Month: September 2002
- Phuket
Blackout mars mayor&’s policy launch
PATONG: A blackout sparked a security scare and interrupted a policy speech by Patong Mayor Surasak Maneesri during the launch of his re-election campaign Saturday night. As the unscheduled lights-out struck the gathering of about 1,000 people, bodyguards rushed to pull the heavily-garlanded mayor down onto the stage and surrounded him in case there had been a security breach. The…
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Non-stop singer sets world record
PHUKET TOWN: He sang for his supper. He sang for his breakfast. He sang for his lunch. And Issarakul “DJ Dedduang” Thamangraksat eventually sang his way into the record books in a 24-hour marathon that ended today at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. The 28-year-old has earned a place in Ripley’s Believe it Or Not! by singing almost 500 songs…
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Police upgrade special skills
PHUKET TOWN: About 60 police graduated today from a three-week course designed to improve their ability to deal with VIP visits, security breaches and a variety of other situations. Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi told the officers that increased crime and marine accidents were byproducts of the growth in tourism and related industries. “Phuket has to prevent crimes and disasters of…
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Gov lobbies for lower import duty on yachts
PHUKET TOWN: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi yesterday urged a panel of central government financial experts to reduce the import duty on yachts. “Import taxes on yachts are too high. If charges and taxes were lower, more investors would import boats legally,” he said. The governor made his comments at a meeting to discuss provincial financial relations with the central government…
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New work permit fees in force
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette today confirmed that new work permit fees are in operation. Acting on a tip-off, the Gazette visited the offices of the Phuket Provincial Labor and Social Welfare Office, on Sakdidet Rd Soi 1, where the new fees are posted – in Thai only. The new charges, which came into force quietly on September 18, are as…
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Phuket’s ecofuture “starts here’
RAWAI: Key government and private organizations met today to start a serious campaign to protect Phuket’s environment – including Patong, which some say is already “worse than Pattaya”. Backed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the gathering at Rawai sought cooperation across city planning, marine life protection and urban issues such as garbage recycling. Suwan Nantasarut, Director of…
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4,000 invited to mayor’s campaign party
PATONG: Invitations have been sent to 4,000 Patong people to attend the launch of Mayor Surasak Maneesri’s municipal election campaign on Saturday. Festivities, set for the field next to Patong beach, will included a free buffet and drinks and performances on two stages, including sets by popular Look Thoong singers. Mayor Surasak’s Patong Gao-na (Patong Progress) group is running against…
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Seized yacht fails to sell at auction
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Customs sold an impounded dinghy at auction today but retained a yacht that failed to bring a satisfactory bid. The yacht, “Silachai”, was seized at the Boat Lagoon on March 7 last year and sent for auction after the case was closed. Only one bid of 480,000 baht was received today. A new auction date will be…
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“One Tambon’ project earns B87 million
PHUKET TOWN: The “One Tambon, One Product” project has earned 87 million baht for Phuket in eight months, a provincial community forum was told yesterday. Suthep Wuthisak, of the Phuket Provincial Development Office, told 80 representatives from government and private industry, including local shops and department stores, that it was important for suppliers and dealers to get together. More products…
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Anti-foreigner sentiment runs high at local chamber meeting
PHUKET: Just when foreigners in Phuket were beginning to regain confidence in Thailand as a place in which to invest, a Member of Parliament has once again clouded the skies by suggesting a massive rise in the fees for an initial work permit, from the current 300 baht to as much as 300,000 baht. The astonishing announcement was made today…
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Laguna appoints new Deputy MD
CHERNG TALAY: Laguna Resorts & Hotels (LRH) has appointed American Bill Barnett to the newly created post of Deputy Managing Director of the company. Mr Barnett, 43, will be responsible for overseeing the portfolio of non-hotel businesses at Laguna. These include Laguna Services Co, Laguna Property Sales, the Allamanda Vacation Club, Canal Village Laguna Shopping and Laguna Travel & Tours.…
