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Opinion: Working as a female government official in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Siwaporn Chuasawad is originally from Bangkok, but her family moved to Samut Prakan in an official capacity, as her father worked for the Royal Thai Navy. She assumed her current post on October 10, together with two other vice governors. Her husband has recently been appointed as Deputy Director of the Phuket Land Department. V/Gov Siwaporn…
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Man crushed to death at Phuket graveyard
PHUKET: A Thai man was crushed to death at a Phuket graveyard this morning. Lt Kwansirinath Thairat of Wichit Police arrived at the scene with a doctor from Phuket International Hospital and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers, after passersby saw him lying there and notified authorities about 8am. He is believed to have been dead for at least 30 minutes when…
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Phuket entrepreneurs join hands to boost investment
PHUKET: Two dozen private entrepreneurs have come together to form a new company aimed at boosting investment and promoting seamless business operations in Phuket. Named Phuket City Development Co Ltd (PKCD), the new conglomerate aims to develop the province into a functional and successful ‘Smart City’ under three ‘core values’: innovation; green infrastructure; and green mobility for sustainable development. PKCD…
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Kata Group taps into trillion-yuan wedding market
PHUKET: Kata Group Resorts Thailand aims to host up to 2,000 weddings in Phuket over the next three years after forming an alliance with Travel Wedding (Beijing) to exploit the growing market of Chinese honeymooners. The group, which owns seven hotels in Thailand, this month launched a range of wedding and honeymoon products to be exclusively promoted in China to…
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Opinion: The environmental cost of development
PHUKET: Reports that the newly-formed Phuket City Development Company plans long-term investment in the province as a future ‘smart city’ and regional hub for so-called ‘MICE’ tourism is potential good news for the island. The Phuket Gazette hopes that in addition to the group’s business goals, sustainability and environmental conservation will be included while planning its objectives. The list of…
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Aot launches detailed maps to help Phuket airport visitors
PHUKET: The Airports of Thailand (AoT) has released a map for Phuket Airport after the September 16 opening of the new international terminal and commencement of renovations at the old (now domestic only) terminal. Work to revamp the domestic terminal began on November 1. The map gives directions on how to access the parking area, while an additional graphic notifies…
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Angry driver assaults Phuket gas station employee
PHUKET: Police have summoned a gas station employee and a car owner for questioning after a video clip of the driver assaulting the employee surfaced on social media yesterday. The CCTV clip (click here) shows a black Honda with licence plate number 5577 driving up to a Shell gas station in Tah Chat Chai about 6pm yesterday. After talking to…
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South Korean Ambassador and Phuket Gov talk safety, technology
PHUKET: The South Korean ambassador to Thailand and the Phuket governor discussed the technological alliance between their two countries on Wednesday morning at Provincial Hall. Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan and Ambassador Noh Kwang-li exchanged ideas for the betterment of Phuket, including the Smart City Project. “Phuket is a role model for the nation’s Smart City project,” said Gov Chokchai. “We are…
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Security tightened for Loy Krathong
PHUKET: Region 8 Police are working to boost security measures during this year’s Loy Krathong Festival on Monday and are requesting the public to follow rules and regulations for the sake of their own safety. “We have received an official report stating that everything will return to normal after the 30-day mourning period is over. Therefore, the festival will be…
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Flotilla to join 30-day remembrance ceremony at Promthep Cape
PHUKET: A flotilla of 50 Royal Thai Navy vessels and private yachts are to join the candle-lit ceremony at Promthep Cape this Saturday to mark the 30th day of mourning since the death of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Thousands of people are expected to attend the event to commemorate the late monarch, to be held atop the cliff at…
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Man arrested for destroying Phuket ATM
PHUKET: A man was arrested last night after he lashed out at an ATM in Patong earlier that day. “We received a report from Krungthai Bank that their ATM in front of Arunsom Hotel was destroyed. CCTV footage showed a man repeatedly striking it at 2:52am, before making his escape,” said Lt Col Somsak Thongkliang of Patong Police. Investigations revealed…
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Belarusian ‘possessed by evil spirits’ after trip to Samui
PHUKET: A hallucinating Belorussian man ran amok in Thalang on Tuesday night, shouting that he could see dead people as he stripped himself naked and ran into a rubber plantation near the Shell gas station on Thepkrasattri Road, where he and a friend had pulled up on a motorcycle. He was later found and subdued by locals, who, believing the…
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Patong hotel staff walk into bloodbath
PHUKET: A 63-year-old French tourist was found dead with his throat cut in a Patong hotel room last night. Patong Police Captain Sirinart Cherdchutrakulthong received the report at about 9:30pm after a ‘Delicious Residence’ hotel staff member found the man’s body in a pool of blood in the bathroom. The deceased had checked into the hotel last Friday and was…
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Russian family of five survives speedboat sinking
KRABI: A Russian family of five, a guide and a coxswain were rescued yesterday evening after their speedboat sprang a leak and sank in Phang Nga Bay. Thanbok Khoranee National Park Chief Champen Pompakdee and a team of officers arrived at the scene – 5 sea miles (over 9 km) from Koh Hong – in three boats and successfully rescued…
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French Consul to hold first aid workshop
PHUKET: The French Honorary Consul of Phuket is holding the first in a series of basic first aid workshops at Bangkok Hospital Phuket on November 17. Organized in collaboration with Bonjour Phuket, the workshop starts at 7pm and will be conducted in French, comprising about 15 minutes of theory by a qualified medic from Noumea Hospital, followed by practical demonstration…
