Month: March 2004
- Phuket
Gov urges swift action on seaweed
PHUKET: At a provincial meeting this morning Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura admitted that bright green seaweed covering large parts of Patong Beach is the result of poor waste disposal practices by the Patong Municipality, but stressed that it is not a danger to human health. The Governor did acknowledge, however, that the piles of macroalgae are a threat to tourism.…
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Tax man’s take rises 50pc
PHUKET: The island’s tax collectors were highly successful in February this year, collecting almost 50% more than in the same month in 2003. The latest figures released by the Phuket Provincial Revenue Office show a rise in the overall tax harvest from 223.97 million baht in February last year to 334.17 million baht in the same month this year, an…
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Roads claim 15 more lives
PHUKET: Fifteen people were killed on Phuket’s roads between January 20 and February 20, according to the latest statistics from the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. All of the victims died while riding motorcycles, Ampaipan Pawawattananusorn, of the Phuket Provincial Health Office, reported. In the same period, 1,024 people were hurt in crashes involving motorbikes. Another 80 people were…
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Heated views at zoning seminar
PHUKET: What might have been a dry discussion of the technicalities of zoning in Phuket turned into a wide-ranging and sometimes emotional discussion of Phuket’s ills when 150 people attended a Phuket Gazette-Nation seminar on Saturday. On stage to lead discussion of “Can Zoning Save Phuket?” at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort were Dr Sommai Prijasila, Head of the Foreign…
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Appeal over missing dive instructor
KATA: The wife and friends of dive instructor David Wiewel, 57, have issued an appeal for anyone who has seen the Dutchman since 8 am on Friday (March 26) to get in touch with them. Mr Wiewel left his home at 121/1, Koktanod Rd, Kata, at that time and was last seen walking toward Kata Noi. He left behind his…
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Hotel unions examine service charge issue
PHUKET CITY: For members of local hotel labor unions, the question of who gets service charges was high on the agenda at a recent international meeting of labor officials in Phuket. Regional representatives of the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) gathered at the ST Hotel on March 27-28 to discuss collective…
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Video captures tourist’s “suicide’
KARON: A video recording of a Thai tourist speaking her last known words was found in the bedroom of her Karon holiday home where she apparently committed suicide. Pol Maj Jessada Sangsure, of Chalong Police Station, told the Gazette that he received a call yesterday at 6 pm from a male cleaner who found the body. Maj Jessada arrived to…
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Songkran water battles to be zoned
PHUKET (The Nation): Revelers will have to watch out where they hurl water during Songkran next month because local authorities plan to designate specific areas for their antics. “We will ensure that the revelers have fun while observing laws and safety rules,” Phuket police chief Pol Maj Gen Veerayuth Sittimalic said. The proposed free-for-all zones are Saphan Hin in Phuket…
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First round of zoning hearings completed
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Public Works and Town and Country Planning Office (PWTCPO), which is responsible for drawing up a comprehensive set of island-wide zoning regulations by October 1, has completed a first round of public hearings in each of Phuket’s three districts to gauge public opinion on zoning issues. The zoning is intended to curb the unregulated development that…
Read More » - Pattaya
Direct Phuket-Pattaya flights take off
PHUKET: Bangkok Airways will launch direct Phuket-Pattaya flights on Sunday (March 28) – part of a general aviation expansion that also sees Hong Kong-based airlines Cathay Pacific and Dragonair getting access to some domestic routes within Thailand. Bangkok Airways’ Sales Executive in Phuket, Julalak Atiwattananon, told the Gazette that, starting March 28, the new Phuket-Pattaya service will fly on Sundays,…
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Phuket Seminars to focus on quality-of-life issues
PHUKET: In connection with a Nation Multimedia Group (NMG) editorial board meeting to be held in Phuket this weekend, The Nation newspaper and the Phuket Gazette will present an English-language seminar entitled: “Can zoning save Phuket?” Focused on provincial planning, zoning, environmental and other issues critical for tourism, property development and day-to-day living on the island, the seminar will be…
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Move to curb long-tail rip-offs
