Owner of demolished resort sent to ICU for stroke, wife says

[webfact]

Owner of demolished resort sent to ICU for stroke, wife says

By Teeranai Charuvastra, Staff Reporter -

 

A security officer on Aug. 30 walks atop the ruins of what used to be a resort on Phu Tab Boek mountain in Phetchabun province.

 

PHETCHABUN — The owner of a resort demolished by forest officials for squatting on public land in Phetchabun province was hospitalized after having a stroke brought on by immense stress, his wife said.

 

Taweesak Pongjirapanya is among the owners of 19 hotels that officials said were illegally built atop the picturesque mountain of Phu Thap Boek and had to be demolished as part of the junta’s campaign to stamp out unauthorized use of protected public lands.

 

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/news/crimecourtscalamity/2016/09/07/owner-demolished-resort-sent-icu-stroke-wife-says/

 

-- © Copyright Khaosod English 2016-09-07

[ClutchClark]

Uh oh:

 

He added that all of the 19 resorts identified as land encroachers have been demolished, and authorities will soon come up with a plan to redistribute the land to legitimate owners for appropriate uses.

 

I thought this land was being turned back into National Park...but this last sentence makes it sound like it will remain privately owned--just not to  the guy with historic rights to the land.

 

Something stinks here.

[NickJ]

Just that color scheme screamed for demolition...... 

[Cuchulainn]

And what's going to happen to the land now?

Edited September 7, 2016 by Cuchulainn

[Inyourendo]

Ahhhhh farang .... you no unnerstan 

[Artisi]

Maybe he can join Nong Nat's husband Harold in ICU and keep him company. 

[canopy]

The ONLY reason this Lodge was illegal is because the Junta.

 

I live in this area. Building the resorts was never legal and they knew this all along. Nothing to do with the Junta other than they finally had the resolve to do something about it.

 

If not for that, these guys would have been getting rich off their ancestral properties.

 

Not exactly. Look back from past to present. Long ago the poor ravaged this, the tallest mountain peak in Phetchabun province much as they do places all over Thailand. The forest, trees, and wildlife are all long gone. They have no regard for these things. Since it was technically still in the forest and not belonging to the poor the government then "gave" the degraded land to the poor for farming purposes only. The poor then deliberately built illegal resorts on this land. Resorts here are not terribly profitable however as the place only gets substantial tourism a few months out of each year. But farming cabbages isn't necessarily so lucrative either. Now after clearing the illegal resorts, the land will be given to by all accounts more poor people. Hopefully lessons have been learned and safeguards are put in place this time, but maybe not.

 

[ClutchClark]

28 minutes ago, canopy said:

The ONLY reason this Lodge was illegal is because the Junta.

 

I live in this area. Building the resorts was never legal and they knew this all along. Nothing to do with the Junta other than they finally had the resolve to do something about it.

 

If not for that, these guys would have been getting rich off their ancestral properties.

 

Not exactly. Look back from past to present. Long ago the poor ravaged this, the tallest mountain peak in Phetchabun province much as they do places all over Thailand. The forest, trees, and wildlife are all long gone. They have no regard for these things. Since it was technically still in the forest and not belonging to the poor the government then "gave" the degraded land to the poor for farming purposes only. The poor then deliberately built illegal resorts on this land. Resorts here are not terribly profitable however as the place only gets substantial tourism a few months out of each year. But farming cabbages isn't necessarily so lucrative either. Now after clearing the illegal resorts, the land will be given to by all accounts more poor people. Hopefully lessons have been learned and safeguards are put in place this time, but maybe not.

 

 

So the land was national park but is now going to be given to new owners?

 

 

[waldroj]

"... one of the officials in charge of the eviction said the government allowed landholders such Taweesak to live on the mountain – so long as they didn’t develop it commercially – because it is part of the Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park. Doing so amounts to land encroachment ..."

Taweesak's situation really highlights the complex problem of certain land "ownership" in Thailand, and the interpretation of its legitimate use.

[seajae]

good, no sympathy for any of the ones building illegally or putting up resorts where they know they shouldnt. They deserve everything that happens to them, should seize all their assets as well, way past time that the govt started to get serious on people like this instead of just slapping their wrists.  They all realize they are breaking the law but the thought of making money over rides it so hit them where it hurts, seize all the assets/bank accounts using it for restitution, why should they be allowed to keep money from an illegal operation.

[somo]

6 hours ago, canopy said:

The ONLY reason this Lodge was illegal is because the Junta.

