Year: 2007
- Phuket News
VeggieFest Day 7
Over 1,000 mah song (“entranced horses” or spirit mediums) from Chinese shrines around the island joined together this morning to take part in the Jui Tui Chinese Shrine street procession to Saphan Hin. Today marked day seven of the nine-day festival, the island’s signature cultural event that has spread to many other parts of Thailand.
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Govt-assessed land prices skyrocket
BANGKOK: Over the past four years, Phuket has recorded the highest land-price increase in Thailand, according to unofficial results of a nationwide land appraisal conducted by the Treasury Department.A source in the Treasury Department told a Prachachart Turakij reporter that on average, land prices in Phuket had increased 157.7% due to sustained growth in the tourism, real estate and retail…
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Body of boat sinking victim found
SATUN: The body of a man missing at sea for 17 days after the boat he was on sunk off Koh Racha Yai was recovered by Marine Police yesterday at Koh Tarutao in Satun.Phuthong Tirawattana, an employee of the Tai Lee Yong seafood restaurant in Saphan Hin, was one of five co-workers left floating through the night in stormy seas…
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Karon Stadium debacle forces major tourneys to relocate
KARON: The poor state of the pitch at Karon Stadium has forced two international sporting events, the Phuket Soccer 7s and the King’s Cup 80-80 International Rugby Tournament, to be relocated.After more than a month of the organizers voicing their concerns over the pitch, which in poor condition could result in player injuries, the Soccer 7s will be played at Surakul Stadium in Phuket…
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Khao Sok Cave Tragedy: Guides were warned, survivor recounts ordeal
SURAT THANI (Nation, Gazette): The two Thai tour guides who led a group of foreign tourists into a cave at Khao Sok National Park over the weekend did so despite a warning by park officials about the danger of flooding inside, the Gazette has learned.Both guides and six of the seven tourists who entered the cave with them died in…
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German tourists die in flash flood
SURAT THANI (Nation): Rescue workers have recovered the bodies of eight German tourists and two Thai guides who died in a flash flood in Ban Takhun district yesterday evening.Police said the tour group went into a cave which has a waterway leading to the Ratchaprapha Dam reservoir in Khao Sok National Park about 7:30 pm when they were swept away…
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Vegetarian Festival in full swing
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2007 is well underway, with Kuan Te Kun Shrine, locally known as Sapam Shrine, this morning conducting the first of the nine street processions that are among the festival’s major highlights. The Sapam Shrine procession started at 8 pm at Nakhon Rd, behind the Phuket City Police Station. Amidst the cacophony of firecrackers set off…
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Another attack in Rawai, Aussie and Brit mugged
RAWAI: An Australian woman was pulled off her motorcycle and robbed at gunpoint early Sunday morning in the same area where Norwegian tourist Simen Knudsen was killed two weeks earlier.The victim, 27-year-old Australian Sooz Lomas, arrived in Phuket about two weeks ago to learn Thai boxing at the Rawai Muay Thai camp.About 2:30 am on Sunday, Ms Lomas left the nearby Icon…
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Wind shear probable cause of OG269 crash
BANGKOK (The Nation): Transport Permanent Secretary Chaisawat Kittipornpaiboon today announced that decoding of the One-Two-Go flight OG029 “black box” flight recorder revealed that the plane skidded off the runway and crashed into an escarpment due to bad weather.As chairman of the air-crash investigation committee, K. Chaisawat said that the flight suffered from wind shear and the captain could not land as planned.Black…
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Phuket launches twin-bins scheme
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Municipality has launched an initiative to solve some of the island’s waste woes with the addition of 400 pairs of mobile garbage bins around town, allocated to the areas in town deemed to have the densest population.Each pair comprises a light-blue bin for organic waste and a green bin for general waste. A budget of six…
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Gambling tops September crime statistics
PHUKET: Gambling topped the latest crime statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police, with 230 arrests made in September.In second place, 102 people arrested were arrested for drug-related cases, of which 63 involved ya bah (methamphetamine) with a total of 3,329 pills seized.Seventeen people were arrested for the use of cannabis, with 19.45 grams confiscated. There were 11 arrests for inhalant…
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Pakistani stabbed in Patong
PATONG: A Pakistani gang member has been arrested for the October 5 stabbing in Patong of a Pakistani businessman who refused to pay a protection fee to a local racket, said Pol Maj Bundit Kaosutham. Marmoon Igbal Butt was returning to his car after attending a party when he was confronted by Ram Nagar Raygarn, 38, said Maj Bundit.Ram told…
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Pedestrian run down, killed
RAWAI: A 10-wheeled truck mowed down and killed a pedestrian walking on a sidewalk on Saiyuan Rd last at about 3 pm Thursday afternoon, said Pol Lt Col Sanguan Muangtham of the Chalong Police.“When police arrived on the scene they found the body of the man underneath the truck. The victim was male aged 40 to 45 years old. He…
