Month: October 2005

  • Phuket NewsScam artist sparks alert in Kamala | Thaiger

    Scam artist sparks alert in Kamala

    KAMALA: Police are warning people to beware of a scam artist posing as an electrician after one foreign resident was bilked out of 1,000 baht by the man.Pol Capt Pongnarin Sutin of Kamala Police Sub-District told the Gazette that a man posing as an electrician went to the home of a foreign resident and told the man’s Thai wife that…

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  • Phuket NewsViagra overdose may have caused Finn’s death | Thaiger

    Viagra overdose may have caused Finn’s death

    PATONG: Pekka Juhani Laakso, 47, from Finland, was yesterday found dead in his room at the Sun, Sea & Sand Hotel on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, seemingly from an overdose of Viagra.Pol Lt Padungpong Sukkaew told the Gazette that he had received a call at 3:30 pm from Preecha Nuwongsri, the hotel’s manager, telling him that a corpse had been…

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  • Phuket NewsMom Tri plans to open international school | Thaiger

    Mom Tri plans to open international school

    KATA: Famed architect and developer ML Tridhosyuth Devakul has unveiled plans to establish a new International Baccalaureate (IB) school in Phuket.Mom Tri, as he is widely known, was speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony yesterday for the Villas Grand Cru, a new residential project in the Kata Hills.In 2001, Mom Tri founded the Prem Tinsulanonda International School (Prem Center) in Chiang…

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  • Phuket NewsLanding fees for charter flights halved | Thaiger

    Landing fees for charter flights halved

    PHUKET: In an effort to attract more flights to the island, Airports of Thailand (AOT) has halved landing fees for all international charter flights arriving at Phuket until December 31.The airport Director, Sq/Ldr Pornchai Eua-aree, told the Gazette that the airport had originally suggested halving fees on all services, but that the Cabinet had approved the reduction only for charter…

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  • Phuket NewsBizarre death in elephant camp | Thaiger

    Bizarre death in elephant camp

    PATONG: Bizarre theories surround the fate of an Asian woman, probably Thai, who was found dead Wednesday morning at the Safari Elephant Camp on Siriraj Rd, between Karon and Patong.Police have speculated that she may have been assaulted by unknown assailants who tried to rape her, and was then crushed to death by one of the elephants.The woman is thought…

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  • Phuket NewsHRH Princess Soamsavali to visit Phuket | Thaiger

    HRH Princess Soamsavali to visit Phuket

    PHUKET: HRH Princess Soamsavali will visit Phuket on October 10 to preside over the official opening of two rooms bearing the name of the Sweden’s King Carl XVI Gustaf at Bangkok Phuket Hospital.The two rooms, the King Carl Gustaf Conference Room and the Tsunami Memorial Room, are in the hospital’s new Outpatient Building.King Carl XVI Gustaf, accompanied by Queen Silvia,…

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  • Phuket NewsGov halts work on housing project

    Gov halts work on housing project

    RASSADA: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura and Muang District Chief Wirawat Janpen yesterday went to Soi Siang Tai to order a halt to the construction of an 80-unit residential housing project on Toh Sae Hill, citing seven different building code violations. Gov Udomsak said his inspection of the site followed complaints by Soi Siang Tai residents, lodged with the Damrongtham Center,…

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  • Phuket NewsBritish Ecstasy dealer jailed | Thaiger

    British Ecstasy dealer jailed

    PHUKET: Briton Jason Crosby today pleaded guilty to charges of possession of 50 ya E (Ecstasy) tablets with intent to sell and was sentenced to nearly seven years in jail and fined 390,000 baht by Phuket Provincial Court.The court initially sentenced him to 13 years and eight months in prison and a 780,000-baht fine but, in accordance with standard practice,…

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  • Phuket News11,000 hotel rooms for tsunami relatives “difficult to find’ | Thaiger

    11,000 hotel rooms for tsunami relatives “difficult to find’

    PHUKET: (Gazette/The Nation) The Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) is unsure whether its member hotels will be able to provide the 11,000 hotel rooms requested by the government to accommodate family members of tsunami victims expected to attend the first-year memorial services in December. The official number of tsunami dead in Phuket was 279, with 620 reported missing. The disaster claimed…

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  • Phuket NewsTTVI center to close before December 26 | Thaiger

    TTVI center to close before December 26

    PHUKET: The Chalong-based Thai Tsunami Victim Identification (TTVI) center will close some time before the anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami on December 26, police say. Pol Col Khemmarin Hassiri, Superintendent of the TTVI’s Thai disaster victim identification (DVI) unit, said that a written order from the Cabinet to close the center was received by the TTVI following a decision…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket boosts security after Bali bomb blasts | Thaiger

    Phuket boosts security after Bali bomb blasts

    PHUKET: Police are stepping up security across the island following three suicide bomb blasts in Bali on Saturday that claimed at least 19 lives and injured 133 people, Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth, the new Phuket Provincial Police Commander, told the Gazette today.He called for tourists not to be put off by seeing a greater police presence on the street.“I…

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  • Cannabis NewsGambling tops August arrests statistics | Thaiger

    Gambling tops August arrests statistics

    PHUKET: Statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police show that gambling once again topped the crime table, with 149 people arrested in August for the offense. Thirty-four cases involved the sale of illegal underground lottery tickets.Eight murders were reported during the month with four cases solved, resulting in the arrests of six people.There were six cases of attempted murder with no…

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  • Phuket NewsVegetarian Festival begins | Thaiger

    Vegetarian Festival begins

    PHUKET: Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival has begun with the raising of bamboo go teng poles at each participating temple. Gods are then invited down the poles to join in the celebrations. Shrines around the island performed the same ceremony at exactly 5:09 pm Sunday.Minister of Energy Viset Jupibal chaired the opening ceremony at Phuket City’s Jui Tui Shrine, with more than…

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  • Phuket NewsNew police chief asks for feedback | Thaiger

    New police chief asks for feedback

    PHUKET: The new commander of Phuket Provincial Police has asked for more help and feedback from Thais and also from foreigners, both tourists and those who live here.Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth, previously Deputy Commander of Phang Nga Provincial Police, took up his new post in Phuket today.Maj Gen Decha was at Phang Nga Provincial Police for a year, and…

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  • Phuket NewsPatong-Kamala redevelopment to start this month | Thaiger

    Patong-Kamala redevelopment to start this month

    PHUKET: Work on the long-awaited Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) post-tsunami redevelopment projects for Patong and Kamala beaches will get under way in October, with first-phase landscaping work on both projects to be completed by the end of November, officials say.On June 13, the TAT received approval from the Budget Bureau of 194.7 million baht for the three-phase Patong project…

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