Month: July 2007
- Phuket News
New incinerator for Phuket “on hold’
PHUKET CITY: Proposed plans for a new incinerator on Phuket were put on hold this week despite Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana insisting that the island’s garbage problem is too big to wait.The proposal came after large quantities of fish were killed in waters polluted by leaked toxins from the island’s sole incinerator in Saphan Hin.The incinerator, which can burn…
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Students charged over roadside beating
RASSADA: Two second-year university students were arrested after allegedly assaulting a man at an accident scene on Soi Phaneang on July 2.When Phuket City police arrived at the scene, they found the two students, named by police as “Wit”, 22, and “Karine”, 23, both from Pattani province, beating 30-year-old Jaroonsak Khongjit, an employee of Phuket Adventure company.Pol Capt Atthapol Wannasaengthong…
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Man surrenders over road rage shootings
PHUKET CITY: After a four-day manhunt, a Patong man wanted in connection with the shooting murder of two youths in front of Kaset Market, the fresh market near Robinson department store, turned himself in to police early yesterday morning.The suspect, 33-year-old building contractor Sukkasem Charoenrat, has denied the charges.Police say they have testimonies confirming that Sukkasem was pulling his Honda Phantom…
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Woman’s remains identified
THALANG: Police believe they have identified the woman whose remains were found in a wooded area in Tambon Thepkrasattri last Wednesday evening.A cousin of Anutch Maneekwan has come forward, saying that K. Anutch, 40, had not been seen since June 27.The cousin reported that K. Anutch was living in a rented room near Super Cheap, where she worked.“On June 27 she…
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Pharmacy worker arrested after shooting debt collector
PATONG: An employee who shot and injured a private debt collector who tried to collect past-due rent was arrested for attempted murder on Friday.Uthai Petchara, 26, was working with Sarawuth Sukanek, 22, and another employee at Tak Pharmacy, near Loma Park on Thaweewong Rd, when four men entered the shop around 5 pm Friday.Narong Duangmusik, 32, and his accomplices approached…
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German to be deported over no work permit
PHUKET CITY: German architect Frank Witzel is awaiting deportation following his arrest on June 22 by Immigration officials. He had been arrested in February as well, for working without a work permit while on a building site in Patong, and for performing work prohibited to foreigners. Witzel had pleaded guilty to the charges in court in February. He was fined 1,000 baht and handed a one-month…
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Gambling a sure bet in Phuket
PHUKET: Gambling has topped the latest crime statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police with 205 arrests made from June 1 to June 30.There were 125 people arrested in drug-related cases, of which 61 involved ya bah (methamphetamine): five for selling, 30 for possession with intent to sell, 14 for possession and 12 for use. A total of 7,821 pills were…
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TTVI staff pay delayed
PHANG NGA (Kom Chad Luek, Gazette): Thailand Tsunami Victims Identification (TTVI) officers working at Bang Maruan cemetery, where 400 bodies remain unidentified, worked without pay for two months because of red tape that prohibited the new TTVI boss from authorizing their salaries. The problems began after former TTVI chief Pol Col Khemmarin Hassiri was transferred to an inactive post in…
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Weerapoj and Suwat win Patong by-election
PATONG: Weerapoj Iamsup of the Sor Tor Kaow Mai Party and Suwat Somnam of the Patong Gao-na Party were elected to Patong Municipal Council in the resort town by-election on Saturday.Boonsong Nawarak, acting chief administrative officer at Patong Municipality, told the Gazette that K. Weerapoj drew 898 votes, K. Suwat 646 votes, Somkiat Kuru 637 votes, Wig Tonghom 587 votes,…
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Police have krathom bust in the bag
KOH SIREH: Police staging a krathom raid on a house on Koh Sireh had a surprise on July 4 when a woman carrying a sack full of the contraband leaves accidentally walked in on the raid.Pol Maj Chalermchai Hernsawat led the warrant-endorsed raid on the house of Jarern Musika, 56, about 3:30 pm after an investigation discovered that krathom was…
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Phuket wins To Be Number One prizes
PHUKET: Phuket province was honored with two prizes in this year’s To Be Number One competition, held at Impact Muang Thong Thani in Nontaburi on June 25: one for committed support of the competition and another for dedicated participation.The competition recognizes community projects put forward to tackle drug abuse by local youths.Phuket, Yasotorn and Khon Kaen provinces were each awarded…
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Police nab Patong ya bah dealer
PATONG: Phuket City Police seized more than 220 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and arrested two men and one woman in a series of drugs raids on Thursday.Pol Maj Chalermchai Hernsawat posed as a buyer and arranged to buy ya bah pills from Apiwat “Tee” Sumetheentikul at Sainamyen Soi 1 at 11:30 am.At the rendezvous, police found Apiwat in possession of…
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Dead dolphin washes ashore at Kamala
KAMALA: A dead dolphin two meters long and weighing about 40 kilograms was found on Kamala Beach yesterday.Kanjana Adulyankosol, a biologist at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), told the Gazette that the dolphin had been dead for about five days.However, the dolphin’s sex and exact species could not be determined due to decomposition of the carcass, she added.The cause…
