Month: October 2006
- Phuket
New board members take control of Blue Canyon
THALANG: Yongyos Palanitisena has announced that a four-man committee comprising himself, Chaichana Ratanatraiwirat, Wisut Srisangkaew and Nuntaporn Asumpinapong will oversee the running of Blue Canyon Country Club (BCCC) in place of the full board of Murex, the company that owns the BCCC.Yongyos made the announcement following an October 29 meeting, at The Metropole hotel, attended by seven newly-appointed members and…
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Valentino and wife released on bail
BANGKOK (The Nation): Well-known Phuket resident Tan Teik Hai, aka “Valentino”, and his wife Suwaphat Kheereephon were released on bail of 600,000 each on October 29 following their arrest on charges of encroaching on a vast plot of beachfront land on Koh Yao Yai in Phang Nga.Tan, a Malaysian national who serves as the honorary consul to Morocco, and his wife,…
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Illegal Nai Harn resort raided
NAI HARN: Two construction foremen were arrested and their equipment seized on Wednesday in a raid by forestry officials on a resort complex being built illegally on protected forest land above Baan Krating Jungle Beach at Ao Sane, accessible from the road that runs through Le Royal Meridien Phuket Yacht Club.The raid was carried out by 30 volunteers and officials…
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Honorary Consul couple arrested
BANGKOK (The Nation): Police last night arrested Malaysian national and honorary consul to Morocco Tan Tek Hai, known better on the island as “Valentino”, 56, and his wife Suwaphat Kheereephon, 41, who is an honorary consul to Djibouti.The couple were arrested by Department of Special Investigation (DSI) agents at their home for allegedly encroaching on a large plot of public…
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B1m reward for US-Thai fugitive
BANGKOK: Thai and US law enforcement officials today announced a 1-million-baht reward for information leading to the capture of Saner Wonggoun, a most-wanted US fugitive believed to be hiding in Thailand. Saner, alias “Shorty” or “Buck”, is wanted in connection with the 1994 murder of his pregnant wife and their eight-month-old unborn child. Saner, born in Nakon Nayok Province in…
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Thousands turn out to mark Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET CITY: More than 10,000 people took part in a parade on Monday as part of the Phuket Vegetarian Festival. The parade included representatives of 18 shrines, many businesses as well as students from schools around Phuket . The procession started at 4 pm at Queen Sirikit Park on Thalang Road and walked along Phuket Rd to Saphan Hin, where…
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Nominee crackdown halves new company registrations
PHUKET: Only 76 new companies were registered in September – compared with 135 and 132 during the same month in 2005 and 2004, respectively – following the August 15 announcement from the Ministry of Commerce that rules regarding foreign partnerships would be strictly enforced.Veerachai Tantiwathanavallop, Chief of the Phuket Commercial Registrations Office, told the Gazette that the number of new…
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Phuket Carnival to be record-breaker
PATONG: This year’s Phuket Carnival, a celebration held to ring in the official start of the high season for tourism, is being touted to be the biggest ever with a record 3 million baht in funding provided by the Phuket Tourist Association. This year’s activities will be centered along Thaweewong Rd, between Soi Bangla and the Holiday Inn on Soi…
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Tuk tuk, taxi drivers to get crash course in English
PHUKET CITY: One hundred Phuket taxi drivers, tuk tuk drivers and airport limousine drivers will have the chance to take a crash-course in English language and in hospitality on November 3, as the Tourism Authority of Thailand Region 4 office holds its first training session for the livery of Phuket. The course will be held at the Phuket Merlin Hotel,…
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The party’s over
KATA-KARON: After six ground-breaking Nation parties – four in Singapore and two in Phuket – the gay and lesbian portal Fridae.com drew the curtains in Phuket when the last track of the three-day event, spun by Australian DJ Kate Monroe, trailed off into cheers at around 8 am this morning at the Hilton Arcadia Phuket Resort & Spa.The 1,500-plus revelers,…
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Another man gunned down
RASSADA: A Kathu man was gunned down while riding his motorcycle near Phuket Rajabhat University around 1:30 am on Wednesday.The man, identified by police as Panumas Chusawas, 23, was killed by at least four .38mm bullets while riding, with a friend riding pillion, along the Ban Kuku-Samkong road.The friend was unharmed and notified police. He declined to reveal his name…
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Two nabbed in Patong drug bust
