Month: May 2004
- Phuket News
Former Kathu Police Chief returns
PHUKET CITY: Pol Col Kokiat Wongvorachart, a former Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, will return to Phuket on Thursday as one of the four Deputy Commanders of the Provincial Police. Col Kokiat has been appointed to replace Pol Col Apirak Hongtong, who took leave of absence from the police to pursue a seat in the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor),…
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Province “ready to tackle floods’
PHUKET: As the rainy season begins, the Phuket Provincial Government has listed 69 areas across the island as being vulnerable to flooding, and is establishing a center to deal with flood emergencies. Metha Mekarat, Chief of Phuket’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office, told the Gazette that the list was the result of survey work conducted last year. Three areas were…
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Christinas win Phuket Rugby 10s
KARON: Christina Noble Children’s Foundation, from Dubai, beat The Jailers, from Rugby, England, 17-12 to win the 6th Phuket International Rugby 10s, held at Karon Municipal Stadium on Saturday and Sunday. The Cup final for the Clive Williamson Memorial Trophy on May 30 was a tribute to the top-quality rugby played throughout the tournament, with the “Christinas” lifting the cup…
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Dugong dies
CAPE PANWA: The young female dugong that staff at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) have been trying for 10 weeks to nurse back to health has died. The death has come as a shock. On May 17, PMBC staff had high hopes for the dugong’s recovery, and rated her chances of survival as high as 80%. The dugong died…
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Police learn Dutch investigation techniques
PHUKET CITY: Thirty senior police officers from Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga yesterday completed a two-week course in applying analytical techniques to crime investigations, presented by Dutch crime experts. Pol Col Preecha Samuthpoaraya, Deputy Commander for Administration of Police Region 8, based in Surat Thani, told the Gazette that the main objective of the project was to reduce the number…
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Police urge closure of park at night
PHUKET CITY: Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, has made a formal request to Phuket City Municipality to close Rama IX Park (Suan Luang) between 10 pm and 4 am, because of the rising number of crimes committed in the park. Col Paween told the Gazette, “Suan Luang is a public place and is open 24…
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Bangkok backtracks on SorPorKor cancelations
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Agricultural Land Reform Office (ALRO) in Bangkok, which canceled 153 SorPorKor 4-01 papers held by 139 people in Phuket for misuse of the land, has announced that, after further investigation, it is recommending some people have their papers reinstated. Adisak Srisappakij, Permanent Secretary of the ALRO, told The Nation that he plans to ask the SorPorKor…
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Job seekers undeterred by downpours
PHUKET CITY: Heavy rain today failed to stop job hunters from attending the first day of the Phuket Provincial Employment Service Office (PESO) mass job fair at the Rajabhat Institute Phuket. More than 3,800 positions are up for grabs at the two-day fair, with 143 employers taking part, including 14 hotels. Most of the positions on offer are for sales,…
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Thai moviemakers seek foreign actors
PHUKET: Film production company Hub Ho Hin Bangkok is looking for Thai-speaking foreigners to act in a full-length Thai motion picture called Mining, to be shot in Phuket over four months, starting in August. Movie director Jira Marikul told the Gazette that the film will be set in Phuket’s tin-mining community 50 years ago. Foreigners are being sought for three…
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It’s official – it’s the wet season
PHUKET: The Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), located opposite Phuket International Airport, today issued a release suggesting hotels and the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Phuket office inform tourists that it is now the rainy season. The release follows widespread heavy showers resulting in 35mm of rainfall being recorded on the island today. Vichit Phuangsombat, director of the center, told the…
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Phuket tax office way ahead of target
PHUKET: The Phuket Area Revenue Office (PARO) expects to collect 2.9 billion baht in taxes by the end of the tax-collection year on September 30, Supanee Sripanyawichya, Chief of the PARO, has told the Gazette. “We collected 1.8 billion baht in taxes between October 1 and April 30,” she said. “That’s more than 40% higher than our target.” K. Supanee…
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Municipality to seek public feedback
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket City Municipality has issued an invitation to all residents of the area to attend a public meeting to offer opinions on how the city can be improved. The meeting, on June 2 at the Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel, will run from 1 pm to 5 pm. Proceedings will be in Thai only. Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura…
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Phuket plans B15m OTOP Plaza
