Court backs eviction of former MP's husband
The Supreme Court yesterday upheld an Appeal Court's ruling to order Tossaporn Thepabutr, husband of former Phuket Democrat MP Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, and his associates to vacate 98 rai of land in Nakkerd Hills.
The Supreme Court yesterday morning read its verdict on the lawsuit between the Provincial Land Reform Office and Tossaporn, whose wife is a former president of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation. Tossaporn claimed the land was given to him in 1989 by landlord Charan Tungku, who had owned it since 1956, before the SorPorKor land reform programme came into effect in 1975, thus he could not be driven off the land. The court said there was no recorded legal ownership of the land by Charan and so the transfer to Tossaporn was not legitimate. The Supreme Court upheld the Appeal Court's ruling. The Appeal Court had ruled that Tossaporn had to move off the land because he had no right to it. The land had been included in the SorPorKor land reform programme, which provided land for poor farmers. Tossaporn was found to have shares in companies and personal wealth totalling more than Bt55 million. The problem of the SorPorKor programme in Phuket began in November 1994 when then agriculture minister Suthep Thaugsuban gave title deeds to 592 plots of land in Khao Sam Liam, Kamala and Nakkerd hills to 489 farmers. It was later found that members of 11 wealthy families in Phuket were among the recipients. The scandal led to the collapse of the Democrat-led government at the time.
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