Illegal villas closed, tenants ordered out, on Koh Samui

SURAT THANI – Authorities have closed 21 villas built illegally on Koh Samui, some of them housing foreign tenants who were ordered to leave.
Municipal, military and ombudsman’s representatives on Tuesday posted closure notices at the villas, which are on Khao Ma Ngaen mountain in tambon Bo Phut of the tourist island.
The 21 villas were among 46 built illegally by three companies in tambon Bo Phut. They had no building permits and encroached on the mountainside. 
There were foreign tenants in three of the 21 villas. One of them, a Frenchman with a cleaning business, said he had a one-year lease and paid a monthly rent of 20,000 baht. The tenants cooperated and were leaving the three villas.
The other villas were empty, but were advertised as available for lease.
Col Dusit Kesornkaeo, an environment protection chief of the Internal Security Operations Command, said on Monday that 46 villas were illegally built on a mountain. Authorities were closing them because no one appealed against the original closure order.