Month: September 2003
- Cannabis News
Britons arrested for dealing drugs
KATHU: Two British men and four Thais have been arrested and charged with dealing ya bah (methamphetamines) after a series of “kiss-and-tell” raids on Monday. The charges carry the death penalty – an unlikely but theoretically possible punishment. Information obtained in the first raid led to a second raid, then a third raid. The Britons – named by police as…
Read More » - Phuket News
New Gov arrives in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Just one day before officially taking up his new post as Phuket Governor CEO, Udomsak Usawarangkura told reporters today that tourism development would remain a top priority under his leadership. “I will continue to emphasize tourism development for Phuket, as this is the island’s most important industry,” K. Udomsak said following a dinner with local officials at the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Road death toll still falling
PHUKET: A dramatic transformation in Phuket’s road toll statistics appears to be taking place with just three deaths reported on the island in the period between September 1 and September 25. Since Phuket recorded an alarming total of 26 motorcycle-crash deaths between April 20 and May 20, the monthly tally has fallen to 15 deaths, then nine deaths and now…
Read More » - Phuket News
Nuclear reactor gets govt go-ahead
BANGKOK (The Nation): The controversial nuclear research reactor project in Nakhon Nayok has been given the construction go-ahead. This is despite the environmental impact assessment (EIA) not yet having been completed, and the safety analysis report having been rejected by a key committee. The National Commission on Atomic Energy for Peace yesterday approved the research project, to be built in…
Read More » - Phuket News
Drugs top priority for new Governor
PHUKET TOWN: A more intense campaign against illegal drugs will be the top priority when the new Governor CEO, Udomsak Usawarangkura, arrives in Phuket tomorrow, ready to step behind his desk on Wednesday. Coincidentally, October 1 also marks the beginning of a two-month nationwide campaign to eradicate illegal drugs from Thailand. It is hoped that by December 2, all 76…
Read More » - Phuket News
Meeting called to stem beachfront friction
PATONG: In a move to defuse growing tension between Phuket-native vendors in Patong and vendors who have migrated south to the resort town in hopes of making their fortunes, Patong Municipality on Friday held an all-day conference advocating more ethical business practices and a united front in serving tourists. “It’s not easy getting people from everywhere in Thailand to work…
Read More » - Phuket News
Andaman NGOs slam plans for Phuket links
PORT BLAIR, ANDAMAN ISLANDS: Two environmental lobby groups on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have slammed plans for trade and tourism links between the islands and Phuket. Such links, they allege, would turn the islands from an idyllic tropical backwater into a sex tourism hotspot. “The Andamans do not have any professional sex workers, [but] we may soon need thousands…
Read More » - Phuket News
Thaksin rewards Gov’s wife
PHUKET TOWN: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has dipped into his own pocket and handed 100,000 baht to Mantana Vasaputi, wife of Phuket’s Governor CEO. She was one of nine provincial governors’ wives to receive awards for providing “a warm home” for their hard-working spouses. K. Mantana, 49, told the Gazette modestly that the award was a result of her husband’s…
Read More » - Phuket News
Four held for motorbike thefts
PHUKET TOWN: A police crackdown on gangs of teenage motorcycle thieves led to the arrest of four boys in two separate swoops early yesterday morning. In the first arrest, at about 12:25 am, Phuket Town Police nabbed 18-year-old Katha Kijnakom on Phang Nga Rd Soi 2 and charged him with stealing three motorcycles and trading in stolen motorcycle parts. Police…
Read More » - Phuket News
Vegetarian Festival gets under way
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket’s shrines were completing Lantern Pole Raising (Sao Go Teng) ceremonies this evening, the traditional start to what is anticipated to be a lively but probably damp nine-day Vegetarian Festival. Uthai Pimjaichon, the speaker of the Thai Parliament, formally opened the festival at the Jui Tui Shrine this afternoon. Theerawuth Sritulalak, Chairman of the Jui Tui Shrine, the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Burmese found drowned
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a man thought to be a Burmese fisherman was found on the shore near Sangaroon Pier, off Si Sena Rd, yesterday afternoon. Police theorize he drowned after falling from the pier, possibly while drunk. Pol Capt Sarit Buthnongsan, of Phuket Town Police Station, said that officers estimate that the man had been dead about 10…
Read More » - Phuket News
Park officials demolish illegal homes
THALANG: Some 200 heavily-armed police and officers of Sirinath National Park today tore down 14 buildings constructed illegally in the Pason Layan area of the park, including one abandoned holiday home. Satien Chuaynu, Chief of National Parks, Region 19, who is based in Nakhon Sri Thammarat and has responsibility for Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Krabi, Phang Nga and Phuket, told the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Work permit rules to change again
