Month: December 1999

  • Phuket NewsRises in Immigration fees put on hold | Thaiger

    Rises in Immigration fees put on hold

    PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration Office, like all other Immigration offices in Thailand, has rescinded steep rises in visa and other fees which were introduced recently. The rises, which quadrupled the existing fees, were contained in a new immigration law brought into force on November 12. However, a subsequent notice from Immigration headquarters in Bangkok on November 29 ordered the new…

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  • Phuket NewsKaraoka and Hi Fidelity neck-and-neck | Thaiger

    Karaoka and Hi Fidelity neck-and-neck

    KATA: With one day’s sailing still to go in the King’s Cup regatta, a clear winner has yet to emerge in the premier division, the Racing Class, with Neil Pride’s Hi Fidelity and Ray Ordoveza’s Karaoka continuing to slug it out for top honors. The regatta went into its fourth day without major problems, other than the continued strong winds…

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  • Phuket News1999 sees higher than normal suicide rate | Thaiger

    1999 sees higher than normal suicide rate

    PHUKET: The number of suicides in Phuket this year has been higher than in most previous years, Dr Boonriang Chuchaisangrat, Chief of the Phuket Health Office, told the Gazette today. In previous years, between 12 and 20 suicides a year have been recorded, he said, but this year so far there have been “more than 20”. Of these, the highest…

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  • Phuket News“Too sexy’ policewomen get a dressing-down | Thaiger

    “Too sexy’ policewomen get a dressing-down

    BANGKOK (AFP): Policewomen in Thailand were today ordered to cover up, after a top police chief complained that too many officers were wearing miniskirts and body-hugging uniforms. “A number of policewomen wore too tight uniforms with short skirts, colorful makeup and have dyed hair,” said a government statement. Pol Lt Gen Somchai Milindangkura said a special team had been established…

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  • Phuket NewsFickle winds for second day of King’s Cup | Thaiger

    Fickle winds for second day of King’s Cup

    KATA: The King’s Cup fleet arrived in Phuket yesterday after two days’ racing, the first between Krabi and Phi-Phi and the second from Phi-Phi to Phuket. The day started well, with promising 10-knot winds. But these died away during the afternoon. In the evening, with all the boats moored off Kata beach and the crews onshore sampling a variety of…

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  • Phuket NewsTough contest brewing for municipal seats | Thaiger

    Tough contest brewing for municipal seats

    PHUKET TOWN: December 25 will see hot competition between 54 candidates from three political parties – the Young People’s Party, the People’s Party and the Creative Party – and four independent candidates for the 18 seats on the Phuket Town Municipal Council. The Municipality, which is expecting about half of Phuket Town’s 42,417 registered voters to make their mark, has…

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  • Phuket NewsFive die in flash floods in southern Thailand | Thaiger

    Five die in flash floods in southern Thailand

    BANGKOK (AFP): Five people are dead and hundreds have been evacuated from their homes after a tropical depression sparked flash floods in southern Thailand. Two boys, aged seven and nine, were swept away by floodwaters in Yala province. Three other people drowned in nearby Pattani, Songkla and Chumporn provinces after a tropical storm hit the west coast of the Gulf…

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  • Phuket NewsMan hangs himself after wage cut | Thaiger

    Man hangs himself after wage cut

    PHUKET TOWN: A man was found dead yesterday morning, hanging from a beam in the room he rented in Tambon Rassada, a half-empty tube of glue on the floor nearby. The body of Anucha Foythong, 21, a native of Phang Nga, was discovered when a neighbor looked through a window and saw him hanging from the rafter. The dead man…

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  • Phuket NewsSwiss snorkeler drowns off Racha Noi | Thaiger

    Swiss snorkeler drowns off Racha Noi

    PHUKET: A Swiss man drowned on Friday while snorkeling with family and friends off Racha Noi Island. The man, Carlo Wellinger, 45, was on holiday in Phuket, staying at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Beach in Bang Tao. Police said it appeared that Mr Wellinger fainted while swimming. Before he could be pulled from the water, a wave dragged him under.…

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  • Phuket NewsMemory loss holds Gazettes to a draw | Thaiger

    Memory loss holds Gazettes to a draw

    SAPHAN HIN: The Phuket Gazettes and the Bangkok British Club (BBC) battled to a 5-5 draw on Saturday in their annual 15-a-side match. Victory would have gone to the Gazettes, were it not for a mental lapse by Thiti Tandavanitk. Toward the end of the third quarter, he made it past the BBC tryline but forgot to touch down, much…

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  • Phuket NewsRefinery fire put out, death toll rises to five | Thaiger

    Refinery fire put out, death toll rises to five

    SI RACHA (AFP): Thai firefighters yesterday finally put out a fire which had raged at an oil refinery for 35 hours. By that time the death toll had risen to five, with the discovery of more bodies at the site of the initial explosion and subsequent fire. The blaze started after the blast ripped through a storage tank at the…

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  • Phuket News400,000 fish released to mark King’s birthday | Thaiger

    400,000 fish released to mark King’s birthday

    KATHU: The Phuket Provincial Fisheries Office today released 400,000 fish in the Bang Wat reservoir as part of the celebrations to mark the 72nd birthday of HM the King. Also present at the fish release was Phuket Governor Charnchai Soontharamut. Chada Wangboonkong, Deputy Chief Officer of the Phuket Provincial Fisheries Office told the Gazette that 100,000 of the fish had…

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  • Phuket NewsGambling again tops crime statistics | Thaiger

    Gambling again tops crime statistics

    PHUKET: Gambling cases once again topped the crime lists in Phuket for the period November 1 through 25, according to statistics released today by the Phuket Provincial Police. A total of 184 people were arrested for gambling in the course of 94 police raids. Following close behind were illegal immigrants, 173 of whom were caught in the same period. Drugs…

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  • Phuket NewsTwo dead, 15 hurt in refinery explosion | Thaiger

    Two dead, 15 hurt in refinery explosion

    SI RACHA (AFP): A huge fire devoured millions of litres of oil today after a string of explosions ripped through a refinery here, killing two people and injuring 15. Sheets of flame soared 100 meters into the air as hundreds of firemen battled to stop the blaze from engulfing the entire structure run by Thai Oil Co, some 70 kilometers…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket MP to press for probe into immigration laws | Thaiger

    Phuket MP to press for probe into immigration laws

    PHUKET: Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, Phuket’s Member of Parliament, has agreed to help foreigners living in Thailand by pushing for a top-level inquiry into the way the country’s immigration laws are applied. Khun Anchalee was shown Section 5 of the Alien Registration Act which – as reported in the Gazette on October 15 – requires all foreigners to register with police and…

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  • Phuket NewsDead whale examined by biologists at Cape Panwa | Thaiger

    Dead whale examined by biologists at Cape Panwa

    CAPE PANWA: A dead whale was brought by fisherman from Phang Nga Bay to the Phuket Marine Biological Center this morning for an autopsy. Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, a biologist at the Center, identified the 4.3 meter long animal as a Bryde’s Whale of one to two years of age. He told the Gazette that the ‘fragrant’ whale had been dead for…

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