VISITING Phuket today (Nov. 7) to reclaim over 70 rai of national reserve forest land at Freedom Beach worth over 3 billion baht is Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Suchart Chomklin as instructed by Prime Minister/Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul with the large plot having been seized by a local Mafia figure, Amarin TV said.
Suchart said he went to Kathu police station to follow up on the legal proceedings and arrest of the key Mafia suspect, identified only as Sia Lek, and three accomplices. He was accompanied by Phuket Governor Chotnarin Kerdsom, Pol. Maj. Gen. Anek Taosupap, commander of the natural resources and environmental at Crime Suppression Division (CSD), and Mr. Phatphong Samittiphat, deputy director-general of the Forestry Department.
This operation was supported by the Central Investigation Bureau under the direction of the commissioner Pol. Lt. Gen. Nattasak Chaowanasai with Pol. Maj. Gen.Phatthanasak Bupphasuwan, commander of CSD, having ordered the Superintendent of CSD’s Sub-division 5 to investigate and arrest the individual known as Sia Lek and his three accomplices.
The Criminal Court had issued arrest warrants for the four suspects on charges of colluding to commit public fraud and inputting false information into the computer system.
The suspects are alleged to have deceived the public by offering land located within the Nak Koet Mountain National Reserved Forest for sale, falsely claiming that this plot was covered by valid legal title deeds. Victims were misled into transferring money, resulting in financial losses, while the suspects simultaneously exploited the nation’s forest resources for illicit personal gain.
Suchart emphasised that the government will continue to take decisive action against influential figures who seize or exploit the nation’s natural resources for personal gain. This applies especially to reserved forest areas and public land, which are collective assets not spaces for any individual or corporate entity to exploit for their own benefit.
“We will closely monitor the legal proceedings to ensure strict, transparent enforcement of the law, without sparing any offender, regardless of who they may be. The goal is to restore Freedom Beach to its true essence—a beach of freedom, accessible and available for equal use and enjoyment of all citizens, in line with the Prime Minister’s vision,” he said.
Anutin had issued a clear directive to reclaim this 70 rai beach land plot during his visit on May 13 this year.
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This and Front Page: Minister of Natural Resources and Environment Suchart Chomklin. Photos -Amarin TV
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