Year: 2005
- Phuket
Japan wins international beach volleyball tourney
PATONG: Japan defeated Thailand 2-0 in the final of the Phuket Thailand Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Beach Volleyball Challenge 2005 in front of some 3,000 spectators at Patong Beach yesterday afternoon.Southeast Asian Games gold medalists Jarunee Sannok and Kamoltip Kulna, comprising one of Thailand’s three teams, entered the finals after beating Bulgaria’s Yanchulova sisters 2-0 in the semi-finals. Petia…
Read More » - Phuket
Reward offered for missing catamaran
KATA: Yacht owner Chris Sieber is offering a US$5,000 reward for information directly leading to the recovery of his 46-foot catamaran Kilo, which went missing off Kata Beach on December 18. Mr Sieber told the Gazette this morning that Kilo was last seen anchored offshore from the Kata Beach Resort on December 17, following the King’s Cup Regatta, for which…
Read More » - Phuket
Tourists hurt as bus overturns
PATONG: A tour bus carrying 37 Israelis overturned on Prabarami Rd in rainy weather about 5 pm yesterday, while it was en route to Patong from Khao Lak in Phang Nga. Two passengers were seriously injured in the crash.All of the passengers were taken to Patong Hospital to be checked for injuries.Theerayuth Prasertphol, Chief Technical Officer of the Phuket Provincial…
Read More » - Phuket
Governor calls for continued recovery efforts
PHUKET CITY: At his monthly meeting with provincial chief officers yesterday morning, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura called for the government and the private sector to continue their cooperative efforts to help Phuket to full recovery by next high season.Gov Udomsak said that Phuket had recovered faster than other places affected by the tsunami because the government and the private sector…
Read More » - Phuket
No closing time on New Year’s Eve
PHUKET: Entertainment venues will be able to stay open as long as they wish on New Year’s Eve, Phuket’s top law enforcement official told the Gazette today.Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth, Commander of Phuket Provincial Police, said that the exception to the normal closing time would apply only on the night of December 31-January 1. From the evening of January…
Read More » - Phuket
Stray dog round-up to begin – again
PHUKET: Representatives from just five of the island’s 13 local government bodies attended a meeting yesterday morning to address the island’s long-standing stray dog problem. At the meeting it was also announced that dog owners in two areas can now apply for “passports” for registered pets.The low-key meeting, held at Phuket Provincial Hall and chaired by Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura,…
Read More » - Phuket
She said YES! Tsunami victim to wed doctor who looked after him
PHUKET CITY: In a year when it seemed that almost every story concerning Phuket was relating bad news – with perhaps the exception of Hannes Bergstrom, the “unidentified” Swedish toddler reunited with his uncle and grandmother two days after the tsunami – ending these 12 months with a story of hope is a newspaper’s dream.December 26, 2004 saw Ron Bombiger,…
Read More » - Phuket
Move for airport taxi meter desk stalls
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s October 31 call for a service counter for metered taxis to be installed inside the terminal at Phuket International Airport has stalled, with his request yet to be reviewed by the Airports Authority of Thailand (AAT) headquarters in Bangkok.Gov Udomsak called for meter taxis to have a counter at the airport within two weeks following a…
Read More » - Phuket
Tsunami dead remembered one year on
PATONG: In an emotionally charged ceremony, survivors and relatives of the tsunami dead congregated in Patong’s Loma Park this morning to remember their lost loved ones. It was one of six official memorial ceremonies in the three provinces hardest-hit by the disaster this day last year.A crowd of about 2,000 people from many countries gathered at Loma Park at 10…
Read More » - Phuket
Police to set up New Year road safety checkpoints
PHUKET: Police will set up checkpoints across the island from December 29 to January 4 in a campaign to reduce the number of road fatalities during the New Year celebrations.The checkpoints, manned by police, volunteers and officers from the Phuket Office for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), will be set up at:– Thepkrasattri Rd (in front of the Muang Mai…
Read More » - Other News
Biting back
BANGKOK: A drunken security guard had the tip of his tongue bitten off during an unsuccessful attempt to rape a 50-year-old partially-sighted woman. In a tale recounted by Pol Lt Col Paythai Thipmongkol of the Bang Khen Police, security guard Boonrawd Kanwan, 42, was off-duty and drinking with friends in the workers’ quarters of the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA)…
Read More » - Phuket
