Bars demolished in Kata, Phuket

KARON, PHUKET: Patrons of five small bars in Kata will have to find new watering holes, after police and other security forces yesterday forced the owners to vacate their premises and had them torn down by heavy machinery.

Representing landholding firm Yee MR Company Ltd, Attorney Chayapat Boonnak appeared at Chalong Police station at 8:30 yesterday morning with a court-issued eviction order.

The notice ordered the removal of Honey Bar, B Goodbye Bar, Easy Bar, Lovely Bar and Cowboy Coffee bar, located on over one rai of land owned by his clients.

The bars, about 300 meters from Kata Beach, line the road from Kata to Karon, behind the Club Med resort.

Enforcing the eviction were 11 Chalong Police officers, 12 members of the provincial Special Operations Unit and three court ‘execution’ officers.

The bar owners were not happy and threatened to press charges, but finally gave in and began hastily removing furniture and equipment from their premises. Not long after, a backhoe began tearing down the structures.

Mr Chayapat alleged Mrs Nuengruethai Polarcha as the first encroacher, saying she occupied the land in 2002.

The Phuket Provincial Court ruled the land belonged to Yee MR Company Ltd in September last year.

Following that ruling, eviction notices were posted on the buildings three times, but to no avail.

Mr Chayapat said the company felt sorry for the Thai and expat owners of the bars, who appeared to have been cheated on rental agreements, but the company nevertheless had to protect its interests and abide by the law.

He estimated the value of the land in question at around 30 million baht.

One of the staff of the Lovely Bar said the bars should have been allowed to continue operating till the end of the high season, as business is brisk this time of year.