The court today held its fifth hearing in the plea to bring the developers to trial.
Defendants listed on the public court docket are named as The Nine Property (Patong) Co Ltd, Miss Piyanuch Hansanan and Alisa Likitittiruks. All three stand accused of public fraud under Section 343 of Criminal Code.
The court received the complaint on August 1, 2016. and the hearings started on October 10 last year, with subsequent hearings on November 28, January 23, April 24 and now today.
During today’s session the judge received testimony from “Nadine Rene Stephanie Lamyns”, named as the second plaintiff. She is the wife of Belgian national Didier Giesen, named as the first plaintiff.
The couple filed a complaint alleging they were defrauded out of B1,144,000 paid as deposit for two units in the project that were never delivered, as the project was never completed
Mr Giesen pointed out that this was just one of many claims pending against the developers. “My friends are in the same situation as me, and it takes time.
“Today is not the first time for us at court. We already been here five times. Our lawyer is trying his best to present our case. They should pay us back or go to jail,” he said.
Mr Giesen’s lawyer Tanot Channim told The Phuket News, “I do expect that the judge will decide to prosecute The Nine Property (Patong) Co Ltd. Today, we had the opportunity to present our case further.”
Meanwhile, the fight to even bring the developers to trial continues.
“The next hearing is set for July 13. Then, I will know and make desire what I have to do,” Mr Tanot said.
Meanwhile, it has yet to be made clear why the Phuket Public Prosecutor is not leading the prosecution for a criminal charge.
At last report, the Phuket Public Prosecutor’s Office refused to provide any explanation about the lack of progress in the charges against developer The Nine Property (Patong).
Instead, Public Prosecutor Jessada Banditmongkolkul passed the buck to Region 8 Police, who he said, had taken over the investigation. (See story here.)