Month: October 2001
- Phuket News
Duongchalerm: Pressure mounts for arrest
BANGKOK (AFP): Pressure mounted Wednesday for Thai authorities to arrest MP’s son Duongchalerm Yoobamrung, who is accused of killing a police officer on Sunday. But first they have to find him, which appears to be causing some difficulty. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called on the military to arrange for Duongchalerm to be handed over to police for interrogation after a…
Read More » - Phuket News
Seized speedboat to be auctioned
PHUKET: A nine-meter British-built speedboat with twin 200hp Mercury engines, seized from a dive company in Ao Chalong earlier this year, will be put up for auction on November 8 at the Phuket Customs Region 5 offices on Phuket Rd. As with previous vessels put up for auction, the speedboat, “Seafarer”, was seized for alleged non-payment of Thailand’s crushing boat…
Read More » - Phuket News
Road injuries toll nearing 10,000
PHUKET: Road deaths in Phuket between January 1 and September 20 are down on the past two years, according to the latest government statistics, but the number of people injured this year is heading rapidly for five figures. According to statistics from the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals, 11 people died as a result of traffic accidents between August…
Read More » - Phuket News
Rise in babies named Osama
BANGKOK (AFP): The name Osama has become popular for newborn babies in Thailand’s predominantly Muslim south since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States, officials said today. “The name Osama can be applied to both boys and girls, and to my knowledge there are many newborn babies [receiving this name],” said Irfan Sulong, a member of the Yala…
Read More » - Phuket News
New Provincial Palad takes office
PHUKET: Vithit Jiannai took office yesterday as Phuket’s new Provincial Palad, Governer CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi announced this morning at the monthly meeting of provincial department heads. K. Vithit, who was transferred from Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, replaces Dr Sumeth Chailertvanitkul, who yesterday moved to a new post as Palad of Nakhon Sawan Province.
Read More » - Phuket News
Kata Group win Suratin Cup
PHUKET TOWN: Kata Group won the Suratin Football Cup on Saturday in a bruising final against Anupharp Trading at the Chai ground on Narisorn Rd. The two teams were evenly matched throughout the 20-minute first half, both creating scoring opportunities, but both failing to find the net. Kata stepped up the pressure after half time, to the point where Sinchai…
Read More » - Phuket News
Murder warrant issued for Chalerm’s son
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai police today issued a warrant for the arrest of Duongchalerm Yoobamrung, 29-year-old son of top MP Chalerm Yoobamrung, for shooting dead a police officer in a Bangkok nightclub. Inspector General Suraphon Kanchanajittra said he ordered the arrest of Sub-Lt Doungchalerm for premeditated murder after witnesses reported seeing him fire the fatal shot last night. “There were two…
Read More » - Phuket News
Top businessman dies of heart attack
PHUKET: Banlue Tantiwit, former President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) died this morning of a heart attack. Phuket-born K. Banlue, who was 70, was also the Founding Chairman of the Phuket Rotary Club, a former Chairman of the Kathu Shrine and Chairman of the Phuket Sports Association. A well-known businessman, he was Chairman of the Board of the…
Read More » - Phuket News
US tourist drowns in Krabi
KRABI: American tourist Michael George Smith, 48, died while snorkeling at Koh Pai on Friday. Tour guide Suchart Aonrutee of Phi Phi-based Chao Koh Tour reported to Krabi police that he took Mr Smith and 10 other tourists from Koh Phi Phi to Koh Pai on a snorkeling trip. After they had spent an hour at Koh Pai, K. Suchart…
Read More » - Phuket News
Illegal labor raids to resume in earnest
PHUKET: The drive by the Phuket Provincial Employment Service Office (ESO) to register all Burmese, Laotian and Cambodian laborers working in Phuket came to an end on Thursday. The ESO has warned that raids to find unregistered workers will now resume in earnest. In a campaign that began on August 28 as part of a national effort, the ESO registered…
Read More » - Phuket News
Top brass tackle crimes against tourists
PHUKET TOWN: Top police commanders met today to discuss how to tackle problems affecting tourism in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi. Speaking after the meeting, Pol Gen Kovit Wattana, Deputy Commissioner-General (Crime Suppression 1), said that the meeting was held to find ways of ensuring tourists’ safety, including ways to stop people cheating tourists, and ways to protect the environment.…
Read More » - Phuket News
Experts enter burned-out ammo dump
KORAT (AFP): Thai army experts today entered the smoking ruins of a badly damaged ammunition dump to search for victims of yesterday’s massive explosions that are thought to have killed at least 13 people and injured 80. The warehouse complex in Pak Chong District was torn apart yesterday when a truck overturned, setting off a deadly chain reaction that engulfed…
Read More » - Phuket News
Strange day as Patong gets new Mayor
