Agency: 2 suspects in Phuket land case

Between them, the two unnamed persons now own three land plots totalling 45 rai in areas adjacent to the Kamala mountain range. Another 260 rai in 18 plots were to be given to them at a future date under various documents, PACC directorgeneral Dussadee Arayawuth told a Phuket press conference.
Land encroachment and illegal land acquisition in Phuket have been widespread and often assisted by corrupt land and forestry officials, he said. The 2004 tsunami caused high demand for land on mountainside areas for use as tourist resorts, he explained.
The land law forbids the full transfer of ownership of land on an island, and another law requires occupants of such land to engage in farming. Both legal conditions were violated in this case, Dussadee said.