The order, addressed to Paradise Management Co Ltd and signed by Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup, identified 14 buildings to be removed form the site as Patong Municipality had deemed that all 14 structures were built without permission and that they were built on SorPorKor land.
SorPorKor land is “degraded forest” earmarked for farming only by poor people.
Nithat Prasertnetikul, the legal representative of Sopon Ekvanich, told the press today that Mr Sopon will contest the demolition order.
Mr Sopon claims ownership of the land through the SorKor 1 land document No 276, not a SorPorKor land-occupancy deed.
“I can’t say at this stage when exactly we will file the appeal as we need to collect other evidence, but we will appeal to the court,” he said.
“If we don’t the appeal within 30 days, the municipality will issue a second and final notice, which will give us only seven more days to file our appeal,” he expalined.
Mr Nithat emphatically denied that the buildings were on SorPorKor land. “All the buildings concerned are not on SorPorKor land, as claimed in the notice,” he assured.
“The building permit was applied for under SorKor 1 No 276, which gives us the right to apply for a construction permit,” Mr Nithat said.
“The (SorPorKor) land in question is another plot, it’s not this land, and all these buildings have absolutely nothing to do with SorPorKor land,” he added.