PHUKET: A heads-up for foreigners married to Thais: you may soon be in demand by companies, when new draft Labor Ministry regulations covering work permits for aliens come into force in October. Although the new regulations have not yet been published, Wirada Yuvaves, Chief of the Criteria System for Alien Work Permit Approval Consideration at the Ministry of Labor and…
Read More » - Phuket News
Mega property auction set for December
PHUKET TOWN: During a weekend visit to the island, Justice Minister Pongthep Thepkanjana announced that the Legal Execution Department’s (LED’s) first-ever nationwide property auction using teleconferencing will be held on December 14. The auction will feature properties from Phuket, Bangkok and Chiang Mai each valued at more than 20 million baht. The teleconference auction is one of several new measures…
Read More » - Phuket News
Best Western enters Phuket resort market
PHUKET: Two Phuket resorts will soon join the Best Western international hotel network of some 4,100 properties worldwide, in a rebranding and marketing scheme being finalized this month. The first property, the 180-room Phuket Ocean Resort at Karon Beach, will be rebranded as the Best Western Phuket Ocean Resort. The second property is a new 199-room property on Bang Tao…
Read More » - Phuket News
Governor begins farewell rounds
PHUKET TOWN: Outgoing Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi began the traditional round of farewell functions last night at a farewell party with the media, at which he promoted competitions for singing children and “Good Phuket People.” While the governor was coy about the positive results of three years in the post that he relinquishes on October 1, he was keen to…
Read More » - Phuket News
Dead pets thought to be work of poisoner
KAMALA: Residents of a village in Kamala suspect a poisoner has killed six pet dogs belonging to expatriates in the village over the past eight weeks. A Weimaraner German hunting dog valued at 100,000 baht almost became the poisoner’s seventh known victim earlier this month. According to the dog’s owner, Englishman Andrew Scatter, he was fortunate to save the life…
Read More » - Phuket News
B14m tourist rescue center opens
CHALONG PIER: After more than six months of setting-up, the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center (PTRC) at Chalong Pier was officially opened by Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi this morning. The PTRC, funded by 14 million baht from the Tourism Authority of Thailand, coordinates emergency response teams for people in distress in the waters off Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga. Dr…
Read More » - Phuket News
Bomb emergency practice at airport
PHUKET AIRPORT: Phuket International Airport staff underwent a training session today to prepare its staff to deal with a terrorist bombing aboard an aircraft. More than 40 people from both Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways took part in the operation, while more than 100 personnel from local hospitals and other local organizations looked on. The drill, which began at about…
Read More » - Phuket News
Heads up: helmets-for-all crackdown
PHUKET TOWN: From October 1, Phuket police will enforce a law requiring both riders and passengers on motorcycles to wear helmets. The long-standing law has been applied in recent years only to riders, not passengers, but concern has continued to grow over the number of deaths and injuries on the island’s roads. The latest crackdown comes at the instigation of…
Read More » - Phuket News
Panel probes cheating in OrBorTor polls
PHUKET: Allegations of cheating and vote-buying have delayed the official appointment of Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) executive committees in nine of the 12 tambon in Phuket where polling took place last month. An investigation is underway by the Phuket Election Committee, which will reveal details of the allegations only when it has completed the probe. It was, however, announced that…
Read More » - Phuket News
Game over: Two held on software violations
PHUKET TOWN: Police officers accompanied by a lawyer from a software firm seized 25 computers and made two arrests in raids on Internet gaming shops in Phuket Town this afternoon. The attorney, representing Asiasoft International Co Ltd, first went to Net Pic, on Damrong Rd, where 11 computers were confiscated, and then to Log-in Internet, on Ong Sim Phai Rd,…
Read More » - Phuket News
Illegal slaughterhouse raided
PHUKET TOWN: Officials from the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO) raided an illegal slaughterhouse in Phuket Town early today and made one arrest. Phuket Town municipal officers accompanied the officials, led by PPLO Chief Suranarth Vongchawalit, to premises on Mae Luan Rd about 1 am as part of a crackdown in a national Safe Food campaign. The meat from five…
Read More » - Phuket News
Firms urged to promote tourist VAT refunds
PHUKET TOWN: To help boost the tourism industry and the local economy, all tourism-related businesses should promote and take part in offering value-added tax (VAT) refunds for tourists, Suri Buakhom, Deputy Director-General of the Revenue Department, said today. Speaking at an all-day seminar to promote and explain the system, known as VRT (VAT Refunds for Tourists), K. Suri said, “All…
Read More » - Phuket News
Three land officials “guilty’ – inquiry
