Bonanza resort faces demolition for encroachment of Khao Yai national park

[webfact]

Bonanza Khao Yai resort faces demolition for encroachment of Khao Yai national park



BANGKOK: -- Bonanza Golf and Country Club is facing partly demolition and its owner facing criminal charge after it was found that part of its areas encroached on the Khao Yai National Park.

The encroachment was confirmed after several land ownership documents the owner of Bonanza displayed to authorities were proved to be illegitimately issued by corrupted government officials a decade ago.

The encroachment was confirmed yesterday by the Nakhon Ratchasima land officer, Monsak Arak, who was designated by the Public Sector Anti Corruption Committee (PACC) to examine the Nor Sor 3 Kor land documents and land title deeds in the possession of the owner Mr Paiwong Techanarong.

The land officer said the resort infringed upon more than 55 rai of the Khao National Park in Pak Chong district.

According to him, all of the five land ownership documents covering more than 55 rai where part of his resort and car race tracks sit were built on the forest areas of the Khao Sied Ad, Khao Nok Yung, Khao Ang Hin and the Muak Lek – Si Kiew Railway Project national parks which are within the Khao Yai National Park.

This confirms that the International Bonanza Speedway has clearly infringed upon national park lands and the title deeds were illegitimately issued, he said.

The police have been notified to investigate the matter and should evidence surface that the deeds were issued after the property had been declared national park lands, the evidence will be handed over to the Department of Land to consider revoking the documents.

It is expected that the matter will be finalized by May 2015, he said.

“A field survey carried out in 1976, and recent aerial survey confirms that all five pieces of property sits on Khao Yai National Park” he said.

The Second Region Army team in charge of national park land reclamation yesterday forwarded all the evidence which includes all GPS coordinates of the disputed land to the legal team handling the case.

The police and the Department of Land will be compiling a case file so that formal charges can be brought against the owner.

The case will become the catalyst for further investigation into other cases of infringement on national park lands throughout the country.

The golf course and racetrack sit on a total area of about 4,000 rai of land.

According to BangkokPost, Authorities are expected to tear down buildings on the encroached land in the next few weeks after the Songkran festival long weekend.

In a related development, Pol. Col. Dusadee Arayawuthi, the deputy permanent-secretary of the Justice Ministry revealed that the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Committee has been notified and as of the present is carrying its own investigation into the possibility that state officials were complicit in the illegal title deed issuance.

Anyone found to have been involved in the matter will face serious disciplinary action, he said.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/bonanza-khao-yai-resort-faces-demolition-for-encroachment-of-khao-yai-national-park


-- Thai PBS 2015-04-08

[JOC]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

[bkkjames]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

Or funny how the system can work when your shirt colour has no favorable friends left to ignore the law? Lol

[halloween]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

And how it never gets off the starting line when that shirt was the colour of the month.

[halloween]

I have a suggestion for the Bonanza boys to overcome some of their difficulties. As they are going to lose a big section of track, join the upper and lower loops of the track to the main straight, and paint a broken white dividing line (overtaking allowed) down the middle of it. This would give the track a uniquely Thai flavour in character with the Thai driving habits.

[webfact]

NAKHON RATCHASIMA
Bonanza 'encroached on forestland'
Prasit Tangprasert
The Nation



BANGKOK: -- THE Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) has found that Bonanza businesses, owned by former politician Paiwong Taechanarong and his family, have encroached on forestland.

They have expanded their facilities beyond the scope of land that their land-right documents entitled them to," PACC official Tanawat Sanitsakdee said yesterday.

Paiwong and his family have operated various businesses including a resort, a speedway, and a golf course, in Nakhon Ratchasima province. Together, their business empire spans over 4,000 rai of land but they reportedly had just six land-rights documents. "The Royal Forest Department has already lodged a complaint with police," Tanawat said.

He believed officials would start demolishing structures built on forestland after the Songkran holidays.

Tanawat said Paiwong would likely face legal action too because available evidence showed that he had paid local-development taxes for the allegedly encroached land.

Meanwhile, Nakhon Ratchasima Land Office's chief Monsak Jongrak said land-right documents produced by Bonanza International Speedway show its business now sits inside forest reserves in Nakhon Ratchasima's Pak Chong district.

