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  1. #1
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    Thai Government Orders Investigation of All Phuket Property

    Thai Government Orders Investigation of All Phuket Property: Major Titles Probe Begins Next Week - Phuket Wan


    Secretary of the Interior Ministry, Pracha Rasopdee, on Phuket yesterday
    Photo by phuketwan.com



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    Thai Government Orders Investigation of All Phuket Property: Major Titles Probe Begins Next Week

    By Chutima Sidasathian
    Saturday, March 16, 2013

    PHUKET: All land titles on Phuket are to be reviewed in a major investigation to clarify property rights in advance of the Asean Economic Community in 2016, a leading official announced yesterday.

    Beachfront titles along Phuket's entire west coast are to be reexamined in every detail to save Phuket's popular destinations from illegal encroachers.

    Far from abandoning initial investigations into misappropriated national parkland and coastal reserves, the Thai Government is going to make its investigations complete and review all land titles.

    One dramatic revelation followed another as the Permanent Secretary of the Interior Ministry, Pracha Rasopdee, led Phuket's Governor and other officials to suspicious sites on Phuket's west coast yesterday.

    They then gathered for a meeting at which the future of Phuket's tourism and property titles outlook was redrawn.

    In one case, Khun Pracha told the gathering of top administrators at Phuket Provincial Hall in Phuket City, a ''flying'' title for agricultural use of one rai of public land had been stretched by a rich investor to cover three-and-a-half kilometres of prime Phuket coast.

    ''The evidence is clear,'' Khun Pracha said. ''We have to act to prevent these land abuses and save Phuket's public space.''

    The Phuket Land Titles office, which has previously declined to release information about properties under suspicion on Phuket, has been ordered to cooperate in a major review.

    Investigations begin next week into all property titles, including the 174 condominium developments on Phuket.

    ''Our team will begin working on Phuket immediately and create a 'Phuket model' that can be applied across all of Thailand,'' he said.

    Thailand's complicated system of land titles includes temporary rights for public land use for agricultural purposes that have been widely abused to exploit Phuket and other major tourist destinations.

    ''We do not aim to beat the administrators here, but to show the right way,'' he said. ''If there are breaches of the law, the administrators, the land officials and the surveyors will go to jail along with the perpetrators.''

    At the conclusion of the meeting, an accurate record of all that had been said was sought. Phuketwan was the only organisation to have recorded the entire meeting.

    Phuketwan's record of the items considered was taken for transcription and distribution as officials all over Phuket put the new plan into action.

    ''Phuket is growing day by day but we cannot let tourism and the people who make money from tourism destroy the environment and Phuket's natural beauty,'' Khun Pracha said.

    He mentioned the three-and-a-half kilometre stretch of prime Phuket coast - at a yet undisclosed site that will certainly be high on the list for investigation.

    ''Another example is in Vichit where a title exists for 15 rai of rubber trees and palm trees that has grown into 73 rai,'' he said. ''Late last year, the same title was being used for another 19 rai.''

    He asked the local mayors, the land titles officers, Phuket's governor and others at the meeting: ''What does this mean?''

    He said people in powerful positions had misused their money and influence and those in the role of administering the best needs of Phuket had failed in their public duty.

    ''Everybody must be aware of the need for honesty and accuracy in their roles,'' he said. ''The responsibility will come back to you. There is no need to fear these people, no matter how big they seem.''

    The governor is to be the consultant to the investigating team that arrives on Phuket next week.

    The group visited properties along Phuket's coast road north of Patong yesterday, clearly looking at some of the eyesores that have recently sprung up to block everyone's view of the Andaman Sea.

    They travelled on to study the coast around Kamala and Laem Son. Further dramatic developments are expected from next week.
    "Slavery is the daughter of darkness; an ignorant people is the blind instrument of its own destruction; ambition and intrigue take advantage of the credulity and inexperience of men who have no political, economic or civil knowledge. They mistake pure illusion for reality, license for freedom, treason for patriotism, vengeance for justice."-Simón Bolívar

  2. #2
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    So what, can't even stop the taxi mafia or jet ski scams

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by StrontiumDog View Post

    ''Phuket is growing day by day but we cannot let tourism and the people who make money from tourism destroy the environment and Phuket's natural beauty if they are not Thai'' Khun Pracha said.
    Fixed for accuracy.

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    Really, this has been on the cards for years.
    Owning land on the 49/51 deal for instance was never really legal.
    Standard Thai practice is to allow lots of "sort of legal" inward investment and then snatch it back.
    And then, do it all over again.
    They really want the really BIG corporate money in Phuket.
    Effin ell, they hadn't even recovered the bodies after the sunami before the likes of the Ramadas of this world were bulldoesing the sites form hotels.
    Falling asleep and waking up is not the same as passing out and coming to.

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    ^ yes rather like a cycle of rip off whitey , reel em in and throw the line back out.

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    Take it all back in and then it gives a chance to get teamoney letting it out agai8n.

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    When they handed over power to the DSI, end off last year, to investigate and prosecute, the writing was on the wall. Ombudsman report into alien land owwship was damming. Those new laws are in front of parliament this year.
    Lot of farangs are going to get burnt, or will just have to run or face jail time.
    Win win for the Government and rich Thais who will buy up cheap in a fire sale. Jim

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    Maybe nothing will come of it, but certainly everyone who used one of those bogus Thai companies to purchase a property will have a tinge of worry in the back of their minds.

