PHETCHABUN: Three more land encroachment cases in Khao Kho have been dismissed due to insufficient evidence, which critics say underlines the military's failure to act against three "giant buildings" allegedly built illegally on this mountain.
The prosecutors' decision to drop the three cases added to the military's disappointment as a team of the 3rd Army-led investigators find ways to keep their accusation against the owner of the four-storey buildings alive, a source working with the team said. The alleged trespassers have been in conflict with the military after they occupied forest areas and plots of land it handed to landless "volunteer villagers" for their help in the state's fight against the defunct Communist Party of Thailand in the mountainous areas in Khao Kho district in the 1960s and 1970s.
Last Thursday, Lt Col Kiatudom Nadi, the 28th Cavalry Battalion commander who conducted the probe, expressed his frustration over the case, claiming he "never received" word from prosecutors who decided not to indict the building owner even though his unit supervises Khao Kho areas. A lack of clear evidence was cited by the prosecutors as their reason and it was used again to drop the three cases. The prosecutors shared the same views as Khao Kho police who received complaints over the alleged wrongdoings.
According to the source, suspects in the three cases were not prosecuted because they are relatives of the volunteer villagers or co-invested with the latter on land development. Parts of the areas have been turned to resorts or cleared for tea farming. The disputed areas sit on land which the 3rd Army allocated to the volunteer villagers. Land developers used their blood and business assocations with the villagers to encroach on the areas, the source said.
The source denied to unveil the full names of volunteer villagers who allowed the businessmen to occupy their land. He referred to two villagers as Ms Thing and Ms Sut, who are believed to be involved in the joint business projects.
Parts of the troubled areas are located near the allegedly illegal giant buildings in Ban Song Khum, a village on the mountain.
The co-investment claim was also used in the giant building case. A volunteer villager informed Khao Kho police in 2015 that he decided to co-invest with the building owner, and signed a memorandum of understanding to mark the deal, Lt Col Kiatudom said.
Such an agreement on this area raised doubts, and he did not understand why the police did not oppose it. "This is a big case. Some 'big figures' called me for a help, but I denied them," Lt Col Kiatudom said. "Yet the decision not to indict the suspect eventually came."
He also questioned people who claimed they are volunteer villagers. A survey last year found only 490 of the 1,542 villagers on Khao Kho meet criteria for the land rights.
