Year: 2007
- Phuket News
Hotels get crash course in disease control
PATONG: Dr Wiwat Sitamanod of the Phuket Provincial Health Office on Wednesday said that the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) is investigating claims that six tourists contracted Legionnaire’s disease while on holiday in Patong.“The PPHO received a fax from a foreign embassy on January 9 about some of their nationals who were diagnosed as having Legionnaire’s disease after being on…
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Nai Harn encroachment probe making slow progress
NAI HARN: The investigation into the building of a resort on protected forest land at Ao Sane is making slow progress, though police expect to make more arrests soon, Chalong police have told the Gazette.Some 30 forestry officials raided the illegal construction site on October 25. Two construction foremen, Virot Niyomdechai, 31, of Satun Province, and Viriya Yimsomboon, 25, of…
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Body found floating off Koh Bon
KOH BON: The body of an unidentified young man was found floating in the sea off Koh Bon yesterday afternoon. Police believe the victim was a Burmese fisherman.Pol Lt Col Chana Sutthimas, an Inspector at Chalong Police Station, told the Gazette that the discovery was made about 2 pm by a tourist, who then notified the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center…
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Local telephone book has arrived
PHUKET: The 2007 edition of the Gazette Guide, Phuket’s English-language yellow pages, has arrived and guestroom copies are today being delivered to the major four- and five-star hotels and resorts. The book goes on sale to the general public at noon on Thursday, February 1. The price of the directory is 140 baht. A full list of retailers in Phuket,…
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A really dumbo idea
PHITSANULOKE: A drunk was left with critical head injuries after being slammed into a tree by an elephant he was teasing. The unfortunate event transpired on the morning of January 17. A crowd of curious villagers had gathered near the entrance to Wat Muang Hawm (“Temple of the Fragrant Mango”) in Tambon Kaengsopha, Wangthong District, to see an elephant that…
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Brown nectar of the gods
PHRAE: Scores of villagers in Phrae were given a gut-wrenching shock when a “holy” spring they had prayed to and drunk from turned out to be the result of faulty plumbing rather than a gift from the gods. The font was discovered on January 4 by Anong Kwanphetch, 52, in the middle of her lawn in Tambon Mae Jua, Denchai…
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Patong tuk-tuks protest one-way traffic
PATONG: About 40 angry tuk-tuk drivers parked their vehicles on the football field on the beach road from 5 pm until 10 pm on Sunday to protest the town’s new one-way road system, which went into effect on a three-month trial from January 16.Among the drivers’ complaints are that the new system has increased traffic, travel time and operating costs – while…
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Hotels still refuse to pay rooms tax
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr has again threatened legal action against hotels that refuse to pay the controversial 1% rooms tax.K. Anchalee said that the OrBorJor this year aims to collect 60 million baht in rooms tax, up from a little over 41 million during the fiscal year from October 1, 2005 to September 30, 2006.However, she said that…
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Teenager arrested for brutal murder
KATHU: Tung Tong Police have arrested a 17-year-old man for the brutal stabbing murder of 40-year-old Nongying “Sao” Sengton in her home near Tung Tong Market in the early hours of November 27.Pol Lt Col Witoon Kongsudjai, Deputy Superintendent of Tung Tong Police Station, said the arrest was made on January 16 at the youth’s home in Phang Nga’s Thapput…
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Phuket runs out of “smart” ID cards
PHUKET: People looking to be issued one of the new “smart” ID cards will have to wait until about mid-year to get their hands on one, as all District Offices on Phuket have run out of the new cards.Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana said that people will have to settle for an old-style card until the Department of Local Administration…
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Kamala to get traditional Thai-Chinese medical center
KAMALA: Cabinet has approved a plan to build a traditional Thai-Chinese medical center with the assistance of the Chinese government at the site of the Kamala Public Health Office.Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) Chief Dr Wanchai Sattayawuthipong told the Gazette the center will provide Thai and Chinese traditional treatments to both Thai and foreign patients.The PPHO, which drew up the…
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Fewer island blackouts predicted
PHUKET: The island’s residents are expected to suffer fewer electricity supply disruptions this year as power supply will be boosted to meet expected increases in demand, the head of the island’s electricity provider has reported.Suthep Jitseree of the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) said the successful introduction of Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) technology to the island’s power grid…
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TTVI chief Khemmarin transferred
BANGKOK (Kom Chad Luek/Gazette): Pol Col Khemmarin Hassiri, the Superintendent in charge of the Thailand Tsunami Victim Identification (TTVI) center, has been transferred to an inactive position at the Police Forensic Science Office pending an investigation into allegations that money donated to the TTVI was used improperly.Ireland and Denmark have now added their names to the list of countries demanding…
