Year: 2009

  • Phuket News

    Hainan delegation tours Phuket

    PHUKET CITY: Representatives from the Chinese province of Hainan paid a visit to Phuket as part of a three-day study tour examining tourism management and development strategies. The Hainanese delegation held talks with Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop, Vice Governor Smith Palawatwichai and other officials at Provincial Hall yesterday afternoon. It was the final day of their three-day stay in Phuket,…

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  • Phuket News

    More trouble at Panason City in Phuket

    WICHIT, PHUKET: Problems continue at the troubled Panason City housing project, with workmen this morning allegedly trying to bury seven houses under mounds of earth using three excavators, according to residents of nearby Ketkaew village. Four of the houses were still occupied, 50-year-old local woman Yaowaluck Promsiri said. The incident caused outrage among local residents, 30 of whom are understood…

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  • Phuket News

    Pa Khlok man named Phuket’s ‘Outstanding Citizen’

    PA KHLOK, PHUKET: A 47-year-old Muslim man with no education past high school has won top honors for Phuket in a nationwide search for the most outstanding citizen in each Thai province. Jeerasak Torthip was named an ‘Outstanding Citizen’ for his work in securing a simple, sustainable way of life for the people of Bang Rong Village, a coastal community…

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  • Phuket News

    Chinese takes top honors in Phuket programming meet

    PHUKET CITY: IT whizzes from universities across Asia convened in Phuket last week to compete in an international computer programming contest. The Association for Computing Machinery International Collegiate Programming Contest (ACM-ICPC) took place at Prince of Songkla University on Tuesday and Wednesday. Sixty teams of three students each from universities in Thailand, China, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, South…

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  • Phuket News

    Road to encroachment divides Phuket

    MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Villagers and local officials are at odds over whether a new road in Mai Khao caused the destruction of 25 rai of peat swamp forest – or stopped the encroachment from being much worse. Mai Khao Tambon Administration Organization built the 28-million-baht road, which is 3.5 kilometers long and skirts the boundary of Jik Forest. Mai Khao…

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  • Phuket News

    Americans cash in on Phuket volleyball win

    KARON, PHUKET: With a masterful performance, the American pair of Jen Kessy and April Ross captured their second-straight Phuket Thailand Open title on Karon Beach yesterday, walking off the sand with the winners’ check of US$30,000.The top-seeded Kessy and Ross finished their four days of competition by downing compatriots Angie Akers and Tyra Turner with clinical precision in the 37-minute…

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  • Phuket News

    All-American volleyball final in Phuket

    KARON, PHUKET: The US teams of Jen Kessy/April Ross and Angie Akers/Tyra Turner will square off in the championship match of the US$190,000 Phuket Thailand Open this afternoon. The top two-seeded teams scored semi-final victories yesterday afternoon to advance to the ‘final four’ of the final women’s event on the 2009 world tour. The third-place final will see another US…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket convention center “a certainty’: DPM Korbsak

    MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Phuket’s decades-old dream of having an international-class convention and exhibition center took another turn yesterday, when Deputy Prime Minister Korbsak Sabhavasu toured the proposed project site in Mai Khao and suggested a number of changes to the latest plan. Mr Korbsak, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic affairs, reaffirmed that Cabinet has approved 2.6 billion baht…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket Thailand Open: World’s largest women’s beach volleyball event!

    KARON, PHUKET: Top seeds powered their way into the semi-finals of the US$190,000 Phuket Thailand Open on Karon Beach yesterday, with April Ross and Jen Kessy-Boss of the US surviving a sturdy challenge from the Netherlands. The FIVB announced yesterday that the Phuket Thailand Open was officially the largest event in women’s beach volleyball, having attracted a record-breaking 66 teams…

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  • Phuket NewsShooting murder in Phuket flower shop | Thaiger

    Shooting murder in Phuket flower shop

    CHALONG, PHUKET: A middle-aged man found shot to death in a Chalong flower shop early this morning is thought to be the victim of a jealousy-inspired murder. Police identified the victim as 38-year-old Surat Thani resident Weerathep Kamchan. Chalong Police received a report of the shooting at about 4:30am from the victim’s alleged mistress, 36-year-old Boonruen Buasi. Investigators including Chalong…

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  • Phuket NewsMV Doulos Phuket visit cancelled | Thaiger

    MV Doulos Phuket visit cancelled

    PHUKET: It has been announced that the ‘library ship’ MV Doulos has cancelled her visit to Phuket. MV Doulos was due to port in Phuket from November 19 to 26. However, planned maintenance and repairs on the ship, currently berthed in Singapore, have run into unexpected delays. The advance preparation team regret the delay and apologizes for any inconveniences caused.…

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  • Phuket News

    Favorite teams drop like flies in Phuket Thailand Open volleyball tourney

    KARON, PHUKET: After the posting of the seeds for this week’s SWATCH FIVB World Tour event in Karon, pundits figured that the gold medal participants at last week’s international stop in China would face each other in the third-round of the US$190,000 Phuket Thailand Open. Instead, only one of the final two teams advanced as expected, as Switzerland’s Simone Kuhn…

