Month: June 2005
- Phuket News
Airport boss uneasy over zero landing fees
PHUKET (Gazette/The Nation): The Director of Phuket International Airport has expressed reservations over a proposal to waive landing fees until the end of this year in an attempt to boost post-tsunami tourism.Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Thepsuthin told reporters last week that lifting landing fees at Phuket and Krabi airports could help in the recovery of tourism in the two…
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Governor lays out strategy for war on “taxi mafia’
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has unveiled more plans for cleaning up taxi and tuk-tuk services and reducing the influence of the island’s “taxi mafia”.The Governor said the number of “limousines” allowed to operate from Phuket International Airport should be limited to 50-60 vehicles. All should be Mercedes Benz cars, Toyota Camrys or Volvos, no more than five years old,…
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“Slow’ ODPM boss transfered
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM) Chief Nakorn Tipsat has been transfered to Surat Thani after failing to meet a deadline to present Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura with a report on the ODPM’s response to the tsunami.On June 5, the Governor gave K. Nakhon three days to present him with a report on what the ODPM had done…
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Dragonair to close Phuket office
PHUKET: In another indication of the sad state of tourism on the island, Hong Kong-based Dragonair has announced that it will close its Phuket City office, on Phang Nga Rd, on June 15.Sutthisak Pungtamawatthanakun, Manager of Dragonair Phuket, explained that flights between Hong Kong and Phuket were suspended on January 5 due to the “post tsunami effect” and that unrest…
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Writer recalls last moments of doomed diveboat
PHUKET: Gazette diving writer Chris Cruz has described the dramatic moments before the dive boat he was on capsized and sank during a heavy storm on Tuesday, leaving a Thai woman dead.The 24-meter Bubble Blue, with 18 people on board, was several hours into the seven-hour journey from Chalong port to the Similan Islands when it was caught in bad…
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Phuket to host gay festival rejected by Singapore
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has given the green light for the province to host Asia’s largest gay and lesbian festival, the Nation Party, after the organizers’ application for a license to hold the annual event in Singapore was turned down. The three-day festival will now be held in Phuket, starting November 4.The festival, organized by the website Fridae.com,…
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No leads in mystery woman’s murder
PHUKET CITY: Police have yet to identify an Asian woman found murdered near Sri Suchart Grand View 2 housing estate, off the bypass road, on March 22.Pol Maj Aikasit Pinkaew told the Gazette that, because of the condition of the corpse when it was found, investigators were not even sure whether the woman was Thai. Police believe she died three…
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Local politicians to the rescue
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has invited the country’s other 75 OrBorJor to attend a meeting in August aimed at giving a boost to the island’s tourism industry.Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, President of the PPAO, said that last year’s tsunami disaster has had an extremely negative influence on Phuket’s tourism, especially in the low-season months. Average hotel occupancy in June…
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Maid of money
PHUKET CITY: A woman who, in a three-year spree, allegedly robbed at least 15 homes of as much as 570,000 baht apiece, has been caught in a police sting.The woman, named as Jirapa “Ying” Pasomsub, 34, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, got into the homes by answering advertisements for a maid. Once in a home she would work for a few…
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Diveboat sinks: one dead
PHUKET: One person died when a diveboat capsized and sank 40 kilometers off the coast of Phuket in a storm this morning.The 24-meter liveaboard boat Bubble Blue, from the Khao Lak-based dive business of the same name, was travelling from Phuket to the Similan Islands to carry out a survey of coral reefs when it was hit by a four-meter…
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Storm forces flights to turn back
PHUKET: Driving rain and strong winds forced several scheduled flights to abort their landings at Phuket International Airport this morning.An officer at Phuket International Airport, who spoke to the Gazette on condition of anonymity, said that the strong winds forced pilots of four flights to abort their landings at the airport because they were not confident that it was safe…
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Pelé and Cantona to visit Phuket
PHUKET: The island will play host on July 28 to a charity beach soccer match, which will be attended by soccer giants Edson Arantes do Nascimento – better known as Pelé – and Eric Cantona.The announcement was made by Somsak Thepsuthin, Minister of Sports and Tourism, who visited the island to watch the Phuket round of the 1st ASEM (Asia…
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Canadian child-molester ordered deported
PATONG: A court has ordered Canadian teacher Jocelyn Leblanc deported after he confessed to charges of sexually molesting a child under 15 years of age.The 66-year-old teacher of the English language supposedly confessed to having smothered his penis with honey in order to entice a five-year-old boy to perform oral sex on him last February. Pol Col Teeraphol Thipjaroen, Superintendent…