Vendors forced from Kamala Beach
KAMALA: More than 40 police officers forced beachfront food stall vendors and sun-bed operators to vacate Kamala Beach yesterday morning, to clear the area for the tsunami memorial services on Monday.Kathu District Chief Khantee Silapa told the Gazette the beach was cleared after an order from Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura, because Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to visit the area.However,…
Read More » - Phuket
Work on B46m “Welcome Gate’ under way in Tah Chat Chai
TAH CHAT CHAI: For most of next year, the northern tip of the island will become a building site as heavy machinery is used to transform scrub forest in the area into a landscaped “Welcome Gate” rest stop and vehicle control point (VCP).Work on the 46-million-baht project, the brainchild of Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepbutr, officially began…
Read More » - Phuket
Gov prepared to pay B2.05m missing tsunami money
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura is prepared to pay 2.05 million baht out of his own pocket should he be found ultimately responsible for the tsunami aid money that was reported missing from Phuket Provincial Hall on February 15.“Under administrative law, there is no way that government funds can just disappear,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “But don’t worry; if…
Read More » - Phuket
Jet-ski victim still in ICU
BANGKOK: Australian Antonio Scognamiglio, 19, who was involved in a jet-ski collision off Patong Beach on November 23, is recovering in intensive care after undergoing brain surgery at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok.Mr Scognamiglio sustained his injuries when a fellow jet-ski rider crashed into him. He was rushed unconscious to Patong Hospital where his heart stopped. Staff managed to revive him…
Read More » - Phuket
Tsunami memorial service for Australians
PATONG: There will be a tsunami memorial service for Australian families in front of the Graceland Hotel on Patong Beach, from 8 am to 9 am on Monday. The memorial service, organized by the Australian Embassy, will precede formal Thai ceremonies at Patong Beach, commencing at 10 am, and other venues throughout the day. For more information contact the Australian…
Read More » - Phuket
Phang Nga ‘stealing Phuket tourism staff’
PHUKET: Employers in Phuket’s hotel and tourism industry are losing skilled staff to Phang Nga businesses – which are reportedly offering up to double the workers’ current salaries. Phuket Provincial Labour Office (PPLO) Chief Decha Prekpattanarak said today, “The ‘stealing’ of labor is a major problem that is creating a shortage of skilled workers in Phuket this high season.” He…
Read More » - Phuket
Gov sets Dec 26 deadline for bypass road
PHUKET: In a meeting this morning to check on final preparations for the upcoming tsunami memorial services, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura ordered that work on the bypass road widening project be completed before December 26.“Work on the bypass road must be finished before December 26 so we can provide comfortable transport for our visitors,” Gov Udomsak told those at the…
Read More » - Phuket
Sort out Nai Yang problem, Gov demands
NAI YANG: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura is angry that almost half of a 15-million-baht government budget to beautify Nai Yang Beach has already been wasted – and that bickering between the two government agencies involved now puts the rest of the money at risk.At a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, Gov Udomsak ordered the Tambon Sakoo Administration Organization (OrBorTor…
Read More » - Phuket
Phinij to open clinic for gay men
PATONG: Public Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat will tomorrow preside over the official opening of Patong Hospital’s “Sabaidee Clinic”, which will cater to the medical needs of gay men, whether residents or tourists. The ceremony will take place at the auspicious time of 7:09 am.The hospital’s Deputy-Director, Padungkiet Utokasenee, told the Gazette that the clinic, part of a network known as…
Read More » - Other News
Deep throat dentistry
BANGKOK: A 19-year-old student spent three agonizing days with a toothbrush lodged in her stomach – after she accidentally swallowed it and nobody would believe her. The student, whose name and address were not reported, felt an itch in her throat on the evening of December 5. Rather than visit the hospital, she decided to use her standard-sized Colgate-brand toothbrush…
Read More » - Phuket
Hundreds get the blues
KARON: A bit of rain and blustery winds couldn’t dampen the spirits of the hundreds of people who turned up for first night of the two-day Phuket Blues Festival 2005, in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Arcadia Resort and Spa yesterday. The event kicked off with the all-Thai Blue on Blue band from Bangkok, followed by Phuket’s own Big…
Read More »
