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One killed, 31 injured in Krabi bus crash
PHUKET: A bus en route from Phuket to Narathiwat flipped on a wet road in Krabi last night, killing one passenger and injuring 31 others. The body of 26-year-old Marina Sama-ae, a nurse from Narathiwat, was trapped inside the bus when police arrived just after midnight, said Capt Prasan Khongkaew of the Ao Luek Police. “The bus was turned over…
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Finnish man killed in Phuket
PHUKET: A Finnish man was hit by a car and killed while crossing Patak Road near Chalong Circle early this morning. A damaged Honda CRV was parked in the road, and the body of a 26-year-old man, named by police as Joonas Hotti, was found nearby when police and rescue workers arrived at the scene. “The Honda driver was heading…
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20 injured in Deep South bomb attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two more injured in further small blasts in Yala town Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Bomb attacks continued to erupt in Yala’s Muang district yesterday, raising the number of injured over the past two days to 20. Despite that, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister…
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No Rohingya holding center for Phuket, says Gov
PHUKET: Top Phuket and Navy officials have voiced support for the government’s move to find islands on which migrants, Rohingya and otherwise, can stop over on their way to their destination. However, they expressed concern about Phuket and islands which are part of Thailand’s National Marine Parks system being used as stop-over points. The move follows an order from Prime…
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Woman dies in car crash on slippery Krabi road
PHUKET: A woman died yesterday when she lost control of her pick-up truck on a wet road in Krabi and slammed into a pole. Police arrived at the scene on Petchkasem Road in Khlong Thom district at about 10am to find a pick-up truck wrapped around a sign pole in the median of the road. “Phonphan Khongyot, 31, died instantly…
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Opinion: Road improvements to relieve Phuket’s traffic congestion
Samak Luedwonghad, 48, is the director of the Phuket Highways Office, under the Department of Highways. Originally from Nakhon Sri Thammarat province, he graduated from Mahanakorn University of Technology with a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. He has been the director of the Phuket Highways Office since 2012. Here, he talks about the ever-worsening traffic congestion on the island and…
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BISP swim team racks up records, 2016 Summer Olympics qualifiers
PHUKET: When the JSA Swim Academy at British International School Phuket first took to the pool in August 2013, the team had five international swimmers on scholarship, four swimmers from the school’s Flying Fish club team and high hopes. During the August to December 2014 swim season, the team’s nine swimmers (five girls and four boys) competed in the Thailand…
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HK Express takes flight in Phuket market
PHUKET: Hong Kong’s low-fare airline has seen significant first-quarter growth as it continues its campaign to woo both the Thai and expat markets in Phuket. HK Express has carried close to 500,000 passengers in the first quarter of this year, which represents a 102 percent growth compared with the same period in 2014. The airline reports total passengers for March…
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Marine officials clamp down on IUU fishing in Phuket
PHUKET: Local maritime officers and fishing operators gathered yesterday to discuss measures launched to shut down illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities in the region. The push for solutions follows the EU putting Thailand on formal notice on April 21 for not taking sufficient measures in the international fight against IUUs (story here). Thailand was given six months to…
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Opinion: Helmetless children, hurdles to Phuket parenting
PHUKET: I’m a recent arrival in Phuket after spending several months in Bangkok where I purchased a Honda CBR150 sports bike and then dared to negotiate the city’s infamous traffic. I’d been cautioned not to do so because of the potential for injury or death, but having successfully driven a Chinese-made 150cc motorcycle, which resembled a scaled-down Harley, on the…
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Opinion: Russian Return – just victims of ‘host fatigue’
PHUKET: Good news for Phuket’s all-important tourism industry comes with indications that the sharp downturn in arrivals from Russia in the first quarter of this year is expected to be short-lived, with a solid recovery for this important market sector projected for the fourth quarter, according to industry analysts. The huge increase in the number of tourists from Russia to…
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Govt surveying two isles for detention of migrants
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt surveying two isles for detention of migrants Phuket Gazette/The Nation PHUKET: The prime minister has ordered a survey of two unpopulated islands off Ranong with the view of using them to detain Rohingya migrants. Sources familiar with the matter yesterday identified the islands as Kangkao…
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Finance: Sometimes you can buy happiness
PHUKET: I recently read a study about buying experiences versus material things and their relative effects on happiness. Interestingly, studies show that money only increases happiness up to a certain point, and buying experiences can have a longer effect on happiness than buying material things, even though the ‘things’ will be around for a substantial amount of time. The reason…
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Thalang man shot in alleged case of mistaken identity
PHUKET: A Thalang man was shot and seriously injured after he was allegedly mistaken for someone else. Kordetch Sinto, 38, was sitting outside of his rented room in Thalang on Wednesday evening when four suspects on two motorbikes rode up and shot him in the back. Mr Kordetch had already been rushed to Thalang Hospital before officers arrived, Phuket Provincial…
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Bikers baffled by nails scattered in bicycle lane
PHUKET: Island officials are searching for the culprit – or culprits – who left more than 100 nails in the bicycle lane at Saphan Hin, resulting in three punctured bicycle tires this week. A group of cyclists noticed the scattered nails when one of their bikes’ tires deflated while the group was riding on the path on Tuesday. “We didn’t…
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Video Report: Malaysian top cop vows to co-operate with Thai police in human-trafficking investigation
