Channel 3 news anchor Sorayut Sutthassanachinda faces losing his vacation home at Moon Dance Khao Yai Residence housing estate in Nakhon Ratchasima after authorities found the property encroached on a public waterway.
Sorayut: Pak Chong home sits on public land.
Col Sommai Busaba, who heads the Second Army's legal team, said an ongoing investigation into alleged illegal acquisition of 115 land plots covering 284 rai at the Moon Dance housing project in Pak Chong district had found clear evidence of law-breaking on Mr Sorayut’s eight-rai property.
He said the Second Army’s task force on land-grabbing discovered that a weir had been constructed across a public brook known to locals as “Huay Fah Pah”, which flows through the back of the broadcaster’s house and the estate. The illegal weir changed the original and natural condition of a public waterway and created a water retention area for personal use. Water could not flow over the weir when the tide was low.
The offence was crystal clear and would result in a title deed for Mr Sorayut’s purchased land being rescinded, Col Sommai noted.
But he said it was not known yet if the weir had been built by Mr Sorayut or the owners of the housing estate. Concerned agencies are checking if the Moon Dance Khao Yai Residence had obtained unlawful deeds.
The estate is situated at kilometre markers 21 and 22 on Thanarat Road leading to Khao Yai, Thailand’s first national park. Its developers claimed they had bought the land with Nor Sor 3 Kor ownership documents and all the plots had been sold to clients legally.
But Col Sommai said the Nor Sor 3 Kor documents were issued in 1976 when officials surveyed the land. He noted that the property remained a part of national forest reserve. In 1989, the Royal Forestry Department gave the land to the Agricultural Land Reform Office (Alro) so it could allot it to farmers for agricultural purposes, known as Sor Por Kor land. But three years later Alro had not distributed the plots, he said, and the Nor Sor 3 Kor documents were later upgraded to title deeds, paving the way for the construction of the Moon Dance housing estate.
Col Sommai pointed out that the Nor Sor 3 Kor documents could be legally changed to full title deeds only under the condition that the occupants had proof that they possessed and made use of the land for which they claimed ownership before Dec 1, 1954 when the Land Code was enacted.
Many areas in Khao Yai and Wang Nam Khieo belonging to resort and housing estates operators, as well as famous politicians and celebrities, are suspected of being built on Sor Por Kor land, said Alro's deputy secretary-general Premchit Sangkapong.
Col Sommai said his task force and land, forestry and justice officials would team up next week to inspect the property at the Moon Dance estate again. The team will also visit Kirimaya Golf Resort and Spa in Pak Chong to see if it had acquired the land it sits on legally.
On Monday, Nakhon Ratchasima's provincial governor signed an order nullifying the Nor Sor 3 Kor ownership documents for about 55 rai of Bonanza Resort's Speedway racetrack which were proved to have been issued unlawfully. The racetrack covers about 166 rai of land.