Month: January 2008
- Phuket News
Saphan Hin gunfight leaves one dead
SAPHAN HIN: One youth was killed and three others injured following a gunfight with police that took place at about 1 am Sunday morning.Phuket City Police officers Maj Vichak Tarom and Sen Sgt Maj Suthon Pakdee were on patrol near the roundabout at Saphan Hin when the shooting took place.Maj Vichak told the Gazette that the officers saw a gang…
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Chalong Bay Marina expansion to be scaled back
PHUKET CITY: The second phase of the Chalong Bay Marina project is now being redrawn, following complaints from local fishermen to the National Human Rights Committee that its construction could harm the local environment and destroy their livelihoods. Wasan Panich, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, on January 7 chaired an ad-hoc committee meeting at the Phuket Merlin…
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Holiday season sees B2bn boon for tourism sector
PHUKET: Businesses in Phuket’s tourism sector enjoyed a prosperous festive season, with many hotels fully booked and more than 2 billion baht generated by the industry during the period December 24 through January 2.Runjuan Tongrut, assistant director of Tourism Authority of Thailand Southern Region 4 Office, made the announcement at a press conference on January 2.A large number of Thais and foreigners came to…
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Abbot aberration under investigation
NONTHABURI: When Commander Kritsapha Suksaengdao from the Department of Civil Aviation walked up to Luang Por Prasit Sithikaroh, abbot of Wat Sainoi, on December 26 and offered a polite wai, the abbot probably thought nothing of it. After all, the abbot was the most revered monk in the province and counted many high-ranking military and government officials among his throng…
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Attack of the 50-foot pret
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: In the increasingly litigious nations of the West, any accident in the work place, including those caused by the victim’s own stupidity, are an immediate opportunity for cash payouts. Apparently the concept hasn’t filtered down to rural Thailand, as shown recently by a man who, after losing both hands in a horrific crane accident, proceeded to blame…
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Villagers make murky discovery
BURIRAM: The discovery of ancient artifacts is always a cause for excitement. A common way to unearth such relics is at an archaeological dig, though just as often they are discovered by pure chance at construction sites. While some finds are more dramatic than others, few can beat a recent tale from Isarn of two 1,500-year-old Buddha images rising from…
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Man murders pregnant girlfriend
PHUKET CITY: An enraged man slashed the throat of his pregnant girlfriend as she was working at a 7-Eleven store in Phuket City at 3:45 am on January 7. He was arrested by police the same day as he was preparing to leave the island.Phuket City Police Superintendent Col Nos Svettalekha identified the victim as 26-year-old Vipaporn Yimaim, a native…
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Jealous man kills ex-wife’s new husband
CHERNG TALAY: A jealous ex-husband allegedly stabbed his former wife’s new husband to death just before dawn on January 5, then fled the scene with the woman.Cherng Talay Police Duty Inspector Pol Lt Col Jessada Sangsuree identified the victim as Rungnapa Sriburam, 31, a native of Kalasin province who was staying on Soi Layan in Cherng Talay Village 6 at the…
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Yamu marina a “test case’ for coastal development
PHUKET CITY: Human Rights Commissioner Wasan Panich, who is leading the investigation into whether permission should be granted for a marina to be built at Cape Yamu, yesterday announced the project was developing into a “test case” on guidelines for similar developments in the future.K. Wasan made the announcement at a public hearing at the Phuket Merlin Hotel, where people…
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EC to approve Democrat win tomorrow
PHUKET CITY: The Election Commission (EC) will confirm Democrat Party candidates Tossaporn Thepabutr and Rewat Areerob as the winners of the Phuket round of the December 23 general election, the Gazette was told today.A five-member EC team arrived in Phuket on Thursday to investigate a charge lodged by rival candidates claiming that K. Tossaporn’s wife, Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor)…
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Police seek two Burmese for double murder at sea
RASSADA: Police are looking for two Burmese men wanted for the murder of a squid boat owner and his wife, whose bodies were pulled from the sea near Koh Dokmai late last week.The Gazette’s Thai-language affiliate newspaper Kom Chad Luek originally reported that the first body was discovered by fishermen off Koh Dokmai, some 30 kilometers west of Phuket City,…
