Phuket locals fight to claim 'free' land

Phuket locals fight to claim 'free' land

DSI asked to find out if plot is vacant

Residents from an agricultural community in Phuket's Muang district on Wednesday petitioned the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to help them win a bitter land dispute.

They want the agency to produce maps of their community dating back to 1951 for them to use in court battles against a man who claims to already own more than 300 rai of land they occupy.

Three hundred and twenty-six residents of the Samakkhi community in tambon Koh Kaeo are facing legal suits filed against them by the man -- 26 of them had never made use of the land before, said Wirayut Cheso, a deputy leader of the community.

The villagers formed the community about a decade ago, assuming the land was vacant after a tin mine concession expired, he said.

Ever since, the land has been being used for farming and keeping livestock, he said.

Each of the 326 villagers is now facing one or two lawsuits filed against them by a claimant to the land, Mr Wirayut said.

The man who says he owns the land said he has been using about 297 rai of the plot as a coconut and nipa palm plantation since 1951, which was before the Land Code took effect, Mr Wirayut said. That was also before the tin mining concession was granted on the plot, he said.

The claimant was previously embroiled in a dispute with the tin mining concessionaire, which ended up in a court battle, he said.

He eventually won the case in a Supreme Court ruling, Mr Wirayut said.

After the court victory, the claimant used the court ruling as evidence to support his fresh lawsuits, still being pursued, to evict the 326 people from the land, Mr Wirayut said.

In 2005, the Muang district office in Phuket declared the land to be vacant, he said.

This prompted more people to move into the community, he added.

Roads were constructed, a water supply system was installed and electricity was laid on for the Samakkhi community, he said.

Pol Lt Col Woranan Srilam, a DSI specialist who received the petition from the residents on Wednesday, said the evidence that had been received so far was only a copy of the Supreme Court's ruling.

The DSI will study the evidence before it decides what kind of help or advice it might provide to this group, Pol Lt Col Woranan said.

Mr Wirayut also said he and Surasak Thainaphiew, the head of the community, were both facing up to four lawsuits -- one criminal and three civil ones.

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