Last hurdle to Bangkok’s Aetas project demolition cleared
Court dismisses high-rise owner’s claim against Bangkok officials, ending two-decade battle
SEE ALSO: Bangkok governor Under Pressure to Enforce Demolition of Aetas Condo
Consumer activists have hailed a Supreme Administrative Court ruling that has brought a definitive end to a two-decade battle between residents of the upscale Soi Ruamrudee neighbourhood of Bangkok and the owners of a high-rise hotel and condo development.
The court on Wednesday upheld a lower court dismissal of a damage claim filed by Larppratharn Co Ltd against the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and the head of Pathumwan district, where the Aetas Bangkok Hotel and Aetas Residence is located.
The ruling means that no more legal barriers to demolition remain, and the BMA could start enforcing the demolition order as early as Dec 1, said Saree Aongsomwang, secretary-general of the Thailand Consumers Council (TCC).
“The Aetas case is a landmark example of collaboration between citizens, government agencies, civil society and media scrutiny,” she said in a statement on the council’s website.
“We hope it will serve as a catalyst to strengthen oversight of high-rise buildings in narrow lanes across Bangkok, prioritising safety and the public interest.”
Larppratharn had accused the Pathumwan district director of negligence for issuing an incorrect certification of the road width in narrow Soi Ruamrudee, which the company said it relied on in good faith to construct the 18- and 24-storey buildings.
Under building control regulations, such structures can only be approved if the adjacent public road is more than 10 metres wide. Subsequent legal proceedings confirmed that Soi Ruamrudee did not meet this requirement along its full length, rendering the construction unlawful.
First stirrings in 2005
The opposition to the Aetas project began as far back as 2005 in the soi that is home to luxe condos and old-money families, when local residents challenged the Pathumwan district office’s initial approval.
The complainants included the late Songkram Sapcharoen, a Royal Household doctor, and then-Grand Chamberlain Khwankeo Vajarodaya.
Their efforts culminated in a lawsuit supported by the Foundation for Consumers, which was filed with the Central Administrative Court in 2008. By this time construction was under way and the buildings opened in 2010.
The court in 2012 ordered the buildings’ demolition within 60 days, saying they violated the Building Control Act.
The BMA appealed, and the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the order in October 2014, saying the Pathumwan district director and Bangkok governor were responsible for executing the demolition.
Total demolition was not required, but the owners would have to agree to reduce building height to 23 metres, the maximum allowed in a soi that is less than 10 metres wide.
More legal challenges followed, with the Central Administrative Court in September 2016 reaffirming its order for partial demolition.
City officials subsequently posted the demolition order at the site on Oct 31, 2016.
Encroachers blamed
Earlier the court had dismissed a complaint filed by Larppratharn Co, the owner of Aetas Residence, and Taptimthorn Co, the owner of Aetas Bangkok Hotel, that encroachment had caused Soi Ruamrudee to be narrower than 10 metres. They said it was the BMA’s job to get rid of encroachers.
The Supreme Administrative Court overturned that ruling and accepted the complaint.
While that case was playing out, demolition work was still going nowhere and local residents were becoming increasingly irritated.
Fast-forward to November 2021, when Larppratharn went to court to seek compensation for financial losses.
The Central Administrative Court refused to accept the case on procedural grounds. It said a tort claim arising from administrative acts must be filed within one year from the date on which the “cause of action” arose.
In this case, the cause of action was the posting of the demolition order on Oct 31, 2016, so the plaintiff was four years late.
The Supreme Administrative Court agreed. In its ruling this week, it said the filing deadline ended in early November 2017. It rejected the company’s argument that a second demolition order was issued in 2021, saying it merely reaffirmed the original 2016 directive.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3146339/last-hurdle-to-aetas-demolition-cleared