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Not-so-lucky yacht sinks
KOH PHI PHI: A sailing yacht sank in Ton Sai bay, off Koh Phi Phi Don around 2 pm on October 7. The unfortunate vessel, named Lucky, departed from Phuket on October 6 and anchored in Ton Sai bay in Krabi.According to Pol Lt Col Somchart Supawut, inspector of Krabi Marine Police, on the same day, the yacht raised its…
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Vegetarian festivities underway
PHUKET CITY: Thousands of people gathered at Chinese shrines around Phuket today to participate in pole-raising ceremonies before for the Vegetarian Festival, which starts in earnest tomorrow. Permanent Secretary for Interior Pongpayom Wasaputi joined the crowds dressed in white at Jui Tui shrine to place squares of gold leaf on the bamboo poles before they were raised at the auspicious…
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International beach volleyball to return to Phuket
KARON: The world’s top beach volleyball stars will grace the sands of Phuket at the Second Phuket Thailand Open, the last stop on the Swatch-FIVB Women’s Beach Volleyball World Tour.The tournament, to be held at Karon Beach from October 31 to November 4, has a prize purse of US$200,000 up for grabs, with top international teams ready to compete in…
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Stressed cleric seeks karaoke
SRISAKET: Apart from imparting knowledge, a key role for any educator should be setting a good moral and ethical example for his or her students. This is especially true if the teacher is in charge of disseminating religious doctrine. Teaching can be a stressful business, however. Thus, it was “the need to unwind” that one high-ranking monk gave as his…
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Fortunate fellow crashes own cremation ceremony
CHAI NAT: Attending your own cremation – as in actually turning up alive, rather than making a brief appearance stuffed in a box before being burned – would be an interesting experience. Think about it, you could hear the good points of your personality extolled in a eulogy and see who looked genuinely upset – and who looked secretly pleased.…
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The pesky python
YALA: Being a teacher in the Deep South during these troubled times takes a certain amount of bravery and acceptance of personal danger. It was perhaps these qualities that helped one teacher from Yala Province keep his head while all those about him were losing theirs when faced with a very real threat. The threat, however, was not a rifle-toting…
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Late flowering lust
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: Police in Thung Song arrested a 73-year-old monk on September 6 after receiving a tip-off from hotel staff that he had been in a hotel room with a woman for an inappropriately long time. Officers from Thung Song District Police Station banged on the door of the sixth-floor room at the Thai Hotel for a considerable time…
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Fatal bus crash promises lottery luck
NAKHON RATCHASIMA: To most people, a fatal road accident would not be a sign of good fortune, but villagers in Dan Khun Thot district were driven to an outburst of lottery fever when they hoped that the remains of a bus that had crashed in the area would reveal lucky lottery numbers. The phenomenon was sparked when a bus from…
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Cops collar banana tree rapist
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: “Banana Tree Aek” – feared rapist of women, domestic animals and fruit trees – was finally taken into custody by police August 27. His excuse for his animal raping antics was, according to police, “everybody does it”. Aekarat Dapngen, 23, was wanted for the rape of several women and animals in Nakhon Sri Thammarat City’s Ton Wah…
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Regional Police HQ coming to Phuket
MAI KHAO: The Royal Thai Police Region 8 command headquarters, currently in Surat Thani, will be moving to Mai Khao, where a 150-rai parcel of Treasury Department land has been put aside for the project.Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit chaired a meeting on the move at Phuket Provincial Hall on October 9. He told the meeting that the upcoming moved reflected…
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Three youths no longer suspects
PHUKET CITY: Three youths previously arrested for the fatal stabbing of Norwegian Simen Sparre Knudsen in Rawai on September 23 are no longer under suspicion for the murder, the police officer in charge of the investigation has revealed.Phuket City Police Inspector Pol Lt Col Somkid Boonrat, assigned to investigate the case by Phuket Provincial Police, today said that questioning of…
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Five presidents keep office in OrBorTor elections
PHUKET: A turnout of 72.93% of 54,878 eligible voters cast their ballots at the Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) presidential and council elections held across across eight tambons October 7.Counting the votes took election officials until midnight last night. Islanders were voting for eight OrBorTor preisdents and 120 councilors.Of the winners of the OrBorTor presidential elections – all men – five…
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Proposed site for ICEC finally selected