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Community Development Office (CDO) has requested 15 million baht to build a permanent One Tambon One Product (OTOP) exhibition center to showcase OTOP products from Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga provinces. Naeb Sinthong, head of the Phuket CDO, told the Gazette his office hopes to site the center in a one-story building located behind Phuket…
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Michael Learns to Rock at Laguna
CHERNG TALAY: Danish pop band Michael Learns to Rock will perform a charity concert at Laguna Phuket on July 2, starting at 8:30 pm. The trio, coming to Thailand to give a private performance for the Thai Royal Family, are known to their many fans as MLTR and will use the opportunity to a one-off charity performance in Phuket. With…
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Pawnshops cut interest rates for poor parents
PHUKET: Phuket’s three government pawnshops have reduced interest rates on loans until August 15 to help poor parents raise money for school fees. Phuket City Municipality Pawnshop Manager Phuwadon Chinnupathum told the Gazette that the Department of Local Administration in Bangkok ordered the reductions, which came into effect on April 1 and will continue until August 15. During that time,…
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Sakoo OrBorTor chairman arrested for gambling
THALANG: Surapong Panyawai, Chairman of the Sakoo Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), was among seven men arrested for gambling during funerary rites on Monday night. K. Surapong denied the charge, and the claim that he was the ringleader of the gambling party, and has posted bail. He is now waiting for his case to be heard. If found guilty, K. Surapong…
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Safety first for Andaman seamen
AO MAKHAM: In a bid to raise the standards of maritime skills in the waters of the Andaman, the Phuket Mariners’ Association (PMA) is holding a safety training course for Thai commercial seafarers. The 11-day training course, held at Rassada Deep Sea Port, began on Saturday and is a combined initiative of the PMA, Raja Maritime School and the Chayopas…
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TOT Phuket budget slashed by ICT Ministry
PHUKET: The Phuket office of the Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) will not get the 100-million-baht budget it says it needs to carry out its planned network expansion for the island. Instead, it will be lucky if it gets about half that amount, the head of the TOT in Phuket told the Gazette on Monday. Late last year, Phuket’s TOT…
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Phuket jet-skis face 7-year deadline
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura yesterday reaffirmed his stand on ridding the island of jet-skis by March 1, 2011, and said that any person who rents out a jet-ski after that time will be prosecuted. Speaking at a press conference at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, Gov Udomsak said that under the plan, all existing jet-ski registrations will expire within seven…
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Dugong doing well
CAPE PANWA: A dugong found injured and stranded at the edge of Klong Pa Khlok on March 5 has an 80% chance of survival, according to experts at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) who have been treating her. PMBC biologist Kongkiat Kittiwattawong, told the Gazette that the young dugong will probably need to spend another 12 months at the…
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Divers retrieve 300m net from coral reef
PHANG NGA BAY: Phuket Marine Biology Center officers and volunteers from local dive companies yesterday worked together to retrieve a 300-meter-long fishing net that had become entangled on coral just off Koh Hang. The net was discovered by a PMBC officer on a regular dive to inspect the condition of the coral. A length of about 10 meters was found…
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Entertainment venues still in limbo
PHUKET CITY: Wisut Romin, Deputy Secretary of the Phuket Provincial Administration Office (PPAO) told the Gazette yesterday that he is still waiting for the Ministry of Interior to set the fees for entertainment licenses, despite 50% of renewals having already been granted. More than 170 licensees in Phuket are now waiting to see just how much they will have to…
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Let them eat seaweed
PHUKET: Patong Municipality isn’t sitting idly by as unprecedented amounts of Ulva Reticulata seaweed continue to wash up along its shore. The Municipality is pursuing a two-pronged strategy of collecting the bright green algae and researching ways to put it to good use, including, possibly, promoting it as food. The seaweed is the result of hot-season water temperatures and the…
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Gov suggests Koh Maphrao for ICEC site
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangura has suggested Koh Maphrao as an alternative location for the proposed Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) as a way to break a stalemate between the government in Bangkok and local people over where the mega-project should be sited. Speaking with the Gazette at his office, Gov Udomsak said that the island, located about…
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Confusion over tourist visas on arrival
BANGKOK: Pol Col Chalermpong Vadhanasukha, the Deputy Superintendent of Immigration Division 3, has verified that foreigners may receive more than three consecutive tourist visas on arrival. Col Chalermpong clarified the issue after it was raised by a Gazette reader who was concerned that such a regulation was about to be enforced. The reader told the Gazette that he had learned…
