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Following a ceremony on Saturday led by former deputy police chief Salang Bunnag and some 200 members of the Rak Chiang Mai 51 Group, park director Maitree Yaowarat said yesterday that he was given an advisory from the Agriculture Department on Friday, which said the installation was pending royal permission.

"Today, I got a phone call from the Agriculture Department secretariat that the Royal Household Bureau had issued a letter that said the coin could not be installed," he said.

Since he had not seen the letter when Salang and his group insisted on re-installing the coin, Maitree said he could only say the installation of the coin had not been given the royal okay.

"Since Salang signed a letter saying that he would be responsible for the re-installation and because I feared a showdown, I allowed the re-installation but signed a document with the police detailing our disagreement," he said.

During the ceremony, Salang said the coin, constructed by the Agriculture Ministry with Salang as a co-sponsor, had been first installed at the Royal Flora Ratchaphruek Expo in 2006. However, the coin was later taken down and as co-sponsor of the coin, Salang wanted it re-installed.

An informed source said the Office of His Majesty's Principal Private Secretary had protested against the coin being installed on grounds that it had not obtained royal permission and that a royal family member had found the coin improper. The coin was put into storage since January 2007, the source said.