PHUKET: Investment group ING Funds (Thailand) has chosen a 350-rai plot of Treasury Department land in Mai Khao as the preferred site for the Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC).The announcement came during a meeting of the project’s siting committee chaired by Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit at Phuket Provincial Hall on Thursday.In announcing its conclusion, ING Funds (Thailand) Managing…
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Survivor recounts life-or-death struggle
PHUKET: One of two recreational fisherman missing since Saturday when a boat capsized off Koh Racha Yai was finally rescued by Phuket Marine Police yesterday afternoon after surviving five days on a small, rocky island.The search for fellow missing fisherman Phuthong Tirawattana continues.Phuket Marine Police aboard the vessel Chawengsak Songkram picked up Surat “Dang” Boonserm, 53, about 4:30 pm yesterday…
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Drug bust nets over 5,000 ya bah pills
PHUKET CITY: A police drug bust on Wednesday resulted in two arrests and the seizure of 5,394 ya bah pills (methamphetamine), 41 kilograms of marijuana and over one million baht in cash and gold jewelry. Police are still looking for one more suspect in the case.The operation was led by Pol Lt Col Teeranat Kademee, Inspector of the Phuket Provincial…
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OrBorTor elections force alcohol ban
PHUKET: Starting tomorrow at 6 pm, sale of alcohol will be banned in all eight tambons holding elections on Sunday for tambon administration organization (OrBorTor) representatives.The ban will last until midnight on Sunday.The eight affected tambons are Chalong, Koh Kaew, Cherng Talay, Mai Khao, Srisoonthorn, Thepkrasattri, Sakoo and Kamala.A representative at the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) confirmed to the Gazette…
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Korean-guide saga rolls on
PHUKET: The fiery spat between the Phuket Guide Association (PGA) and Korean tour operators has reignited after the Korean tour operators’ representatives were barred from overseeing the Korean-language proficiency test being taken by Thai guides.Kim Tae Woen, chairman of the Korean Association, voiced his concerns about the testing arrangements, saying that only two people, handpicked by PGA President Panompol Thummachartaiyom,…
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One dead, one injured in karaoke brawl
KATHU: Police have arrested youths, including a 16-year-old boy, for stabbing one man to death and seriously injuring another during a brawl at a karaoke bar just after midnight on Tuesday morning. Tung Tong Police Station Investigator Sub Lt Pattapee Srichay told the Gazette that his station received a report of a fight at the Dowrueng Restaurant and Karaoke on…
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Search continues for missing men after boat sinking
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Police and the Royal Thai Navy Third Naval Command continue to search the waters around Koh Racha Yai and Koh Racha Noi for two missing men whose fishing boat capsized and sank in heavy seas late Sunday afternoon.Phuket Marine Police Inspector Lt Col Prasert Srikunnarat identified the two men as Surat Boonserm and Phuthong Tirawattana, both…
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Phuket needs foreign blood
PHUKET: Vachira Phuket Hospital’s blood bank is in need of new donors and Phuket’s foreign residents with Rhesus-negative blood are being called on to sign up as donors before the coming high season. The blood bank is joining up with Phuket Red Cross to collect the contact details of people living in Phuket with Rh-negative blood who can then be…
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TOT moves ahead with Phuket line expansion
PHUKET: TOT is expanding its coverage in Phuket with the addition of 11 telephone exchanges, switchboards that connect calls, this month, together providing 5,400 new phone lines for the island.Copper cabling across Phuket will also be upgraded to support high-speed ADSL Internet access and improve the quality of services offered.Many Phuket residents have been complaining about problems with telephone lines…
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“Visa extensions’ for dependents allowed – for now
PHUKET: Following news reports last month that the Immigration Bureau will no longer issue “permit to stay” extensions for spouses and families of holders of retirement visas, Phuket Provincial Immigration Office (PPIO) Superintendent Pol Col Ittipon Atchariyapradit has told the Gazette he will will continue issuing such extensions until he receives an order to stop doing so.“We are still issuing…
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Knudsen murder suspects arrested
CHALONG: Two teenagers arrested by police have reportedly confessed to the stabbing murder of 53-year-old Norwegian Simen Sparre Knudsen on September 23, along with several other armed robberies of foreign tourists driving motorbikes alone late at night.A source from Chalong Police, who requested that his name not be printed, identified the two suspects as 18-year-old Narongsak “Sak” Tongviset and his…
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New retail center planned for Phuket
RASSADA: A group of Thai investors have bought and cleared the only remaining section of undeveloped land at the Tesco-Lotus intersection with the intention of developing a large retail and entertainment complex there. Phuket Governor Niran Kalayananamit told the Gazette recently that the Bangkok-based investors had approached him to discuss the proposed development, which is still in its initial design phase.…
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