Transport Ministry heads to court in Khao Kradong land battle

The Transport Ministry’s legal team will produce 10 documents to prove to the court that 179 rai (29 hectares) of disputed land in Khao Kradong, Buri Ram province, belongs to the State Railway of Thailand (SRT), minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit said on Tuesday.

The SRT claims that the Department of Lands (DoL) wrongfully issued title deeds for the 12 disputed plots, which reportedly belong to the Chidchob family, a powerful political clan in Buri Ram with links to the Bhumjaithai Party. The plots are located in Isan, Muang district, and house Chidchob family businesses including the Chang International Circuit and Chang Arena, a 32,000-seat football stadium.

The latest move in the land dispute follows a DoL committee’s ruling on November 11 that title deeds for the disputed plots would not be revoked.

The land saga resurfaced in July 2022 when Prachachat Party MP Tawee Sodsong revealed new evidence allegedly linking then-transport minister Saksayam Chidchob to the disputed plots.

Suriya outlined the 10 documents to be submitted as evidence supporting the SRT's claim of land ownership:

• Five royal decrees issued from 1919-1922 marking the Nakhon Ratchasima-Ubon Ratchathani railway and related property under the SRT
• The 1951 State Railway of Thailand Act
• Two documents issued by the Department of Railways, showing a map of SRT land in Khao Kradong
• Two court verdicts related to the land in question

Suriya said the ministry’s legal team is also preparing to file a malfeasance charge next month against the DoL’s director-general under Section 157 of the Criminal Code.

Section 157 states that any official who wrongfully exercises or fails to exercise their duties, causing harm to others, or who dishonestly performs or neglects their duties, faces a jail term of one–10 years, a fine of 2,000–20,000 baht, or both.