Kanchanaburi - The Supreme Court has sentenced three people to six years and eight months in prison for encroaching on protected areas of Srinagarind Dam National Park, ending a case that has dragged on for 17 years.
Two of the offenders are the wife and daughter of former Kanchanaburi assistant governor Prayat Wessabutr, who was a close associate of the late veteran politician Maj Gen Sanan Kachornprasart. Maj Gen Sanan was interior minister during the Chuan Leekpai government.
The case, which began in 1997, was concluded when the Supreme Court passed its final judgement on the matter on June 23 this year. However, the ruling was only made public yesterday when Thiti Somphee, chief of the Srinagarind Dam National Park, announced the outcome of the legal action.
Chuthamas Wessabutr, her daughter Pajaree Wessabutr, and Thawatch Sirakornwilai were accused of building three houses in protected areas on the banks of Srinagarind Dam in Si Sawat district.
The Supreme Court found the three guilty of encroachment and sentenced each to 10 years in prison. However, the court later commuted their prison terms to six years and eight months, the park chief said.
Mr Thiti said officials at the national park will now strictly enforce the National Park Act to order the three convicted encroachers to dismantle their houses.
If they fail to act on the order, the national park will send officials to demolish the properties, and will file civil suits to force the owners of the houses to pay for the demolition, he said.
He added that the authorities have also served eviction orders on the owners of seven or eight resorts, who have been found guilty of encroaching on land around the dam.
The National Council for Peace and Order and the government have stepped up efforts to combat encroachment in national parks.
The drive is seeking to close unfinished encroachment cases and evict encroachers from forest and public land.