every aspect

Of course there are always exceptions on the rule