Month: June 2000
- Phuket News
Korean visitor hospitalized after fall
PHUKET TOWN: A 42 year-old South Korean visitor, Kang Ki Hswan, is in hospital with serious head injuries after falling from a second-floor terrace at the Pearl Hotel yesterday morning. It is understood that Mr Hswan came to Phuket on Wednesday after being invited to the opening ceremony of the new Pearl Bowl bowling alley, held yesterday afternoon. Pol Maj…
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Foreign investment goosing local economy
PHUKET: Foreign investment in Phuket is still booming, according to the latest statistics from the Provincial Commercial Registration Office, which show that 95% of the businesses registered between June 1, 1998 and May 31, 2000 have foreign capital in them. This compares with about 65% in the two years up to May 31, 1998. “If we didn’t have the foreign…
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Policeman kills karaoke critic
BANGKOK (AFP): A police officer has confessed to killing one man and attempting to kill another because they didn’t like his karaoke performance, police said today. Pol Cpl Jirawat Sangworn, 25, has admitted both charges, claiming he was provoked by the victims’ booing and name-calling when he was about to sing the same song – a sentimental Thai ballad –…
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Turtles fail to cooperate with researchers
SIMILAN ISLANDS: Scientists, ecologists and navy personnel from Phuket and Japan combined recently on a project to attach satellite tracking tags to sea turtles in Thai waters. The only thing missing was the turtles; over a two-week period, the 12-person research team camping on Mun-Nai Island in the Similans managed to find only five turtles they could tag. Involved in…
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Opposition MPs begin mass resignation
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s largest opposition party staged a mass resignation today in a bid to force the government to call a general election. The New Aspiration Party (NAP) said 50 of its 116 MPs – including leader Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and secretary general Wan Muhamad Nor Matha – had quit and 41 planned to follow later in the day, the first…
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Third fisherman murdered in 48 hours
PHUKET TOWN: A man believed to be a Burmese fisherman was found dead in front of the entrance of the P. Pichai raft on Soi Si Sena in Phuket’s fishing port early yesterday morning. He was the third person to be murdered in the area in a period of 48 hours. Pol Capt Kanuang Pitakkulthorn of Phuket Town Police Station…
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Academic warned to stay away “or risk injury”
PHUKET: The instigator of a campaign to get a Bangkok-based academic to apologize for allegedly slandering the revered former abbot of Chalong, Luang Por Cham, has urged the academic to stay away from Phuket or risk injury at the hands of irate locals. Amnuay Koombarn, a member of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization, is leading a petition to press Dr…
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PIWC sports day raises 28,000 baht
KARON: The Family Sports Day organized by the Phuket International Women’s Club (PIWC) on Saturday at the Phuket Arcadia Hotel in Karon raised just over 28,000 baht toward the PIWC’s scholarship fund. As in previous years, fun games were organized by Claire Ratcliffe and Mark Breit of Coral Seekers. The event attracted 138 adults and children. Sponsors included the Phuket…
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Car smashes house, kills woman
KAMALA: A 45-year-old woman was killed early yesterday morning by a car whose driver lost control after avoiding a motorbike. The woman, Suda Khummitr, was sweeping in front of her house next to a bend on the Kamala beach road when, at about 6.45 am, the car hit her and then smashed into her house. The driver, a 29-year-old Australian…
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Gruesome double murder in fishing port
PHUKET TOWN: Two Burmese fishermen were found murdered on Soi Si Sena, in Phuket’s fishing port, on Saturday morning. Pol Maj Songwut Khunjan of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that the first man, as yet unidentified, was wearing a white shirt and green pants and appeared to be 20-25 years old. He is thought to have died at…
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Crackdown on insect souvenirs
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Forestry Office has announced its intention to crack down on anyone selling, buying, hunting, collecting or “doing anything threatening whatsoever” to 15 species of endangered insects. The insects, four kinds of beetles and 11 kinds of butterflies, are already protected under the 1992 Preserved and Protected Wild Animals Act. Recently, dried remains of some of these…
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Pig disease “no danger to Phuket’
PHUKET: Following reports that the deadly Nipah virus is making a comeback in northern Malaysia, Phuket’s health chief today sought to allay worries that the disease may spread to southern Thailand, including Phuket. Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office told the Gazette, “So far, there have been no reports of anyone in the country getting this…
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Smiling bag-snatcher caught, alive
