Month: May 2001
- Phuket
All three vice-governors to be transferred
PHUKET: All three of Phuket’s vice-governors will be transferred to other provinces in the annual October 1 reshuffle of government officials, Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi confirmed today. Noting that 20 governorships around the country will become vacant at the end of September, he said, “We have three senior vice-governors here. Two of them – Amnuay Sanguannam and Wittaya Pintapat – have…
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KL consulate tightens up B visa rules
KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Thai Consulate in Kuala Lumpur has joined its counterpart in Penang in making it a great deal more difficult for foreigners working in Thailand to obtain a Non-Immigrant ‘B’ visa. A memorandum, dated May 21 and handed out to applicants on their arrival at the consulate, lists 10 documents – including confidential company papers – that…
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‘Virus warning’ email hoax hits Phuket
PHUKET: An email circulating round the island, warning computer users of a new virus that is scheduled to activate itself tomorrow (June 1), is a hoax, say experts. The message begins, “Urgent. A virus could be in your computer files now, dormant but [set to] become active on June 1. Follow [the] directions below to check if you have it…
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Teenagers break out of detention center
PHUKET: Three teenagers escaped from the Phuket Observation and Protection Center (OPC) late on Monday night. To escape, the boys used an iron bar from a bed frame to force open a window, then scaled the center’s perimeter wall. An officer at the OPC, who asked not to be named, said that the teenagers may have been frightened by a…
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Thaksin fires central bank governor
BANGKOK (AFP): The government of Thaksin Shinawatra today sacked Bank of Thailand governor Chatumongkol Sonakul following a week-long wrangle over interest rate policy, a senior official said. “This change is to enhance the efficiency of the government’s work,” government spokesman Yongyuth Tiyapairat told reporters after a cabinet meeting in which the decision was made to get rid of Chatumongkol. Public…
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Police step up fight against foreign gangs
PHUKET: Phuket Immigration Police will step up surveillance on suspected foreign criminals in order to minimize organized crime, Pol Col Apirak Hongtong, Superintendent of Phuket Immigration Police, has told the Gazette. He singled out Nigeria as a consistent source of criminals, with a large number of Nigerians having been arrested for involvement in such crimes as drug running and fraud.…
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Seatran wins port tender with 90m baht bid
PHUKET TOWN: Seatran Travel Co Ltd has won the tender to run the Rassada Port with a bid worth more than 90 million baht over the 30 years of the lease. The port is owned by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor). The decision was announced on Friday by the OrBorJor’s Deputy President, Wisut Santikun, who headed the committee examining…
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Phuket shut out of medals in Rugby 10s
SAPHAN HIN: So far but no further was the catchphrase for Phuket this afternoon, as the Phuket Barbarians crashed out of the Cup semi-finals in the Phuket Island Lager International Rugby Tens, going down 0-27 to the eventual winners, Hong Kong FC Vandals. The Phuket Vagabonds, meanwhile, slaughtered the Hong Kong Bulls 40-0 in the Bowl semi-finals, only to be…
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Clean sweep for Phuket Barbarians
SAPHAN HIN: The Phuket Barbarians made a clean sweep of their matches to win Group A of the Phuket Island Lager International Rugby Tens today. The Phuket Vagabonds, in Group D, won one game and lost two to come equal second. Favorites and last year’s winners of the tournament, British Club of Bangkok, crashed to the bottom of Group A,…
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Gov to lobby against flight change
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi is to request the government to reconsider the switching of a Thai Airways International (THAI) service from Phuket to Bangkok. THAI has announced that its twice-weekly service between Perth, Australia, and Phuket will be canceled. Starting from October 1, the flights will land in Bangkok instead. Governor Pongpayome said yesterday, “I don’t agree with this…
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Prawn farm boss on murder conspiracy charges
PHUKET TOWN: Somsak Wongsawanond, the owner of the Wachara Prawn Farm in Pa Khlok, was arrested yesterday on charges of conspiracy to murder environmental activist Jurin Rachapol at the end of January. K. Jurin died on January 30 after being shot three times while collecting cashew leaves in a forest near the farm. The man accused of carrying out the…
