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Bangkok Post
Bangkok Post
National

Court orders restoration of Maya Bay

Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi in Krabi province in June 2018 (Photo: Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park)

Famed site was damaged during filming of "The Beach" 24 years ago.

The Supreme Court has ordered the Forestry Department to restore Maya Bay, which was environmentally damaged during shooting of the Hollywood movie "The Beach" in 1998.

The ruling was read out at the Civil Court on Tuesday.

"The Beach", starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was filmed in Thailand with most shooting done on Maya Bay Beach.

Controversy beset the production when allegations of ecological vandalism were made after imported palm trees were planted to make the "perfect" beach even more perfect. The area was later also damaged by the tsunami of 2004. 

In 1998, authorities approved the re-landscaping of Maya Bay on Koh Phi Phi, which was within Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park in Krabi, for the filming. This prompted the plaintiffs to file suit against those involved.

Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling on restoration followed earlier rulings by lower courts on violations of the National Park Act and the National Environmental Quality Act.

It also comes after years of legal proceedings involving several other defendants including filmmaker Twentieth Century Fox Co and Thai agent Santa International Film Production.

The Supreme Court ordered the Forestry Department, one of the defendants in the case, to comply with the judgement within 30 days.

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