BANGKOK: The SorPorKor 4-01 land investigation in Phuket reached a milestone yesterday when an official inquiry found that the former Chief of the Phuket Agricultural Land Reform Office, Surat Wasinwattana, had intended to destroy important evidence related to the issue of illegal SorPorKor papers, after investigators found documents in his house and car. The inquiry found two other officials, Ittichai…
Read More » - Phuket News
F-16 fly-by “no cause for alarm’
PHUKET: The roar of an F-16’s jet engines ripped through the air over Phuket at 3:20 this afternoon, startling more than a few people across the island. The Royal Thai Air Force warplane was on a practice run from its base in Haad Yai and back again, said Sumeth Charoensin, Watch Supervisor of the Phuket branch of Aeronautical Radio of…
Read More » - Phuket News
Evason dispute ends
RAWAI: The industrial dispute involving nearly 350 staff of the Evason Phuket Resort is over, following negotiations and arbitration by officials from the Phuket Labor Office. In an official statement released last night, the resort announced, “The Labor Office encouraged both parties to meet and hold discussions. The [hotel staff] union withdrew its outstanding demands and accepted all demands made…
Read More » - Phuket News
Land probe turns to tin mines
PHUKET: The Phuket land investigation moved into a new phase this morning when Phuket Provincial Land Office (PPLO) Chief Saroj Ninkhate went to the Governor’s office to present Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi with a list of 57 former tin mine concession land plots in Kathu now in the hands of private owners. The PPLO alleges that all were issued Chanote…
Read More » - Phuket News
Second Hilton deal for major Phuket resort
BANGKOK: Hilton International Co is to take over management of Karon’s Phuket Arcadia Beach Resort, which will be rebranded as the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa from October 1 next year. The deal between Hilton International and PPC Holdings Ltd., which currently runs the resort, was announced today. It is the third addition in as many months to Hilton’s…
Read More » - Koh Samui News
Phuket, Samui property show tops expectations
HONG KONG: Contracts worth a total of more than 180 million baht for the sale of homes in Phuket and Koh Samui were signed at the second annual Phuket & Samui Property Exhibition at Hong Kong’s Convention and Exhibition Center on September 12-14. At the show, organized by Graham Doven and Artasia Press, and co-sponsored by the Phuket Gazette, Laguna…
Read More » - Phuket News
Three arrested in porn VCD raids
PHUKET TOWN: Police last night arrested three men and seized 191 lewd VCDs in raids on CD vendors at the Tai Rod market, near the Shell gas station on Phang Nga Rd. Led by Phuket Provincial Security Affairs Chief Nikorn Torhiranyapreuk and Pol Capt Sommai Ornkam, of Phuket Town Police Station, a team of six plainclothes officers raided the vendors…
Read More » - Phuket News
Quake tremors stir Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Tremors from a distant earthquake that measured 5.0 on the Richter scale were recorded in southern Thailand early on Sunday. Thawat Thantumnu, Director of the Southern Meteorological Center, West Coast, said that the quake, with its epicenter about 360 kilometers away in Sumatra, Indonesia, was felt on the island at 3:42 am. “Phuket has nothing to fear,” he…
Read More » - Phuket News
Evason staff protest at hotel
RAWAI: About 300 unionists on the staff of The Evason Phuket Resort and Spa staged a peaceful protest at the entrance today in a dispute over pay and conditions. Watched by Chalong Police officers, the demonstrators, many wearing red headbands, sang songs, pounded on drums and waved placards as guests moved unimpeded past the gathering. The protest began at 6…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket buses hailed a success
PHUKET TOWN: The revamped Phuket bus service is a success, Samroeng Chaisorn, Vice-President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), said today. Speaking at a press conference at the OrBorJor offices at Phuket Provincial Hall, K. Samroeng said, “Under the old system, the bus service cost the OrBorJor 1.7 million baht in rent and operating costs a month, but in…
Read More » - Phuket News
Beware bogus inspectors: PPEA warns
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) today warned people to beware of a gang posing as PPEA workers who rob homes during or after bogus inspections. Sornchai Uparamai, the Manager of the PPEA, said that the gang members, dressed in PPEA workers’ uniforms, arrive unannounced at homes and ask to inspect electrical appliances or the electrical meter, claiming that…
Read More » - Phuket News
Whale bombing unlikely, says biologist
PHUKET TOWN: A local marine biologist has cast doubt over local press reports that the whale that washed up on a Koh Racha Yai beach on Monday died as a result of the illegal use of explosives for fishing. Phuket Marine Biology Center (PMBC) biologist Kongkiat Kittiwattawong, who has been contact with island residents by telephone, told the Gazette today…
Read More » - Phuket News
200 villagers demand justice in shooting
PHUKET TOWN: About 200 villagers from Rawai descended on Phuket Provincial Hall this morning to demand that police expedite the investigation into the September 6 shooting of a 17-year-old boy, allegedly by an off-duty policeman. The shooting, which occurred at 2 am at the Monkey Pub on Takuapa Rd, in Phuket Town, has left the first-year Phuket Technical College student…
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