Year: 2010
- Phuket News
Katsu blazes into Phuket Raceweek lead
PHUKET: After trailing Scott Duncanson’s Quantum Fusion M on the opening day of racing in the Six Senses Phuket Raceweek regatta on Thursday, Ben Copley’s Katsu fought back with two first-place finishes yesterday to take the lead in the IRC1 class. Quantum Fusion M placed second and third in yesterday’s two races in the class to hold second place overall…
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Greater Phuket: Phang Nga hit by tough new zoning law
PHUKET: New ministerial regulations covering booming west coast areas in the south of Phang Nga aim to slow the number or new large-scale hotel and residential developments being built on prime oceanfront land in the area. Areas affected by the new regulations include parts of Khok Kloy in Takua Thung District, just across the Sarasin Bridge from Phuket, as well…
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Giant Clam in peril in Phuket waters
PHUKET: Fisheries experts are trying to find ways to culture hardier types of giant clams in order to make the huge mollusks better able to cope with rising sea temperatures, the state-run Thai News Agency has reported. Kongkiat Kittiwattawong, a researcher with the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), said giant clams in local waters face a variety of natural and…
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Tourist death prompts Phuket lifeguard warning
PHUKET: The death of Romanian tourist Gheorghe Paulive, who died after being pulled from dangerous surf at Karon on Tuesday, has prompted angry Phuket lifeguards to call for more cooperation from hotels in helping to warn guests about dangerous surf conditions.Mr Paulive, 35, was pulled from the surf near the Karon Princess Hotel at around 11am on Tuesday.He was pronounced…
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Laguna Phuket hold charity raffle
PHUKET: A unique painting valued at 60,000 baht by acclaimed Australian artist Chris Hogan will be raffled off to raise funds for Laguna Phuket Foundation’s Developing Sustainable Schools program. Chris is currently Artist in Residence at Laguna Phuket’s Summer Family Festival. The raffle draw will be the centerpiece of the festival’s “Art Party” in Canal Village on July 31, when…
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Duncanson wins Phuket Raceweek opener
PHUKET: Scott Duncanson and his crew on Quantum Fusion M drew first blood in the Six Senses Phuket Raceweek regatta yesterday, beating Ben Copley’s Katsu by more than four minutes on corrected time to lead the IRC 1 class.Anthony Hastings on Baby Tonga placed third in the class.Peter Dyer’s Sea Bees pipped Mike Downard’s Tuay Lek by just 26 seconds…
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TONIGHT! ‘Patong Cocktail Marathon 2010’ starts in Phuket
PHUKET: Bartenders will be center stage in Patong over the next 10 days as Soi Bangla hosts the “Patong Cocktail Marathon 2010″ competition that kicks off tonight. Although the name may sound like a binge drinking competition, the real intent is to showcase the considerable skills of the legions of bartenders who work in bars and pubs all over Thailand.…
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Fanelli arrest: Phuket Police to share Bt50,000 reward
PHUKET: Police investigators will share the 50,000 baht reward money offered for clues leading to the arrest of Ronald Fanelli, Phuket City Police say.Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit told the Gazette this morning that several people offered tips to the police and photos of people they suspected might be responsible, but that none of those led to the arrest…
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Phuket Poll: Do foreign tourists respect Thai culture?
PHUKET: The Gazette last week reported that the discovery of a Buddha image converted by a foreigner to serve as a garden fountain sparked a crackdown by the Phuket Culture Ministry office. The head of that office, Tawichart Intorrarit, commented that many foreigners who visit Phuket seem to understand little about Thai culture. Do you think foreign tourists who visit…
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Phuket tourism is unsustainable: readers’ poll
PHUKET: More than two-thirds of the respondents to a Phuket Gazette poll believe that the current state of Phuket’s tourism is unsustainable. Respondents were given the definition of sustainable tourism as “an industry committed to making a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate future employment for local people”. Of the 435 readers who took…
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Phuket tsunami warning buoy: in good shape after recovery
PHUKET: The drifting tsunami detection buoy recovered on Saturday is not as badly damaged as feared and the unit will be redeployed in its original position off the coast of Phuket at the end of the monsoon season, officials say. The unit was successfully recovered by Navy SEAL divers aboard navy frigate HTMS Bangpakong, which docked at Phang Nga Naval…
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Phuket wastewater won’t stink
KAMALA: Residents in Kamala were informed at a public hearing on July 7 that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report needed to build a 350-million-baht battery of underground wastewater treatment facilities is now complete. The project only needs final approval from the provincial review board and funding to move forward. Kamala Deputy Mayor Santi Auttasup chaired the final public hearing,…
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Miss Thailand World contestants in Phuket for ‘training’
