Year: 2009
- Phuket News
Komkai murder suspect turns himself in
PHUKET CITY: A village headman from Pattalung province yesterday surrendered himself to Phuket police in a bid to clear his name over allegations he was involved in the shooting murder of Jintana Plaza heiress Komkai Kositkoon in July last year. Mr Wiroj “Plop” Issara, 47, a headman in Phatthalung’s Koh Maak district, surrendered himself to Police Region 8 Commander Santarn Chayanon…
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Action needed to reduce dengue threat
PHUKET CITY: This year could see a severe outbreak of dengue fever in Phuket if action is not taken to eradicate mosquito breeding grounds, the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office has warned.Comparing the local infection rate for early 2009 with the rates of the five preceding years shows a higher rate than normal, health office chief Dr Pongsawas Ratanasang said.Random…
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Police closing in on Makha Bucha Day shooter
CHALONG, PHUKET: Chalong Police say they are making good progress in their investigation into the attempted murder of businessman Chalermpol Pranweerapaiboon, who was shot in the back of the neck by an assailant at Wat Luangpoo Supha on Maka Bucha Day (February 12). Despite the claims of progress, Chalong Police Duty Officer Parichat Jaturonphan declined to name any suspects or…
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Jintana Plaza goes up in flames again
PATONG, PHUKET: For the second time in four days, flames tore through the stalls of Jintana Plaza shopping arcade early on Tuesday morning, causing an estimated four to five million baht’s worth of damage. Police once again suspect arson as cause of the fire, the sixth of its kind since the center was opened. The fire was reported at around…
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Solution to Patong Hospital doctor shortage in sight
PATONG, PHUKET: Starting in April, Patong Hospital will have have more doctors and other medical staff working – enough to serve patients 24 hours day. The plan was confirmed by the provincial Chief Doctor, Pongsawas Ratanasang, who insisted that the doctor shortage at the state-run facility had been tackled. The short-term solution is to have four doctors on duty: Hospital…
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Briton takes life by hanging
PATONG, PHUKET: Kathu Police are treating the death of a British man found in a Patong guesthouse early Thursday morning as a suicide. Kathu Police Duty Officer Jongserm Preecha identified the deceased as 36-year-old Robert William Hilton. The death was reported to Kathu Police at around 4 am by his girlfriend, 30-year-old Srisaket native Sommai Deejai. When police including Kathu…
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Phuket Chamber of Commerce elects new president
PHUKET: Dr Sirichai Silapa-archa was elected as the new president of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce (PCC) at the association’s annual election conference, held at the The Metropole hotel on February 12. Dr Sirichai Silapa-archa, 51, is an assistant director at Vachira Phuket Hospital, where he is a surgeon specializing in urology. In addition to his medical training, he also…
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TAT targets Spanish, Japanese markets
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) hopes to see a surge in the number of visitors from Spain, following its participation in the Feria Internacional de Turismo 2009 tourism trade show in that country earlier this month. The TAT took its “Seven Wonders of Amazing Thailand” roadshow campaign to Spain, which is emerging as a valuable market for Thai…
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Thai added to Google translation website
PHUKET: Lost in translation? Here’s an end to your worries, cyber folks. Google has added Thai to the beta version of its free translation website – https://translate.google.co.th – now making it possible to translate 42 languages to and from Thai. With these free tools, Thai-speaking users can translate anything from whole websites down to single words. They can also use…
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Jintana Plaza gutted in alleged arson attack
PATONG, PHUKET: A fire ripped through the Jintana Shopping Center early Friday morning, causing an estimated 10 million baht’s worth of damage. Police believe the fire was started deliberately as it follows a number of arson attacks on the center, as well as the mafia-style murder of center heiress Komkai Kositoon in July last year. Duty Officer Jongsrame Preecha of…
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Man commits suicide in Rassada
RASSADA, PHUKET: A young man on Thursday committed suicide by hanging in the home he shared with relatives in Tambon Rassada, police have revealed. Phuket City Police Duty Officer Anek Mongkol and Kusoldharm Foundation officers at 12:20 pm responded to a report of the suicide and went to the scene, an apartment on the fourth floor of building five in…
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Phuket to host ASEAN+3 finance ministers meeting
BANGKOK: Phuket will host a meeting of finance ministers of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its three East Asian partner nations of Japan, China, and South Korea (ASEAN+3) on February 22 to discuss joint efforts to revive the regional economy. The meetings will take place at at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket, the Gazette has…
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Dead infant found floating in Kamala Bay