PHUKET: Malaysia’s top cop has agreed to fully co-operate with the Royal Thai Police in hunting down and arresting human-trafficking bigwigs who are believed to have fled to Malaysia. “We believe that there are several suspects wanted for human trafficking who are hiding in Malaysia,” said Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General Somyot Poompanmoung at the 23rd annual Departmental Review of Joint…
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Phuket lucky licence plate auction next weekend
PHUKET: The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) is hoping to raise more than 20 million baht from this year’s Lucky Licence Plate Auction, which will be held in Phuket Town next weekend. The two-day event at the Phuket Merlin Hotel will begin on May 23 at 9am, with 301 licence plates to go to the highest bidders. All licence plates…
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Cheap tuk-tuk service to be launched in Phuket Town
PHUKET: The Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) is organizing a tuk-tuk service in Phuket Town that will provide affordable transport for locals and tourists alike within the city limits. The news follows multiple complaints filed at Provincial Hall, the latest made on May 8, by a group of illegal tuk-tuk drivers who have been trying to obtain legal taxi status…
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Enormous king cobra caught creeping into Phuket hotel
PHUKET: A four-meter-long king cobra was wrangled into submission by rescue workers as it tried to sneak into a Phuket hotel room last night. Saiyan Thamaphan, chief of the Phuket Ruamjai Rescue Foundation, and his team arrived at Star of Phuket Resort to find panicked tourists and locals gathered outside. “We found the king cobra trying to gain access to…
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Phuket youth football team wins international championship
PHUKET: Four teams from Cruzeiro Football Academy at British International School Phuket (BISP) brought home gold, silver, bronze and shield medals from the Bangkok International Youth Football Festival 2015, held on April 25-26. Head Coach Jonathas Candido said the Under-11 team earned championship gold, the U9 squad struck silver, the academy’s U15 team garnered bronze and the U13’s took shield.…
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Government vows to revisit Koh Kaew canal dredging project
PHUKET: The Marine Department director-general has vowed to renew efforts to find the best solution to the congested Koh Kaew canal, which links two of Phuket’s prominent marinas to Phang Nga Bay. The extension of the Koh Kaew canal, which leads to Royal Phuket Marina and the Boat Lagoon, was reported as being completed on December 28, 2014, allowing easier…
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Magnitude 7 earthquake strikes in Nepal – USGS
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community MAGNITUDE 7 EARTHQUAKE STRIKES IN NEPAL – USGS Phuket Gazette / ReutersPHUKET: A strong earthquake shook Nepal today, sending people in the capital Kathmandu rushing out on to the streets weeks after a devastating quake killed more than 8,000 people and destroyed hundreds of thousands of…
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Thailand takes four-pronged approach to maritime-hub goal
PHUKET: The government will be pushing Thailand as a major yachting destination in the region using a four-pronged approach, the Marine Department director-general revealed at a public meeting in Phuket yesterday. To achieve Thailand’s goal, government offices will be working closely with maritime industry leaders to establish potential locations for new marinas in Thailand, develop and promote a yacht show,…
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Man dies, son in ICU after fainting in Krabi well
PHUKET: A man died and his son is in Krabi Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after the two fainted while digging a groundwater well in Krabi. Prapan Chaikhao, 59, and his son, Somnuek Chaikhao, 38, were hired to deepen the 1-meter-wide, 7-meter-deep well because it had dried up, local villagers told police. “The two went down together to dig, while…
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Summons issued for dangerous Phuket driver
PHUKET: The Phuket City Police are demanding that the owner of a black Fortuner SUV, whose vehicle was captured on video being driven recklessly, endangering other drivers, present himself to police. The video clearly shows the Fortuner cutting off two men on a motorbike in heavy traffic as it merges onto the bypass road from Yaowarat Road, and then coming…
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Video Report: Drug dealer’s daughter nabbed for dealing in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Police arrested a convicted drug dealer’s daughter on Saturday after she was found in possession of 5,400 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills, 41.50 grams of ya bah powder and more than 50g of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine). Police had been keeping a close eye on Suphanan Chaichana, 30, after her father, Lep Chaichana, was arrested for selling drugs and sentenced…
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Massive python found near Phuket Town school
PHUKET: A five-meter-long python was found coiled up at the entrance of a street across from Bangneaw School in Phuket Town yesterday morning. Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers rushed to the scene at Soi Jan Asawaksuk after being notified of the massive reptile by local villagers. “It took eight of us to lift and bag the snake. It weighed about 60…
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Opinion: Coming together in times of need
Phanuphong Limbuprasertkul, 46, is the president of the Phuket branch of the Thai-Nepalese Foundation, officially called the Shree Bhagawat Dhaam Sanatan Mandir Foundation, which is located in Patong. Mr Phanuphong was born in Kanchanaburi, and has lived in Phuket for the past 24 years. Here, he talks about how important it is for citizens of the world to come together…
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Koh Lanta tagged as potential hotspot for human trafficking
PHUKET: Officials investigated Koh Lanta yesterday, following the popular tourist island being named as a potential hotspot for human trafficking. “We were alerted to the potential issue of people being smuggled into Thailand through Koh Lanta District after locals reported seeing a group of suspected Rohingya,” said Koh Lanta District Chief Suriyan Narongkul. “By the time we got there, the…
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Loan shark death threats motivated me, says Phuket tour company fraudster
PHUKET: The 25-year-old man wanted for defrauding a Phuket tour company of about 1.5 million baht handed himself into police on April 29, claiming that the crime was made under the duress of death threats from loan sharks. Peerapat ‘Deer’ Singhon, his lawyer and his parents appeared at the Phuket City Police Station after Mr Peerapat went into hiding for…
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