Two siblings from Nakhon Sawan stormed the Government House to complain about discrimination by the former mayor of Phayuha Khiri, who reported them to the police and ordered the demolition of their flood-repaired house, imposing fines totaling millions of baht.
On 24 Feb 2026 GMT+7, at the government's complaint center, Ms. Tatsanewan Rattanaprao, 52, and her sister Ms. Wilawan Rattanaprao, 57, both from Phayuha Khiri district, Nakhon Sawan province, submitted a petition seeking justice. They claimed unfair legal action by state officials over unauthorized building modifications, leading to legal cases and financial burdens from fines lasting more than 10 years.
Ms. Tatsanewan revealed that after the major flood in 2011, she repaired her damaged house located on the banks of the Chao Phraya River in Phayuha subdistrict, like many neighbors who mostly lacked land titles but had lived there since their grandparents' time. However, in 2016, the then-former mayor of Phayuha filed charges against her for unauthorized building modifications, targeting only her house despite multiple neighboring houses having similar repairs.
"Today, I had to travel all the way to Bangkok seeking justice. I face two legal cases and must bear daily fines that have now exceeded one million baht, while other houses were allowed to repair normally without any prosecution. I have brought evidence to the Government House to hold the former mayor and public works officials accountable for neglecting their duties and misconduct," Ms. Tatsanewan said with frustration.
Ms. Wilawan added that they had previously submitted petitions to the governor of Nakhon Sawan province requesting an on-site investigation along the Chao Phraya riverside in Phayuha subdistrict to clarify why the law was enforced solely against their family, despite widespread construction and renovations nearby. She urged central authorities to expedite justice and support villagers suffering from local officials’ potentially malicious use of power.
Initially, the government complaint center officials accepted all documents and evidence, preparing to coordinate with the Ministry of Interior and Nakhon Sawan province to investigate the facts and report the findings back to the complainants.