RATCHABURI, 8 July 2014 – Police, in cooperation with the military and local administrative officers, have arrested 3 suspects for encroaching on and burning more than 200 rais of state property in Rachaburi.
The 3 suspects were identified as Mr. Tid Padtin, 55, Mr. Sawangmon Boonting, 45, and Ms. Te Suanpueng, 35. They were caught red-handed driving a backhoe clearing the area.
The arrest is in line with the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO)’s policies in preserving forest areas. According to police, the 3 admitted that they were hired by a group of people to burn the forest area and that they had already destroyed more than 200 rai of the woods when they were arrested. The suspects claimed that the land belonged to Mr. Chai-Anan Todsapol-Udompong, a former head of Suanpueng village. Police will summon him for questioning.
