FOUR men have been arrested and accused of trying to pull down a sign on Karon Hill, protesting about a condominium construction. Local people carried out the arrest about 9pm on Thursday evening.

Building at the controversial Kata Royal Residences condominium has been suspended voluntarily pending a resolution of the unusual dispute over the aesthetics of the hill road view of local landmark Crab Island (Koh Boo).

The four men were taken by locals to the Chalong police station. On Friday, a group of about a dozen protesters repaired the sign and erected it further down Karon hill, directly outside the Kata Royal Residences office.

The dispute began in September with local Karon residents saying that the completion of the proposed seven-storey building, already at five storeys, would block the view of the iconic Koh Boo from the hilltop.

The leader of yesterday's protest group, Chalong Loisamut, 43, said: ''We protested today because last night we arrested four men who were damaging our sign.

''This issue is not finished so the men shouldn't have been touching the sign.''

The developers have completed every part of the approval process for the condominium and the local protest in September came as a surprise.

Protesters from distant parts off Karon say their views on the disappearance of the vista of the local landmark were not canvassed.

While the developers have voluntarily halted construction, there is a deadline in contracts with off-the-plan buyers for completion of apartments.