Year: 2003
- Phuket News
Skipper accused of smuggling alcohol
THALANG: Marine Police seized 505 bottes of Champagne, wine and spirits in a raid on a rented house near the Yacht Haven marina this morning and accused a Frenchman of failing to pay import duty on the alcohol. Herve Letouze, 48, a catamaran captain, admitted importing the bottles but told police his intention was to drink the goods himself on…
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Island developers ready for Bangkok
In hopes of re-visiting the hearty welcome and strong sales enjoyed at their 2002 and 2003 exhibitions in Hong Kong, Phuket and Samui property developers will test the appetite for their products in Bangkok over the next three days. About 40 exhibitors will open their booths at Bangkok’s first “Phuket & Samui Property Exhibition” at noon tomorrow. The event takes…
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“Disgraceful’ swindler jailed
PHUKET TOWN: A Phuket man who swindled tourists from nine countries out of a total of two million baht was a disgrace to Thailand, Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, said yesterday. Phuket Provincial Court sentenced Saratthawat Tangsathaporn, 31, who once ran the Rose Diamond jewelry story in Patong, to 81 months in jail after he…
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Pet owners moving out of Kamala
KAMALA: Pet owners have begun moving out of Kamala as poisonings of dogs and cats continue. One refugee is Andrew Scatter, whose 100,000-baht Weimaraner hunting dog, Gendolf, has been poisoned twice. Luckily, on each occasion Gendolf was taken to a vet in time for him to be treated, and he survived. But Mr Scatter says he has had enough and…
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Weapons amnesty until December 15
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket residents in possession of unregistered firearms or explosives have until December 15 to turn them in without risk of prosecution. The amnesty, which actually went into effect two weeks ago, on October 17, was announced today by Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Assistant Visasva Sasismit through a press release. It is not clear whether the amnesty is an…
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Minister discusses trilingual education
PHUKET TOWN: Education Minister Pongpol Adireksarn visited Phuket Technical College on Friday to discuss the relevance of both vocational education and trilingual (Thai-English-Chinese) programs to Phuket schools. “We talked about the importance of vocational education,” he said. “The Ministry would like to adapt the subjects in each institute to be in line with the major businesses in their areas.” K.…
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“Most wanted’ gang leader arrested
PHUKET TOWN: After a two-month manhunt, Phuket Town police have arrested fugitive gang leader Noparat “Ae BorKorSor” Boonyong and an accomplice. The arrest of the notorious 24-year-old, at the top of the police most-wanted list, follows a shootout outside the Lucky Complex in Saphan Hin in August, in which police killed two members of Noparat’s gang but were unable to…
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Bus passes to be launched in December
PHUKET TOWN: In an effort to increase the number of passengers using the Phuket Town Bus service and reduce traffic congestion, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) will begin sale of monthly bus passes starting in December. The passes will allow riders unlimited use of the bus system’s two routes for a month and will be available to Thais and…
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Phuket draft plan completed
PHUKET TOWN: Governor Udomsak Usawarangura held a conference with 100 of the island’s top officials and business leaders yesterday at the Royal Phuket City Hotel to finalize the draft strategic plan for Phuket’s development. The draft plan, which emphasizes tourism development, will be presented to Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak this week, following a meeting of all 75 provincial governors…
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More gamblers nabbed in Phuket
PHUKET: A total of 134 people were arrested between October 1 and 25 for gambling, including betting on soccer and selling illegal lottery tickets – up from 46 in the equivalent period in September, according to the latest statistics from the Phuket Provincial Police. Another 154 people were arrested in Phuket as illegal immigrants, one less than in September. There…
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Osaka-Phuket direct flights begin
PHUKET TOWN: Thai Airways International (THAI) has begun direct flights from Osaka, Japan, to Phuket using a 200-seat Airbus. The thrice-weekly service, on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays service, designated as flight TG-637, leaves Osaka at 1:25 am and arrives in Phuket at 6:35 am local time. The service got underway on October 27, the same day as the new THAI…
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Phuket to declare itself “drug-free’
PHUKET TOWN: After less than a month in office, Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has announced that Phuket is ready to declare itself a “drug-free” province. The official announcement will be made at Saphan Hin on the evening of November 8, just before the traditional Loy Kratong Festival ceremony, and a long way ahead of the government’s target date of December…
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Anti-smoking “cops’ to get tough