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Large turnout tipped for King’s Cup
PHUKET TOWN: Organizers expect about 80 yachts and up to 700 sailors from 20 countries to take part in this year’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. The event dates of November 30 to December 7 were confirmed today at a meeting between regatta officials and Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi. He said the 16th annual regatta would also form a part of…
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Green fuel puts smugglers out of business
PHUKET: Lateral thinking by authorities appears to have won the day with official Green Fuel far outselling smuggled fuel in the Andaman Sea. The green-dyed diesel fuel is sold free of excise tax and VAT to Thai fishing boats as a way to stop them buying cheap fuel in international waters, or smuggled fuel in Thai waters. Pol Maj Prasert…
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Crackdown on cough syrup abuse
PHUKET: Authorities have begun a campaign to fight the abuse by Phuket teenagers of cough syrup containing codeine. More than 1,000 bottles of the syrup have been seized since August 19. The cough syrup, the latest “in” drug among Phuket teenagers, is commonly mixed with alcoholic drinks or soft drinks. Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong, chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office,…
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84 fined for after-hours drinking
PHUKET TOWN: Vice-Governor Manit Wattanasen led raids at the weekend on two nightspots in Phuket Town, netting 84 revelers who were fined 500 baht each for after-hours drinking. During the raids on Variety on Rassada Rd and Mondo on Yaowarat Rd, the urine of three women and two men tested positive for illegal drugs. Samples have been sent to Bangkok…
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Spectacle launches Pian&’s election campaign
PATONG: Former mayor Pian Keesin launched the Palang Patong Party’s (Patong Power – PPP) municipal election campaign at the weekend with a spectacular fair and a stage show that drew an audience of 500 people. PPP supporters who gathered outside the candidate’s house on Phra Baramee Rd enjoyed a free buffet, drinks and the show, plus a big-screen presentation of…
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B10m log cargo floats free
PHANG NGA: Heavy monsoon seas unleashed a 10-million-baht cargo of Indonesian logs and scattered them across waters off Phang Nga at the weekend. Now the company that owns the cargo is offering a 500-baht reward for each of 532 logs and has asked police to prevent Thai villagers “salvaging” them. On Friday evening, the logs were being towed on a…
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Unhappy workers blamed for boss’s murder
RAWAI: Police believe that the murder of a man at the wheel of his pick-up early yesterday morning was probably carried out by his disgruntled employees. Kongsin Wongpran, 40, a builder, was found slumped over the wheel with the driver’s door open on Wiset Rd, some half a kilometer from Chalong Circle, about 12:15 am on Friday. Two men on…
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Two held for mobile phone scam
PHUKET TOWN: Police have arrested a Briton and his Burmese partner and accused them of an international mobile telephone scam that was netting them thousands of baht each day. Police named the men as Gaser Jaba, 35, and Lux Chuman, 18. The pair were arrested at a house in Moo Baan Jom Thong on Kwang Rd yesterday afternoon. Police confiscated…
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Revenge&’ motive for stabbing murder
PHUKET TOWN: Police believe a Thai was murdered in a stabbing frenzy by a group of Burmese bent on revenge. Crewmen discovered the body of Pairat Singkam, 39, in the engine room of the “Sinnumchai 5” on Wednesday afternoon, while the boat was berthed in Rassada Port. Pol Capt Watcharin Jiratthikarn, of Phuket Town Police Station, said K. Pairat, a…
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Mass juvenile jailbreak: eight on run
PHUKET TOWN: Eight young escapees are still on the run this afternoon following a mass breakout from the Phuket Juvenile Observation and Protection Center (PJOPC) at about lunch time. Within a couple of hours, seven youths had been caught and returned to the center. Some later told reporters that they broke out because of beatings by older children. The seven…
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Road rage over Thepkrasattri name change
PHUKET: In response to public backlash, the Phuket Provincial Highways Office (PPHO) has removed its signs along the northern section of Thepkrasattri Rd indicating the road’s original and official name, Sathienthapanakij Rd. The new signs were posted as part of a Highways Office national program to have all highways marked clearly with their proper names. PPHO Chief Visute Maiwattana today…
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