Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has simply denied the accusation today, saying she did not want to drag on the issue, and the Human and Social Development Minister of her coalition party, Varuwut Silpa-archa, had explained it in detail already in response to the accusation made by the opposition
The issue surfaced yesterday during the first day of the censure debate against PM Paetongtarn, who has been accused of being incompetent and under the shadow of her father, ex-PM Thaksin. Teerajchai Phunthumas, a long-time lawyer and now a Bangkok MP of the People’s Party, brought up the issue during his turn in the evening.
Mr. Teerajchai said that based on his examination into the asset reports of Ms. Paetongtarn and her family, he found that Ms. Paetongtarn held a large amount of shares in the Thames Valley Khao Yai Hotel company and had been its executive since 2013 before resigning to take a PM position last year.
However, after checking maps used to examine a large-scale encroachment by concerned officials in 2015 and other related materials, he learned that the hotel of Ms. Paetongtarn and family sat on the watershed in the Lam Takong self-help settlement, an area which is usually preserved and prohibited from any occupation and settlement.
The resettlement area in the northeastern province of Nakhon Ratchasima was initially set aside for its members, whom the government wished to help resettle in new plots of land following a mass relocation to pave the way for the construction of the Lam Takong dam in 1970. Its purposes were made clear in the related law, which were for resettlement and agricultural purposes only.
After their first five years, the land recipients of the allocated land plots, no more than 50 rai at most, would be given Nor Khor 3 documents. They could then ask to turn the documents for land use rights documents (Nor Sor 3 Kor) or land title deeds, and within five years after obtaining land documents, they could not hand over their plots of land to other individuals except for their family members.
The opposition MP said the property has four land deeds. The PM’s family allegedly acquired the plot of land and a land use rights document in 1994 before the document was turned into a land title deed. It was in 2021 that the deed was separated into four. The purpose of land use of the plot of land was not changed as the law required, he added.
Thus, he concluded that double wrongdoings were committed in this case. First, the hotel was located in the self-help settlement, which was subject to resettlement and agricultural purposes. And second, the property has land title deeds unlawfully issued for it twice, as it is situated on the preserved watershed.
“Land officials would not have issued land title deeds for landowners of this plot if they had been only Granpa Sri, or Sa, or Grandma Mee, or Ma (Common Thai words to call innocent people). They would even face revocation of their land use rights documents if they were found to have land sitting on such a preserved area…
“…What is disgusting about this case is not just disrespect of the law, but negligence or malfeasance of duty of those in power, “said Mr. Teerajchai, referring to a plot of land nearby owned by another politician and family but has been subject to examination while hers has not.
l The session was broadcast live nationwide last night. Credit: Parliament
He later called on the MPs in Parliament to exercise their power given by the people to vote no-confidence against the PM, who he said did not deserve the PM post.
PM Paetongtarn did not speak out. Instead, Human and Social Development Minister, Varawut Silpa-archa from the coalition Chart Thai Pattana Party, overseeing the Department of Social Development and Welfare, supervising self-help resettlements nationwide, spoke on her behalf, saying it was the coup order in 1972 that allowed people there to occupy the whole resettlement area, with no exception for its watersheds. He added that no watersheds in self-help settlements nationwide have ever been set aside for preservation. The minister also said the landowner of the controversial plot had already proposed a change of land use in 2019.
The Lands Department’s statements
The Department of Lands, meanwhile, has issued statements clarifying the points twice since last night. It posted the statements on its FB Fan Page, insisting that the land title deed issuance for the plot of land of the property followed the government land distribution policy at that time and was lawful.
According to the department, the Cabinet in 1971 approved the use of Pakchong-Moo Si and Muak Lek Railway Project-Si Khiew forests to establish the Lam Takong self-help settlement. The total area was around 280,000 rai, with 107,085 rai being designated as Watershed Area.
However, it was found that there had been a number of land occupants in the area already, the watersheds included. The National Land Allotment Committee, during 1982-1984, held a meeting to consider the issue and resolved to allow them to continue living in the area. It had a meeting over the matter again and issued the resolution on October 7, 1994, or around 10-12 years later, to reserve 33,965 rai to be preserved as the watershed area, while approving issuance of Nor Khor 3 documents for those land occupants.
“Since the settlement has issued the Nor Khor 3 documents for plots of land in the occupied watershed area to the occupants, and the Lands Department has issued further land use rights documents (Nor Sor 3 Kor) and land title deeds. So far, 10,165 land documents have been issued, covering 52,179 rai. 8,738 are land title deeds, covering 39,061 rai, and 1,427 are Nor Sor 3 Kor documents, covering 13,188 rai. It’s not only the plot in question (which acquired a land document),” said the Lands Department.
The department also stressed that the watershed area in the Lam Takong self-help settlement is not subject to ultimum preservation. As the National Land Allotment Committee had issued the resolution to allow the land occupants to propose for the Nor Khor 3 documents, they then could turn those documents into other land documents following the conditions set under the Allotment of Land for Living Act B.E. 2511 (1968).
“The issuance of land documents in the watersheds in the Lam Takong self-help settlement therefore followed the government’s land allotment policy at that time and was lawful as it complied with the law,” said the department.
The Nor Sor 3 Kor document of the property was found to have been issued out of the Nor Khor 3 document in 1985 and changed hands several times before reaching the PM’s family, according to the department.
If this is the case, that means the issuance of this Nor Khor 3 document is nine years ahead of the National Land Allotment Committee’s approval of the issuance of Nor Khor 3 documents for the land occupants in the watershed area.
(Updated/ Mar 26: Later in the day, the PM addressed the issue, simply stressing that the land ownership and business involved are lawful and concerned ministers as well as authorities had clearly explained about the issue.)
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