Authorities Seize Chiang Rai Coffee Shop Encroaching Forest Land
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On October 28, 2026, Chaiwat Sawasdee, the Chiang Saen district chief, led a joint team from the Chiang Rai provincial administration, Chiang Saen local administration, Forest Protection Unit 11 (Chiang Saen), and related agencies to inspect and seize the land and structures of a coffee shop in Ban Doi Sango, Moo 7, Sri Don Mueang subdistrict, Chiang Saen district, Chiang Rai province. The inspection found that the operator was occupying and using land classified as forest under the Forest Act B.E. 2484, covering approximately 8 rai, 3 ngan, 23 square wa.
The operation followed a resolution by the Chiang Rai Provincial Committee on Prevention and Suppression of Illegal Logging and Forest Destruction on October 22, 2026, after a petition regarding capital-backed encroachment in the Ban Doi Sango area. The committee ordered relevant agencies to inspect and seize the business for legal action.
Historical aerial photos from 2002 and 2014 showed the area was previously agricultural before being converted into a commercial coffee shop with buildings. The site sits on a slope of about 45 degrees and includes a concrete building, accommodation, a viewpoint, and various facilities serving tourists. Structures seized comprise one wooden viewpoint, one steel-framed viewing pavilion with a walkway, eight toilets with a hand-washing building, one three-story accommodation building, one three-story coffee shop with integrated lodging and bathrooms, one accommodation building with bathrooms, and two separate private cottages with bathrooms.
Officials documented the land condition and all structures as evidence. On the same day, Thongkham Thamsala, a senior forestry officer and head of Forest Protection Unit 11 (Chiang Saen), filed a criminal complaint at Chiang Saen Police Station against the coffee shop owner. The charge is "encroachment, clearing, entering to benefit, or any act causing forest degradation without permission" under Section 54 read with Section 72 ter of the Forest Act B.E. 2484. The case has been registered as criminal case number 474/2026 for further investigation and prosecution.