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Monk war
NONG KHAI: A dispute over alms collection routes turned violent when three novices from Chansamakee Temple were set upon by an armed gang of monks and novices from a rival temple. Police were notified of the “Monk War” on the morning of May 29. Arriving on the scene at the Kokmang-ngao community in Tambon Meechai, they found 17-year-old novice Vitthaya…
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209 arrested in May for gambling
PHUKET CITY: Gambling topped the Phuket Provincial Police list of arrests made between May 1 and May 30, with 209 people taken into custody.Of the arrests, 10 were for involvement in illegal lottery operations while the other 199 were held for what the police describe as “other” gambling.Possession of illegal drugs resulted in 80 arrests – down from 93 in…
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Irish present book of condolences
PHUKET CITY: Helene Fallon Wood, representing the Irish Ambassador to Thailand, handed over a signed book of condolences to Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura at Phuket Provincial Hall today.“This book came from County Galway, on the west coast of Ireland.” said Ms Wood. “Shortly after the events of December 26 last year the Lord of Galway instituted this book. Many hundreds…
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Call for second trash incinerator
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has asked the government for one billion baht to build a second incinerator at Saphan Hin, to help deal with the province’s growing mountain of waste.Gov Udomsak said he has applied to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for the required funding.He said, “Phuket has a big environmental problem. As the number of tourists…
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A low-down, dirty crime
PHUKET CITY: The new garbage cans being distributed throughout the city have proven such a hit with the public that they keep disappearing.Plastic, blue in color and about a meter high, the bins are of such heavy-duty construction that they can be rammed by a moving vehicle without cracking. Other special design features include high chemical resistance and a unique shape that…
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Phuket Air hires “best practice’ experts
BANGKOK: Problem-plagued Phuket Air has recruited a British provider of safety training to instill “best practice” throughout every level of its operations.The deal between Phuket Air and training and development company The Human Factor was announced in London by the founder of The Human Factor, ex-British Royal Air Force pilot George Duncan, and Phuket Air Executive Vice-President Captain Chawanit Chiamcharoenvut.It…
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Three new public parks planned
PHUKET: The island may get three new public parks under the Cabinet’s “One Tambon, One Park” initiative.The Phuket office of the Royal Forestry Department is to ask its national HQ at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives for permission to create “Pa Bangkanun” in Tambon Thepkrasattri, Thalang District; “Khao Toh Se” in Tambon Rassada, Muang District, and “Khao Phanthurat” in…
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Immigration office to open in Chalong
CHALONG: Phuket Immigration has set up a permanent service counter at Phuket Port Control Center (PPCC) in Chalong.From next Tuesday (June 7), the counter will be open every Tuesday and Thursday between 9 am and 3 pm. It will be staffed by three Immigration officers.Phuket Immigration Superintendent Pol Col Witawat Buranasompop told the Gazette that he expected that, by the…
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Air Force looks at tsunami lessons
PATONG: Senior officers of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) are gathered in Patong for a seminar on lessons to be learned from the handling of the tsunami crisis.Gen Chalid Pukpasuk, who is the Director of the RTAF’s Public Emergency Response Center and the seminar chairman, told journalists that the RTAF had delivered emergency supplies “regularly and rapidly” to tsunami…
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Phuket urged to turn out the lights
PHUKET: Phuket is toeing the national line with the local electricity boss urging people to save power by turning off one light per house for five minutes every night.Speaking yesterday – Electricity Saving Day – Amorn Saeng-Ngern, Manager of the Phuket Provincial Electricity Office, said that if the 100,000 electricity users on the island turned off one of their lights…
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Three proposals for massive Chalong marina
PHUKET CITY: Three proposals have been received by Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura for the construction of a large marina in Chalong Bay, to be financed by a mixture of government and private sector money.One proposal is from a consortium headed locally by Lifestyle Properties Co Ltd and the Gazette understands that two other concepts have been submitted, one by an…
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Land issues “still a priority’ – Minister
PHUKET CITY: Revocation of improperly-issued land title deeds will remain a top government priority in the upper southern provinces of Thailand, the Interior Minister announced at a meeting with provincial officials yesterday.The meeting, held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, was chaired by Interior Minister Pol Gen Chidchai Wannasatit who, in his dual role as a Deputy Prime Minister, also serves…
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