Year: 2004
- Phuket News
World tournament will be a great success – Fifa
PHUKET CITY: Some training fields may lack toilets and dressing rooms, and the upgrade of Phuket’s Surakul Stadium has been delayed by rain. But John Schumacher, chief media officer of the International Federation of Association Football (Fifa), said yesterday he expects the final rounds of the Fifa U-19 Women’s World Championship 2004, to be played in Thailand in November, will…
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Great ball of fire!
KOH SIREH: When firefighters responded to a call from the 100-year-old Muslim community on Koh Sireh at about 4:30 on the morning of May 24, little did they know that they were about to witness a gaseous and ghostly apparition. It took city and provincial firefighting units about 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze at 12/24 Soi Si Sena and…
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Crapuccino, anyone?
THAILAND: Name any addictive drug and you will find users seeking ever-more efficient ways of getting it into their bloodstreams. The latest case is caffeine, the state-sanctioned stimulant found in coffee. Under the guise of “alternative medicine”, caffeine junkies are now taking coffee enemas. They claim that a good dose of java administered directly into the colon can have a…
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Dark times for black dogs
SRISAKET: Black dogs in Nongsimai Village 2 were slaughtered recently after a local shaman convinced villagers that soaking string in the blood of a black dog and wrapping it around their homes would offer protection from the dreaded phi porp – a female ghost that kills married men and eats their innards. After two village men died in mysterious circumstances,…
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Six land plots seized for encroachment
PHUKET CITY: Six plots of land in Muang District “belonging” to two people were seized today in a massive operation led by the Minister of Justice, Pongthep Thepkanjana. K. Pongthep was accompanied by the Secretary of the Anti-Money Laundering Office, Pol Maj Gen Pirapan Premputi; the Chief of the Crime Suppression Police, Pol Maj Gen Kosin Sintao; and even the…
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Heavy rain and wind bring blackouts
PHUKET: Blustery winds and torrential rain led to blackouts in parts of Phuket yesterday when landslides and trees felled by strong gusts brought down power lines. TV and radio stations on Rang Hill in Phuket City were off the air for around 12 hours when two power poles came down. Engineers from the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) restored power…
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Beauties in the beastly weather
PHUKET: The 40 contestants in the Miss Siam 2004 competition are in Phuket as part of their preparation for the contest, which takes place on June 12 in Bangkok, with prizes worth more than 3 million baht for the winner, plus a place in the Miss Tourism International competition. Apart from posing for the usual plethora of photos in various…
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TOT Phuket gets B128m budget bonanza
PHUKET: The Phuket office of the Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) has been granted a budget of 128.68 million baht to upgrade its services on the island. The announcement follows the return of TOT Phuket chief Pairoj Somsri from budget meetings in Bangkok late last month, at which he expected to be granted a budget of only 38.8 million baht,…
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Bail insurance now available
PHUKET: Insurance companies in Phuket now offer “bail insurance” policies providing cover of up to 100,000 baht for a premium of just 700 baht, the Phuket Provincial Insurance Office (PPIO) has announced. Sanong Sangsiriklanganakul, Director of the PPIO, said “The policies are aimed at Thai citizens – or foreigners living here – who don’t have recourse to the large amounts…
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Malaysian tourist “killed himself’
PATONG: Chong Chee Kian, 37, was found dead in his room at the Phuket Palace Hotel on Sirirat Rd yesterday. He appeared to have committed suicide by eating rat poison. Pol Col Chalit Thintanee, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette today that police had received a call from the hotel’s manager, who explained that staff had found Mr…
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Gov accepts “Phuket getting ugly’ judgment
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura says he accepts the judgment of a survey in the respected National Geographic Traveler magazine that Phuket as a destination is “getting ugly”, and says that he is “ready to improve Phuket”. The “getting ugly” assessment was published by National Geographic Traveler magazine after it conducted a survey of 200 specialists in sustainable tourism, destination stewardship…
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Spas must pay ‘entertainment’ tax
PHUKET: In an effort to clear up confusion over taxes payable by the island’s spa industry, the Excise Department has confirmed that it classes most of the island’s spa businesses as entertainment venues – and therefore subject to 10% excise tax. “Spas that operate as entertainment venues [as opposed to beauty or health treatment facilities] must pay 10% excise tax,…
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“Smell of corruption’ in new land probe
PHUKET CITY: Senior police officers today inspected a 76-rai plot of land in the Panturat Hills behind Chan’s Antiques on the bypass road amid suspicions that corruption was involved in the issue of the land title. Crime Suppression Division Deputy Superintendent Pol Lt Col Korawath Panprapa and Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, were joined by…
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Tourism leaders agree Phuket “getting ugly’
PHUKET: Tourist business figures and environmental activists are, remarkably, in agreement with an assessment by one of the world’s top travel magazines that Phuket is “getting ugly” as a tourist destination. The “ugly” assessment was published by National Geographic Traveler magazine after it conducted a survey, in collaboration with the National Geographic Sustainable Tourism Initiative, of 200 specialists in sustainable…
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Gambling still the top vice
PHUKET: Even without the Liverpool FC lottery, gambling is still Phuket’s favorite vice, according to police crime statistics for May 1 to 25. Police arrested 169 unlucky punters during the preiod for betting illegally. Being an illegal immigrant came second, with 56 foreigners being rounded up during the period, followed closely by involvement with drugs, with 54 arrests made and…
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One-stop online bill payments coming soon
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket office of the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) has announced that in July it will launch a “one-stop” Internet website that will allow people to conduct business with a number of local government agencies without leaving home. Initially, the system will allow payment of electricity and some phone bills, and dealings with the Immigration and Transportation…
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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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