Surprise, surprise. Money wins in condo dispute

WHAT’S the point having environmental agencies and property inspectors from city hall when they seem powerless in the face of Big Business? The expatriate owner of a Bangkok condominium has come to this conclusion after watching his once beautiful balcony view of the city disappear behind a new hotel, despite being assured when he bought the place that no building would be constructed on the adjoining plot. His complaints about the obstruction have continually fallen on deaf ears – and so too have his more recent protests about noise levels churned out by the hotel’s generators and other machinery sited at the back of the property, and therefore facing his condo. Inspectors have reassured him that after warnings, the hotel has lowered these noise levels. He begs to differ, of course. Even his own tests proving otherwise have been dismissed. Let’s face it, money still talks in Thailand, and there’s nothing you can do about it.