PHUKET: The net is closing on at least 13 officials who allegedly falsified titles for public forest land in the hills behind Patong, officials from the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission said yesterday.
The PACC's Secretary-General, Police Colonel Dutsadee Arayawut, led the media high into the hills to the Honey Green View Resort, where a backhoe sat nearby.
''From looking at the various pieces of land today, [we can say that] the deeds may have been issued illegally,'' Colonel Dutsadee said.
A former Phuket Vice Governor and the neice of a former Interior Minister are among those accused, along with a former mayor of the large town of Thai Muang, north of Phuket in Phang Nga.
A land titles surveyor appears to have declared that some of the plots were sor kor 1 land with signs of crop cultivation when the reality is the plots remain forest, Colonel Dutsadee's team found.
Allegations involving 20 plots covering 200 rai are being investigated in the hills behind Patong, the hub for Phuket's tourism, where real estate prices have soared beyond what most locals can afford.
In some cases, the Patong titles have been enlarged from their original size to much larger areas. In one case involving a substantial 14 rai, the former vice governor approved the title deed on behalf of the niece of the former Interior Minister, then later bought it from her.
The PACC says 13 peole will have to respond to the allegations, including the former vice governor, the durveyor, a former permanent secretary of Kathu district, as well as land titles and Forests Department officers.
The PACC also visited Eva Beach, a sea edge villa project on Phuket's east coast, on Sunday.
The PACC's Secretary-General, Police Colonel Dutsadee Arayawut, led the media high into the hills to the Honey Green View Resort, where a backhoe sat nearby.
''From looking at the various pieces of land today, [we can say that] the deeds may have been issued illegally,'' Colonel Dutsadee said.
A former Phuket Vice Governor and the neice of a former Interior Minister are among those accused, along with a former mayor of the large town of Thai Muang, north of Phuket in Phang Nga.
A land titles surveyor appears to have declared that some of the plots were sor kor 1 land with signs of crop cultivation when the reality is the plots remain forest, Colonel Dutsadee's team found.
Allegations involving 20 plots covering 200 rai are being investigated in the hills behind Patong, the hub for Phuket's tourism, where real estate prices have soared beyond what most locals can afford.
In some cases, the Patong titles have been enlarged from their original size to much larger areas. In one case involving a substantial 14 rai, the former vice governor approved the title deed on behalf of the niece of the former Interior Minister, then later bought it from her.
The PACC says 13 peole will have to respond to the allegations, including the former vice governor, the durveyor, a former permanent secretary of Kathu district, as well as land titles and Forests Department officers.
The PACC also visited Eva Beach, a sea edge villa project on Phuket's east coast, on Sunday.
