Surasak Suthasineekul would definitely have had second thoughts about starting a business if he had known the fate that was awaiting him. "I'm 65 years old now and feeling tired, knowing what I have to go through. At this age, I really have no idea what's next for me," Mr Surasak laments.
His voice shakes. Tears fill his eyes. Soon will to give up the land on which he built his nine-year-old Sutha Sport Club to the Crown Property Bureau (CPB). The business, which took his life savings plus bank loans, was something he'd hoped to pass on to his children.
"I told my children we have to fight for righteousness. In the past, we all believed that people living on CPB land were extremely fortunate, which was why we chose to invest everything we had on this land." Mr Surasak is one of the tenants fighting eviction from the Bangkok Bazaar, which occupies a 20-rai plot owned by the CPB near the Ratchaprasong intersection,
The 210 shophouses have formed a bustling commercial community for three decades at the site originally held by the developer Sahakrungthep Pattana before it was transferred to the CPB. The tenants renewed their contracts every three years, but in late 2005 they received letters from the CPB telling them their contracts would end in June 2006. Several meetings with CPB representatives followed and the tenants won a reprieve until July 2006. However, most chose to stay on.
In November 2006, the tenants received court orders to vacate the site and some left, but others have stayed on to fight.
Bussara Wong, the owner of Cristal Tour, is among those who are determined to stay. She started out 30 years ago by renting a shophouse in the area to begin a tour business. Three years ago, she said, she decided to expand the business by renting another four shophouses, encouraged by a CPB official. The investment cost more than six million baht.
"That's why I was shocked to get a notice from the CPB asking me to vacate since I've invested a lot in expansion. And, throughout all that time, everything has been done with the CPB's knowledge. If there was a new land development project coming up, they should have told me in the first place," Mrs Bussara complains.
Busakorn Tanmanasiri, the 60-year-old owner of Kuang Thai, has spent half of her lifetime building her watch business. When she began, her monthly rent was 2,700 baht and today it's 11,000 baht, still a very modest sum.
Therein lies the problem for the Crown Property Bureau, which in recent years has been attempting to generate returns that better reflect market rates from the thousands of rai of prime land it owns throughout the country, with a special focus on central
Ms Busakorn acknowledges that tenants on CPB land have long enjoyed very low rental rates. It's also true, she says, that many tenants have exploited the huge price gaps by sub-leasing property to others at market prices.
"The thing is, we paid for our own construction costs _ 880,000 baht back in 1971 when there was nothing around here but empty land.
"Throughout these years, we have fought to make a name for this shopping area until it has become one of the most popular shopping destinations. It's so unjust that they are taking it back and chasing us away with so little compensation."
She says she would have been paid 800,000 baht if she had moved voluntarily without proceeding with a lawsuit.
According to the CPB, the tenants are being compensated at varying rates, ranging from 350,000 to one million baht per shophouse plus 20,000 baht in moving fees. However, those who pursue court cases will get only one-third of the amount.
The bureau's original offer was that the tenants could accept compensation and leave, or return later when the site is redeveloped, when they would be offered preferential rental rates.
What upsets the tenants, though, is that they say the CPB has been vague about its development intentions, so they are unable to make concrete plans or decide whether to return.
Meanwhile, Mr Surasak says, the bureau has started to demolish some parts of the buildings and parking lots, to the dismay of tenants and their customers.
"Most customers think the shopping arcade is closed when they see all the debris. My business is almost all gone now," he says.
Aviruth Wongbuddhapitak, the assistant director-general at the CPB, says all of the problems are a result of misunderstandings on the tenants' part.
He says the bureau first sent out notices to all Bangkok Bazaar tenants at the end of 2004, so they should have had ample time to make new plans.
"However, since it's the CPB's land, most have had the mistaken belief that they can just stay on forever for the rest of their lives," Mr Aviruth says, adding that in his view the Bangkok Bazaar site had become run-down and was in need of a facelift.
So far, he says, no specific developer or use has been chosen for the site, though it's likely that it will be a shopping complex to attract the same groups of customers.
"There have been a lot of developers expressing interest in developing the area, including [the operator of] Suan Lum Night Bazaar," he says, referring to another prime site that will soon give way to a major hotel and retail complex. "We haven't decided yet since we first need to settle all the ongoing issues."
He also admits that the huge disparity between the prices set by the bureau and the market has been a longstanding problem. "The gap in prices has encouraged the tenants to sub-lease to others which is something that isn't allowed."
In such cases, he explains, it is possible that those who did not directly lease their premises from the bureau weren't aware of the termination of the contracts by June 2006, as the original lessees may not have told them.
"Those who rented places after 2004 were definitely cheated, because at that time they should have been informed about the discontinuation of the contracts."
To date, 60% of the tenants have moved out, half of them voluntarily. Sixty-seven shophouses remain, clinging to business.
"For the tenants who are still left with problems and misunderstandings, we're willing to help make them understand us better," says Mr Aviruth, a former executive of Siam Cement, one of the flagship companies of the CPB.
"We've long adhered to His Majesty the King's kindness. There is no landlord in the world who is as kind as the bureau. Those deciding to co-operate with us will still be able to benefit from our projects in the future, yet those who choose to be against us will only get short-term advantages. The tenants should really take a long-term approach."
The outlook on the legal front is not encouraging. The Issara Law Office, which represents many of the Bangkok Bazaar tenants, has yet to win a case. But many have decided to appeal in order to raise issues they feel the lower courts have not taken into account.
"We have fought in the way we can. In practice, usually when people file a petition to suspend legal execution, a trial court will let the appeals court order a suspension of execution, though the laws don't specify any such prohibition here," says Issara Thonginsri, the owner of the law firm.
"However, in this case, the Bangkok Southern Civil Court allowed the ruling to be carried out right away."
Thawat Damsa-ard, a partner with the international law firm Tilleke & Gibbins, believes the case is a losing battle. The CPB contracts, he says, are clearly based on what is stated in the law.
However, he says, the broader question is the mission of the bureau itself.
"The question is, what is the CPB actually for? Is it a company or a juristic entity established for profit-making purposes, or a true developer whose aim is to develop and turn
"Land isn't a commodity that is in unlimited supply. If the bureau continues doing what it has been doing, all the land will eventually end up in the hands of a handful of affluent businessmen and capitalists who aren't even Thais.
"As the name clearly defines, the bureau's mission is not supposed to be to maximise profits but to create attractive places where everyone can live happily."
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