Yongtanit Pimonsathean, an expert on heritage conservation, said the court's guilty verdict will entail ordering the BMA to revoke a construction permit for Block 33. The problem is, unlike historic sites, community heritage is not protected by any law," he said. Yongtanit said that while national heritage -- state-owned and uninhabited -- is safeguarded under the ancient monument law, community heritage is privately-owned and vulnerable to destruction. "If Thailand introduced a conservation law for this kind of heritage, it would change the direction of urban development," he said. Heritage conservation should be decentralised to ensure public participation.

Source: Bangkok Post January 13, 2026 23:30 UTC