HUA HIN - Hua Hin police and administrative officials will finally take action on 52 structures encroaching on the city’s beach, two years after a court ruling.
The buildings, comprising seafood restaurants, guesthouses and homes, are located from the Fishing Pier on the northern end of Naresdamri Road, which runs parallel to the beach, to Chaomae Tubtim Shrine.
Pol Col Chatchai Riamek, acting commander of Prachuap Khiri Khan provincial police, said on Monday the Prachuap Khiri Khan Provincial Court ruled in 2014 in a case brought by the Hua Hin Municipality and the Marine Department in 2003 that owners of the 52 buildings had violated the 1979 Building Control Act and had to dismantle the structures.
The court also issued arrest warrants for several of the defendants for failing to comply with the Supreme Court's ruling. However, police have not arrested any of them while the Hua Hin municipality has yet to enforce the demolition order.
Pol Col Chatchai said he had instructed Hua Hin police chief, Pol Col Chaiyakorn Sriladaecho, to coordinate with the municipality and report the progress in the case.
Hua Hin district chief Sutthipong Khlai-udom said a joint team of officials would descend on the encroached beach and expedite law enforcement on charges of encroaching on public land and polluting sea water.
The team includes police of the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Division, soldiers from the Internal Security Operations Command and officials from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and the Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission.
“They will also take action against responsible officials who have violated Section 157 [of the Criminal Code] for dereliction of duty because some encroachers are investors with close links to certain local politicians and influential figures. So local officials have not enforced the court order,” Mr Sutthipong said.
Meanwhile, Hua Hin mayor Nopporn Wuthikul told Prachuap Khiri Khan governor Tawee Naritsirikul that responsible authorities should proceed cautiously because the information used during the trial might no longer be up-to-date, according to local reports.
Some of the structures might have been modified or changed hands over the past few years. He therefore urged officials to examine carefully the structures that needed to be pulled down and identify the owners.