Land Official Files Fraud Complaint Against Estate Manager

Khon Kaen land officials have filed charges against Buakhai Sarasamuth, the estate manager for the late Hiang Pimmsri, owner of title deed number 61945, for falsely claiming the deed was lost when requesting a replacement—while the original document was held by Wat Pa Adulyaram. On August 18, provincial land officer Pongsuwan Chaitonteuk and related staff filed the complaint at Muang Khon Kaen Police Station. The officer disclosed that the filing concerns providing false information to officials to proceed with legal action. Since it emerged that the original deed still exists and is held by the temple abbot, authorities must investigate whether the applicant knew in advance that the deed had not been lost. If confirmed, criminal liability may apply.

In this case, the applicant obtained a certified copy from the land office on July 13 before submitting the replacement request on July 27. However, during processing, the temple abbot produced the original deed to officials, causing the land office to verify and confirm the deed had not been lost. Consequently, the replacement application was cancelled. The provincial land officer explained that the cancellation order is an administrative decision and the applicant has been notified of the right to appeal within 15 days; a notice was sent on August 17, and no appeal has been filed to date.

Furthermore, land office investigations confirm that the criminal complaint filed today will not affect the process of transferring the title deed to the temple's name, which must proceed according to Section 84 procedures. The case status summary notes: (1) the replacement application has been cancelled after confirming the deed was not lost; (2) the applicant has been notified of appeal rights within 15 days with no appeal filed so far; (3) the false information complaint has been filed for police investigation regarding the false claim that the deed was lost; (4) land rights will be handled according to the final judgment unless a new ruling changes it; (5) the title transfer to the temple is proceeding under Section 84 of the Land Code, a separate process from the false complaint case; (6) heirs cannot directly contest the temple's rights under Section 84, but if the estate manager consents to the transfer, the process will be faster; otherwise, the land office must follow legal procedures; (7) the target timeline is approximately one month, though no firm timeframe can be guaranteed due to multiple agencies involved; (8) the provincial land office is consulting the Department of Lands to establish clear and legally correct guidelines before proceeding with the next critical steps.