The land dispute at Wat Pa Adunyararam in Khon Kaen Province emerged after heirs of the former landowner filed to reclaim the land. The National Office of Buddhism clarified the details of the 26-rai land, noting the court has definitively ruled it belongs to the temple. Plans are in place to counter-sue the heirs and to survey temples nationwide to prevent similar issues.
When Wat Pa Adunyararam in Khon Kaen was sued by Aunt Da, the heir (grandchild) of Mr. Hiang, seeking to reclaim the temple's land, it sparked public attention questioning who truly owns this land.
The Thairath special team contacted Mr. Kritsakorn Sanit Sakdee, Inspector of the National Office of Buddhism, about the situation. Wat Pa Adunyararam owns two land parcels: a title deed covering 21 rai and a S.Kor.1 land document covering 5 rai.
Originally, Mr. Hiang Pimsri donated the land to the monastery, which was later authorized to become a temple in 1998 CE. Mr. Hiang passed away the following year. Afterwards, his wife filed a lawsuit seeking to reclaim only the 5-rai S.Kor.1 land, where the nun's dwelling is located. She admitted her husband donated the 21 rai with title deed to the temple but did not give the S.Kor.1 land. However, the Supreme Court ruled decisively that the S.Kor.1 land belongs to the temple.
After Mr. Hiang’s wife died, their daughter reviewed documents and found the title deed and S.Kor.1 still in her father's name. She applied to be the estate manager and requested a new title deed for the S.Kor.1 land, increasing it to 6 rai despite objections from the temple and the municipality.
Moreover, Mr. Hiang’s daughter sued, claiming the land was marital property and that the unilateral donation to the temple was illegal. Lower courts dismissed the case because the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling clearly stated Mr. Hiang’s wife had accepted donating the land to the temple. This case is now under Supreme Court review.
The key issue leading to criminal proceedings arose when Mr. Hiang’s daughter falsely reported the title deed lost to the Khon Kaen land office to obtain a replacement, even though the original deed is safely kept at Wat Pa Adunyararam by the abbot. Consequently, the Khon Kaen land office and the National Office of Buddhism arranged to file a criminal complaint against Mr. Hiang’s daughter and others involved at 2:00 p.m. on 18 Aug 2026 GMT+7.
Mr. Kritsakorn explained that in a previous case, the temple filed a suit asking the court to declare the land theirs, but the court refused to hear it, considering the land already legally belonged to the temple. Therefore, no new order or expression of intent was necessary. Legally, the temple has full ownership. The current issue is only an administrative process at the land department requiring the provincial governor’s approval to change the name on the title deed according to regulations.
He added that back in 1996-1997, land had little value, so donations to temples were often informal, assuming that once donated, the land would belong to the temple regardless. The formal process to change the land registry name at the land office was not completed.
The Director of the National Office of Buddhism has issued a letter to all provinces ordering urgent surveys of temple lands with similar issues. They will address these problems according to policy, coordinating directly with the land department, and affirm no neglect of these issues will occur.
Such problems occur nationwide, especially in Sing Buri Province, where half the province faces this issue, with many cases unresolved. The National Office of Buddhism views this as an important opportunity to resolve a critical-level problem.