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Cost of Phuket living rises 4.9%
PHUKET: The consumer price index in Phuket increased 4.9% in 2006, comprising sharp increases in several food categories, the Phuket Commercial Affairs Office has reported.Food and beverage prices increased 6% overall, led by sharp increases in fruits and vegetables (12.9%); basic ingredients (17%); and meat, poultry and seafood (8.6%).The combined increases in all non-food-and-beverage categories was 4%, led by the…
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Doubt lingers over Legionnaire’s “outbreak’ claims
PATONG: Reports in the Finnish press of Legionnaire’s Disease being contracted by a group of tourists staying at a hotel in Patong have yet to be confirmed, as tests are still being conducted by the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), Ministry of Public Health and the World Health Organization.As of press time, no proof of the bacteria Legionella has been…
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Former Sheriff robbed en route from Bangkok
MAI KHAO: A former Sheriff in San Bernadino County, California, had valuables stolen from his luggage while it was on an Orient Thai Airlines One-Two-Go flight from Bangkok to Phuket on January 10.Californian Larry Morgan, who is in Thailand on a month-long trip, said that he checked his bag in with One-Two-Go staff at Suvarnabhumi Airport about 7 pm on January…
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Traffic jams mar Patong one-way system launch
PATONG: The introduction of the new one-way traffic system in Patong passed without accident on its first day, January 15, but was marred by early evening traffic jams along Thaweewong Rd (beach road). Kathu District Police, determined to make the day a success, stationed a total of 75 officers on rotation from 3 am until midnight to direct traffic flow.Pol…
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Hotel thieves nabbed at airport
PATONG: A 20-year-old man and a 14-year-old girl were arrested at Phuket International Airport January 10 while in possession of more than 250,000 baht’s worth of Swiss francs and a digital camera they had stolen from a couple staying in Patong.Duty Inspector Pol Lt Col Pisit Chunpet, of Kathu District Police Station, said the thieves, whom he declined to name, were…
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Desalination plant finally comes onstream
KARON: The new desalination plant capable of producing up to 12,000 cubic meters of potable water a day is in its final testing stages and will begin full production by the end of this month, says the head of the island’s largest water supply system.Phuket Provincial Water Supply (PPWS) Manager Sayan Wareearoonroj told the Gazette that the plant, which uses…
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Property expo expected to set record
PHUKET CITY: The Property Investment Exhibition 2007 (PIE), the annual property show staged by the Phuket Provincial Land Office and Phuket Real Estate Club, is expected to set a record 500 million baht in sales and reservations, Thanet Traiwut, Managing Director of exhibition organizer Delice Thai, told the Gazette.Most of the properties sold or reserved were valued at five to…
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Jungceylon borrows B2.6 billion for expansion
PATONG: Jungceylon’s parent company, Phuket Square Co Ltd, has borrowed an additional 2.6 billion baht to further expand the Patong shopping complex.The money will be spent on the plaza area, building decorations, a road expansion and to finish construction of the on-site hotel. Last week Suchad Chiaranussati, President of Phuket Square Co Ltd, signed a six-year loan with the Bank…
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Bad news for the Tiger of Thalang
THALANG: Being the leader of a youth motorbike gang in Phuket is always dangerous. Occupational hazards include bullets and blades from members of rival gangs, police who will eventually make a charge stick, and carelessly-driven pickups that can quickly put an end to motorcycling mayhem. Despite the obvious risks, gang leader Kroekkriat Jantananon, from Baan Liphon in Thalang, would no…
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Tsunami buoy warning would be “too late’ – Smith
PHUKET: Because of its location, the lone tsunami direct detection buoy deployed last month in the middle of the Indian Ocean would offer little advance warning to Phuket in the event of another tsunami generated off the Indonesian Coast, Dr Smith Dharmasaroja, head of the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) in Nonthaburi, has told the Gazette.Dr Smith said that the…
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Gambling still Phuket’s top vice
PHUKET: With 62 cases resulting in 204 arrests from December 1 to 30, gambling remains the most popular crime committed in Phuket. Illegal lottery ticket sales counted for 44 of the arrests. Drug-related cases totaled 105 with 125 people arrested. Ya bah (methamphetamine) was involved in 35 of those cases, with 53 people arrested and 938.5 pills seized.There were 33…
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Patong to set new parking zones
PATONG: New parking zones will go into effect in Patong on January 15, when a one-way traffic system will begin operating along three major roads in the central tourist district. Starting at 6 am on January 15, all southbound traffic will be routed along Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, which will become one-way. Northbound traffic will be routed along the beach road.All connecting…
