Samui land owner nabbed at Don Muang
Source: Bangkok Post - 15 September 2006
By WASSAYOS NGARMKHAM
A Koh Samui landlord was yesterday arrested at Don Muang airport for alleged illegal occupation of land and forest encroachment on the resort island. Suthep Wangdan, alias Ko Sai, 50, was detained by a team of forestry police, said Pol Maj-Gen Lattasanya Piansomparn, commander of the Central Investigation Bureau's natural resources and environmental crime department.
The arrest followed a complaint filed on Aug 20 by Noppadol Pattama, assistant to caretaker Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yongyuth Tiyapairat and Forestry Department deputy chief Thanee Viriyarattanaporn against Mr Suthep for allegedly encroaching on forest land on Khao Duang Nok mountain in tambon Bor Phud on Samui island.Police investigating the case say that Mr Suthep gave false information to land officials when he used a Sor Khor 1 land occupation paper to apply for a title deed for 49 rai of forest land on the mountain.
The Sor Khor 1 paper no. 220 held by Mr Suthep was also for another land plot.
Pol Maj-Gen Lattasanya said Mr Suthep had illegally cleared and occupied forest land without permission, causing around 7.4 million baht in damage to the state.
The officer, however, said no politicians were involved in the illegal encroachment.
Mr Suthep yesterday denied all charges.
Mr Thanee, head of an investigation team into illegal land occupation on Koh Samui, added that he had proposed the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry and the Land Department revoke Nor Sor 3 Khor land rights documents and title deeds for 267 rai of land, part of The Peak property development project on the nearby Khao Dang mountain.
The land plots, which are located in prime forest area, are jointly occupied by three firms _ Rajthanee Realty Co, Samui Luxury and Samui Panorama, he said.
The investigating panel has been tracking down the companies' owners, who face charges of illegal land occupation and forest encroachment, said Mr Thanee.
He said authorities were also gathering evidence to confirm the link between Mr Suthep and The Peak project.
------------
Source: Bangokpost july 9 2012
Suthep's son, Tan, denies land encroachment claims
The son of Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban, Tan Thaugsuban _ who has been accused of land encroachment _ denied the allegations yesterday and said he was a victim of a political game.
Tan Thaugsuban answers claims of land encroachment on Koh Samui by showing aerial pictures of the land in question at a press conference yesterday. Mr Tan says he is the victim of a political smear campaign.
Mr Tan said the accusation was aimed at undermining his morale before his wedding next week and discrediting his father.
Mr Tan was summoned by the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) to acknowledge a charge of forest encroachment on Surat Thani's Koh Samui today.
Mr Tan said he was "nothing but a victim of a political game".
"They want to make me a suspect before my wedding. And they want to use the scandal to discredit my father," said Mr Tan who is getting married next Tuesday.
He said the DSI's move came a few days after Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yubamrung raised the issue during a political rally on June 28.
Mr Tan said he was wanted for questioning as a witness before Mr Chalerm's rally speech.
He insisted that he had lawfully obtained five plots of land on Koh Samui about 10 years ago when the plots were registered under Nor Sor 3 Kor documents.
Mr Tan said the former owner had grown coconut and rubber trees on the plots before the land code existed and had Sor Khor 1 papers for land occupation.
He had asked local officials and those who lived next to his plots to identify the boundary as part of the land deed issuance process.
He also showed an aerial map to reject the DSI's claim that he had encroached on the forest.
"There is no forest around. My plots are located 3 kilometres from a forest reserve," he said.
Mr Tan said he would meet the DSI investigators today and bring along evidence to prove his lawful ownership.