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Thai tourist feared drowned off Patong
PATONG: Prawit Butdon, a 19-year-old tourist from Haad Yai, is feared to have drowned while swimming with friends off Patong Beach yesterday. Pol Capt Chawarit Patseepear of Kathu District Police Station said he received a call at about 6 pm, notifying him that Prawit had disappeared. Officers from Kathu and from the Marine Police rushed to the scene, along with…
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One dead, 20 hurt in bus crash
PRACHUAP KHIRI KHAN: One passenger from Hong Kong died instantly and 20 Thais were injured when a tour bus carrying passengers from Phuket to Bangkok overturned on the highway early yesterday morning. One of the injured is Pol Lt Col Wuttichai Kumphut, formerly deputy superintendent of Chalong Police Station. He and other passengers were taken to Prachuap Khiri Khan Hospital…
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THAI “sucks”, says Thaksin
BANGKOK (AFP): Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra today slammed Thailand’s national airline, Thai Airways International (THAI), for its high ticket prices, uncomfortable seats and poor service. In an interview today, he said, “If I were not a public figure, I wouldn’t fly with THAI. It sucks. “Business class on other airlines is better than THAI’s first class. Our fares are also…
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Copyright raid reports keep Net cafés closed
PHUKET TOWN: Dozens of businesses that use computers stayed closed today after reports that police were raiding Internet cafés and other computer-intensive businesses, looking for pirated software or copies of legitimate software being used without licenses. A source claiming to be close to the police in Bangkok responsible for enforcing copyright law told the Gazette that raids were being conducted…
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Gov urges businesses to tell him of problems
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi today urged foreign investors in Phuket to inform him of their suggestions, complaints and problems so he could deal with them or pass them on to the government. Speaking at the monthly meeting of the International Business Association of Phuket at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, the governor also stressed that corruption in government…
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Angel Air to fly Phuket-HK and Phuket-Osaka
BANGKOK : Thailand’s second airline, Angel Air, is to launch two new services to Phuket next month – one from Osaka in Japan, and one from Hong Kong. The airline said today that it would begin daily flights from Japan’s second-largest city to Phuket, via Bangkok, on June 21. It will also introduce twice-weekly flights between Phuket and Hong Kong…
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Two held for murder of Chinese fisherman
PHUKET TOWN: Two young men have been arrested and charged with the murder of a member of the crew of a mainland Chinese fishing boat during a brawl in the fishing port in the early hours of yesterday morning. They have also been charged with assault on another member of the boat’s crew. Pol Maj Songwut Khunjan, Investigation Inspector with…
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Charity collectors “may be thieves’
KAMALA: Police have issued a warning for people to be wary of thieves operating in Kamala. The thieves impersonate volunteers soliciting donations for a legitimate cause. One local resident explained to the Gazette, “A man in a blue safari suit came to my house on Sunday morning. The guard let him onto the property because he thought the man was…
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Tourist dies in motorcycle accident
KARON: Australian tourist Samantha O’Donnell, 23, died instantly in a motorcycle accident early Monday morning. Pol Capt Sanae Panmee of Chalong Police Station said, “Ms O’Donnell was a passenger on a motorcycle driven by a friend, Craig Eades. They were riding back from Patong at about 2 am. “He tried to overtake a Road Tran Tours coach on the corner…
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Warning over door-to-door cheats
PHUKET TOWN: Charan Sandsarn, owner of Charan Kreunglek & Faifha on Ong Sim Pai Rd, has warned householders to beware of a gang of foreign cheats who, he says, are using the name of his shop to sell electrical goods door-to-door. K. Charan said that the foreigners – thought to be from West Africa – claim to be sales representatives…
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Crooked community police arrested
WICHIT: Anucha Kaewkuen, 33, and Udomchai Faipetch, 37, from the Tambon Wichit Community Police office, were arrested recently after demanding 4,000 baht from an employer who had hired an illegal Burmese worker. The men went to an unnamed employer’s construction site and arrested a Burmese laborer. They then demanded the employer pay them 4,000 baht, claiming that the money wasn’t…
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