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US experts lead counter-terrorism workshop
PATONG: Some 30 Thai police and military personnel are undergoing a two-week “Military Law Enforcement/Boarding Officer” course conducted by US military experts at the Patong Resort Hotel.The training, which began Monday, is the latest of many ventures funded by the US Defense Department’s Counter Terrorism Fellowship Program (CTFP) for Thailand. The program, which in 2006 had a budget of about…
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Island CCTV “ready next month’
PHUKET CITY Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth on Monday announced that the island-wide 16-million-baht closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance system will be operational in three popular tourist districts by mid-February.Work on the project, begun last August, was funded under former Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s discretionary budget for provincial development.The network, being installed by telecommunications provider CAT Telecom Public Company…
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Tourism Minister affirms tourism targets
PHUKET CITY: Tourism and Sports Minister Dr Suwit Yodmanee yesterday affirmed the government’s national targets for 2007 of 14.8 million foreign tourists and 82 million Thai tourists, with earnings of 547,500 million baht and 377,800 million baht respectively.Dr Suwit announced the targets at a meeting of about 280 government and private sector representatives from the 14 southern provinces at The…
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More than 5,000 fake credit cards seized
KATHU: Police have arrested three Sri Lankan men for credit card fraud, seizing more than 5,000 bogus credit cards allegedly encoded with information from real credit cards.Police suspect the three men may be part of a much larger ring operating in popular tourists areas throughout Thailand and other parts of the world.Pol Lt Col Boonlert Onklang of the Kathu Police…
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New Year road toll hits targets
PHUKET: Three people died and 32 people were injured in 35 reported accidents from December 28 to January 3, nearly matching the government’s target road toll for the “seven days of danger” holiday period.The Phuket Provincial Road Safety Center for New Year’s 2007 had set a target of three dead and 39 injured in 35 accidents.The figures were released this…
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Sithi Tandavanitj passes away
PHUKET CITY: Sithi Tandavanitj, President of the Thai Hotels Association, Southern Chapter, died after suffering a heart attack on December 30. He was 79.A sociable Phuket native, K. Sithi was on the management committee of The Metropole hotel and also served as President of the Parent-Teacher Association at Phuket Vocational College.He was also a former President of the Thai Hotels…
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British boy, 7, electrocuted in Patong
PATONG: A seven-year-old British boy was electrocuted while playing a video game in his hotel room at the Sunset Beach Resort, police have confirmed.Pol Lt Col Sopol Borirak, of Kathu Police Station, identified the victim as Connor Dean O’Keeffe, son of David Skinner, 49, and Kathleen Patricia Curry, 45.Police were notified of the death about 8 pm on December 30…
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Alleged rapist dies in death plunge
THALANG: An alleged rapist died after being pushed off a second-story balcony in Cherng Talay by the boyfriend of the alleged victim.Pol Lt Col Jessada Sangsuree, Inspector for Investigations at Cherng Talay Police Station, identified the deceased as Echa Bumrung, 31, a resident of Cherng Talay.Echa celebrated New Year’s Eve by drinking beer with a group of four or five…
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Chick or cheat?
PATONG: A front-page headline in the December 30 edition of a daily Thai-language newspaper shocked readers with the horrific news that a mother had murdered her newborn child and left its lifeless corpse to rot in a field behind a row of low-rent apartments. The headline for the initial report, roughly translated, read: “Wicked brutality: Mother kills child, stuffs in…
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Tourism operators “cautiously optimistic’ after Bangkok bombings
PHUKET: Tourism industry experts remain cautiously optimistic that the bombings in Bangkok will have limited impact on tourism numbers in Phuket.Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand’s Southern Region 4 office in Phuket, said, “We are concerned about this in Phuket, especially as it comes during a peak period for tourism.“If similar incidents occur and the violence continues to…
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Bangkok bombs spark security boost
PHUKET: Police Region 8 put 50 extra officers on standby in Phuket over the holiday period, to be bolstered by about 100 more officers on standby from Friday, following the bomb blasts in Bangkok on New Year’s Eve.Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth today told the Gazette that the extra officers, to remain in Phuket until the…
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Three die in New Year’s Day road accidents
PHUKET: Between the end of the new year countdown and sunrise on New Year’s Day, three people were killed on Phuket roads.The first fatality of the year on the island’s roads came at 2:30 am when Suripong Jitsamut, 30, was killed when his motorbike crashed into an electricity pylon.At 3:35 am, Prakarn Keawdee, 20, and Thanachart Rungsrisuk, 18, were killed…
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