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Resort worker’s body washes ashore
KALIM: The body of Patong Resort restaurant steward Worawut Pholboon, 27, from Srisaket, was found washed ashore at Kalim Beach at about 5 am yesterday. K. Worawut disappeared under a large wave while swimming at Patong Beach on Tuesday afternoon. K. Worawut’s cousin, Boonchai Boonwan, told the Gazette, “Phuket Marine Police officers called me at about 5:30 am and told…
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Language training offered to tour guides
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has authorized the disbursement of 1.5 million baht from provincial coffers to give 100 hours of foreign-language instruction to tour guides in Phuket. Foreign nationals are barred from being tour guides because it is a “reserved occupation” for Thais only, but guides adept in Russian, Swedish, Korean, Chinese and German are in short supply.…
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Resort staffer lost swimming off Patong
PATONG: A man disappeared beneath large waves while swimming in front of the Amari Coral Beach Resort yesterday afternoon. Rescue efforts have failed to find him, and he is believed to have drowned. Worawut Pholboon, 27, from Srisaket, was swimming with three co-workers from the Patong Resort when he was pushed underwater by a large wave. Wimonrat Trangsurat, who was…
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Anchalee outlines OrBorJor policy
PHUKET CITY: The new Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr said today that education, tourism development and quality-of-life issues need to be urgently addressed in order to bring about sustainable development in Phuket. In her first full day in her new job, she singled out education as the most pressing issue, saying that the national government’s decision to…
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Love-and-loan tryst ends in murder
PHUKET CITY: Furniture contractor Sophol Marapong, 32, was found stabbed to death in Suan Luang Park on Friday night after a clandestine meeting over love and money went sour. He had been stabbed 22 times. Pol Maj Watcharin Jiratikarnwiwat, an Inspector at Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette that police arrived at the scene about 10:30 pm, after receiving…
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The General cracks down on illegals
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Immigration Office has arrested 766 illegal workers, mostly from neighboring countries, in the first four months of this year as part of a concerted round-up. Of those arrested, the overwhelming majority – 738 – were Burmese, with the remaining 28 coming from Laos, Cambodia and other countries. Pol Lt Gen Dr Chanvut Vajrabukka, Commissioner of the…
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Anchalee finally confirmed as OrBorJor President
PHUKET: Eight weeks after the elections for seats in the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) took place, and 14 days after all the other members’ seats had been confirmed, the Phuket Election Committee (PEC) this morning finally confirmed that Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr is the new OrBorJor President. PEC Director Kittipong Thiengkunagrit today told the Gazette, “We received the formal declaration this…
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Star Cruises denies terrorism caused suspension
PHUKET: Star Cruises today denied that its suspension of all cruises from Singapore to Phuket was the result of fears of terrorist attacks, following the violence in southern Thailand on April 28. Ariya Noongan, Executive Sales Officer at Star Cruises in Bangkok, today told the Gazette that the Star Cruises head office in Singapore decided “last month” to suspend the…
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TAT moves to calm tourist fears
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette today obtained the following advice to the travel industry from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), following the violence in the deep south of Thailand that saw 107 people killed in violent clashes on April 28. The Tourism situation in South Thailand 1. The disturbances are over and the situation is under control by the Thai…
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Still no action on Rawai Beach vendors
RAWAI: The saga of the moving of the beachfront stalls at Rawai seems no closer to an end following an announcement yesterday by Rawai Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) President Arun Sorot that the amount of land required for the project is still being calculated. Rawai OrBorTor says it plans to move 14 of the vendors’ stalls – those belonging to…
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Trash handling very inefficient – study
PHUKET CITY: About 20 local leaders attended a seminar at the Royal Phuket City Hotel yesterday to hear the findings of a study on waste management issues. The study’s final report called for more efficient waste disposal practices by local government bodies in order to support efforts to sort trash prior to collection. The seminar was presented by Pireeyutma Vanapruk,…
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Mystery over lady in waiting
PHUKET: Nearly two weeks after the Central Election Committee (CEC) in Bangkok unofficially announced Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr as the winner of the March 14 Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) Presidential election, she has yet to receive official confirmation. The delay leaves K. Anchalee as the only person on the 24-member Democrat-dominated body who has not yet received formal confirmation from the…
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