KAMALA, PHUKET: Kamala police have launched an investigation to try to find the mother of an infant girl whose tiny body was recovered from a black plastic bag found by fishermen in Kamala Bay. The gruesome discovery was reported to Kamala Police at about 1:30 pm on Thursday. Police and Kusoldharm Foundation workers rushed to the scene to examine the remains…
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Karon Beach power lines going underground
KARON, PHUKET: The Phuket Office of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced plans to lay a new underground electric power cable from Karon Circle to Kata Beach. Work is scheduled to begin in July and to be completed by the end of the year. At a joint press conference held yesterday, the PEA and Karon Municipality announced that the…
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Historic wall demolished in Old Phuket Town
PHUKET CITY: A 105-year-old Sino-Portuguese wall in Phuket’s old town was demolished by construction workers on February 3 to make way for commercial buildings. The wall, on Krabi Rd, had formed the perimeter of Prapitak Chinpracha estate, built in 1904. On February 3, Capt Bunyarit Chaisuwan, an archaeologist at the Fine Arts Region 15 Office in Phuket, received a report…
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Luxury charter helicopter service launched in Sakoo
SAKOO, PHUKET: Phuket’s super-rich take note: the island now has its own luxury charter helicopter service ready to fly VIP tourists and businessmen to luxury resorts in the Andaman region. Advance Aviation launched its Phuket service from its brand new helipad in Sakoo on January 9, flying about five flights during its first month in operation. Vice Chairman Chai Nasylvanta…
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Environment Impact study for Phuket Airport expansion underway
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Government officers, airport officials and representatives of a consulting firm met late last month to discuss progress on the three-month environmental impact assessment (EIA) now underway on the planned 5-billion-baht expansion of Phuket International Airport. Maj Kamon Wongsombun, director of the Airports of Thailand (AOT) Development and Planning Division, started off with an overview of the project,…
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Sheraton to host 44th ASEAN Education Ministers Conference
PHUKET: The 44th ASEAN Education Ministers meeting will take place at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket from April 5 to 9.The announcement was made on January 27 at Phuket Rajabhat University in Rassada after Thai Education Ministry officials conducted a site visit and held discussions with local venue operators.Deputy Permanent Secretary to the Education Ministry Sriwikar Mektawatwaikul held a meeting…
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Blackout in Rawai, Kata on Thursday
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced a scheduled blackout in parts of Rawai and Kata on Thursday in order to continue its work on high-voltage power lines. The affected areas are on the south side of Patak Rd, starting at Chalong Circle and continuing all the way to the old Plup Pla Resort site in Kata.…
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EGCO scraps plan to build incinerator
PHUKET: The Electricity Generating Public Company Limited (EGCO Group) has scrapped its plans for a power plant fueled by garbage in Phuket as a result of the difficulty in collecting and separating rubbish. Construction of the power plant was scheduled to begin early this year. An agreement to conduct a feasibility study on the project as a pilot for other…
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Temple shooting mars Makha Bucha Day
CHALONG, PHUKET: The owner of a tour company is unconscious but in stable condition after being shot in the neck at a well-known temple where he and his family had just finished offering alms to make merit on Makha Bucha Day. Just before noon yesterday, Chalong Police were informed of a shooting in the parking lot of Wat Luangpoo Supha,…
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Police nab two for licence plate fraud
PHUKET CITY: Checks of vehicle registration data by police have revealed that some cars on Phuket’s roads are stolen vehicles with fake license plates. At a press conference at Phuket City Police Station on February 4, Governor Preecha Ruangjan and Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongtong presented two suspects caught with stolen vehicles. The first vehicle, a black Honda Civic…
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Foreign Affairs Ministry to open branch in Phuket
PHUKET: Foreign visitors to the region and local expat residents will soon be able to take advantage of a local branch of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to be established at Phuket Provincial Hall. Phuket Governor Preecha Ruangjan told the Gazette on January 30 that he had received confirmation that day to go ahead with plans to establish the Foreign…
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Dengue Fever Alert, South Thailand hard hit
BANGKOK / PHUKET: The Public Health Ministry has set up a national war room to control the spread of dengue fever across the country after learning the situation will be far worse than last year. The ministry has assigned all provincial public health offices, local administration organisations and health volunteers to strictly control and monitor the transmission of dengue fever…
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Lions gone, smiles back in at Laguna resort complex
PHUKET: Laguna Resorts & Hotels Plc has confirmed to the Gazette that as of 2:00am today the “illegal assembly” blockading the roads into its Laguna Phuket resort complex dispersed and that all resort entrance roads are now fully open. The six Laguna Phuket hotels are rapidly returning to normal operations. In an official statement, a spokesperson wrote: “During the afternoon…
