TRAT: The marine office in this eastern province is checking the legality of a huge concrete wall built on the beach near a seaside hotel on Koh Chang.
The marine office did not permit the construction of the wall, said director Manop Lueang-on after inspecting the concrete structure near the Koh Chang Grand View Hotel.
The manager of the hotel told him that the hotel had a land right document that supported the construction of the wall. Mr Manop asked the manager to produce the document for examination within seven days; otherwise, he would order the removal of the structure.
The concrete wall is about five metres wide, 12 metres long and five metres tall. It is connected by steps to the beach. There are also two more sets of steps to the beach near the hotel.
Encroachment by private landowners on public beaches has returned to the spotlight since an incident last month in Phuket. A foreigner there is facing an assault charge after he tried to chase off a woman he found sitting on the steps at the foot of his property. The steps, it turned out, had been built illegally on the public beach.
Since the Phuket incident, people have come forward in a number of beachside communities to complain about blocked access and illegal structures.