PHUKET: To mark the first anniversary of the ban on smoking in public venues, officials from the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) will scour the island from November 8 to purge Phuket of persistent puffers. Acting Chief PPHO Somboon Aiyarak today said that from midnight on November 7, PPHO officers will enforce the ban more stringently than they have during…
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Governor rejects casino idea
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket does not need a legal casino, Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura said today. He told a meeting of officers at Phuket Provincial Hall that it would not deliver benefits to the island but would only create more problems. “Even if we have a legal casino in Phuket, it doesn’t mean that illegal casinos will disappear,” he said. Crime, especially…
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Police return after Bush security detail
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket-based police officials who made up the core of the security detail for US President George Bush during the recent Apec summit in Bangkok are now back on the island. Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Pol Col Decha Butnampetch, who was appointed chief of the “front line command center” to secure the US President, told the Gazette that…
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B1.5m in pirate CDs seized
PATONG: Patrons of Patong’s formerly bustling trade in copy CDs and other pirated goods might have been forgiven for thinking it would be back to business as usual once the Apec delegates left the country, but a raid on a Patong shop last Friday night indicates otherwise. The raid, led by newly-installed Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangura and Phuket Provincial Police…
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Hijacked jumbo joins the party
CHALONG: The elephants partied big on Friday, and it was the kind of celebration that none of them will ever forget – especially Boonma, the hijacked jumbo. Chokchai Sertpradit, General Manager of Island Safari on Chao Fa Rd West, told the Gazette that Boonma, an adult female, had just returned home after being stolen late one night last month. “We…
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New party to contest mayoral poll
PHUKET TOWN: About 500 people turned out for the launch of a new political party this week – the Sangsan Party (Creative Party – CP). The new party will field candidates in Phuket Town municipal elections and seek to topple the Khon Num (Young Turks) Party from the mayoral seat. The new party was officially launched at Phuket Polytechnic College…
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THAI launches Sydney-Phuket service
PHUKET TOWN: Thai Airways International (THAI) will launch thrice-weekly direct flights to Phuket from Sydney via Melbourne on October 27, it was announced yesterday. Viset Sontichai, Upper-Southern Thailand District Sales Manager for THAI, told a press conference that the service, TG-980, will use Boeing 737or 747 aircraft, and will land in Phuket on Mondays, Thursdays and Sundays at 5:55 am.…
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Rawai villages pronounced drug-free
RAWAI: In the countdown to declare Phuket a drug-free province by November 30, seven villages in Rawai and Nai Harn have been pronounced free of illegal drugs. At a ceremony at Muang Phuket School on October 24, Vice-Governor Pongpow Ketthong asked more than 400 locals to pledge in front of a picture of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej not to become…
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German boy dies on jet-ski
PATONG: A 13-year-old German boy died yesterday after the jet-ski he was riding crashed into a moored long-tail boat in the sea off Patong. The boy, named by police as Jonathan Nerlich, was riding a jet-ski that police officers said had been hired for him by his father. The father was on the beach at the time. The boy died…
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Local developers target Bangkok
BANGKOK: Property developers from Phuket and Koh Samui will head for the capital at the beginning of next month in a bid to capture a bigger slice of the Bangkok market for high-end homes. In a unique twist for a property show, the organizers of the Phuket & Samui Property Exhibition in Bangkok, to take place November 6-8, have arranged…
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Rescuers lose fight to save dolphin
PANWA CAPE: A rare Risso dolphin, at first thought to be a melon-headed whale, has died at Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) after rescuers fought to save the life of the beached creature. Kongkiat Kittiwattawong, a biologist at the center, told the Gazette that the 2.6-meter adult female died about 5 am on Thursday. She was in a pool meant…
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Tourist dies in motorbike smash
KATHU: A British tourist riding a rented motorcycle died in hospital after his head struck the side-mirror of a truck traveling in the opposite direction. Officers named the man as Craig Curry, 32. At the wheel of the truck was Wiwat Padungpol, 26, who has been charged with careless driving. Mr Curry, who had been vacationing in Phuket Town, was…
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Strategic cluster’ plan for three provinces
PHUKET TOWN : Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi represent a strategic “cluster” for economic development and water-related tourism, a conference heard today. Phuket Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit told representatives from business, government and academic groups, and other interested parties that more planning was needed to make the most of the “cluster.” About 150 people gathered at the Royal Phuket City Hotel…