PHUKET TOWN: The smiling bag snatcher who grabbed at least 11 purses in Phuket over the last month, including five in one 24-hour period, was nabbed by police after committing another crime at Tesco Lotus Supercenter on Thursday night. On Wednesday, Pol Col Chalit Thinthanee, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police, ordered his officers to catch the bag-snatcher “dead or alive”.…
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Police to get “anti-terrorist’ equipment
PHUKET: Following instructions from Phuket Provincial Governor Charnchai Soontharamut, police have ordered 85,000 baht worth of metal detecting equipment in order to “increase public safety” in Phuket. The equipment, which is scheduled for delivery at the beginning of July, consists of two Super Scanners and an Inspector G-100. The Super Scanner is a hand-held metal detector similar to those used…
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Japanese tourist drowns at Koh Hey
CHALONG: A Japanese tourist, Makoto Kato, drowned at Koh Hey Island this afternoon, not long after eating his first meal on the island. Pol Maj Sanae Panmee of Chalong Police Station said, “The victim’s guide told us that Mr Kato ate lunch, during which time he drank some beer, and then went snorkeling. “We still don’t know exactly how he…
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Thai Rak Thai announces MP candidates
PHUKET: The Thai Rak Thai Party has named its candidates for Phuket’s two parliamentary seats in the general election that must be held before the end of this year. Yada Palimapan, a member of the Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), is to stand for Voting District 1, which covers Phuket Town apart from Tambon Rassada and Tambon Koh Kaew. Hiran Thepsiri-amnuoy…
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Shipwreck survivors plucked from sea
PHUKET: A Thai transport ship, H. Charoensamut 28, on Monday rescued nine Indonesian sailors whose cargo vessel had sunk two days earlier. The survivors are now in Phuket awaiting repatriation. Jian Tabpian, 51, captain of the Thai ship, told Marine Police that as his vessel was passing through the Straits of Malacca, one of his crew saw the nine men…
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Bag-snatchers must be caught, “dead or alive’
PHUKET TOWN: The top policeman in Phuket Town, Pol Col Chalit Thinthanee, has issued instructions that a group of bag-snatchers are to be caught “dead or alive” after a huge surge in bag thefts in Phuket Town. Eleven cases have been reported in the past three weeks, five of them on Saturday and Sunday alone. All the thefts were from…
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Jumbo problem returns to Bangkok
BANGKOK (AFP): Elephants are returning to Bangkok after being banished three months ago, forcing a showdown with authorities who say they have no place in the busy city. “Thirty-eight elephants have returned to the city since mid-May and are living around Ramkamheng,” a Bangkok suburb, veterinarian Alongkorn Mahannop of the Dusit Zoo told AFP today. “There is no food for…
Read More » - Koh Samui News
Dutchman charged in Koh Samui murder
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai police investigating the strangling of an elderly Dutch woman on the southern resort island of Koh Samui said today that they have arrested a fellow Dutch national. Helmut Johan Beute, a 35-year-old from Enschede, was arrested yesterday after police found the body of 65-year-old Martha Johanna Jansen, from Haarlem, in her holiday bungalow on Saturday. She had…
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OrBorJor agrees to lower tax on hotels
PHUKET: Lobbying by hoteliers has convinced the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) to reduce the amount of tax it will levy on hotel room revenues. The hotel tax is one of three local taxes the Thai Constitution allows the provincial OrBorJor to levy. The other two apply to fuel and tobacco, both of which were implemented in Phuket last year.…
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Roof workers find historic documents
PHUKET TOWN: Workers fixing the roof of the Phuket Provincial Office made an extraordinary find last week in a corner of the building’s attic: four stacks of documents dating back as far as 80 years ago. Astonishingly, the find came just a few days after another group of roofing workers found similar documents under the roof of the Phuket Provincial…
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Shortage of tour guides causes problems
PHUKET: The island is suffering from a serious shortage of licensed tour guides, giving rise to increasing complaints from tourists, a meeting called by the Phuket Chamber of Commerce heard on Wednesday. While there are 363 licensed tour operators in Phuket, there are just 135 licensed guides, those at the gathering heard. The meeting – which brought together representatives of…
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15,000 sign Luang Por Cham petition
PHUKET: A petition signed by more than 15,000 people urging a Bangkok academic to retract remarks he made about Wat Chalong’s revered former abbot, Luang Por Cham, has been submitted to Phuket Governor Charnchai Soontharamut’s office. The petitioners hope to pressure Dr Poowadon Sonprasert, a sociology professor at Kasetsart University, to retract negative comments he recently made about Luang Por…
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Robbers stab German resident to death
