Anonymous commented : BANGKOKPOST, 13 July 2006 SAMUI / ENCROACHMENT BACKLASH Land ownership probe ordered SUPAPHONG CHAOLAN & PRADIT RUANGDIT Land ownership documents and land-holdings on Samui are under scrutiny, following a scandal involving a foreign firm's holdings. Surat Thani Governor Wichit Wichaisan has told staff to start checking ownership papers, amid rising concerns over spreading land and forest encroachment by tourist resorts. The move follows an uproar over an advertisement by ''The Peak'' property project, left on a website and in a property trading guide, placed by foreign firm Samui Property Solution. The project, which spans 514 rai on Kao Dang mountain, sells land for eight million baht a rai, amounting to over 4.1 billion baht. The governor said the checks would take some time. Paitoon Lertgrai, of the provincial land office, said the checks would show how each land holder had acquired property and see if any land plots fell into the hands of foreigners, including those registered as entities. Under the law, only a company with foreigners holding up to 49% of shares and Thai partners holding 51% can acquire land. Mr Paitoon said his office has asked the Commercial Ministry to check the shareholdings of property firms on the island to ensure foreign shareholdings do not exceed the legal limit. Land would be taken back from any firms that breached the law. Meanwhile, Koh Samui district chief Decha Kangsanant and land official Charoen Chanpan claimed that ''The Peak'' operator defied an order by the Surat Thani provincial office that construction work be suspended pending the land ownership probe. Concrete roads have been laid through the mountain, though construction was allowed only on the 198-rai low-lying areas. Project administrator Suthep Wangdan claimed to have obtained permission from tambon Koh Samui municipality. He also claimed to have obtained a Nor Sor 3 land ownership document over the plot as long ago as 1989. Mr Charoen said the district land office was gathering rights papers for inspection. Caretaker Natural Resources and Environmental Minister Yongyuth Tiyapairat will take an investigation team to inspect the area tomorrow. He raised concerns about forest encroachment on the island, saying local authorities were moving too slowly to tackle the problem. A regulation to curb mountain encroachment would be introduced. It would apply in areas higher than 150 metres above sea level, and restrict the height of the buildings to no more than six metres, with each development plot limited to 75 square metres.

Anonymous commented : BANGKOKPOST, 15 July 2006 ENCROACHMENT / SAMUI DEVELOPMENT Land scandal officials face probes SUPAPHONG CHAOLAEN Surat Thani _ Officials thought to have been involved in The Peak land scandal on Koh Samui have been recommended for disciplinary punishment. Caretaker Natural Resources and Environment Minister Yongyuth Tiyapairat said yesterday that he has asked the Land Department to transfer Suwat Vichaidit, a former Surat Thani land official, and investigate him for any wrongdoing. Mr Suwat faced a lightning transfer to an inactive post at the department yesterday. The minister also sought the Interior Ministry's cooperation to order a disciplinary inquiry against former Samui district chief Theerayuth Iemtrakul. Mr Suwat, a land official in Samut Sakhon's Ban Phaeo district before the transfer, formerly worked in the Samui land office. He was accused of issuing land documents on Koh Samui resulting in the encroachment onto land by developers. Mr Theerayuth was Samui district chief before being promoted to assistant provincial chief of Surat Thani. The environment ministry felt he neglected his duty, making encroachment possible. Mr Yongyuth said his ministry will press charges today against Suthep Wangdan, The Peak project operator, over false claims about the ownership status of the resort's land. The transfer came after Mr Yongyuth inspected Koh Samui and found massive encroachment of forest land on the island. A survey found that over 1,700 rai out of 6,900 rai of forest area on the island had been cleared, and some of the encroached areas had been turned into a land development project. The inspection followed an uproar over an advertisement by The Peak property project, on a website and in a property trading guide, placed by foreign firm Samui Property Solutions. The project, which spans 514 rai on Koh Samui's Kao Dang mountain, sells land for eight million baht a rai, amounting to more than 4.1 billion baht. The project developer had named two Thai companies, Great Hills International and Ratchathani, which are subsidiaries of Bangkok-based Piyavate Hospital Group, as owners of the land. An inquiry was being conducted to see if the two firms were owned by Thais. A group of local residents yesterday submitted a complaint to the minister opposing the distribution of ownership documents on mountainous areas of the island. They claimed investors had brought several fully-grown coconut trees onto the land to show it was being utilised and to claim ownership over the encroached plots on Kao Dang mountain.

Anonymous commented : Yes, Muang Phet is famous for desserts and dry fruits too like dry oven baked finger bananas. If you go to Isaan, you should visit Kao Yai National Park too and visiting ancient sites of our ancestors beside the dinosaur fossil museums.

Anonymous commented : Thanks haven to hear that Muang Phet are famouse for all kind of deserts. Any kind of sweet that has main ingredients of coconut milk, and palm sugar would have taken on me. Tell me is there any famouse seafood dish from the local ? For a long time I have heard great things about Kao Yai national park. I always looking forward to go there myself but have not gotten to do so. Like a saying, you're always overlooking your own backyard. Is " Kao Poo Kra Dueng" a part of Kao Yai ? There is a song writen about the magnificent buauty of Poo Kra Dueng decades ago. The writer marveled about the natural trails, the wildlifes in the crossing paths, the breath taking scenes if you make it to the top. The song ends with, " With the combined beauty from the three universes ( I guess the writer refers to the Sun , the Moon, and the Earth ) it's not even close to a heaven on Poo kra Dueng. Anyone agree ? Happy Trailing !