The two Australians filed a formal complaint of fraud against the developer, Kata Beach Co Ltd, at Kamala Police Station on Tuesday (Sept 3).
The men, joined by their lawyers, explained to the press that they had paid more than B5 million of the B6mn condo price, but the unit was never delivered as per the contract.
The construction of the project was stopped because the land deed was illegally issued. The entire project was demolished for illegally encroaching on protected forest land in the hills overlooking Kata Beach.
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Despite winning a civil lawsuit against the company, the developer failed to provide them with an alternative condo or refund their money, the men said.
During the case it was discovered that the Kata Beach Co Ltd did not have any assets and had insufficient funds to pay the compensation.
A company representative who offered an alternative condo in another project had not legal right to do so, they added.
As a result, the men met with Kamala Police Chief Pol Col Somsak Thongkliang, and filed a fraud complaint against Kata Beach Co Ltd.
The complaint was filed with the support of the Consumer Protection Police Division (CPPD) under the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB). The complaint was filed with Kamala Police since the company is based in Kamala Subdistrict, the lawyers explained.
The complaint stems from allegations that the company illegally sold land without a valid title deed to both Thai and foreign buyers. The project was halted when it was discovered that the building permit was invalid from the start, as condominiums can only be built on land with a proper title deed, the lawyers explained.
The deception allowed the company to collect deposits, contract fees and payments for the units, each worth several million baht. The project’s construction permit was revoked, and buyers were offered units in another project. However, years later, the construction remained unfinished, and the buyers were advised to contact the company for refunds.
Kamala Police Chief Pol Col Somsak said that Kamala Police had been contacted by the CPPD, which has already taken initial action on this damage and forwarded the case to Kamala Police Station.
Kamala Police had now received a formal complaint and will proceed with further investigation, he said.
The Australians told the press that they had filed the complaint to seek justice because the money used to buy the property was all the money that they had saved, and they wanted to live in Phuket.
Even though they won the civil case, they still did not receive any compensation. From this incident, they do not want Thailand to be viewed badly in the eyes of foreigners, the men said.
The CIB noted that according to the Consumer Protection Law, the real estate development business is a strictly controlled business, both in terms of contract and advertising. Therefore, selling real estate in a housing project that cannot deliver the real estate according to the contract is considered a negligence of the operator who must be directly responsible to the consumer.
In addition, if there is a situation that is fraudulent or deceptive, it will be considered a criminal offence against the victim. The victim must therefore be compensated for the damage without discrimination based on the nationality of the consumer under the law of the Kingdom of Thailand.
Such actions of the business operator have seriously damaged the reputation of Phuket and Thailand in the eyes of foreigners, the CIB noted.