Osotspa clan member alleges B293mn land swindle off Phuket

PHUKET: Saowanee Osathanugrah, a member of the famous Thai “Osotspa” family, has filed a complaint against her husband for allegedly trying to swindle her out of land on Koh Yao Yai, an island off Phuket, valued at 293 million baht.

Osotspa Co Ltd, known worldwide for its M-150 and Shark energy drinks, last year reported a total operating income of about 2.1 billion baht.

Ms Saowanee, however, is embroiled in a drawn-out divorce from her estranged husband Chinnawes Sarasas.

She filed a complaint with Koh Yao Police Deputy Superintendent Sinchai Srikhumklip on Tuesday, alleging that Mr Chinnawes had used her forged signature on land ownership transfer documents in an attempt to acquire the land through a hotel company.

“I married Mr Chinnawes in 1977. In 1996, we agreed to buy three plots of land and register Mr Chinnawes as the owner,” Ms Saowanee explained to police.

The three plots, covering a total area of 17 rai, were all registered with the Phang Nga Land Office and were issued NorSor 3 Kor (NS3) titles, numbered 1132, 1280 1261.

“On November 24, 2003, Mr Chinnawes, Mr Suthi Sirprathum and Ms Phinya Chusa-nguanpong created a land ownership transfer document with my forged signature on it,” Ms Saowanee alleged.

“The document says that I agreed to transfer [ownership of] those three plots of land to Pakoh Hotel Co Ltd. I have never known anything about this,” she added.

Ms Saowanee also accused Mr Chinnawes of using her forged signature on copies of her house registration book and her ID card to attach to the land transfer document.

“Later, on December 18, 2003, Mr Chinnawes, on behalf of Pakoh Hotel Co Ltd management committee, authorized Mr Suthi to present the copies of my forged personal documents and the forged land transfer document to Koh Yao Land Office officials to register and conduct the transfer of the three plots of land to Pakoh Hotel Co Ltd,” she alleged.

Ms Saowanee did not explain exactly when she became aware of the alleged forgeries and the transfer of the land in question.

However, Suwat Apaiphuk, Mrs Saowanee’s lawyer, told the Phuket Gazette, “We found out about this after we discovered her forged signature was used by her ‘ex-husband’ [sic] to conduct a transfer of land ownership in Udon Thani.

“Ms Saowanee filed for divorce at Prachuap Khiri Khan Provincial Court in 2010. That application is still being processed by the court,” he added.

Regardless, Ms Saowanee stood firm in her resolve to not relinquish the land to her “ex-beloved”.

“The three plots were acquired during marriage, so no matter what Mr Chinnawes is going to do with them, he has to have my permission,” she said.

According to the Stock Exchange of Thailand, Pakoh Hotel Company, which operates from the registered address of 56 Moo 5 Koh Yao Noi, Phang Nga, 82160, was forced to hold a debt-restructuring meeting with TMB Asset Management Co Ltd in January this year in order to come to some “conciliatory” resolution with investors.

For more detailed information about the long-running problems encountered by Pakoh hotel Co, read Phuket Gazette property columnist Bill Barnett’s report dating back to 2010 (click here).

— Kritsada Mueanhawong