Factory sues fish farmers over wastewater pollution allegation

Suthep Gakaew, chairman of the Bang Sadet tambon administration organisation in Ang Thong's Pa Mok district, reported to Thong Lor police station in Bangkok yesterday to hear defamation charges brought against him and farmers in the tambon.

KTMSG Co, which runs a plant by the river and has its head office in Bangkok, said Mr Suthep led farmers to publicly accuse the firm of dumping untreated wastewater into the river and causing a pollution disaster in March.

On March 12, pollution in the Chao Phraya river wiped out fish and other aquatic life along a 20km stretch in Pa Mok district in Ang Thong and in Bang Ban district in Ayutthaya.

The firm provided as evidence the results of an investigation by the Pollution Control Department and the Department of Special Investigation which pointed to a sugar boat that sank the previous month as the cause.

The contamination killed hundreds of thousands of taptim fish in 1,257 breeding pens in both provinces, worth about 36.6 million baht.

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