PATONG: The Patong Municipal Council has elected a new mayor for the town after former Mayor Pian Keesin was forced to step down last week when his budget plan was rejected by a vote of 9-2. Oddly, the new Mayor is Surasak Maneesri, one of the two councilors to vote for Pian’s budget – the other being Pian himself. Sakorn…
Read More » - Phuket News
Drowning victim identified
KARON: The foreigner who drowned off Karon Beach on October 13 has been identified as 53-year-old Per-arne Sivertsen of Norway. Pol Capt Chana Sutimard, of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette, “Today I received a call from a member of the reception staff at the South Sea Resort to tell me that a guest who was supposed to check out…
Read More » - Phuket News
Slow economy boosts Festival crowds
PHUKET: Slow times in the Thai economy and higher unemployment have had an effect on the Vegetarian Festival, with the number of people going to Chinese shrines for free vegetarian meals sharply up on last year’s figures. Partly, shrine spokespeople said, this was because they could save money. But it was also because believers felt that by taking part in…
Read More » - Phuket News
Patong Mayor forced to quit
PATONG: Members of the Patong Municipal Council have forced the resignation of the town’s Mayor, Pian Keesin, by rejecting his budget plan for the coming year. Pian lost by a vote of nine to two, the two being the mayor himself and Councillor Surasak Maneesri. Councillor Sakorn Cheua-yuan, who is secretary to local Member of Parliament Chalermlak Kebsab, said that…
Read More » - Phuket News
Krabi killer gets life
KRABI: Kasem ‘Maew’ Dumdee was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday for the October 1 murder of German tourist Cao Ghu. Pol Lt Col Somdej Sukkarn, the case investigator, told the Gazette today, “Kasem was charged with murder for the purpose of robbery and with concealing his crime. He was also charged with robbery resulting in death. He pleaded guilty…
Read More » - Phuket News
Thailand may triple visa fees
BANGKOK (AFP): Despite an alarming slump in the country’s critical tourism sector, Thailand is considering a plan to triple visa fees for tourists. Non-immigrant visas, including those for business people, whether resident or visiting, would also rise sharply, a report said today. Thailand’s finance ministry is expected to seek cabinet approval this week for the move, claiming that it would…
Read More » - Phuket News
New park fees spark fury among dive firms
PHUKET: The good news is that the discriminatory fee system for entry into the Similan and Surin National Parks has been abolished. Thais and foreigners will pay the same fee. The bad news is that, from November 15, the entry fee for all divers will be 200 baht. And on top of that they must also pay a user fee…
Read More » - Phuket News
More trouble in Paradise
PATONG: A bus driver employed by Seatran Travel was arrested Thursday for attacking a Paradise Complex business owner with an iron bar over a parking dispute. Rick Hooper, the new director of Simple Computers, told the Gazette that he and his pregnant wife, Chatchada, went to their car parked outside the office, and found that it was blocked by two…
Read More » - Phuket News
CSD arrests Phuket policeman for murder
PHUKET: Officers from the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) in Bangkok yesterday arrested a fellow officer working in the Phuket Forensic Science Department on charges of murder and robbery. Pol Lt Col Chatkanok Keawsongsang, Deputy Commissioner of the CSD, explained that it was alleged that Pol Sgt Maj Soonthorn Krodtem stopped an airport limousine driven by 26-year-old Sampakorn Temtup of Krabi…
Read More » - Phuket News
Injured writer’s family appeals for funds
PHUKET: Friends and family of writer Karla Doberstein yesterday appealed for people to help Karla with her rising medical bills by making donations into an account specially set up to pay the hospital. Ms Doberstein, 38, fell down the stairs in her home late at night on October 3, striking the back of her head as she fell. She was…
Read More » - Phuket News
Tangled trouble in Paradise
PHUKET TOWN: Thirty owners of businesses in the market area of Patong’s Paradise Complex descended on the Consumer Protection Office at the Provincial Hall on Monday morning to protest construction by the Royal Paradise Hotel, which they say has blocked access to their shops with thigh-high walls made of concrete blocks. The protest is the latest turn in a tale…
Read More » - Phuket News
Drowned foreigner identified
PATONG: The foreigner who drowned off Patong on August 29 has finally been identified after relatives saw his photograph in the news section of the Gazette Online. For six weeks local police had hoped that someone would come forward to claim the unidentified man’s body. They issued descriptions of the man and finally passed a photograph to the Gazette. After…
Read More » - Phuket News
Tax cut in bid to salvage boating industry
PHUKET: In a move likely to prove ‘too little too late’, Thailand’s cabinet has approved reduction in the country’s levies on imported pleasure boats from 209% to 47%. Sources contacted by the Gazette in Phuket and Bangkok were not prepared to speculate on a firm date for final approval or implementation of the measure, but there was a consensus that…