If the establishment was set up before the issuing of land-rights documents, the documents must be revoked, he said,

"And even if these documents are issued before the areas become forest reserves, we will still have to determine whether the issuing process was legitimate," he said.

Bonanza International Speedway is a part of businesses linked to Paiwong.

Monsak said an examination of the documents should be completed before the end of this month. "We have already got some documentary evidence. We also knew exactly that the racecourse was inside forestland," he said.

If an irregularity is found in the way the Nor Sor 3 Kor land documents were issued to Paiwong, Monsak said a probe would be launched to check if officials deliberately or carelessly committed wrongdoing.

Monsak said five Nor Sor 3 Kor land rights documents cover a little over 50 rai. Given that Bonanza businesses appear to extend over 50 rai, the Royal Forest Department will have to look into alleged encroachment for parts not mentioned in the land documents. Each rai in Pak Chong district costs over Bt1 million.

Colonel Sommai Busaba, from the Second Army Area's legal team, said police would summon people soon about the alleged encroachment.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Bonanza-encroached-on-forestland-30257641.html


-- The Nation 2015-04-08

[Costas2008]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

Another quality statement, brought to you by JOC

Are you feeling alright today dear?

Or should I be worried about you..........again.

[zaphod reborn]

Fake land ownership documents created by corrupt officials are commonplace in Thailand. The real failure was on the part of the provincial government of Nakhon Ratchasima. Obviously, no plans were ever submitted for approval of the race track development. How can you allow such a facility to be built without an environmental impact statement, especially because, at the very least, this land was contiguous to the Khao Yai National Park? Either of these processes, development application approval or EIS filings, would have uncovered the encroachment. But, the developer, benefited from the lack of proper governmental controls, from the corrupt payment it made for fake land titles, and now must pay the consequences, by having the race track torn down. Unfortunately, the damage to the national park is done, and really can't be undone.

[Bluespunk]

"several land ownership documents the owner of Bonanza displayed to authorities were proved to be illegitimately issued by corrupted government officials a decade ago."

Who I assume is still in gaol and should make a cracking good witness in the upcoming trial.

[halloween]

"several land ownership documents the owner of Bonanza displayed to authorities were proved to be illegitimately issued by corrupted government officials a decade ago."

Who I assume is still in gaol and should make a cracking good witness in the upcoming trial.

That would depend on whether they were issued a decade ago, or it was proved a decade ago.

[JOC]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

And how it never gets off the starting line when that shirt was the colour of the month.

I actually agree with you.

But it would be nice to see some old stalled engines restarted, like Suthep & son's.

My point is, nobody is above law!!

[WitawatWatawit]

Poor old Somchai, the 19yo gardener whose name has just appeared on the land documents. He'll be convicted and sentenced to 12 years for committing this odious crime. But he'll confess to bribing officials 16 years ago and his time will be halved, plus a certain pardon so he'll be out in a couple of years, considerably richer.

Time the govt cracked down on these sneaky bloody gardeners, drivers, maids, caretakers - devious, corrupt lot.

[Bakseeda]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

Does that matter JOC.... these people it seems are criminals of the first degree and deserve to be treated as such if and when found guilty... To some people enough is NEVER enough.

[Dogmatix]

Even tho this enforcement is on a selective colour coded basis it is better than no enforcement at all. These slime bags have stolen national resources with the connivance of corrupt government officials and should go to jail along with the officials.

With luck a future government will reclaim the forest reserve land in Samui that Suthep's son converted into a housing estate and golf course.

Edited April 8, 2015 by Dogmatix

[retsdon]

It's impossible to have any sympathy for someone who sites a motor racing track called Bonanza inside a national park.

That said, we'll see how far this investigation of Nor Sor Kor misuse goes. The abuse is so widespread that in some provinces the whole land office department would be in prison along with a significant portion of the population. Can't see it happening.

[Bluespunk]

"several land ownership documents the owner of Bonanza displayed to authorities were proved to be illegitimately issued by corrupted government officials a decade ago."

Who I assume is still in gaol and should make a cracking good witness in the upcoming trial.

That would depend on whether they were issued a decade ago, or it was proved a decade ago.

True, but from my reading of it they seem to be saying the documents were issued a decade ago.

Could be wrong though.

None the less the corrupt slime who issued them should be known and hopefully under lock and key.

[h90]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

yes the crime was done yesterday.....Or is it that it is known very long and the ruling clan just blocked the system?

