River Kwai statue gets no mercy

       Provincial officials have found a special interest group does not own the land on which it plans to build a giant Goddess of Mercy statue and a religious complex at the foot of the bridge on the River Kwai.
       A panel set up by the Kanchanaburi provincial administration accused the Kuang Yim Sunthorntham Foundation of illegal occupation of the four rai of land as it could not produce full ownership documents.
       The land on the bank of the River Kwai was not included in the ownership documents of two other plots of land the foundation submitted to the local authorities.
       The panel will check to see whether the land, where construction has already begun on some parts of the complex, is public land, a source said.
       The panel, chaired by Kanchanaburi deputy governor Cherdsak Champathet,yesterday recommended the government order the foundation to suspend work and demolish the constructions already built.
       Work on land for which there are no ownership documents would cease immediately, the panel said.
       The foundation was not attacked for planning to build a construction that would ruin the scenery in the area.
       Local environment groups also accused the foundation of violating the 1979 Building Control Act and city planning laws which control construction on historic sites, and the 2007 constitution which requires a public hearing for projects which might affect the general public.