RAWAI: Island-wide measures are to be introduced to register all of Phuket’s long-tail boats, set standard fees for tourist trips, and punish rip-off boat operators. Most of the island’s long-tail operators are honest, but some unscrupulous boatmen have been known to charge excessive rates and cheat tourists. Another cause for concern – and action – is the tour group operators…
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Police seek witnesses to double fatality
RAWAI: Police are keen to interview anyone who may have witnessed a collision between a car and a motorbike that killed a British tourist and his Thai girlfriend on Wiset Rd, Rawai, on Sunday night. Killed were Briton Scott Tristan Watkins, 33, and Sasithorn Kaewyai, also 33, from Buri Ram. The following day, the driver of the Mitsubishi Pajero involved…
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New base for anti-smuggling operations
AO MAKHAM: The new Customs House and pier at the Ao Makham Deep Sea Port, officially opened yesterday, is expected to play a major role in the protection of the area around the port from various maritime perils, including smuggling and environmental problems. The Customs Department will base five vessels there to intercept fuel-oil smugglers and drug runners. Anti-smuggling operations…
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Police appeal over headless corpse
KAMALA: Police have appealed for information to help them identify a badly decomposed, headless body that was found washed up on seaside rocks at Laem Son on Sunday. Pol Capt Serm Kwannimit, of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that the body was discovered by local villagers at about 4:30 pm. He said that police believe the victim was probably…
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Mayoral candidate disqualified
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Election Commission (PEC) has barred Thanapong Kho-udom, leader of the Pattana Baan Rao (“Develop Our Home”) Party from running for Mayor of Phuket City in elections due to be held on April 4. Kittipong Thiengkunagrit, Director of the PEC, told the Gazette that electoral rules state that a mayoral candidate must have lived within municipal boundaries…
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Court accepts Blue Canyon case
PHUKET (The Nation): The Phuket Provincial Court has decided that a complaint filed by a founder of Murex Co, developer of the Blue Canyon Country Club, has sufficient merit for it to proceed. The court set March 29 as the date of the first hearing, allowing the accused, Sia Leng Yeun, an executive of Murex, to defend himself against the…
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Piglet deaths “not from bird ‘flu’
PHUKET CITY: The deaths of 60 piglets on a single farm recently from respiratory infection were the result of hog cholera, not avian ‘flu, according to the island’s top livestock official. The Chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO), Sunart Wongchawalit, told the Gazette that the piglets died after contracting hog cholera, also known as swine ‘flu. The deaths…
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Democrats in landslide victory
PHUKET TOWN: The ruling Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party’s attempt to become a force in provincial politics in Phuket received a stinging setback in yesterday’s elections for the presidency of the Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), with the TRT candidate coming last by a long way. The winner, after vote-counting ended at about 4 am today, was Democrat candidate and former…
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Dugong not out of the woods yet
PHUKET TOWN: The health of the young female dugong rescued by staff of the Phuket Marine Biology Center (PMBC) on March 5 has improved, but the animal is still far from a complete recovery. The young animal, little more than an infant, was found stranded at the edge of Klong Pa Khlock, exhausted, bruised all over and with a large…
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Obstructive bureaucrats slammed
PHUKET CITY: The President of the recently formed Phuket Real Estate Club (PREC) yesterday slammed bureaucrats for constantly putting obstacles in the way of the booming property market. Announcing that the club plans to stage a public seminar on April 3 at the Royal Phuket City Hotel to address problems faced by those in real estate development, Phummisak Hongsyok, former…
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Phuket must decide on expo center: Chavalit
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket and its tourist trade are essential to Thailand’s economy but what matters most is that the island’s inhabitants decide their own future, Deputy Prime Minister Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyuth said today. “I’d like to ask if Phuket people really want to build the International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) or not,” he said of the controversial 2.5-billion-baht project…
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