Thailand’s Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) requested police action regarding an alleged land encroachment involving a prominent police officer in Ubon Ratchathani.
Police Senior Sergeant Major Yutthaphon Srisompong, popularly known online as “Johnny the Enforcer,” owns a resort in Lam Dom Noi. The land on which the resort is built has been designated by the ministry as a self-help settlement.
This area in Sirindhorn district was intended for underprivileged residents to construct homes and engage in small-scale agriculture.
Watchara Kosentor from the Department of Social Development and Welfare lodged a complaint against Pol. Snr. Sgt. Maj. Yutthaphon with the Natural Resource and Environmental Crime Suppression Division yesterday, July 7. The officer has gained a significant following on Facebook, with over 1.6 million followers.
The petition indicates that residents alerted the department in 2021 about the construction of a resort by Pol. Snr. Sgt. Maj. Yutthaphon on the periphery of the self-help settlement. They reported that parts of the resort encroached upon the settlement’s forest reserve, affecting approximately 1 rai, or about 20% of the reserve’s total area, reported Bangkok Post.
Subsequently, the department instructed the resort’s operator to halt construction activities in 2022, but the directive was disregarded.
According to Watchara, any residents wishing to utilise parts of the 24,675-rai self-help settlement in Lam Dom Noi must obtain permission from the department beforehand. He stated that such permission was never granted to Pol. Snr. Sgt. Maj. Yutthaphon. He expressed uncertainty about how the police officer acquired the land plots.
Pol. Snr. Sgt. Maj. Yutthaphon is also under a separate investigation concerning his unexplained wealth, which has led to the non-approval of his resignation from the police force.
In similar news, a popular Phuket restaurant famed for its sea views faces scrutiny after officials seized over 4 rai of land for illegal forest encroachment. On April 24, forestry and marine officers, along with police, raided Khon Thai 2 Restaurant in Soi Senaniwet, uncovering unlicensed construction and environmental violations.
The story Thai officer accused of land encroachment on self-help settlement as seen on Thaiger News.
