Officers investigate land encroachment at prime Phuket locations

PHUKET: An investigation by Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NED) officers into four plots of land will dig to the root of the issue and reveal any officials neglecting their duties or acting illegally, says NED Region 5 Deputy Commander Montri Pancharoen.

A one rai plot of land currently occupied by a barbershop on Soi Bangla and a six rai plot on Paradise Beach were the first properties to come under fire during the investigation, which commenced yesterday.

Today, officials are looking into an 805 rai plot of land at Phuket’s iconic Promthep Cape and an 11 rai plot at Sapam, confirmed Col Montri.

“At this point, we are just talking with the alleged property owners and collecting the necessary paperwork so that it can all be crosschecked,” Col Montri said.

“The investigating team includes officers from the Land Department, the Phuket Marine Office, the Tourist Police, Marine Police, Provincial Police, Provincial Hall and other local authorities.

“We wanted representatives from all necessary agencies at hand to expedite the process of verifying documents.”

Col Montri pointed out that it was still unclear whether or not anyone was illegally encroaching on public land.

“If the plots are illegally owned, we need to identify which government office is responsible for this. Then, we can investigate why relevant officers neglected their duty or issued illegal land documents,” Col Montri said. “We will get the entire system properly cleaned up this time.”

— Kritsada Mueanhawong