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Skeleton found in Thalang
THALANG: Police are investigating the identity of woman’s skeleton found in woods in Tambon Thepkrasattri on Wednesday evening.Col Chinnarat Rittakananond, superintendent of Thalang Police Station, told the Gazette that the woman was about 40 years old and had been dead for about one month.The skeleton, found near Soi Kok Mu in Moo 1, was dressed in a dark blue T-shirt…
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Election Commission names Phuket monitors
PHUKET: Kittipong Thiengkunagrit, director of the Phuket Election Commission (PEC), has confirmed which five Phuket residents will form the election committee charged with ensuring that polling in Phuket in the next general election will be free and fair.K. Kittipong said that 15 people applied to be election monitors in Phuket.The five chosen are: Phuket Vice-Governor Tri Augkaradacha; Phuket Labor and…
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Nanai bars face by-election alcohol ban
PATONG: Businesses on Nanai Rd and parts of Sainamyen Rd and Phisit Gorani Rd will be banned from selling alcohol from 6 pm tomorrow night ahead of the Patong Municipality by-election on Saturday.A notice issued by Kathu Police Station warns that the sale of alcohol will be prohibited in Patong Municipality Voting District 2 from Friday 6 pm until midnight…
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Karon bank robber evades police
KARON: Chalong police, still stumped after a farang bank robber made off with 420,000 baht last week, are appealing to owners of motorcycle rental companies in Karon to come forward with information of suspicious individuals who rented black, automatic motorcycles between June 26 and 28.The perpetrator may have used a Suzuki Step, a Yamaha Mio or Nouvo, or a Honda…
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Resident population continues to register
PHUKET: The island’s official population rose by 2,976 to 321,514 people between May 21 and June 20.The rise is being attributed to Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit’s campaign, initiated late last year, to increase the number of Thai citizens in the province whose names appear on household registration forms.Muang District saw the biggest jump with 1,622 new registrations. There were also…
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Free seminar on Phuket property issues
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Real Estate Club (PREC) and Delice Thai Co Ltd will host a forum titled “Problems and Solutions in the Phuket Real Estate Market” on July 14.Speakers will include Thawan Thimasarn, director of the Subdivision of the Bureau of Standard Land Document Issuance; PREC President Phummisak Hongsyok; Eric Tomlin, secretary to the Association of Phuket Property Agents;…
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Tasar world championships under way
CAPE PANWA: Competitors in the G4S Tasar World Championships shoved off from Panwa Beach today for the first of seven days of racing in the first Tasar world championships held in Thailand.Fifty-eight boats crewed by sailors from eight nations, including two Thai crews, are racing in the event.The championship is being held off Cape Panwa, but results from the invitational…
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Chalong bomber investigation downgraded
CHALONG: The investigation into bombings that injured two Burmese workers and severely damaged three houses in Chalong on November 28 last year has been downgraded, Chalong Police Superintendent Col Chalit Kaewyarat has said.The announcement came during the Security Committee Provincial Monthly Meeting on Friday, when Col Chalit said that nearly eight months after the bombing there was still no strong…
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Mixed messages from tsunami tests
PHUKET CITY: Mock tsunami evacuations at Baan Laem Tukkae and Saphan Hin were staged on Friday and Saturday, but with voice announcements that could not be understood and firetruck sirens instead of the tsunami warning towers alarms.However, government officials have insisted that the “quiet” testing was intentional to avoid panic.The tests, on Friday in Baan Laem Tukkae and Saturday at…
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Phuket to have biggest aquarium in Southeast Asia
BANGKOK (The Nation): Ripley Entertainment, operator of Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, plans to build and open a 2.1-billion-baht aquarium in Phuket within three years.The firm will enter into a joint venture with Thailand-based conglomerate Minor International Plc, the franchisee of the Ripley museum in Pattaya.The aquarium project will be Ripley’s second property in Thailand and its first aquarium…
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Beached dolphins have “slim’ chances of recovery
PHUKET: Two gravely ill dolphins are being treated at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) after washing ashore in separate incidents – the first at Karon Beach yesterday and the second in Phang Nga’s Tai Muang District this morning.PMBC biologist Kongkiat Kittiwattawong told the Gazette that the first, a 40-kilogram female spinner dolphin (S. longirostris), washed ashore at Karon Beach about…
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The Sultan floats again!
PATONG: Eleven days after the 38-foot sailboat Sultan beached at the south end of Patong during a storm, salvage efforts at high tide around midday yesterday finally saw her afloat and sailing for safer waters.Sultan made landfall on Patong Beach about 1 am on June 19 after its anchor chain snapped during strong winds and large waves in Patong Bay.Skipper…
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