Month: April 2010
- Opinion
OPINION: A Phuket Perspective on the ‘Protests’
PHUKET: The ‘peaceful’ chaos ruling in Bangkok today cannot mask the kaleidoscope of tumbling loyalties or the withering away of any potentially credible justification that this is any longer (if it ever was) about a need for social change or the defense of democracy. The risk is that the gathering acrimony from all sides is superceding ‘protest’ as the event…
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New Phuket market still on hold
PHUKET TOWN: With the opening of the new market on Ranong Road on hold more than a year after its completion, would-be tenants have filed a complaint charging the municipality with overcharging them on construction costs needed to build food stalls. Work on the project got underway in March 2007, after vendors agreed to move off the site of the…
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Man found dead in Phuket Town jungle
PHUKET TOWN: A 47-year-old man was found dead in a forested area just half a kilometer from the Phuket governor’s house. On April 15, police were searching for evidence in an unrelated case when they discovered the body of Khamkong Yodsaeng from Udon Thani. Duty Officer Chukiat Chaiwiset said it looked like Mr Khamkong had been dead for more than…
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PHUKET OPINION: Learn to live with the gridlock
PHUKET: A plan by Kathu Police to reverse the flow along one-way roads in Patong is a good first step toward reducing traffic chaos in the town, but much more needs to be done to provide the millions of people who visit Phuket annually with the safe and affordable transport they deserve.. Put in place early in 2007, the one-way…
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Phuket tourist may be charged in jet-ski death
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The young man whose jet ski allegedly crashed into 20-year-old Loh Ying Jie in Phuket has not been allowed to leave Thailand and will likely face criminal charges on Thursday, according to the New Straits Times. But the…
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Phuket flights: can Tiger tame THAI?
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Phuket flights: can Tiger tame THAI? Tiger Airways has launched a promotion with special fares for travel from Singapore to Phuket. Asia Travel Tips reports that the deeply discounted tickets, on sale until 21 April, are priced from…
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Serial rapist arrested after day of mayhem in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: A serial rapist has been arrested in Phuket following a Songkran crime spree that left a man fighting for his life in the hospital. Phuket native Sathian ‘Sakai’ Reungjinda, 36, has confessed to raping or attempting to rape 11 women in Phuket in a spate of attacks that began in December last year. Police arrested him at his…
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Songkran 2010: Two teens dead on Phuket roads
PHUKET: This year’s Songkran celebrations were marred by the deaths of two teenage boys in road accidents, according to the Phuket Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office (DDPM-Phuket). From April 12 to 15 there were 38 accidents resulting in the two deaths and 42 injuries, DDPM-Phuket said. On Monday around 11:30am a 14-year-old boy was killed when the motorbike he was…
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AFC Cup football match to be played in Phuket
PHUKET: Once again Phuket is set to benefit from political turmoil in Bangkok as an international football match is moved to the island. Bangkok’s Muang Thong United will face Hong Kong’s South China in an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup group match which kicks off at 6:30pm on April 20 at Surakul Stadium. It is the second year in a…
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Phuket’s Soi Bangla declared “iguana free’ zone
PATONG, PHUKET: Following complaints from tourists and animal rights activists, Kathu Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakhao has declared Patong an ‘Iguana Free Zone’. “Many tourists complained about iguana handlers putting the reptiles on them without permission, especially on Soi Bangla. Some tourists got scratched when the handlers pulled them off. NGOs have also complained about the practice,” he told the Gazette.…
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TAT Songkran celebrations a hit in Phuket Town
PHUKET TOWN: Three nights of entertainment organized by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) ended last night on Thalang Road in Old Phuket Town. This was the first year the TAT has organized Songkran activities in Phuket Town, where a variety of staged shows put on nightly at Queen Sirikit Park were a hit with local residents. Among the performances…
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Tout gunned down in Phuket
KATHU, PHUKET: Police are searching for suspects wanted in connection with a shooting murder in Kathu early this morning. Thung Thong Police were notified of the shooting at about 3:30am. At the scene, in front of a small rental home off Wichit Songkram Road, they found the victim’s body lying face up, riddled with 9mm bullets. The victim, a large…
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Phuket jet-ski accident fatal
