Police tear down illegal cottages on Koh Lan

[elef]

Police tear down illegal cottages on Koh Lan

Published on May 25, 2005

 

More than 200 police and officials yesterday dismantled eight cottages of a beach resort illegally built on public land and operating without a licence on Koh Lan, near Pattaya.

 

The operation was led by the inspector-general of the Royal Thai Police, General Seripisuth Temiyavej, who acted on a complaint from Muang Pattaya Municipality.

 

The complaint said the owner of the Beach Club Resort on Koh Lan, Niroj Chua-kaew, had ignored a court order that his cottages be demolished.

 

During yesterday?s operation, Niroj and his lawyer confronted the police and officials and asked for more time to act on the court order.

 

But their request was rejected and the demolition team immediately moved things out of the cottages before hammering the buildings down.

 

Police also detained Niroj and said they would press an additional charge against him for operating a resort without a licence. He was found to have advertised the resort on the Internet, and was charging customers on a nightly basis.

 

Niroj was already charged with encroaching on public land, illegally clearing forest and constructing the properties without prior permission.

 

Seripisuth said there were 30 more resorts to be demolished on beaches in Chon Buri province. Some of them allegedly held land-right documents issued ?through manipulation?.

 

He warned illegal property owners that they must demolish their properties within deadlines set by court orders or face legal action.

 

The Nation

 

Chon Buri

 

The Nation

[Dexi]

Good to see that the regs. are being enforced ...it would be sad to see Koh Larn be overdeveloped ,although I expect the islanders would disagree,tourism must be their only source of revenue.