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Landslide stops Patong Hill traffic
KATHU: A landslide early this afternoon close to the crest of Patong Hill brought traffic to a standstill as rain continued to blanket Phuket. Vice-Governor Pongpow Ketthong told the Gazette that earth and large branches tumbled onto Prabaramee Rd, on the Patong side of the hill near the Pun Tao Kong Chinese shrine, causing huge traffic jams in both directions.…
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Auction of car numbers planned
PHUKET: Phuket will be the first province outside Bangkok to stage an auction of desirable car registration numbers. A total of 301 numbers will go on the block at the auction at the end of next month at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. Prasit Amarapan, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Transportation Office (PPTO), said that the auction follows two similar,…
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Tourist arrivals up 30pc despite rains
PHUKET: While heavy rains and flooding have stopped many Thai tourists from visiting Phuket and the Andaman region, the number of foreigners arriving on the island is up by 30% compared with the same time last year. Napasorn Kakai, the Deputy Director of the local Tourism Authority of Thailand office, today told the Gazette, “We expected to have more Thai…
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Officials sing Phummisak’s praises
PHUKET TOWN: All the officers of Phuket Town Municipality – about 1,000 of them – turned out to say farewell to Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok at an outdoor buffet at the Phuket Incinerator on Wednesday night. Groups of officers sang K. Phummisak’s praises – literally – in tributes to the man who leaves office on December 24, when he…
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Putin takes a break in Phuket
PHUKET: The President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin, is making a private visit to Phuket in advance of the start of the regional summit of leaders of Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation economies in Bangkok on Sunday. Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura confirmed that President Putin arrived at Phuket International Airport at 2:40 pm today. The Governor added that he was…
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Speed up land probe, Gov urges
PHUKET TOWN: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura today urged officials looking into alleged land title abuses on the island to speed up their investigations and to work together in a more analytical way. After talking in detail to some 25 officers at the Provincial Hall, the Governor told media that the land issue needed to be resolved because delays could damage the…
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Robber’s golden luck runs out
PHUKET TOWN: If you bought a fortune-telling ticket that said, “You will have luck in everything you wish to do,” what would you do? According to police, if you were Arthit Srithep, you’d rob a gold shop. Arthit, 24, a native of Nakhon Sri Thammarat, robbed a gold shop in Phuket Town on Tuesday, walking out with bracelets worth 328,500…
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Purachai launches “Happy Families’ project
PHUKET TOWN: Visiting Deputy Prime Minister Purachai Piemsomboon today announced that Phuket will be one of two pilot provinces in the Government’s new “Happy Family Skills Training Project”. The project is intended to provide useful skills to couples who wish to raise happy and healthy families. The other province chosen was Prachin Buri. K. Purachai, formerly Thailand’s second most powerful…
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Phuket seafood passes contaminants test
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket seafood has a clean record so far in a crackdown on the use of preservatives and other chemical additives, Pramual Rakjai, chief of Phuket Provincial Fishing Port, said today. He told the Governor’s regular media conference that fishing boats, dealers and vendors would come under scrutiny as the checks continue in the national campaign. The project, which…
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B9m boost for beach guard service
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) will spend more than 15 million baht next year on beach guards and equipment to boost water safety at Phuket beaches. OrBorJor Vice-President Soratham Jinda, head of the organization’s water safety project, said today that the boost in funding, up from 6 million baht this year, was approved in light of the beach…
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Fight night down at the wat
SRISAKET: Monks may not often lose their tempers but two did go head-to-head in a heated dispute recently over who got to sit closer to the temple abbot during a merit-making ceremony. The unfortunate incident occurred at Wat Jiang Isrimongkolworaraam in Srisaket province, where devotees had gathered for lunch and a merit-making ritual, to be performed by chief provincial monk…
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Man discovers screw worm
NAKHON NAYOK: Watch out Pfizer – a fireman who recently gobbled down fistfuls of live earthworms on TV claims the slimy, dirt-eating creatures give him extra stamina in bed. And unlike Viagra, they don’t cost 400 baht each. Paisit Chanta, 39, said he’d been eating worms since he was 10, when he got hungry while fishing. His wife, Chuleeporn Chanta,…
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