Officials arrived at the beach yesterday (Oct 26) to remove the five signs in total that were posted making the claim.
The land in question was cleared of buildings last month after more than five years of efforts by officials to reclaim the land.
The demolition to knock down the last remaining illegal beachfront buildings on some 178 rai of state land, altogether estimated to be worth over B10 billion, began on Sept 30.
The Department of Special Investigations (DSI) originally served eviction notices in 2017 after the Supreme Court ruled that the occupiers were illegally encroaching on state land.
Several ‘final warnings were issued for years after the Supreme Court decision, with the last eviction notice served on Sept 12, 2022.
The officers at the beach yesterday were led by Thalang District Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Panjapong Boonchan.
Joining Mr Panjapong were officers from the Cherng Talay Tambon Administrative Organisation (OrBorTor), Cherng Talay Police and the Phuket office of the Legal Execution Department.
The signs claimed, in Thai, “This plot of land has a dispute pending lawsuit between the private sector and government officials. It is a black civil case No. 189/2020 of the Phuket Provincial Court.
“Government officials or any other person is prohibited from doing anything in the area without permission. Anyone who violates the law will be prosecuted for all cases along with filing a complaint with the affiliated agency until final resolution.”
The signs claimed that six plots in the area had been in dispute. Four plots had buildings demolished, but two plots were still in the process of legal action, the signs claimed.
The signs made no recognition that the Supreme Court of Thailand had ruled on the land ownership, superseding any ruling by the Phuket Provincial Court.
Officials yesterday said they would continue to uphold the law against any violations.
It was not made clear if any legal action would be taken for posting the signs.
For more than a decade, and while the disputes were heard in court and eviction notices were ignored, the illegal occupiers of the land operated buisinesses serving tourists at the prstine beachfront site.
Officials have not made any announcements about recovering any of the illegally obtained income from the occupiers of the land during those years.