Wife of TV host faces charges over forest land | Bangkok Post: news

Wife of TV host faces charges over forest land

CHIANG MAI : Forestry officials yesterday raided a 713-rai plot owned by the wife of a famous television host for alleged encroachment on protected forest in Mae Taeng district,


A forestry official shows a map of the Mae Taeng National Park in Chiang Mai. More than 700 rai of rich forest land has been encroached upon in Mae Taeng district, which borders Mae Hong Son province. CHEEWIN SATTHA

The land is situated in a pristine forest area that is the headwater of the Mae Taeng River, said Damrong Pidech, chief of the National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department.

"We have found a document showing that Mrs Kanokwan Kitjaroen bought 713 rai of land from a village headman in the district last May. It is unusual for an individual to occupy such a large amount of land," he said during an inspection of the site yesterday.

Mrs Kanokwan is the wife of Kiat "Sumo Gig" Kitjaroen, a TV show host and film director.

"Buying a land plot in a headwater area is a very difficult act. As far as, I know, she bought it at only 5,000 baht per rai," Mr Damrong said.

Some parts of the land have been prepared for a coffee tree plantation, while another part has been used as a living area, he added.

The department chief was accompanied by Pol Maj Gen Norasak Hemnithi, chief of the Crime Suppression Division's Natural Resources and Environmental Central Investigation Bureau.

The authorities yesterday filed a police complaint against Mrs Kanokwan and the village chief for allegedly encroaching on a forest reserve and a wildlife sanctuary.

According to the department, 240 rai of the land is located in the Mae Lao-Mae Sae Wildlife Sanctuary in Mae Taeng district, while another 150 rai encroaches on Mae Taeng Forest Reserve. The remaining 323 rai is legally occupied.

The department has also set up a panel to investigate Mae Lao-Mae Sae Wildlife Sanctuary officials for failing to take legal action against the alleged forest encroachers.

Pol Lt Col Pipat Buayen, who is responsible for the case, said the case is not complicated as there is clear evidence of forest land encroachment.

Police will summon the two suspects to hear charges shortly, he said.

There have been a total of 109 cases of forest encroachment in Chiang Mai province from October last year to January this year.