PATONG: Undercover police arrested two ya bah (methamphetamine) dealers in a sting operation on Nanai Rd early Thursday morning, seizing almost 100 pills.Kathu Police Inspector Maj Serm Kwannimit led the arrest, with other officers arranged to buy 95 pills at 25,000 baht at the Blue Sky Residence on Nanai Rd.Somjin Srikwan, 39, and Athen Lenukul, 33, both natives of Songkhla…
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Burial for 422 tsunami victims
PHANG NGA: Three religious ceremonies – one Buddhist, one Christian and one Muslim – were performed October 16 in preparation for burying 422 unidentified tsunami victims in Baan Bang Muang Cemetery.Pol Col Khemmarin Hassiri, Superintendent of the Thai Tsunami Victim Identification unit, told the Gazette, “These 422 bodies have not been claimed and we have no information about them, so…
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Kho En “death bend’ solution awaiting contractor
MAI KHAO: Three months after the villagers of Baan Kho En protested unsafe driving conditions along Thepkrasattri Rd by setting up a roadblock, officials and locals have agreed that the problem has been temporarily resolved, with no deaths along the stretch of road since the protest. Villagers, however, are still awaiting proof that the government will widen the road as…
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All green for Vegetable Frenzy
PHUKET CITY: Organizers of the annual Vegetarian Festival have announced that all systems are go for the start of this year’s event tomorrow night. Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr said that in celebration of this year’s festival, falling during the 60th anniversary of HM The King’s accession to the throne, the OrBorJor will put on a range…
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More Maneaters wanted”¦
KRABI: Thai Occidental Productions is casting for the next in its series of Maneater feature films being shot in Krabi and Phuket. “We will start filming on Monday, but will be shooting in and around Phuket from November 1 to 4,” Ms Hall told the Gazette. Extras and small-part actors are needed for scenes including a staged crocodile show and…
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Beach Volleyball: Brazilians top seeds at Phuket Open
PHUKET: The World No 1 pairing of Larissa and Juliana from Brazil have been named as No 1 seeds at the Phuket Thailand Open, the final round of the Swatch FIVB Beach Volley World Tour 06. Seeded No 2 are current Olympic and World Champions Misty May-Treanor and Kerry Walsh from the USA. Two more Brazilian teams – Ana Paula…
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Pongpayome appointed new Ministry of Interior Permanent Secretary
BANGKOK (The Nation; Gazette): Former Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi has been promoted from Deputy Permanent Secretary to Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior (MoI).K. Pongpayome, 58, governed Phuket from 2000 to 2003 and was one of five pioneer Governor CEOs. After leaving the province, he took up the post of Director-General of the Department of Local Administration (DOLA) and…
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Patong wastewater plant now open
PATONG: The drive to keep Patong Bay free of seaweed in the upcoming high season took a big step forward with the opening of a new wastewater treatment plant on October 12.The center, built by the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Wastewater Management Authority (WMA), with 13 million baht from the Danish International Development Assistance (Danida) fund, uses a…
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Tsunami orphanage remains open while fraud probe stalls
PHUKET: The Barnhem Thai-Swedish Children’s Foundation home for tsunami orphans in Mai Khao will continue to operate while a provincial investigation into fraud claims has stalled, awaiting the return of the home’s founder Narin Dangtakote.The provincial committee is now coming under intense pressure from the Interior Ministry to produce results following the Swedish Embassy’s dispatch last month of an official…
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Phummisak appointed to NLA
PHUKET: Phummisak Hongsyok, former Mayor of Phuket City and President of the Phuket Real Estate Club, has been appointed to serve in the National Legislative Assembly, a new 242-member body which will serve as the country’s interim parliament while the new constitution is being drafted.K. Phummisak said that he thought he was selected because of his background in business and…
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Price freeze ordered for Veg Festival
PHUKET CITY: To prevent price-gouging in the upcoming Phuket Vegetarian Festival, the Phuket Internal Trade Office (PITO) has announced that they will inspect shops to ensure that prices of vegetables and other festival supplies are not above currently recorded market prices, and that prices are clearly marked on all products.Phuket Commercial Affairs Chief Thada Piyaporn said that more vegetables will…
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