Only 10% of the land on which the Bonanza Golf and Country Club operates a golf course and racetrack in Nakhon Ratchasima’s Pak Chong district has been legally acquired, authorities have said.
Prayong Preeyachit, secretary-general of the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission, confirmed the operator's golf course and racetrack has encroached upon more than 1,000 rai of forest land.
On Tuesday, a combined team of officials from the PACC, the Department of Special Investigation, the Royal Forest Department (RFD) and soldiers from the 2nd Army Region inspected the golf course and racetrack land.
The company has claimed it acquired the land legally, but authorities believe the land documents were issued unlawfully.
PACC Region 3 authorities were ordered to gather information on land suspected of being illegally gained and to work with the RFD and examine land documents, Mr Prayong said.
They asked RFD officials to hand over Nor Sor 3 Kor documents so they could check the status of the land.
Mr Prayong urged authorities to check the papers thoroughly and see whether they were illegally issued and if any officials were involved in illegal activities.
Attapon Charoenchansa, the RFD’s chief of Forest Protection and Forest Fire Control Office, said all agencies will work to clarify which parts of the land were acquired legally once they had all the documents from the Bonanza Golf and Country Club.