Now when the blocks are removed the system is doing what it is supposed to do.

I doubt the Shinawatra clan protected any yellow shirts.....

[billd766]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

Funny how easy it is to corrupt people when you are rich and wearing the right colour shirt.

Are you suggesting that the Bonanza resort shouldn't be investigated because the owners wear the "wrong" colour shirt?

[monkeycountry]

The owner will face legal prosecution, which is a good start, although I doubt it will ever happen. However, officials involved will face "disiplinary action", which I assume means they will potentially be transferred or demoted? How come involved officials (in general) do not also face legal prosecution, and thereby face potential jail time? In my opinion the land office officials are even more guilty that the encroachers, as it is their duty to prevent encroaching, not benefit from it.

[MikeOboe57]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

Funny how easy it is to corrupt people when you are rich and wearing the right colour shirt.

Are you suggesting that the Bonanza resort shouldn't be investigated because the owners wear the "wrong" colour shirt?

Their "little transgression" should be treated as a minor misdemeanor and "grandfathered" to promote "recosylayshah".

[Baerboxer]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

Political parties owned by one particular family have dominated government this century. They also controlled the Police, DSI and "influenced" other agencies as much as possible whilst in office. Earlier incarnations of this party and several PM's were removed due to corruption. The supreme leader, owner and controller is a fugitive criminal with a very large number of outstanding serious criminal charges in the courts.

Whilst in office they were able to stop any investigation they didn't like, suppress anything or anyone, and allow what they liked to go on unhindered.

Now they are out of office, and can no longer hinder or stop investigations, are you really surprised that so much is coming to light?

[Eric Loh]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

Contrast that with Surayud land encroachment case, you do have a point. OAG dropped the case and gave a brilliant reason for that - he has no intention of breaking the law. Case dropped.

[billd766]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

Contrast that with Surayud land encroachment case, you do have a point. OAG dropped the case and gave a brilliant reason for that - he has no intention of breaking the law. Case dropped.

So what did the TRT, PPP and PTP do about it?

You know, the governments under TRT (Thaksin), PPP (Samak, Somchai and Thaksin), TRT (Yingluck and Thaksin). They had all the state agencies at their beck and call, the DSI especially, and they were infamous to ignoring court decisions that they didn't like, and they had nearly 10 years to do it in. Why didn't THEY do something?

[wabothai]

papers illegitimately issued by government officials.

Why go after the owners? Government has to pay for damages and clean up.

[MaiChai]

Thailand the hub of policy uturns. Legal, not legal, legal, not legal...

[jacko45k]

"several land ownership documents the owner of Bonanza displayed to authorities were proved to be illegitimately issued by corrupted government officials a decade ago."

Who I assume is still in gaol and should make a cracking good witness in the upcoming trial.

No, he lives in a nice 50 rai estate located in the middle of the National Park.

[phil2407]

What is confusing is that it seems the corrupt officials gave him the title deeds saying not protected forest so now yours - not sure if you need planning permission in LOS to build racetrack golf course etc - if so why did planning department not pick up on this? And why go after the landowner - go after the officials that said you own the land not protected so ok you can buy it This country baffles me at times but TIT

[Oziex1]

Damn shame nice looking track.

[Robby nz]

Even tho this enforcement is on a selective colour coded basis it is better than no enforcement at all. These slime bags have stolen national resources with the connivance of corrupt government officials and should go to jail along with the officials.

With luck a future government will reclaim the forest reserve land in Samui that Suthep's son converted into a housing estate and golf course.

Chalerm in his vendetta against Suthep and Abhisit had a go at that one until Suphep's son said "If you are going to investigate me investigate all those around me as well"

After that total silence. Wonder who could be around Suthep's son that made Chalerm forget about that important investigation ?

[Baerboxer]

Funny how fast the system can work, if you are wearing the wrong color shirt..............

Contrast that with Surayud land encroachment case, you do have a point. OAG dropped the case and gave a brilliant reason for that - he has no intention of breaking the law. Case dropped.

Almost as good as the reason given for someone being let off for committing perjury, on the day she became PM.

Apparently, perjury only counts if you're the one on trial, not just a witness. Well according to the creative former head of the DSI whose land encroachment case must be do to surface soon.

The thing is, they're all at it, or have been. Just one family and clan have been a little more active this century as they were in office more.