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“Seven Days of Danger’ leaves 6 dead, 76 injured
PHUKET: The road toll in Phuket during the holiday season “seven days of danger”, from midnight December 28 to midnight last night, stands at six dead and 76 people injured in a total of 72 accidents, Phuket Vice-Governor Tri Augkaradacha was told today.Of the accidents reported during the period, two-thirds were attributed to alcohol and almost all of them involved…
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Police call for witnesses to Rawai horse accident
RAWAI: Police are calling for witnesses to a collision between a horse and a motorbike on Wiset Rd yesterday. The accident occurred about 3:30pm and it is understood that the motorbike had a sidecar. More information is sought to assist in the investigation.The collision, at the entrance to the Phuket Riding Club on Wiset Rd, splintered the horse’s leg bones and a veterinarian…
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Blacklist threatened for bars that break request for “national mourning silence’
PHUKET (Kom Chad Luek, Gazette): Muang District Chief Wisit Kurattanavej this afternoon threatened to blacklist entertainment venues that do not follow the government’s request to observe the national mourning of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana, who passed away early yesterday morning.K. Wisit made the announcement at a meeting to discuss a ban on “entertainment noise” during the 15-day national mourning period,…
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Search launched for hotel worker lost at sea
KOH RACHA YAI: Phuket Marine Police are searching for a worker at The Racha resort who was washed overboard when a wave overturned the small catamaran he was sailing on early yesterday evening.Capt Chatchai Sakdee of Phuket Marine Police said that he received the initial report from the Third Area Naval Command. “The incident happened about 7 pm yesterday, about…
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Phi Phi pee turns deadly
KOH PHI PHI DON: An American tourist on holiday at Koh Phi Phi Don fell about five meters to his death after he stopped to relieve himself at a rocky outcrop on the way back to his bungalow after celebrating New Year’s Eve at a local bar.Sub Lt Noppadon Klompong of the Krabi Muang District Police outpost on Koh Phi…
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Nok Air quietly grounds Phuket-Haad Yai route
PHUKET: Nok Air has quietly suspended its loss-ridden Phuket-Haad Yai service, once again making it impossible to fly between Southern Thailand’s two busiest airports, the Gazette has learned.Nok Air Executive Vice-President for Marketing Sehapan Chumsai told the Gazette today there were not enough passengers to continue the service, which began June 6 last year using 150-seat Boeing 737-400 aircraft.The service…
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New Year bust nets 300 ya bah pills
PHUKET: Provincial authorities working with a Border Patrol Police drug-suppression unit from Phang Nga on New Year’s Day arrested a man for possession of 300 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills with intent to sell. Wisut Romin, deputy chief of the Phuket Provincial Special Operations Unit, identified the suspect as Kittiphong “Phong” Leamsai, 41.After a period of surveillance, officers from the drug-suppression…
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Thailand enters national mourning
PHUKET: The Royal Household Bureau today asked for staff at all government offices, state enterprises and educational institutions to fly the national flag at half-mast and to wear black for the next 15 days as a mark of respect for HRH Galyani Vadhana, who passed away early this morning.An emergency meeting of the Cabinet today concurred the request.Students, however, may…
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HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana passes away
BANGKOK (Nation): After months of receiving treatment for cancer, HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana’s condition deteriorated last night and she passed away 2.54 am this morning. She was 84.The Princess had been receiving treatment for cancer at Siriraj Hospital for months. Well-wishers had flocked to the hospital since the news spread that she was admitted.The Princess is the elder sister of…
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Phuket holiday road toll: 5 dead in 4 days
PHUKET: Figures issued by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) for the first four days of the “seven days of danger” holiday road-safety campaign put the death toll from accidents in Phuket at five, including two foreigners.A total of 43 accidents were reported during the period that ended at midnight last night, with 48 people suffering injuries requiring…
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