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Eleven days after a friend crashed into him while they were on jet-skis in Phuket, 20-year-old Loh Ying Jie died at Singapore General Hospital from swelling of the brain. The New Straits Times reports that Loh, a former…
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Phuket incinerator project to begin in June
PHUKET TOWN: Work on a second solid waste incinerator at Saphan Hin should get underway in a few months’ time, according to Phuket City Municipality. Deputy Mayor Thaworn Jeeraphat said work on the waste-to-energy incinerator, originally scheduled for completion in October this year, should get underway in June. The incinerator, to be built by Malaysian firm PJT Technology Co Ltd,…
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Patong CCTV units on the blink
PHUKET: The majority of closed-circuit television (CCTV) security cameras in Patong don’t work, the Gazette has learned. There are more than 20 security cameras sited in key locations in Patong, but only eight are still functioning properly. Most of the ten CCTV units provided by Patong Municipality are still in operation, but most of the units provided by the Phuket…
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Vietnamese man, 26, commits suicide in Phuket
PATONG, PHUKET: Kathu Police are treating as a ‘probable suicide’ the case of a Vietnamese man found hanged to death in his rented home in Patong early Monday morning. The corpse was identified as that of 26-year-old Huynh Tan Phong, shown in his passport as a resident of Thua Thien-Hue province in Vietnam. The body of Mr Phong, wearing white…
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Phuket’s ‘Fun Run’ to return
PHUKET: The sound of pounding running shoes will once again echo around the island when the fifth annual Laguna Phuket International Marathon kicks off on June 13. Now Asia’s fastest-growing destination marathon, more than 5,000 entrants from 45 countries are expected to take part in the event, which is preceded by a two-day expo featuring sponsors’ booths and fun activities.…
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Songkran stabbing in Phuket
CHALONG, PHUKET: Chalong Police are searching for the man responsible for a stabbing attack that left a young man in critical condition yesterday. Police were notified of the attack at about 5:30pm. By the time they arrived at the scene, an unnamed curry shop and dry goods store on Soi Thanuthep in Chalong Village 8, the victim had already been…
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Phuket tuk-tuk driver to be charged with theft from tourist
PATONG, PHUKET: Kathu Police will charge a Patong tuk-tuk driver with theft after a Maltese tourist claimed the man purposely drove off with a bag containing his cash and valuables. The tourist, 44-year-old Charles Bonavia, appeared at Kathu Police Station accompanied by a friend and two Thai women on Monday afternoon. At around 2pm that day, he and five friends…
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Thai Foreign Minister on rampage
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Thailand’s foreign minister Kasit Piromya lashed out at the global community yesterday for failing to take action against fugitive premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whom he branded a terrorist and blamed for the country’s deadly political violence. AFP reports that…
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Phuket Police road safety crackdown underway
PATONG, PHUKET: Scores of motorists were stopped and charged with road safety violations at a police road checkpoint set up on Patong Hill at midnight on Sunday. The violators, mostly foreign tourists, had to make their way to Kathu Police Station to pay fines for a variety of infractions including operating a motorbike without a helmet, driving without a license…
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Heroic rescues prevent Phuket beach tragedy
RAWAI, PHUKET: A Thai man who helped save four children from drowning yesterday is being treated in hospital after being pulled unconscious from the water by an Italian kayaker. The near-tragedy occurred when four Phuket City youths were swept out to sea at the South end of Nai Harn Beach, the same area where 10-year-old Apichet ‘Nong Max’ Srinakarak drowned…
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Increase in flights to Phuket Intl Airport: AOT
PHUKET CITY: The effect of the political turmoil on passenger traffic at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport has thus far been limited, with increased traffic at Phuket International Airport making up for some of the shortfall, Airports of Thailand (AoT) has announced. Suvarnabhumi Airport Director Niran Theeranatsin said that before the protests 16 international and domestic carriers had requested an additional…
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Hong Kong shuns Bangkok, Phuket not affected
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Hong Kong travel agents yesterday announced the cancellation of all tours to Bangkok until at least April 21 because of the political violence in the Thai capital. Earth Times reports that around 80 tour groups with more than…
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Phuket Prison: Songkran fuels overcrowding fears
PHUKET: The likely increase in arrests over the Songkran holiday period is worrying officials as the Phuket Provincial Prison is already 408 inmates over capacity. The six-rai prison is intended to accommodate 708 male and 165 female prisoners. On April 9 there were 1007 males and 274 females detained in the facility. “We expect more prisoners during the Songkran Festival,”…
