Suthep's son, 3 others face action
DSI chief says agency not biased, seeks help from public prosecutors
The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) will next week prosecute a son of Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban and three others over alleged forest encroachment on a mountain on Koh Samui, Surat Thani.
DSI director-general Tarit Pengdith said the DSI would hand over Taen Thaugsuban and three other suspects to public prosecutors on Monday.
The three other suspects are Pongchai Fahthaweeporn, Samart Ruangsri and Bancherd Laopiyakul.
They were accused of collaborating to encroach on a forest on a mountain on Koh Samui.
Tarit said the DSI was not biased against the suspects but sought help from public prosecutors in the investigation because the case involved a senior Democrat MP. Tarit said public prosecutors on the investigative team agreed the four suspects should be handed over to public prosecutors for court arraignment.
Tarit said the case could be divided into two alleged offences, which were related.
First, Pongchai and Samart allegedly illegally obtained three Nor Sor 3 Kor land-holding documents covering 31 rai, two rai and 97 rai of land respectively, by either exaggerating the areas of land stated in lower-class Sor Kor 1 land documents or using a Sor Kor 1 land document from another area to obtain the Nor Sor 3 Kor documents.
Then, Taen and Bancherd allegedly brought the three Nor Sor 3 Kor land documents and upgraded them into a land deed. In the process, they illegally obtained an additional 14 rai of land in the area, Tarit said.
Taen allegedly used Bancherd, who is a close aide of Suthep, as his nominee to buy the land.
LAND BLOCKED OFF
The DSI chief said that after Taen bought the land, he built a dam to create a large reservoir and planned to build a hotel and resort in the area.
The dam caused hardship to local people who live downstream, as the reservoir trapped natural water they depend upon, Tarit said. He said Taen also built a concrete road to the mountaintop.
After the case made headlines, the Land Department revoked the 14-rai portion from the land deed, and the investigators found no sign of the land being used for agricultural purposes, as intended under Nor Sor 3 Kor documents.
As a result, DSI investigators concluded that the suspects illegally felled trees in forests and illegally obtained land that sloped more than 35 per cent, which is considered by the Cabinet resolution of 1985 to be forest land, meaning it cannot be privately owned.
Tarit said the DSI would also ask the National Anti-Corruption Commission to consider taking action against land officials involved in the issuance of the illegal land documents for the plots.
