Double standards

Double standards

The alleged forest encroachment case in Trat involving one of the richest families in Thailand has raised a few questions about possible double standards.

According to reports in the local media, the alleged encroachment was discovered in late April when a team from the Marine and Coastal Resources Department inspected a large prawn farm in Ban Angkapong, Trat's Khao Saming district, which partially encroached upon the Pa Som forest reserve in this eastern district.

The team also found permanent structures including a port that can accommodate at least 10 yachts, a dock, a helipad, as well as other facilities -- all on the seven plots of land. Six have land title deeds, while the remaining plot has a Nor Sor 3 document.

Anant Sawangsawai, the manager of the property, who is facing an encroachment charge, said the plots were bought from local villagers over 20 years ago and the port was approved by the Marine Department about 15 years back.

News reports are still confusing. One report said the six land plots totalling 32 rai are in the possession of Khunying Eupranee Chiaravanont, wife of Jaran Chiaravanont who is the eldest of four brothers of the powerful clan and also honorary chairman of Charoen Pokphand Group. Another plot belongs to Wassana Sappan, a Prachin Buri resident.

But another report that came out early this week noted that all seven plots belong to Khunying Eupranee and her daughter, Nuchanart. The same report also mentioned that a special task force of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department raided the area, which according to GPS location tracking, partially encroached on the forest reserve. Action was taken against Mr Anant and another manager.

Mr Jaran was quoted in the reports as saying that he is willing to return the plot in question to the state. But the news reports were later taken off most news websites without explanation, making it unclear if the intention to return the land to the state was real.

This prompted questions as to whether the trillionaire will get off the hook by simply returning the plots in question which were fully developed without traces of mangrove forest to the state.

Yet, the case validly raises the same old question about double standards where the rich and poor in Thailand are treated very differently.

In the same week, Tan Thaugsuban, the son of former Democrat heavyweight Suthep Thaugsuban, was handed a three-year jail term for forest encroachment and constructing a pond at Pa Khao Phaeng on Koh Samui. But he was released on bail.

Many compared the case with the poor grandparents who were given a 15-year jail term last December for collecting wild mushrooms in a forest reserve in Kalasin province. They were immediately thrown in jail with no option of bail.

People's suspicions are valid given the way that officials have handled the Tha Som encroachment case. They laid charges against the two caretakers who claimed to have managed the plots.

The department explained that the encroachment has occurred and the landowners, whose names appear on the land title deeds, will not escape justice if there is proof that they also benefited from the encroached land.

However, the department added that it is not in a position to charge the landowners, and that the case will have to be transferred to the Royal Thai Police to pursue; not to mention citing a technicality -- the need to prove that the landowners had a hand in the encroachment, which would enable the police to take action.

This technicality implies that this will be a long and complicated case and people are rightly watching with some scepticism if justice will be served.

Editorial

Bangkok Post editorial column

These editorials represent Bangkok Post thoughts about current issues and situations.

Email : anchaleek@bangkokpost.co.th

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