News
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Anti-Thaksin protesters march through city
PHUKET CITY: Some 200 members of the Phuket branch of the People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) marched today from the CB Market on Bangkok Rd to Provincial Hall.The marchers, who included a handful of foreigners, took a roundabout route through the city, taking about an hour and a half to reach their destination, and shouting “Thaksin, Get Out!” along the…
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Police name third Preecha killing suspect
PHUKET CITY: Police say they believe they now know the name of the gunman who assassinated Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas, owner of the Phuket Shooting Range and the Fisherman Way housing estate.Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth named the wanted man as Samrerng Klaising, from Petchaburi.Meanwhile, Pol Capt Wanchana Polpalangkul and Pol Sgt Pongsak Kosi-ratanapibal, both formerly…
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Phuket Airlines “will be off blacklist soon’
BANGKOK: Phuket Airlines, recently blacklisted by the European Commission (EC) as one of 93 airlines barred from flying to the European Union (EU) and Switzerland, is confident that it will be reinstated soon, a senior official of the airline said today. As if to reinforce that confidence, the Gazette has learned that Phuket Airlines has applied to launch another airline,…
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Patong assault victim dies
PATONG: Chatchai “Ghee” Ritchohor, 32, who fell into a coma after being head-butted by a foreign tourist in July last year, has died.K. Ghee’s younger sister, K. Oranuch, said her brother died on Saturday of long-term complications from emergency brain surgery performed at Vachira Phuket Hospital after the assault, which caused his brain to hemorrhage and swell.Doctors at Somdej Phryuparat…
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Death of drinker
CHALONG: Probably the last thing Surasak Tayan expected as he sat drinking cola late one night outside a PTT filling station’s 7-Eleven convenience store was that his modest attempt at humorous self-deprecation would be the death of him. But it was. K. Surasak was frustrated because, at 3:30 am, he couldn’t buy a decent drink. Unfortunately, in expressing his disgust…
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Rescuers need rescuing
THALANG: Three Kusoldham Rescue Foundation workers had to call in rescuers themselves at about 3 am on March 10, after being assaulted by a group of more than 20 girls and ladyboys at the PTT filling station in Baan Lipon, Tambon Srisoonthorn. Chaiya Pariensati said he and two other rescue workers were on duty when they noticed a young woman…
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Rain “will linger a couple more days’
PHUKET: A low-pressure cell centered west of Phuket and just north of Sumatra will continue to bring unseasonably cloudy skies and scattered thundershowers over the next few days. Wiwat Intarapanich, Chief of Weather Forecasting at the Meteorological Department’s Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), told the Gazette today that he expects the scattered thundershowers to stop within a couple of days…
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Andaman provinces to host Senior World Cup
PHUKET CITY: The Senior Footballers’ Association of Thailand (SFA), in association with the Tourist Authority of Thailand, is organizing the first Football Senior World Cup tournament to celebrate the 60th anniversary of His Majesty the King’s accession to the throne.The tournament is to be held in Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga provinces, tentatively between April 24 and 30. It will…
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“Long Live The King’ wristbands go on sale
PHUKET: The King Power Foundation, Siam Commercial Bank, the Thailand Post and the Thai Military Bank are producing “Long Live The King” silicon wristbands and accompanying greetings cards to mark the 60th anniversary of HM King Bhumibol’s accession to the throne. Last year, the King Power Foundation manufactured 1 million similar wristbands, sales of which raised 105 million baht for…
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Eager candidates register for Senate poll
PHUKET CITY: Today was a busy day for the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) after it opened registration at Satree Phuket School for candidates in the Senatorial race.First to register, at 7:59 am, was Akkrawat Jitharn, followed close behind by Uthai Suksirisamphan and Prawat Suwannadithakul.Because all three were waiting to register before the doors opened, they drew lots for their election…
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Phuket Air barred from EU
BRUSSELS: Phuket Air has been included in a list of 93 passenger and cargo airlines barred from European Union countries and Switzerland, on safety grounds.It is one of only two airline in East Asia included in the list, the other being North Korea’s Air Koryo. Most of the list, made public on Wednesday, comprises airlines from Africa, with a sprinkling…
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Lawyer appeals against election ban
PHUKET CITY: Lawyer Thavorn Permpoon, would-be District 1 candidate of the Thai Chuay Thai (Thais Help Thais, or TCT) Party, has appealed to the Supreme Court after the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) ruled him out of the coming general election.Speaking to the Gazette yesterday, he explained that the PEC had removed his name from the register for the April 2…
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James Batt to leave Phuket
PHUKET: James Batt, Joint Managing Director of Laguna Resorts & Hotels (LRH), will leave the island in June to take up a new post as head of a chain of hotels headquartered in San Diego, California.Mr Batt joined LRH in November 1995 as Executive Director and Vice-President of Laguna Operations, responsible for overseeing the operations of all five resort hotels and…
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Call for Phuket people to join anti-Thaksin rally
PHUKET: The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) is urging the people of Phuket to join in a massive rally planned for Saturday at Sanam Luang in Bangkok, where protesters will demand that caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra resign.Amnuay Koombaan, a vice-president of the Phuket PAD, told the Gazette that he and other alliance members will leave Phuket at 6 pm…
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Suwit quits politics
PHUKET CITY: Suwit Sa’ngaimkul today announced his decision to quit politics. K. Suwit served as the Phuket Democrat Member of Parliament for Phuket District 1 for five years, until the recent dissolution called by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.“I was intending to finish my political career at the end of my second term [in 2009], but Parliament was dissolved first, so…