    Just not worth it.

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    They've been threatening this for many years now. It will be interesting to see what comes of this (maybe nothing - this is still LOS). I would agree that it's unlikely that all those farangs owning a retirement home via a shell company would have their land/home confiscated. But it should put the wind up the skirts of any others thinking about this approach.
    My mind is not for rent to any God or Government, There's no hope for your discontent - the changes are permanent!

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    Thing is.. 2015 ia coming and no one knows how that will efect this situation.
    Apparently, as a alien you will be able to own a business outright.
    Complex now maybe.
    Snatch the land back whilst you can maybe the governments approach.
    We'll see.

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    The OP is about land encroachment, and is not about farangs buying land through a shell company. In fact, foreigners aren't even mentioned in the article.

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    Quote Originally Posted by pickel View Post
    The OP is about land encroachment, and is not about farangs buying land through a shell company. In fact, foreigners aren't even mentioned in the article.
    Yeah whatever pickel - find solace wherever you can.

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    Quote Originally Posted by the dogcatcher View Post
    Thing is.. 2015 ia coming and no one knows how that will efect this situation.
    Apparently, as a alien you will be able to own a business outright.
    Complex now maybe.
    Snatch the land back whilst you can maybe the governments approach.
    We'll see.
    Yeah, we'll need to wait and see. As I said this could get interesting. But isn't the 2015 thing related only to the people of the 10 ASEAN countries? Can anyone outside of that grouping own a business outright? I wasn't aware of that if so.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer
    Yeah whatever pickel - find solace wherever you can.
    Okay then, and you carry on babbling about something unrelated to the OP.

  15. #15
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    ^^^ Seppos. Treaty of Amity. No need for any Thai shareholders

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    ^
    Not the case apparently - as relates to property purchase and a bit generally misunderstood about business ownership. Just says that Americans won't be treated in an inferior way. The best test that that whole Amity Treaty is bullshit, is the experience of William (Bill) Heneke (spelling?) - a former US Ambassador's son - who tried to introduce Pizza Hut to Thailand but who was double crossed by a local partner. He eventually "got" Thai citizenship - do your own homework - and now doesn't need "Thai partners" as he's "thai". So the Amaty Treaty is a myth among Americans here who think they have some protection from the Thai hi-so - they have none as Bill learned the hard way

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    ^ Speaking bollocks again Tom.

    I am a shareholder in an Amity company here (Requirement is only for a minimum of 51% US shareholders, other nationalities are allowed as well), so I know exactly what the Amity treaty entails.

    Do your homework on Bill Heineke as well, that is not what happened. He had the Pizza Hut franchise, but the *US* company terminated it (*not* any 'local partner') because he also tried to get into the fast food chicken market in contravention of the agreement (which is why he then went and opened Pizza Company)
    Last edited by Gerbil; 18-03-2013 at 12:54 AM.
    You, sir, are a God among men....
    Short Men, who aren't terribly bright....
    More like dwarves with learning disabilities....
    You are a God among Dwarves With Learning Disabilities.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
    'Phuket is growing day by day but we cannot let tourism and the people who make money from tourism destroy the environment and Phuket's natural beauty,'' Khun Pracha said.
    I think he will discover that this is not the case and its simply an artifact cause by the land registry issuing multiple title deeds to plots of land.

    Pukets land registery is an ugly can of worms that been in desperate need of fumigation for decades. It will be interesting to see what the reality of this is. Do they really intend to tidy the mess up, are they doing this to get at the local polical god fathers, who will be both up to their necks in this and dems, or is it an attempt to extort a lot of tea money out of a lot of people who have invested an great deal of money into 'property' without worrying about the legaility of what they have done.

    as for foreign land ownership in Thailand. the spirit of the law is very clear, no foreign ownership, anything that allows you to do this is a play on that law which may or may not actually work. very few, if any, of these scheme's have been tested in a thai court. And that's a moot point as the thai government see's its self as being the law and above it.... they will happy make anything you do that's legal, retrospectively illegal and fuck you up at the drop of a hat.

    Your right about tom, he does talk a great deal of boonmee, but in doing so he does provide some political balance to the right wingnuts.

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    Quote Originally Posted by hazz View Post
    ...the thai government see's its self as being the law and above it.... they will happy make anything you do that's legal, retrospectively illegal and fuck you up at the drop of a hat.
    And vice versa.. anything illegal could become legal and they'd still fuck you over..

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    The original article reads "all land titles"
    Sounds like a land grab.

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    ^
    If it happens, then what goes around comes around. But I still really doubt it will get down to that level (officially) and will remain at the upper levels of development, though it does open the door to the usual Thai bureaucrat extortion - "we know you're home is actually a proxy - now let's make a deal'. To me, that would be the bigger worry (I always avoided the fake ownership route). It's no different from all the myriad of laws that get passed so police and court officials can extort money for looking the other way.

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by StrontiumDog
    Far from abandoning initial investigations into misappropriated national parkland and coastal reserves, the Thai Government is going to make its investigations complete and review all land titles.
    This has been in the news for a while. The issue is land owners (Thais) cutting down trees and building stuff on neighbouring reserve parkland and building jetties and piers on reserve waterfront without permission. Not really a farang issue and a good initiative.

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    ^
    Not worried one iota then?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Tom Sawyer
    Not worried one iota then?
    What should he be worried about?

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