CHANTABURI (AFP): A 52-year-old German man was stabbed to death in a bungled robbery in eastern Thailand yesterday. One of the three men suspected of killing him has been shot dead, police said. Dieter Meyer, from Frankfurt, was found dead early yesterday in the Kitchakud district of Chantaburi Province, Pol Lt Komon Cholcheep said. He had been stabbed five times.…
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Teens in “Romeo and Juliet’ double suicide
THALANG: Two Thai teenagers drowned in a reservoir in Thalang yesterday evening in what police believe may have been a double suicide echoing the classic tragedy of “Romeo and Juliet”. Pol Capt Suwarid Prommul of Thalang Police Station said that the two – food shop worker Maitree Kumvisete, 19, and Chanida Tiyapongpattana, 16, a student at Phuket Vocational College –…
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Sweden pledges help for Cyber City plan
PHUKET TOWN: A conference held today to lay out government plans for turning Phuket into a “Cyber City” heard a pledge of substantial support for the project from the Swedish government. “Sweden stands ready to provide financing for consultancy studies,” Swedish Ambassador Jan Nordlander told the meeting. “We are also ready to provide training in information technology at an advanced…
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Angel Air suspends services
BANGKOK (AFP): Private airline Angel Air said today it is looking for partners after suspending all flights due to financial problems. The airline, which was given an operating permit by the government in 1998 as part of a broad plan to liberalize Thai aviation, said in a statement it was looking for help from another airline. “Angel Air has recently…
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General coy about new job as minister
PHUKET AIRPORT: Pol Gen Pracha Promnog was playing his cards close to his chest when he flew into Phuket today, just hours after resigning as Thailand’s Chief of Police amid announcements that he will be appointed Minister of Labor. Chart Pattana leader Korn Dabbarangsri, who is also a Deputy Prime Minister, announced on TV that Gen Pracha would be named…
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Pattana Kathu Party wins landslide victory
KATHU: The Pattana Kathu Party has won a landslide victory in the Kathu Municipal Council elections that took place on Saturday, winning 11 of the council’s 12 seats. Two thirds of the municipality’s 9,732 registered voters cast ballots. Each was able to vote for as many as 12 candidates. Prasert Kaokijpaisarn, the leader of Pattana Kathu, gathered the highest number…
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All saved as ferry burns and sinks
PHUKET: Courageous ferry skippers who came alongside a burning tour boat today in Phang Nga Bay saved all 166 passengers and three crew. There were no injuries. The ferry, the 30-meter “Phuket Cruiser 2”, left Rassada Quay on the east side of Phuket Town for Phi Phi Island at 8 am. About an hour later, fire broke out in the…
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BUPA launches special medical coverage
PHUKET: International insurance giant BUPA Blue Cross, which recently opened a branch in Phuket, is offering personal medical coverage of 300,000 baht for an annual charge of less than 10 baht a day, the company has announced. For Shopper Card holders, the company is offering an additional discount of 10%, but that offer will expire on June 30 after the…
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World’s biggest croc celebrates birthday
BANGKOK (AFP): The world’s biggest crocodile celebrated his 28th birthday today with a cake and a whole chicken at a private zoo on the outskirts of Bangkok. “Yai”, whose name means “Big”, is six meters long and weighs 1,114 kilograms, zoo officials said. The massive reptile, a cross between the fresh-water and salt-water breeds of crocodile, entered the Guinness Book…
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Two American teens die in road smash
KARON: Two American teenagers on a motorcycle were killed in a traffic accident on the road to Patong yesterday evening. Pol Capt Chana Sutthimas of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that at around 7.30 pm, John James Haney and William Richard Knox, both 18, were in a collision with a van belonging to Phuket Simon Cabaret. The two boys…
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Slow start for petition against professor
PHUKET TOWN: A petition aimed at pressuring a prominent academic into withdrawing remarks he made about about a revered former abbot of Wat Chalong and to apologise to the people of Phuket has taken off slowly, with only 1,000 or so signatories so far. As reported in the Gazette Online’s Daily News yesterday, Kasetsart University professor Dr Poowadon Songprasert has…
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Swiss expatriate drowns
KATA: A 71-year-old Swiss expatriate, Walter Ledermann, who lived near Chalong Circle, drowned after going swimming in front of Club Med at Kata on Monday evening. Pol Lt Teerawat Liumsuwan of Chalong Police Station said, “At 2 pm [on Monday], Mr Ledermann told his wife Pang, before she went out, that he was planning to go swimming. When she got…
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Angry Phuketians slam professor
PHUKET: A university professor in Bangkok has so angered some people in Phuket with his remarks to a magazine that a petition is being raised to try to pressure the professor to withdraw his remarks and apologize. The professor, Dr Poowadon Songprasert of Kasetsart University, made the remarks about Luang Por Cham, the much-revered abbot of Wat Chalong at the…
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