Court rules upon harm done twenty-four years ago
The Supreme Court had ordered the Forestry Department to bring back Maya Bay, which was environmentally damaged within 1998 during the capturing of the movie The Beach.
The ruling has been read out on the Civil Court the other day and follows earlier rulings by reduced courts.
A large part of recording for The Beach was required for Maya Bay, among allegations of ecological vandalism when imported palms were grown to make the beach “perfect”.
The particular Krabi Provincial Administration Organisation and 17 other plaintiffs at first filed suit with all the Civil Court handling environmental cases. They will filed against the farming minister at the time, the particular Forestry Department, the then-Forestry Department key, the Thai broker Santa International Film Production and filmmaker 20th Century Sibel Co, as 1st to fifth defendants respectively, for violations of the National Park Act and the National Environmental Quality Function.
In 1998, authorities accepted the re-landscaping of Maya Bay on Koh Phi, which was within Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Koh Phi Nationwide Park in Krabi, for The Beach . This prompted the plaintiffs to file fit against those included.
The particular plaintiffs asked the court to nullify the orders issued by the first, second and third defendants, which allowed your fourth defendant to take the film, and order the company in order to jointly place money as a guarantee with regard to restoration of harm to the environment. Unless the guaranteed money was put up, the injured parties asked the court to order the first to third defendants in order to revoke the film permit given to the fourth and fifth defendants. The suit also known as for the restoration of Maya Bay.
The lower courtroom ruling ordered the Forestry Department to restore Maya Bay to its natural state. The court furthermore ordered it to build a working panel in order to draw up a rehabilitation plan for Maya Bay and sustainable utilization of areas around the bay. The working panel was to be set up within 30 days of the ruling being produced.
The court ordered the fourth and fifth defendants to be responsible for applying a compromise contract dated Feb twenty-seven, 2019. Under the contract, the fifth defendant agreed to give ten million baht to get natural conservation so that the first and second plaintiffs could use the cash for nature conservation. The first defendant might update the courtroom every year on the progress of the work, for three consecutive years or even until the money had been spent.
The lower court acquitted the first and third defendants. The defendants appealed to the Appeal Court handling environmental cases asking for acquittal of the second accused too. Later, the very first and second plaintiffs appealed to the Great Court.
The court found the plaintiffs’ appeal was partially sound. It ruled to uphold the lower court ruling for the Forestry Department, to restore Maya beach. The department was ordered to comply with the Best Court judgement within 30 days.