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Soi Dogs President resigns
PHUKET: The Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) announced today that co-founder and President Margot Homburg Park has resigned from the organization for personal reasons.In a statement, the SDF said that Mrs Park’s resignation has been regretfully accepted by the board. Vice-President John Dalley said, “Her contribution to relieving the problems of the island’s stray dog population cannot be overstated. She will…
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Housing Bank to auction foreclosed property
PHUKET: The Government Housing Bank (GHB) will hold this year’s first auction of foreclosed property on April 22 at the GHB Phuket branch on Bangkok Rd in Phuket City. The repossessed properties include land plots, offices, condominiums and houses in Phuket and Phang Nga Provinces with a total estimated value of about 40 million baht.Withaya Saenphakdee, Manager of the GHB…
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Charity rules tightened to stop abuse
PHUKET: In an effort to prevent people from setting up charities as fronts to support themselves, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura will require all organizations seeking foundation status to sign a consent form allowing the province to deregister them if they fall inactive, without having to resort to the courts. The surprise announcement was made Thursday morning by Phuket’s Chief Administrative…
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Ancient bricks and pots unearthed
THALANG: Researchers say bricks and earthenware pots uncovered by construction work in Tambon Ban Don confirm the area was the site of an Ayudhya-period settlement, Phuket’s largest at the time, more than 200 years ago.Ten funerary pots filled with human bones, along with numerous bricks, were unearthed by a team of builders led by Prayun Na-udomon on March 13, when…
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Police vow to catch tycoon’s killers
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Pol Col Chalit Tinthanee said today that police were “certain to arrest the murderers” of Phuket businessman Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas. K. Preecha, 43, was shot twice in the head while driving home along Wiset Rd late on Tuesday night. (Sea earlier story here.) He was rushed to Phuket International Hospital, but died…
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Phuket businessman assassinated
RAWAI: Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas, 43, owner of the Phuket Shooting Range and the Fisherman Way housing estate, was shot while driving home from dinner with his wife and his nine-year-old son late last night. He died later in hospital.Pol Capt Padungpong Duksukkaew of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that K. Preecha was driving along Wiset Rd with his…
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PGTV launches on the Internet
PHUKET: Programming from PGTV, the Phuket Gazette‘s new TV production unit, can now be watched online at thethaiger.com/tv, or by clicking on the “TV-Phuket” link above. Ten minutes of news and 10 minutes of documentaries or interviews are now uploaded to the site every day, Monday to Friday, at 10 am from the PGTV studios. The program consists of Phuket news, followed…
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Former cop to take on Sriyada at polls
PHUKET: A former policeman will take on Dr Sriyada Palimapan of the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) Party in District 1 in the April 2 parliamentary election, but the TRT candidate for District 2, Wisut Santikul, will run unopposed.Provincial Election Commission (PEC) Director Kittipong Thiengkunagrit told the Gazette that in District 1, covering Phuket City and environs, the candidates will be…
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Arsonists torch “Thaksin Out’ stage
SAPHAN HIN: In what appears to have been a show of support for caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, arsonists set fire to the backdrop of a stage set up by opponents of the PM early yesterday morning, destroying most of it.The stage was set up several weeks ago by supporters of businessman Sondhi Limtongkul and the People’s Alliance for Democracy.…
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Fire guts Crocodile Disco
PATONG: A fire early this morning gutted the popular Crocodile Disco on Soi Bangla, causing damage estimated at 40 million baht, according to the disco’s manager. The manager, Amnuay Kuabkum, told the Gazette that the fire broke out around 5 am, while guards were sitting outside to ensure the safety of the three-story complex, located at the end of Soi…
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The hazards of rescue work
THALANG: Three Kusoldham Rescue Foundation workers had to call in rescuers themselves at about 3 am on March 10, after being assaulted by a group of more than 20 girls and ladyboys at the PTT filling station in Baan Lipon, Tambon Srisoonthorn. Chaiya Pariensati said he and two other rescue workers were on duty when they noticed a young woman…
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Money no object for party guy
THALANG: Police arrested a young drunk who ordered a feast of food and drinks at a sing-song joint in Tambon Srisoonthorn and then couldn’t pay the bill. Upon questioning, the man admitted to police that he had done this before. Forty-five times. News of the penniless party guy reached Thalang Police at about 1:30 am on February 27, when a…
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Ex-cop sought for Patong murder
PATONG: Kathu police have issued an arrest warrant for an ex-policeman, L/Cpl Anan Hincheeranan, formerly of the Special Branch of the Royal Thai Police and latterly a security guard at Soi Bangla’s Crazy Bar, for the murder of Metha Thongkaew, his counterpart at the Snack Bar on Soi Tiger. Both bars are foreign-owned.K. Metha, 28, from Haad Yai, was shot…
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Mixed results for US boxers
SAPHAN HIN: A crowd of about 500 people turned up to the humid confines of Saphan Hin’s Gym 1 last night to watch the “Miss Lily Supermodel Muay Thai Championships 2006”, which pitted some of Thailand’s best female Muay Thai fighters against American fighters trained by Las Vegas-based Muay Thai trainer Thohsaphon “Master Toddy” Sitiwatjana.Some of the matches on the…
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Ranong quake rumor denied
PHUKET: The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has denied rumors of a major earthquake in the Ranong area.Rumors circulating today stated that a quake of magnitude 7.5 on the Richter scale took place near Ranong this morning.But Patrawan Tuamlee of the NDWC said that this was not the case. She did say, however, that there had been a slew of…
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