PHUKET, THAILAND – Thailand’s anti-corruption watchdog ruled that a former Phuket vice governor and a land office chief had illegally secured land titles inside a protected forest reserve.
NACC finds senior Phuket officials guilty
The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) announced on Thursday that former Phuket vice governor Niwit “Papinwich” Arunrat and former land office chief Paithun Lertkrai were guilty of wrongdoing. They had unlawfully issued two land titles for a plot of almost 14 rai (about 2.2 hectares) in Patong. The plot lay inside the Kamala Mountain Range National Forest Reserve, a strictly protected area.
Steep forest land wrongly approved as farmland
The terrain had a slope of more than 35 percent, where issuing land titles was strictly prohibited under Thai law. The case dated back to 2008, when an applicant claimed the land using a SorKor 1 document that only confirmed usage rights, which were later transferred. Despite warning signs, an inspection committee wrongly concluded the land was used as an orchard and recommended that titles be issued.
Ignored regulations and fabricated orchard claim
From the outset, the evidence was weak: boundaries did not match, there was no proper on-site inspection, and no aerial imagery was checked.
“The regulations were systematically ignored.”
said the NACC, describing the process. The supposed orchard later emerged as a fabrication used to justify the illegal titling.
Former vice governor later bought the land
On 4 February 2011, Niwit Arunrat, then acting governor, personally approved the issuance of the two titles. Six months later, in August 2011, he bought one of the two plots himself. This purchase strongly reinforced suspicions of self-dealing and conflict of interest.
Aerial photos show only tropical forest
Subsequent investigations by the Royal Forest Department and the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) revealed the true condition of the land. Aerial photographs taken over several years showed the area was covered with tropical forest and secondary vegetation. There was no sign of any agricultural use, and the Land Development Department confirmed the steep, mountainous terrain.
Criminal charges and title annulment sought
The NACC concluded that the officials’ actions violated Sections 151 and 157 of the Criminal Code and constituted serious disciplinary offences. The original applicants were also to be charged as accomplices. The full investigation file was to be forwarded to the public prosecutor to initiate criminal proceedings, and the NACC said it would ask the courts to cancel the two illegal land titles.
Pressure on land authorities to void titles
In parallel, the Land Department was to be requested to declare the titles void within its own administrative authority. The case was portrayed as a strong signal against everyday bureaucratic and land corruption in Thailand. For Phuket, where land was among the most valuable resources, it was described as a historic precedent that could undermine other illegal claims in sensitive forest areas.