Appeal court rules in favour of National Park dept in island case

BANGKOK, Aug 18 (TNA) - A Thai appeal court rules to revoke private business ownership of a land plot on Ko Poda Island. The Department of National Park, Wildlife and Fauna wins the historic case as a defendant over a businessman, Chuan Phukaoluan, filed the lawsuit in 2015. In July, a civil court ruled in favor of the businessman before the Appeal Court overturned the ruling and ordered Chuan to pay Bt900,000 in compensation to the Department’s officials. According to his lawyer, Chuan is considering an appeal to the Supreme Court. Director-general of the Department Thanya Netithamakul said on Friday that strong physical evidence showed that the land plot was a public property. The plaintiff’s claims that the land had been private property for decades were unfounded, he said. Thanya said this was a historic case in protecting public interest. (TNA)