Indigenous forest dwellers, whose forebears were living in the area before Thailand came into being, were deemed criminals subject to imprisonment.

The current (2019) national park law that criminalizes forest dwellers will soon be replaced by a new version that is even more oppressive.

The new law gives forest officials the power to summon people for questioning and to enter their homes at any time.

[5] In 2018, 14 cassava-growing peasants, nine of them women, were found guilty by a lower court of encroaching on Sai Thong National Park after forestry authorities filed complaints against the villagers for refusing to leave.

The villagers were ordered to pay compensation fees for environmental degradation ranging from 40,000 to 1.58 million baht (US$1,300-51,000) for 1 to 48 rai (0.16-7.7 hectares) of land use.