Land dispute turns violent in Buriram: Man injured in car and harpoon attack

In a violent dispute over land ownership, a 50 year old man was injured when a mechanic allegedly rammed him with his vehicle and stabbed him with a harpoon. The incident occurred yesterday in a lane opposite Buriram prison. The victim, Nopporn Thianwan, suffered a punctured wound to his back and several bruises.

The argument was reported to stem from a land dispute between the mechanic and Sakdet Thianwan, a 78 year old relative of the victim. Both of them had a longstanding disagreement over a piece of land, owned by the State Railway of Thailand, which Sontaya Pabyon, also known as Tum, had allegedly occupied for a long time. Despite several attempts by Sakdet to negotiate the removal of Sontaya’s cattle pen from the land, Sakdet refused to leave.

Sakdet explained that on the day of the incident, he had asked his nephew, Nopporn, to erect a fence around the disputed land. Nopporn, who was reportedly under the influence of alcohol, was allegedly chased down and struck by Sontaya’s vehicle as he was heading home. He was then stabbed with a harpoon, causing serious injuries, reported KhaoSod.

The disputed land has been a subject of contention between Sontaya and Sakdet for a long time. After the court ordered the revocation of land title deeds on a 5,038-acre area within a 1,000-metre radius of the State Railway of Thailand, the land became unclaimed. Consequently, several individuals expressed interest and attempted to claim it. This particular plot of land has changed hands multiple times in the past, leading to frequent disputes.

Sakdet, claiming to be the owner of the land, attempted to reclaim it, which led to several conflicts with Sontaya, who refused to remove his animal pen from the area. The police are set to interrogate Sontaya regarding the incident and proceed with the legal case.