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  • Phuket News

    New Phuket TAT office chief to sell Phuket’s international side

    PHUKET: With the possible exception of Bangkok, Phuket is the most ‘international’ of Thailand’s 76 provinces. A ride past the bustling eateries that line Patong’s Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Road will confirm it: there are people from every corner of the globe living and working here. It’s this angle that new Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) South Region 4 Office chief…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket punters sit for cops of coffee

    PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Police Station’s very own coffee shop, The Seat, opened its doors on Monday, selling hot beverages, cakes – and earning extra cash for the city’s underpaid cops. The enterprise is a ‘police welfare project’ organized by station superintendent, Col Wanchai Ekpornpit. All profits from the shop will be shared by Phuket City Police officers, supplementing their…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket Open: All Thai teams out

    KARON, PHUKET: All five Thai teams in the FIVB Phuket Thailand Open volleyball tournament have been eliminated from competition. Defending Phuket Thailand Open champions Jen Kessy-Boss and April Ross of the US opened defense of their title by defeating 32nd seeds Julaluk Radarong and Manerat Udomchavee of Thailand 21-15 and 21-13 today. More bad news for the Thais came when…

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  • Phuket News

    Woman arrested for Phuket FantaSea jewel heist

    PHUKET CITY: After analyzing DNA evidence, police on Monday arrested a cashier at Phuket FantaSea for the theft of more than two million baht’s worth of diamond jewelry from the souvenir shop safe in May. Police said a sample of 26-year-old Khuanrue-thai Chartnarong’s hair matched those found near the safe shortly after the robbery, which took place at Phuket FantaSea…

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  • Phuket News

    Software police target Phuket businesses

    PHUKET: As part of a nationwide investigation, Phuket businesses are being investigated closely by police for using illegal computer software. A Gazette source said a ‘high profile’ property investment firm was raided earlier this week. Police are said to have seized hardware and software, all allegedly unlicensed. The company was given a million baht fine, the source said. Following news…

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  • Thailand NewsBeeswax boost for beef bayonet | Thaiger

    Beeswax boost for beef bayonet

    LAMPANG: Youths in the North have found a dangerous new way to impress the ladies: a home-made penis enlargement therapy using beeswax. The new trend came to light when a 21-year-old unnamed man checked into hospital at the end of October with a badly infected member. The man sheepishly told doctors that he had injected his penis with warm beeswax…

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  • Phuket News

    Patong nightspots under curfew scrutiny

    PATONG, PHUKET: Following many reports that certain nightlife establishments in Patong are not closing by the mandatory 2am curfew, the Phuket’s governor and the island’s top police officer say the situation is being closely monitored. This follows a report in a local Thai language newspaper that three unspecified nightclubs were habitually operating until 6am. At a meeting at Phuket Provincial…

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  • Phuket News

    New Swedish Honorary Consul for Phuket

    PHUKET CITY: A doctor at Bangkok Hospital Phuket is the new go-to man in times of trouble for the Andaman region’s sizable Swedish community. Dr Sompoch Nipakanont, assistant director of Bangkok Hospital Phuket, was formally appointed as the new Swedish honorary consul on Monday. Swedish Ambassador to Thailand Lennard Linner presented a letter of appointment to Dr Sompoch from HM…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket Police crack down on loan sharks

    PHUKET CITY: Police are cracking down on loan sharks who offer desperate people high interest loans, sometimes backed up with the threat of violence against those who fail to pay back their debts. Four men are accused of offering loans with interest above the legally permissible rates. They were paraded before a press conference at Phuket City Police Station yesterday. Phuket…

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  • Phuket News

    Five Phuket teens accused of gang rape

    PHUKET CITY: Five teenagers, including two girls, were arrested yesterday for allegedly gang raping a 14-year-old Thai-Japanese girl at a house in Phuket City last week. Police say the two girls held the victim down while the three boys raped her. All five suspects are 14 to16 years of age. Their faces covered with balaclavas, the youths were presented to…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket FC to hold open trials

    AO MAKHAM, PHUKET: In a bid to bolster the squad ahead of the 2010 season, the Phuket FC will hold open players trials on November 12. The trial will take place at the FIFA Tsunami Memorial Center at Ao Makham from 4pm to 6pm. The Sea Dragons finished their maiden season second from the bottom in the Thailand Regional Division…

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  • Phuket News

    MV Doulos back in Phuket in mid-November

    PHUKET CITY: On the next leg of its mission to bring books to readers around the globe, the world’s oldest passenger liner will make its fifth port-of-call in Phuket later this month. The MV Doulos, built in the US in 1914, will berth at the Phuket Deep Sea Port for a one-week stay starting on November 19. Built just two…

