PHUKET: Police have charged the Big Buddha Phuket Phraphutthamingmongkhol Sattha 45 Foundation and its president, Suporn Wanichakul, with forest encroachment and unauthorised construction at the site of a recent deadly landslide.
Karon police on Wednesday announced the charges related to forest destruction and referred the case to public prosecutors.
The landslide occurred on Aug 23 after heavy rain struck Nak Koet Hill, where the foundation's 45-metre-tall Buddha statue is located.
The disaster resulted in 13 deaths and 19 injuries on Soi Patak 2 Road in tambon Karon of Muang district. The incident affected 209 households.
The site has been closed to the public since Sept 2 for safety reasons.
According to the Royal Forest Department, the landslides were caused by the clearing of trees on the hilltop to make way for a parking lot expansion in the compound of the giant Buddha statue, which was built by the foundation under the order of the National Office of Buddhism.
