Stalls in Bangkok's famous weekend market demolished, incurring clash

Hundreds of stalls in Bangkok's famous Chatuchak weekend market, a popular tourist destination, were demolished on Thursday morning by a bulldozer and over 100 intruders, who were engaged in confrontation with angry vendors, Thai media reported.

According to reports on Bangkok Post and The Nation's news websites, the Chatuchak market, which houses about 500 vendor stalls in northern Bangkok, was intruded by over 100 men armed with batons and knives early Thursday morning, who demolished nearly all of the stalls.

The men then briefly clashed with vendors of the stalls who rushed into the sites after hearing of the demolition. Police later intervened to stop the clash, and invited representatives from both sides to settle the dispute at the Bang Sue police station. It is not clear how many people had been injured during the clash.

The plot of land where the market is located originally belongs to the State Railway Authority (SRA). Reports quoted police as saying that the clash resulted from an conflict of interest on the plot of land between the vendors who rented the place and a developer who claimed the ownership of the land and asked to remove the vendors, who refused the demand.

The market, covering about 14 hectare, opens only for Saturdays and Sundays in daytime. It has been an attraction to both local residents and tourists, with its nearly 500 stalls selling cheap household goods, traditional instruments, ornaments and clothes.

Source: Xinhua