PHUKET: Thirty Miss Thailand World 2010 contestants are at the Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket as part of a four-day “training camp” to prepare for the pageant, which will be televised live from Bangkok on the night of August 14. Apart from learning everything they will need to know to succeed in the beauty competition, the contestants will also do some…
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Phuket wins direct flights from Beijing
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. PHUKET: Hainan Airlines is preparing to launch non-stop flights to Phuket from Beijing on July 31, becoming the first and only domestic carrier to offer such a service. According to China Hospitality News, the fourth-largest carrier in China will…
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Fears of HFMD outbreak in Phuket
PHUKET: With more than 70 children in Phuket having contracted Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) already this year, Phuket City Municipality has issued an advisory urging parents to beware of the highly contagious malaise. Nittaya Panchamedithee, an officer at the municipality’s health section, said, “There is more chance of an outbreak in the rainy season as the virus can…
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No power, water in parts of Phuket Town tomorrow
PHUKET: Residents of Phuket Town’s tambon Talad Neua might consider getting out of town tomorrow, when there will be a one-day suspension of both electric power and water supply services. The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced the power cuts, from 9am to 4pm, to carry out maintenance on high voltage wires The blackout will also affect pumps used to…
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Son-in-law sought over Phuket home blaze
PHUKET: A Kalim man whose home burned to the ground early Sunday morning suspects the blaze was intentionally set by his son-in-law as an act of revenge. Kathu Police Duty Inspector Jakkapong Luang-aon received a report of a fire on Phra Barami Road, Soi 6 in Kalim at about 1:15am on Sunday. By the time police and 15 Patong Municipality…
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Bt1.5 billion needed for Phuket underpass projects
PHUKET: Three public hearings have resulted in firm decisions as to what shape three major road projects on the bypass road will take, if 1.55 billion baht in funding is made available for them. The final meeting, held late last month at The Metropole hotel, was chaired by Vice Governor Nivit Aroonrat. Also presenting information and fielding questions were Kasem…
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Puppy pity powers Phuket pair up Mt Kinabalu
PHUKET: In a bid to raise money for charity, two Phuket sisters made it 3,560 meters up Borneo’s Mount Kinabalu in the early hours of Thursday morning. Kasia Sambrook, 9, and her sister Alicia, 6, were the only children in a group of 174 climbers attempting the two-day climb to the 4,095-meter summit, the fourth highest peak in the Malay…
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Phuket Architect & Engineering Exhibition starts July 29
PHUKET: Royal Phuket City Hotel will host the 10th annual Architect & Engineering Exhibition 2010 from July 29 to August 1. Open daily from 11am to 8am, the expo will feature exhibits of the latest breakthroughs in construction, interior design and building maintenance technology. A wide variety of construction materials from more than 100 manufacturers will be on display, including…
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Phuket to get first “Health Promoting Hospital’ in Thailand
PHUKET: The Kamala Public Health Center will be home to the country’s first “Health Promotion Hospital”, incorporating traditional Chinese medicines into its array of medical services. The center, part of a post-tsunami project which begun in 2005, is co-funded by the Chinese government. Deputy Public Health Minister Pansiri Kulanartsiri said during an inspection of the site last week that the…
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Food poisoning outbreak hits Phuket school
PHUKET: Some 120 students from Prachanukroh 36 School in Kamala were treated for food poisoning at the local public health clinic on Sunday. Instructors and school officials rushed the students to the nearby Kamala Public Health Clinic, but overwhelmed staff there transferred the group to the better equipped Patong Hospital. Twenty-five of the ill-at-ease group were admitted for immediate treatment…
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Phuket neighbors describe Finelli as quiet, reserved
PHUKET: Neighbors of confessed murderer Ronald Finelli said he and his family kept to themselves and didn’t have close relations with anyone in the residential estate where they lived for about one year prior to his sudden disappearance. The killing of 33-year-old bar hostess Wanphen Pienjai occurred at a two-story townhouse in the recently-built Tantong Villas estate, opposite the entrance…
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Briton, 29, dies in Phuket suicide plunge
PHUKET: A British man fell to his death from a Patong hotel yesterday in what Phuket Police believe was an act of suicide. Case officer Nitikorn Rawang of the Kathu Police identified the deceased as 29-year-old Mark Edward Stevens of the United Kingdom. Police were notified by hotel staff that a man fell to his death from atop a hotel…
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Yala FC shock FC Phuket, 2-0
PHUKET: FC Phuket lost 2-0 at home to Yala yesterday in a surprise result that is a setback to their otherwise impressive bid to win the Football Association of Thailand’s Division Two South title. FC Phuket went into the game at the top of the table having taken maximum points from every home match so far this season. Yala, by…
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‘It was an accident’: Wanphen’s killer tells Phuket press
