Four Rawai sea gypsy (Chao Le) villagers won an eviction case awarded upon them by the provincial court in Phuket on Tuesday.
The four sea gypsy villagers namely Mr Aew, Mr Woranan and Mr Bancha of the Hadsaithong family and Nirun Yanpang were charged with encroachment by the supposed landowners, Mrs Boonsri Tantiwattanawallop and two associates who demanded their eviction from the beach in Ban Rawai, Muang district of Phuket.
The court found the supposed landowners’ land title deed suspicious and decided to drop the eviction charge against the four sea gypsy villagers.
The case attracted the attention of both central and local reporters. About 100 sea gypsy villagers gathered in front of the court house to give moral support to the four defendants.
Nirun, one of the defendants, said their court case was not over yet as this was just the verdict of the court of first instance. However, he added that they would fight the case to the end against the eviction from their ancestral land.
