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Locals blame officials for forest killings

Crime rife in national park, say villagers

By Supamart Kasem & Wassayos Ngamkham

Community leaders have blamed state authorities with various illegal interests for last month's murder of a forest official in Khlong Wang Chao national park in Tak's Wang Chao district.

Denchai Thitsakulsawang, the headman at Ban Pha Phueng village, said the murder of Viroj Chuakaopim, who was known to be tough on forest encroachment, was not the work of ordinary timber poachers.

Before the March 23 shooting, which happened in front of his daughter, the head of the Khlong Wang Chao national park protection unit had seized a number of illegally cut logs in the park, said Mr Denchai.

''Even though he was tough on illegal logging, Viroj usually warned villagers and told them about the impact of deforestation. So the villagers could not have been angry enough to kill him,'' he said.

Following the murder, a policeman was also killed and two others wounded while on their way to the scene.

Scattered around the scene of the shooting were spent AK-47 bullets.

According to Mr Denchai, the Wang Chao district is a transit point for narcotics, logs and immigrants from the border districts of Mae Sot and Phop Phra.

Wang Chao police station now has more than 200 cases related to forest encroachment, illegal immigrants and narcotics on its books.

One high profile case involves state officers and dates back to December 2006 when a naval officer was arrested in connection with the murder of a police sergeant in Mae Sot district.

Police found the missing policeman's body buried two metres under the ground close to a warehouse believed to belong to the naval officer.

It is believed that both officers were involved in a human trafficking racket and they failed to settle a business conflict.

Chantra Udompot, a former chief of tambon Chiang Thong, said the scene of the shooting _ in front of Viroj's lodge inside the park _ is one of the spots where illicit activities abound.

Local people are aware that many illegal activities are happening at Ban Huay Lueng, Ban Pa Toey, Ban Pha Phueng and Ban Pang Sangkasi in tambon Chiang Thong, Ban Wang Nam Yen in tambon Nabot and certain villages in Muang district.

''The illicit activities are timber, speed pills and Burmese workers. Not only Hmong people are allegedly involved, some state officials also have a hand,'' Ms Chantra said.

''So these influential figures are ready to make threats against those who stand in their way.''

According to Ms Chantra, the attack on Viroj was not the first. At least three Border Patrol Police officers were ambushed in an incident believed to be related to forest encroachment.

She said that forest encroachment in the district has expanded following the relocation of Hmong people from Phetchabun and Saraburi.

About 10,000 rai of forest in Khlong Wang Chao national park and nearby forest reserves have been allegedly encroached on, she said.

Suvit Rattanamanee, the chief of regional office 12 which supervises the Khlong Wang Chao national park, said there are not enough staff and arms to protect the park, which covers 400,000 rai of forest in Tak and Kamphaeng Phet provinces.

In 2006 the Defence Ministry recalled about 1,000 HK rifles which were on loan to staff patrolling the forests, claiming the guns were needed to quell the southern unrest.

Pol Col Prayont Lasua, the deputy chief of the Crime Suppression Division in charge of Viroj's case, said police investigators have identified the suspects in the forestry official's murder.

He said the killing is related to Hmong people in the area, but noted that police have yet to establish a motive behind the murder.

''It is possibly about drugs, humans and log smuggling,'' he said.

Police investigators will meet in Tak tomorrow to discuss developments in the investigation, he added.

Bangkok Post