PHUKET: Retired US Navy serviceman Ronald Fanelli, who confessed to stabbing to death bar hostess Wanphen Pienjai last month, described the killing as a “terrible accident”, saying he never intended to harm her. Clean-shaven and appearing somewhat disoriented, Ronald Fanelli, 37, was presented in handcuffs to the media at a press conference chaired by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong…
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American confesses to murder of Phuket bar hostess
PHUKET: The American man arrested for the murder of bar hostess Wanphen Pianjai has confessed to charges, police say. Ronald Fanelli, 36, was arrested by a team of officers led by Police Region 8 Commander Weerasak Meenawanich early yesterday evening at his newly-rented home in Karon. The successful manhunt was one of the most intense in Phuket in recent years,…
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Wanphen Pienjai murder: American arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Police last night arrested an American man for last month’s brutal stabbing murder of bar hostess Wanphen Pienjai. Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit this afternoon confirmed the identity of the suspect as 36-year-old Ronald Fanelli, a US citizen. Mr Fanelli was arrested at his home in the Thanthong Village housing estate in Chalong at about 6pm last…
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‘Close Quarters’ wins Phuket Raceweek Photo Contest
PHUKET: With this year’s Six Senses Phuket Raceweek getting underway Wednesday, the Phuket Gazette is proud to announce the winner of this year’s Phuket Raceweek Amateur Photo Contest.Simon Andrews won with his photo “Close Quarters” showing two yachts in very close proximity as they prepare to round a mark mid-race, capturing in an instant just how competitive yacht racing can…
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Phuket gov warns businesses over trading in stolen goods
PHUKET: Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop on Wednesday took time out from his regular schedule to focus his attention on stolen goods being traded in Phuket. Addressing about 300 business operators at a special seminar held to brief shop owners on their legal obligations under the Auction Sale and Antique Sale Control Act BE 2474, Governor Wichai said, “If the [business] operators…
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Phuket tsunami buoy found, recovery underway
PHUKET: After being adrift nearly a month and a half, Thailand’s tsunami direct detection buoy was discovered by Royal Thai Navy warship Bang Pakong 456 at about 6:30 this morning. Commodore Suchart Thammapitakwaech, Director of the Naval Civil Affairs Department at the Royal Thai Navy Third Naval Area Command at Cape Panwa, confirmed the buoy was located 194 nautical miles…
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Phuket tsunami buoy: recovery mission launched today
PHUKET: Thailand’s early warning system for tsunamis has taken a big step backward with the revelation that its only tsunami direct detection buoy is not only inoperable, but adrift on the high seas. Royal Thai Navy warship Bang Pakong 456 was due to leave its port at Phang Nga Naval Base late this afternoon in a bid to locate the…
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Oh my Buddha! Culture crackdown underway in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket office of the Ministry of Culture is on the lookout for the inappropriate use of Buddha images following the shocking revelation that one foreign restaurant owner modified a Buddha image to serve as a garden fountain – one that spouted water from the crown of its head. Phuket Culture Office director Tawichart Intorrarit said on Wednesday that…
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Saphan Hin short cut: Phuket road project approved
PHUKET: Following a successful public hearing process, Phuket City Municipality will move forward with a project to build a new road connecting Chao Fa East Road to Saphan Hin. The final public hearing, organized jointly by the Department of Rural Roads and Phuket City Municipality, was held at the project site on the afternoon of July 8. About 100 people…
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Kusoldharm Phuket protest update
PHUKET: The Kusoldharm Foundation’s board met on Wednesday to address the recent protest by some of its volunteer rescue workers, but have yet to release any information about the meeting’s conclusions. Embattled Kusoldharm Foundation President Benjawan Tamphanuwat told the Gazette by telephone yesterday that she did not want to comment on the dispute at the time, but that the board…
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Phuket Police take down another drug dealing ring
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have arrested a man and his pregnant girlfriend for drug dealing, seizing over 1,000 ya bah (methamphetamine pills) in the process. The arrests were announced at a press conference at Phuket City Police Station this morning. Presenting the suspects were Phuket Provincial Police Commandaer Pekad Tantipong and Phuket City Police Superintendant Wanchai Ekpornpit. The arrests resulted…
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Phuket Aquarium work on schedule
PHUKET: Phuket Aquarium’s 2.2-million-baht renovation project is on schedule to finish this month, officers at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) have confirmed. PMBC officer Surapong Banjongma-nee said Bangkok-based Aquatic Company began work repainting the facility walls on February 22. The work involved draining the large viewing tank with a glass walk-through viewing tunnel, as well as work on five…
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