(L to R) Deputy Mayor Ronakit Ekasingh, PBTA
President Sinchai Wattanasartsathorn, and Banglamung District Chief Sakchai
Taengho inspect the illegal top floors at the Boutique Hotel on Soi VC.
Warunya Thongrod
Nearly six months after the forced demolition of an annex at the Boutique
Hotel, area officials are again threatening legal action against the South
Pattaya inn for failing to remove three illegal floors of its main building.
Banglamung District Chief Sakchai Taengho and Pattaya Deputy Mayor Ronakit
Ekasingh led a team of city engineers in an inspection of the hotel on Soi
VC May 15, a day after Pattaya Business & Tourism Association President
Sinchai Wattanasartsathorn complained about the Boutique’s continued
defiance of government orders.
What they found was little had changed since Nov. 26, when 50 police and
government workers swooped in to demolish an annex built without permission
and in violation of fire and safety codes. At the same time, officials
ordered the removal of the top three floors of its main building, which also
were added without permit or inspection.
Owned by Jomtien Holiday Inn Co., which is managed by Alongkorn Saewang, the
Boutique was found in mid-2012 to have massively violated building codes.
The Building Control Office ordered work stopped on the annex and prohibited
use of the illegal floors in existing hotel. Both orders were ignored, as
did a second stop-work order issued a month later.
On Jan. 30, 2013, the city Engineering Office condemned the building,
ordering Jomtien Holiday Inn to demolish the structure within 60 days. Not
only was that order ignored, but construction continued as before. In July
last year, Pattaya City Hall went to court to force the demolition, which
finally was carried out on Nov. 26.
As he did with the annex, Alongkarn begged the city to hold off demolition
of the illegal floors, promising to do it himself. He was given 180 days to
do so, but, after checking out the hotel himself, Sinchai went to Sakchai to
complain that nothing had been removed.
“The building has persisted as a problem for years,” Sinchai said. “We fear
for the safety of customers. Therefore, the business sector requests the
district to take serious action to inspect and remove the floors, which
could collapse, seriously damaging Pattaya’s tourism industry.”
The snap inspection May 15 revealed that the hotel’s bottom floors were
still open for business and Banglamung Permanent Secretary Praphan
Pathumchomp ordered the arrest of two Boutique managers under the Hotel Act
of 2004 for operating without proper permits. Both face up to a year in jail
and fines of up to 30,000 baht.
Sakchai said the only work done in the past six months has been the removal
of equipment. And the district chief pointed an accusatory finger at Pattaya
City Hall for that inaction.
“There has not been much progress, perhaps because Pattaya did not follow
through on enforcement,” Sakchai said. “The city should have given
importance to this matter and constantly sent officers to inspect the
property.”
Sakchai ordered the city to request that the Provincial Electrical Authority
and Provincial Waterworks Authority stop power and water to the hotel to
force it into action. A few days remained of the 180 the hotel’s owners were
given to demolish the floors. Sakchai said he’d wait out the deadline, then
take action if nothing were done.