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Laguna protesters dig in for the long haul
PHUKET, CHERNG TALAY: The workers’ protest at Laguna Phuket resort is now in its third day and all seven entrances into the core of the resort remain blocked by the protesters and vehicles. However, Laguna residents are still able to access their homes, but some can only do so on foot or by motorbike. Some of the protest leaders last…
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A bad week for dwindling dugong population
CAPE PANWA, PHUKET: A top marine mammal researcher is drawing up a national action plan for conserving the country’s dwindling population of dugong, three of which were found dead this week. “We have a national action plan for dugong and seagrass in Thailand to conserve the seagrass habitat, reduce mortality, continue monitoring numbers and study behavior,” said Kanjana Adulyanukosol of the…
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Bt 20m for Silaphan Beach upgrade
RASSADA, PHUKET: Rassada Municipality will invest 20 million baht to develop the Silaphan Beach area of Koh Sireh into a new tourist destination. Speaking at the end of his first year in office, Rassada Mayor Surathin Liangudom said the investment is one of many the municipality is undertaking to improve infrastructure in the subdistrict, which surrounds Phuket City to the…
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Protestors blockade Laguna Phuket
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: Disgruntled staff members at the up-market Laguna Phuket resort complex have abandoned their duties and blockaded the road entrances to the resort, causing disruption to operations and preventing access. Protesters said they were angry they had received a bonus of two weeks’ pay for 2008, rather than the usual four weeks, and had been denied pay increases.…
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Brit charged with drug dealing
KAMALA, PHUKET: A British man faces the prospect of a lifetime in jail after being caught at a Kamala Police checkpoint with cocaine, ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and marijuana on Wednesday. David Kevin Griffin, 49, was driving toward Patong when he was stopped by Kamala Police officers at around 1:45 am at the checkpoint in Nanok Village. Police say they…
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Destination Air services suspended pending buyout
PHUKET: The Destination Air seaplane shuttle service, the license for which was revoked by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) last year, has confirmed that all of its services will remain suspended until the company is bought out. Destination Air Managing Director Pat James told the Gazette that the owners currently have four parties interested in buying the charter carrier.…
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Apirak orders gun crackdown
PHUKET CITY: Owners of unregistered firearms will soon feel the full force of the law as part of an island-wide crackdown recently announced by Phuket Provincial Police Superintendent Apirak Hongtong. In a statement released on January 31, Maj Gen Apirak said that due to the current economic downturn, Phuket is faced with the risk of rising crime rates. To combat this…
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OTOP fair is underway
PHUKET CITY: The 4th annual Phuket One Tambon One Product (OTOP) Fair began yesterday, with 200 booths set up around the main stage area at Saphan Hin in Phuket City. Tonight will be the official opening ceremony, featuring a performance by the Superdance team from Samkong. The event, which begins in the late afternoon and runs until about 11 pm…
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Fishing vessel salvaged after nine-day effort
RAWAI: It took a week of strenuous effort, but the fishing boat Sa-nguansin, which sank off the coast of Racha Yai island on the evening of January 25, was finally raised and towed ashore to Cape Panwa on February 2. All 14 members of the crew survived the accident unharmed, though boat owner Sanor Phopipat now faces a bill for…
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Dutch Artist Simon Cohen dies of accident injuries
PHUKET: Well-known Dutch artist Simon Cohen, 72, died on February 1, probably of internal injuries suffered during a traffic accident on January 28. Mr Cohen did not respond when his Thai wife tried to waken him early Saturday. Chalong police said he had been dead about three hours when they arrived at the couple’s home in Rawai Moo 7, not…
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B37m to tackle traffic near Heroines’ Monument
SRISOONTHORN, PHUKET: Srisoonthorn Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) has received a budget of 37 million baht to expand the Heroines’ Monument roundabout and improve roads in the area. Work is expected to start in late April. Srisoonthorn OrBorTor President Thamrong Tantiwiwachakul said, “With the Heroines’ Monument located on the main road in and out of Phuket City, there are a large…
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National high-speed info network; Phuket already in the loop
BANGKOK (The Nation): All of Thailand’s government agencies will be able to integrate their information on to a superhighway network within four years in order to increase their efficiency and provide services on a high-speed infrastructure. Development of the 12-billion baht Government Information Network (GIN) project, which began in 2006, aims to help make the country more competitive. The executive…
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