 

I live in this area. Building the resorts was never legal and they knew this all along. Nothing to do with the Junta other than they finally had the resolve to do something about it.

 

If not for that, these guys would have been getting rich off their ancestral properties.

 

Not exactly. Look back from past to present. Long ago the poor ravaged this, the tallest mountain peak in Phetchabun province much as they do places all over Thailand. The forest, trees, and wildlife are all long gone. They have no regard for these things. Since it was technically still in the forest and not belonging to the poor the government then "gave" the degraded land to the poor for farming purposes only. The poor then deliberately built illegal resorts on this land. Resorts here are not terribly profitable however as the place only gets substantial tourism a few months out of each year. But farming cabbages isn't necessarily so lucrative either. Now after clearing the illegal resorts, the land will be given to by all accounts more poor people. Hopefully lessons have been learned and safeguards are put in place this time, but maybe not.

 

Most of what you say is is correct but the poor did not build anything. They are poor!! They don't have the money to build resorts. Rich people will have bought the land from the poor often forcibly to repay a debt. The rich people then build the resorts. They took a gamble as even buying such land is not legally possible. To then plant illegal buildings instead of legal crops was another risk they thought was worth taking.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

They will probably just leave the ruins like it looks on the picture.

[klauskunkel]

12 minutes ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

They will probably just leave the ruins like it looks on the picture.

yep, looks perfect for becoming an artificial reef

[Kasset Tak]

2 hours ago, waldroj said:

"... one of the officials in charge of the eviction said the government allowed landholders such Taweesak to live on the mountain – so long as they didn’t develop it commercially – because it is part of the Phu Hin Rong Kla National Park. Doing so amounts to land encroachment ..."

Taweesak's situation really highlights the complex problem of certain land "ownership" in Thailand, and the interpretation of its legitimate use.

They are land holders, not land owners. There is a complex system about land in Thailand but basically as a land holder you have the same rights as if you rent land... You don't own it and therefore you can not do whatever you want with it but have to follow the rules stated in the rent contract.

[thairay]

When are they coming to walking street to clear the ocean side of it's illegal buildings?It will be a nice place to walk then.

[dieseldave1951]

2 hours ago, ClutchClark said:

 

So the land was national park but is now going to be given to new owners?

 

 

if you abuse the privilege of using ancestral land, then they deserve to lose it, give to new owners hopefully there will be a watchdog keeping an eye on things, and another keeping an eye on the first for corruption taking place,

[timewilltell]

Give 'em an inch and they take a mile.

[ratcatcher]

3 hours ago, Artisi said:

Maybe he can join Nong Nat's husband Harold in ICU and keep him company. 

That would then be a stroke of luck if Nong Nat was there to give him blood pressure reduction therapy.

[SOTIRIOS]

...what about seizing his assets and bank accounts....

[tomwct]

The land was not his to develop. He had permission to live on the land, but not build a resort. Sorry! Bye Bye

[Johpa]

I wonder if the authorities will demand the removal of resorts like Mon Jaem northwest of Chiang Mai in Mae Rim that were also built upon public forest lands or neighboring resorts built on land that has only usage title for subsistence farming.

[tukkytuktuk]

My wife nearly gave me a stroke the other day, damn moon light ruined it.

[jacko45k]

16 hours ago, NickJ said:

Just that color scheme screamed for demolition...... 

You have to think that a pink building atop a beautiful scenic mountain would have been noticed sooner!

[canopy]

16 hours ago, somo said:

 

Most of what you say is is correct but the poor did not build anything. They are poor!! They don't have the money to build resorts. Rich people will have bought the land from the poor often forcibly to repay a debt. The rich people then build the resorts. They took a gamble as even buying such land is not legally possible. To then plant illegal buildings instead of legal crops was another risk they thought was worth taking.

 

I can confirm this is also a typical model. But describing it as forcibly is too strong. Poor people are deep in debt here. This is a choice and typical way of life for them. Selling such land, which doesn't have a land title allowing sale is better defined as greed. Every single one of them would sell their land in a heartbeat. Only problem is you have to pay market price and when your jaw drops then you learn there is no legal land title to boot it tends to scare off 99.99% of the buyers.

 

Do realize that at the same time poor people actually do build their own resorts without selling or leasing the land to someone else. I know people in the village who built resorts on their plots and am appalled as they are quite poor, simple farmers. But also keep in mind they use the word "resort" here to describe what is merely a concrete box with a cheap roof.