Eight Karen villagers, who have won a marathon court case spanning 13 years, on Tuesday received compensation totaling 20.2 million baht from Lead Concentrates (Thailand) Company.
The Supreme Court in July ordered the company to pay the eight defendants, villagers of Lower Klitty in Kanchanaburi province, 20.2 million baht in compensation for bodily harm caused by waste products being released into their water sources by the company’s lead extracting plant.
The cash was handed over to the eight victims on Tuesday by the company’s two lawyers at the branch office of the Government Savings Bank in Muang district of Kanchanaburi. The money was split up among the eight and later deposited in bank accounts.
Surapong Kongchantoek, director of Karen Study and Development Centre, said that although the legal battle lasted 13 years, the Karen villagers were happy to receive the compensation which would be used for their treatment and to be contributed to a fund to help the other affected villagers and for the development of their communities.
Besides the compensation to the eight victims, he said the court also ordered the company to clean up the Klitty creek, work which is yet to be undertaken.
Another similar case is still pending with the court. 151 Karen villagers sued the company and its four executives demanding about one billion baht in compensation. The Court of First Instance and the Appeals Court ordered the company to pay the 151 Karens 30 million baht in compensation.
