The family owns Osotspa, which produces hundreds of consumer products, including M150 and Shark energy drinks, Baby Mild body powder and lotion, Boton candy and 12+ products for girls.
The company was founded in 1891, and the current owners are the fourth generation.
The head of the family, Niti Osathanugrah, is ranked by Forbes magazine as the 34th richest person in Thailand, with an estimated worth of US$280 million (B8.4 billion).
On Sunday (November 23) Mr Niti’s 54-year-old relative, Sawanee, went with her lawyer, Suwat Apaipak, to Koh Yao Noi to lodge a complaint with Pol Lt Col Sinchai Srikamclib at the police station there, demanding that he prosecute her estranged husband, Chinnawate Sarasart.
She alleged that Mr Chinnawate forged her signature in order to transfer ownership of the three parcels of land to Pa Koh Hotel Co, of which Mr Chinnawate is an owner.
The land is that on which the Six Senses Yao Noi Resort stands. The resort is owned by Pa Koh.
To back up her allegation she produced various documents: the Nor Sor 3 Kor land papers that show her husband as the owner, a letter of consent allowing him to dispose of the land in any way he sees fit, copies of a residence book (tabien baan) and her ID card, and the Pa Koh Hotel Co’s registration papers.
She alleged that her signatures on the letter of consent, the residence book and her ID card were all forged.
Mrs Sawanee told police that she and Mr Chinnawate married in 1977 and that although they are not together, they have not yet divorced.
In 1995 and 1996 they bought the three parcels of land together and put Mr Chinnawate’s name in the land papers. But, she pointed out, the land is common property of the marriage. Mr Chinnawate must have her permission if he wants to transfer ownership.
She alleged that nine years ago, almost to the day, her husband falsified the letter of consent and her signature, and also forged her signature on the tabien baan and ID card copies to allow Mr Chinnawate to do whatever he wished with the land. After that the ownership of the land was transferred to Pa Koh.
The lawyer, Mr Suwat, said that this case stemmed from an earlier one when, Mrs Sawanee alleges, she discovered that forged signatures had been used to transfer the title to land the couple owned in Udon Thani.
At that point she decided to check all the other land acquired since she married Mr Chinnawate and discovered the problem with the Koh Yao Noi land.
Mrs Suwanee filed a suit for divorce in the court in Prachuab Kiri Khan two years ago but the divorce is still going through the court process.