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Phuket yacht dealer sells first Ferretti 850 in Asia
PHUKET: Phuket-based yacht dealership Lee Marine today announced the first sale in Asia of the new Ferretti 850 luxury cruising yacht. The recent sale of the new vessel from Italian designers Ferretti Yachts is sure to raise the bar once again for pleasure yachts in this class, said Lee Marine founder and managing director Joshua Lee. “The Ferretti 850’s dynamic…
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Mother gives birth in car 300 meters from home
PHUKET: A Lao Woman gave birth to a 2kg baby boy in the back seat of a car in Koh Kaew last night. Keothong Somthaly, 27, was being driven to hospital by her husband after she went into labor a month earlier than expected, but ended up delivering her child in the car with help from paramedics after her husband…
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Russian tourist dies after Bang Tao swim
PHUKET: A Russian tourist who went swimming at Bang Tao Beach yesterday evening was pronounced dead shortly after lifeguards pulled him from the sea. “Petr Agapov, 57, and his wife had been staying at the Amora Beach Resort in Cherngtalay since November 2,” Phuket City Police Major Nattaya Suphanpong told the Phuket Gazette, after receiving confirmation at 9pm from Vachira…
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Tourist associations tackle overcharging of Chinese visitors
PHUKET: Two Chinese associations in Phuket came together at Tah Chat Chai checkpoint Sunday to distribute brochures detailing ‘fair pricing’ information in order to protect Chinese tourists from being ripped off by tour operators. Ronnarit Cheunsangarun of the Thai Chinese Tourism Association, Phuket Office; Nonpuree Patarakumakornsakul of the Phuket Chinese Guide Association; and other representatives from both associations handed out…
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Royal wreath ceremony held to honor fallen Phuket soldier
PHUKET: A Royal wreath placing ceremony was held at Wat Sopon Wanaram (Pa Khlok Temple) on Saturday to honor fallen soldier Thanapon Kaewpetch, a native of Phuket, who was shot dead while on duty in the Deep South last week. Private Thanapon joined the military on November 1 last year. He was killed while guarding the Thai military installation in…
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Burmese dealers busted with large stash of drugs
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested two Myanmar nationals for drug dealing after raiding a rented apartment room in Rassada, where they found 5,000 methamphetamine pills (ya bah) and 400 grams of crystal meth (ya ice). Aye Ayemaung, 32, was arrested in possession of 3,533 ya bah pills and 366.14 grams of ya ice, along with drug paraphernalia,” confirmed Phuket City Police…
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Phuket Gazette bags ‘Best Newspaper in South Thailand’ award
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette is honored to have been named ‘Best Newspaper in South Thailand’ at the prestigious Thailand Professionals Business & Lifestyle Awards in Bangkok on Saturday night. In presenting the award, the organizers noted that readership was the key criterion in arriving at their decision to favor the Gazette. “With national distribution throughout Thailand, the newspaper is the…
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DDPM drains flooded areas in Krabi
KRABI: The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Krabi began draining water from about 50 rai of land yesterday morning, after heavy rains in Khao Kram sub-district flooded a mosque, a house and a road in the area. The water level was measured to be 1.5 meters deep, and sometimes goes up to two meters during periods of heavy…
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Phuket to hold commemorative event for HM’s 30-day passing
PHUKET: Phuket is set to hold a commemorative event for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 30-days passing this weekend. Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan has invited everyone across the island to come and pay their respects to His Majesty the King at Laem Prom Thep (Promthep Cape), Rawai, this Saturday at 3pm. The public is also invited to join in the…
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Governor’s Letter: Resolving conflicts between Thais and foreigners
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Dr Chokchai Dejamornthan is the island’s 47th governor. Originally from Chachoengsao, he holds a doctorate in philosophy from the Christian University of Thailand, a master’s in Social Development from the National Institute of Development Administration, and a bachelor’s degree in Law from Thammasat University. Here, he talks about resolving conflicts between Thais and foreign tourists on the…
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Island View: House hunting in Phuket
PHUKET: I’ve been living the good life at a posh little condo in Kathu for a couple of years now. I’ve changed to at least four different apartments, but all in the same complex, because I liked the idea of having a pool and a gym I can use daily. However, I’ve come to realize that I may be paying…
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Mon motorcyclist mugs Russian clubber in Patong
PHUKET: A Mon man was arrested on Saturday for robbing a Russian woman in a dark alley when she took a ride with him after leaving a night club on Bangla Road at 2am looking for a taxi. The 30-year-old victim, named by police only as ‘Victoria’, said she was beaten and robbed by Samlee Sangjan, 27, on Tuesday after…
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Drinking session leads to stabbing death in Srisoonthorn
PHUKET: A 23-year-old man died in Thalang last night after he was stabbed in the neck and chest by his 31-year-old drinking buddy. Thalang police confirmed this morning that the body of Boonnam Ravea, 23, was found in a pool of blood at a house in Moo 7 in Srisoonthorn at 12:30am. Mr Boonnam’s body had stab wounds under his…
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Patong Mayor unmoved by beach vendors’ pleas
PHUKET: Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup on November 1 dug in her heels against alleged public land encroachment by Patong Beach food vendors. A three-hour meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall between Patong Municipality officials, Phuket Provincial officers and beach vendors ended without any definite conclusion, which Mayor Chalermluck attributed to the fact that beach vendors ‘never made good on their promises’.…
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Australian tourist injured in elephant attack
PHUKET: An Australian tourist was hospitalized after he was attacked by an elephant chained to a tree inside a forest in Mai Khao. “Chan Yong Shun, 62, had gone for a walk in the area on Monday, when he came across the four-year-old elephant named Namwan and moved closer to take a picture,” said Tah Chat Chai Police Superintendent Prawit…
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