DSI poised to take over Loei forest encroachment case

DSI deputy chief Pol Lt Colonel Prawuth Wongsinil said the department was waiting for the police to hand over responsibility for the case.
Cheewaparp Cheewatham, head of the Royal Forestry Department’s Phayakprai forest protection unit, said there were three encroachments: 
• A 19-rai site with a Chanote title deed occupied by the Rang Yen Resort; 
• 6,000 rai occupied by CPK International; 
• And an airfield whose legality is being scrutinised. 
He said the Land Department in 2003 revoked CPK’s Nor Sor Sam Gor (NS-3K) certificates of land use and officials who issued the document had been punished. He did not give their names.
CPK claimed it legally purchased the land from the original occupants who had Sor Kor 1 (SK-1) claim certificates and applied for NS-3K documents.
Cheewaparp said CPK claimed to have initially rented the land for agriculture use, but then cancelled the lease contract and somehow obtained Chanote deeds for 37 properties covering 600 rai.
Prawuth said the DSI would investigate the origin of the SK-1 certificates the firm used to apply for NS-3K status because there were suspicions about the processing.
Bhilaijit Rerngpittaya, 68, Nijaporn Charanachitta, 67, and Orn-aim Terdprawat, 65 – sisters of Premchai Karnasuta, the Italian-Thai Development Plc boss facing legal action over alleged poaching of protected wildlife in a Kanchanaburi forest sanctuary – are embroiled in the case.
They are directors of CPK International, as is Premchai, and appeared before police earlier this month to answer charges of forest encroachment. 
Premchai does not have signatory power at CPK and is not directly involved in this case.