Read More » - Phuket News
New chief bans police from golf courses
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s newly appointed police commissioner, General Sant Sarutanond, has banned senior officers from playing golf, saying they were shirking their duties by spending hours on the fairways. “Many police commanders are ignoring their responsibilities by going to play golf and passing all their duties to subordinate officers, which is not proper behavior,” he said in a directive released…
Read More » - Phuket News
Blackout slated for Kathu-Patong areas tomorrow
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced that a scheduled blackout will take place tomorrow (October 17), from 10 am to 4 pm, to allow staff to work safely on high-voltage power lines. The area affected will run from the Caltex gasoline station at the intersection of Wichit Songkhram Rd and Phra Phuket Kaew Rd in Kathu, to…
Read More » - Phuket News
Last chance to register foreign labor
PHUKET: In its drive to register all Burmese, Laotians and Cambodians working in Phuket, the Provincial Employment Service Office (ESO) yesterday extended its deadline to register foreign laborers working in fishing-related industries to October 25. The ESO issued the new deadline after four employers told the office that they had, in total, 183 foreign laborers who could not be registered…
Read More » - Phuket News
Police appeal to identify drowned foreigner
KARON: Police have released a photograph of a foreigner who drowned off Karon Beach on Saturday afternoon, in the hope that someone may identify him. The victim is the second to have drowned at Karon Beach on Saturday, the first having been reported in yesterday’s Gazette Online. Pol Capt Chana Sutimard, of Chalong Police Station, told the Gazette that his…
Read More » - Phuket News
Suspect nabbed for thefts of 1.55 million baht
PHUKET TOWN: Police have caught a man suspected of stealing 200,000 baht from the Phuket Town Post Office in a break-in last month. Thavorn “Ord” Klomthong, 38, was arrested at his apartment yesterday. In the apartment, police found screwdrivers, pliers, a saw, a flashlight and other tools, as well as jewelry and cash. During questioning, Ord confessed to breaking into…
Read More » - Phuket News
Another tourist drowns
KARON: Philip Sams, a 40-year-old British tourist, drowned off Karon Beach in front of the South Sea Resort on Saturday afternoon. Pol Maj Jetsada Sangsuri told the Gazette that Mr Sams was swimming with his girlfriend, Wendy Murrin, around 3 pm. Ms Murrin returned to the beach, but Mr Sams chose to stay in the surf. Soon thereafter, he was…
Read More » - Phuket News
Appeal for blood donations
PHUKET: Wachira Phuket Hospital is appealing for donations of every type blood in advance of the Vegetarian Festival, which starts tomorrow. Pinwin Pinrarainont, a medical scientist at Wachira, told the Gazette that the hospital boosts its stock of blood every year for the festival to prepare for any accidents that might happen during the nine-day period. He added that, while…
Read More » - Phuket News
Festival ceremony to be televised live
PHUKET TOWN: This year will be the first time that a highlight of the island’s annual Vegetarian Festival will be televised live across Thailand. Channel 7 will broadcast the “go teng” pole raising ceremony, led by Somsak Thepsutin, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, at the Jui Tui Shrine on Soi Phuton, from 4:30 pm to 5:30 pm, on October…
Read More » - Phuket News
Airport passenger traffic falls
PHUKET: The number of people who arrived in Phuket via the International Airport has dropped by more than 20% in the past month, according to the latest statistics released by airport officials. The figures show that 118,382 passengers arrived in September, compared with 150,680 in August. The number of departures during the same period also dropped, by 25%, with 115,866…
Read More » - Phuket News
Deadline for company reports extended
PHUKET: The Department of Commercial Registrations (DCR) in Bangkok has extended until December 28 the grace period during which companies that are late in submitting their annual balance sheet reports will face only light fines. The announcement came in a release yesterday from Veerachai Tantiwathanavallop, Director of Phuket’s Commercial Registration Office (CRO). Companies that ended their fiscal year on December…
Read More » - Phuket News
Forensic tests “will nail Krabi murder suspect’
KRABI: Police are waiting for the results of an autopsy and other forensic tests which, they believe, will cement their case against boatman Kasem “Maew” Dumdee, accused of the murder of German tourist Cao Ghu on October 1. These results should be delivered to Krabi from Bangkok in two or three days, said Pol Lt Col Somdej Sukkarn, the case…
Read More » - Phuket News
City undeturd – fines for Fido’s streetside stools
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok vowed today that his town will no longer be a place for close encounters of the turd kind, thanks to an imminent drive to eliminate stinking dog faeces from the city’s streets. Speaking at his second “Mayor meets the press” conference, Mayor Phummisak warned that anyone who allows a dog in his or…
Read More »