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  • Phuket News

    Volleyball vixens smashing balls on the beach

    KARON, PHUKET: A record number of teams are competing in the 4th Phuket Thailand Open women’s beach volleyball tournament, which began yesterday on Karon Beach. Heading the list of 70 teams competing in the US$190,000 event are April Ross and Jennifer Kessy-Boss, the 2009 Women’s Beach Volleyball World Champions. The US pair, currently ranked third in the world, return to…

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  • Phuket News

    British tourist reported missing, possibly in Phuket

    PHUKET: British tourist Jim Leonard Derry, 72, has been reported missing.Mr Derry arrived in Thailand on July 28. His last known address was in Central Road, Pattaya. However, he is known to be a keen fisherman and frequent visitor to Phuket.Anyone with information on Mr Derry’s whereabouts is asked to visit the British Honorary Consulate Office in the Plaza Del…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Gov and consuls to talk through problems | Thaiger

    Phuket Gov and consuls to talk through problems

    PHUKET CITY: Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop has agreed to meet with the island’s honorary consuls every three months to discuss problems concerning tourists and expat residents. The move follows a proposal by the German ambassador to Thailand yesterday. German Ambassador Dr Hanns H. Schumacher met with the governor at 2pm at Phuket Provincial Hall. Dr Schumacher was accompanied by German Honorary…

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  • Phuket News

    ‘Nong Peach’ top ladyboy at Phuket Rajabhat

    RASSADA, PHUKET: Keslingthip ‘Nong Peach’ Rungreungniti took first prize in a beauty pageant among 12 ladyboy university students held at Phuket Rajabhat University last night. The event, now in its second year, was held as part of the school’s Loy Kratong celebrations. Nong Peach, 19, is studying performing arts in the school’s Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences. Most of the contestants…

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  • Thailand NewsSnake bite saves man’s life | Thaiger

    Snake bite saves man’s life

    SRISAKET: A one-legged fisherman fought off two ten-foot pythons he caught in his net by biting them in the throat. Fifty-six-year-old Chachawan Chaowaphithikul said the snakes attacked him when he tried to free them from his net. Mr Chachawan said he placed the net in a brook near his house every day. When he went to check it on the…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket City CCTV plan hits a snag

    PHUKET CITY: A new project at Phuket City Police Station has the worthy goal of providing disabled people with jobs and a salary. Nine disabled volunteers will work eight hour shifts watching monitors in the station’s CCTV control room, alerting officers when they spot traffic offenses, other crimes or suspicious vehicles. But there’s a snag: the control room is on…

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  • Phuket News

    Wired: CCTV expansion in Cherng Talay

    CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: A construction company has built a new office for Cherng Talay Traffic Police entirely free of charge. Wasi Construction Company spent 400,000 baht on the new building, which includes a CCTV control room for monitoring the 17 CCTV cameras in tambon Cherng Talay. A second room will be used as a ‘one stop service’ center for the…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket gets ready for Loy Kratong

    PHUKET CITY: Scissors are busy clipping banana leaves at resorts and schools around the island as Phuket prepares for the Loy Kratong Festival that takes place at dusk today. The Buddhist festival, held annually on the full moon of the twelfth month, is celebrated throughout Thailand. In addition to venerating the teachings of the Buddha, the ritual act of floating…

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  • Opinion

    OPINION: Good news at long last

    PHUKET CITY: Developments in the aviation industry bode well for Phuket and its tourism industry going into the high season. The most important of these is Thai AirAsia’s decision to establish Phuket as a second ‘aviation hub’ for its growing operations in Southeast Asia. Since entering the Phuket market in 2003, Thai AirAsia has been a consistent performer in an…

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  • Phuket News

    Berlin Air deal a boost for Phuket tourism

    PHUKET CITY: More good news for the Phuket tourism industry came earlier this week when it was announced that German carrier Berlin Air has entered into a codeshare agreement with Bangkok Air. A codeshare agreement enables two airlines to sell seats on the same flight. In this case, Air Berlin customers will benefit from a wider choice of flights and…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket FC take on Thai champs tonight

    PHUKET CITY: The Sea Dragons of Phuket will face a stiff challenge this afternoon when they kick off against 2009 Thailand Premier League winners Muang Thong United.The home side will bolster their line-up for the friendly match with former Thailand internationals Sarayud Chuaykhamdee and Somjed Sattabud.Muay Thai star Saenchai Sor Kingstar is also expected to play for the visitors.Phuket FC has been…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket is not it for Michael Jackson fans

    PHUKET: Despite the much anticipated worldwide release of Michal Jackson’s posthumous movie This Is It on October 28, fans in Phuket have been disappointed to learn that the movie is not currently being shown in Phuket cinemas. The Gazette has learned that unlike cinemas in Bangkok, none of Phuket’s cinemas have the necessary projection equipment to show the movie in…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket students enraged over red shirts

    PHUKET CITY: Following protests by students, the director of Phuket Rajabhat University has canceled a controversial red shirt fund-raiser that was scheduled to take place at the university yesterday. Rajabhat Phuket President Dr Prapa Gayee announced the decision this afternoon after around 40 student protesters confronted university staff. “It appears we will have to cancel this and all other political…

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