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Phuket Tourism at Ground Zero
PHUKET: While the term ‘ground zero’ became the idiom for the 9/11 attacks in New York in 2001, the phrase is far older than that, dating at least as far back as the Manhattan Project and the World War II bombing of Hiroshima. On the heels of Saturday’s tragic events in Bangkok, Thailand’s tourism industry has become the global poster…
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Phuket Bike Week 2010 rolls on
PATONG, PHUKET: Big bike enthusiasts have been enjoying Phuket Big Bike Week 2010, which started with a mechanical roar in Patong on Friday. Riders will today take a break from the many organized activities and prepare for Songkran festivities that start tomorrow. Over the past few days, riders have enjoyed concerts, beach parties, beauty and tattoo contests and convoy rides…
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Phuket safe, but warnings on ‘Thailand’ vary widely
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Germany advised travelers yesterday to avoid going near large crowds when visiting Thailand. The update to the travel advisory, reported by Earth Times, notes that the Foreign Ministry website says Germans should “stay well away from demonstrations” and…
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Phuket-bound tourists may file insurance claims
PHUKET TOWN: Foreign tourists affected by recent rioting in Bangkok may be eligible for financial compensation of up to US$ 10,000 through a state-run insurance scheme. According to the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) website, the Royal Thai Government in May 2009 set up an insurance scheme for foreigners visiting the Kingdom ‘who are affected by losses or harms…
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Phuket FC in first loss of season
PHUKET: First-place Phuket FC lost its first match of the season yesterday with a tough 2-1 defeat on the road against Trang FC ‘Killer Sea Cows’. Phuket FC were in fine form in the first half, with good scoring chances in the first 10 minutes including a header by Adisek that bounced back off the goalpost. Phuket’s Southern Sea Kirin…
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OPINION: Catching the safety wave in Phuket
PHUKET: A key reason for Phuket’s success as a tourist destination is the wide variety of leisure activities available: sailing, golf, bowling, cricket, volleyball, windsurfing, mountain hiking, jet-skiing, go-carting, parasailing, paragliding, billiards, darts – name a pastime and you’re likely to be able to enjoy it here. The news feature in the current issue of the Phuket Gazette, (see pages…
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A THAI LAMENTS: “Our darkest hour”
PHUKET: The saddest thing is everyone had predicted this and there were so many opportunities to prevent it. In the end, either the curse was too strong or the dark wills of some of those involved to see it happen simply overwhelmed efforts to stop it from happening. A nation that once thought it had matured learned the hardest way…
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‘Normal’ Songkran expected for Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Songkran celebrations in Phuket as well as 13 other Thai provinces are scheduled to take place as planned, despite the current state of emergency and cancellation of official celebrations in Bangkok. Asia One News reports that China has…
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15 dead as Bangkok protests explode
PHUKET: Fifteen people have been killed and more than 650 injured in clashes between troops and anti-government protesters in Bangkok. Five soldiers are being held hostage by demonstrators and a journalist with Reuters news agency is among the dead. In a report filed at 3am in Thailand today, Sky.com says soldiers fired rubber bullets and some live rounds at opposition…
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Violence and arson at troubled Phuket project
WICHIT, PHUKET: A violent confrontation and arson attack outside the troubled Phanason City project last night ended when police arrived and fired warning shots, causing those involved to run for cover. The latest skirmish in the months-old battle started at about 9pm. Around 200 men alleged to be project workers tried to destroy and burn some 40 motorbikes and a…
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Phuket bank accounts plundered
PHUKET: Phuket police are warning of fraudulent phone calls informing members of the public they are “lucky winners” and promising them large cash prizes. The criminals ask victims to transfer a small sum of money in order to claim the reward, which is never seen. In some cases, the hapless victims are instructed to make the transaction at a specific…
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Meditation training in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The Middle Way will resume its free meditation training with a special pre-Songkran session at the Phuket Meditation Center starting at 3pm tomorrow. The teaching monk will be Phra River Bhaddako, a Theravadan Buddhist monk for three years with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Swansea University where he founded that school’s Open Meditation Society. Phra River has…
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