Mr Chaiwat arrested him but insisted he later released the defiant activist. According to Pol Col Triwit, there was a food shop near the spot Mr Chaiwat claimed he released Billy. "Yet, the driver in that car did not see the release," said Mr Triwit. In a nutshell, the court accepts that indigenous Karen forest dwellers have long lived there, yet they are still forest encroachers by forest law. The forest laws that criminalise indigenous people and the bureaucracy determined to evict forest dwellers.

Source: Bangkok Post April 07, 2017 23:26 UTC