Paradise Beach club to fight demolition notice

PHUKET: Paradise Beach Management Co Ltd this afternoon vowed to appeal a Patong Municipality demolition notice of the property they currently occupy at Paradise Beach, claiming that their land document is legal.

Nituch Prasertnetikul, the lawyer speaking on behalf of the company and the current land owner Sophon Eakwanit, said that news of the demolition notice, handed down last Wednesday, was negatively affecting their business. Mr Nituch said they are considering whether to file a complaint against the Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup over the notice.

Ms Chalermluck told the Phuket Gazette that the demolition process will continue, despite threats of a lawsuit. The demolition notice was signed by her today, and will be posted on a wall of the establishment on Monday.

The mayor said that as the company’s land documents were not clear, they will have 30 days to demolish their buildings or file an appeal, in which case they must produce relevant land documents to support it (story here).

“We will absolutely appeal when we receive the demolition notice. At this stage, we’ve confirmed that our SorKor 1 No 276, occupying about 20 rai of land, is legal,” Mr Nituch said.

“We submitted the construction request to the municipality, but on February 29, the mayor rejected our request and ordered us to get a Chanote first, and then file our request again.”

The company then asked why the municipality had rejected their request, even while construction continued.

“The municipality actually only has the right to allow or not allow us to build on the land,” Mr Nituch said.

“They do not have the right to order us to prove our land documents. Rejecting or canceling our request is an unlawful act. We have the right to file a complaint against the mayor for that.

“We’re asking for justice. Almost every plot of land here in Patong is using SorKor 1 documents to apply for construction. Why can’t we? It affects the hundreds of millions we’ve put into this place, and fewer people are coming to our business. Who will be responsible for our lost business and staff?”

Ms Chalermluck said that everything the municipality is doing is according to the law and that she will continue to do her job.

“We are doing this for the benefit of the public,” Ms Chalermluck said. “They have the right to file complaints against me or to appeal my rejection of their request. However, I am sure we are following the letter of the law, and I will continue to fight for that law through the justice system.”

“Rejecting the request simply means that we have not allowed them to build,” Ms Chalermluck said. “As their SorKor 1 does not specify the plot of land it is for, and the company cannot provide any other supporting documents to validate their claim, we cannot allow them to build anything on the property.”

— Kongleaphy Keam