Sea gypsies win court case

A sea gypsy tends to his fishing gear in this undated photo taken at the seaside land where the indigenous people have resided longer than any official papers show. (Bangkok Post file photo)

The Phuket Provincial Court dismissed a case Tuesday in which four sea gypsies were accused of unlawfully occupying beachfront land on Phuket's Rawai beach, saying the sea tribe owned the land before the title deed was issued for the property.

Boonsri Tantiwatanawallop and Jindarat Thammajak, relatives of the late Than Mukdee, who had claimed to own the 12-rai land plot, filed a lawsuit with the court to evict the four villagers -- Aew, Woranan and Bancha (all with the same family name of Hadsaithong) and Niran Yangpan -- from the seaside land in Muang district.

Than had said while he was alive that he obtained the land title deed which was upgraded from Sor Kor 1, a notification form for the possession of land.

During the process, he declared no sea gypsies had occupied the area, while land officials failed to examine the land rights of the villagers, according to the court.

However, aerial photos showed the sea gypsies had occupied the land before Than got hold of the Sor Kor 1 paper, the court found.

Additional evidence included photos supplied by the Royal Household Bureau of the area taken on March 10, 1959. The pictures showed coconut trees which are still standing. The plaintiffs had alleged the trees were planted by Than and were only 10 years old.

Also, a school in the area had a student registration record which indicated that around 30 students studied there before Than obtained the Sor Kor 1 in 1955, and this showed that at least 90 sea gypsies were already occupying the land during that time, the court said.

The evidence gathered by officials and credible witnesses also pointed to the fact that sea gypsies had lived in the area before Than came to own the land rights. Therefore, the land ownership document held by the plaintiffs was issued illegally, the court said.

The court decided to throw out the case.

Around 100 sea gypsies who gathered in front of the court erupted in joy on hearing the ruling.

"I am happy the court took into account the livelihoods and ancestral history of the sea gypsies," said Mr Niran.

He also thanked the Department of Special Investigation and the Central Institute of Forensic Science for helping gather information that turned out to be useful for the sea gypsies' defence.