Year: 2011
- Phuket News
Man dies in Phuket high-speed collision
PHUKET: A 31-year-old man died instantly in a high-speed collision north of Phuket Town early this morning as he rode his motorbike across Thepkrasattri Road but into the path of an oncoming car. Lt Patiwat Yodkhuan of Thalang Police reported that Meknoi Seekaew, originally from Phrae province, was riding northbound along Thepkrasattri Road about 2:20am when the accident occurred. However,…
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Blackouts: Phuket to enjoy obligatory Earth Hours
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced scheduled blackouts to carry out maintenance on high-voltage power lines, install new lines and move power poles. The dates and locations of the operations, which will be carried out from 9am to 5pm, are: March 15 – Chalong Along Luang Por Chuang Road, from the TOT office on Chao Fa West…
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Phuket serial thieves nabbed
PHUKET: Police today announced the arrest of three teenagers being charged with breaking and entering, and theft from, at least 20 Phuket homes. Chalong Police arrested the trio – aged 17, 16 and 14 – at about 4.30pm yesterday. The arrests followed Chalong Police officers on patrol in Soi Thanuthep spotting a young boy riding a motorbike that had been…
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Air Bagan launches direct flights to Burma from Phuket
PHUKET: Burmese airline Air Bagan will launch twice-a-week, direct fights between Phuket and Yangon on April 11. “The round-trip tickets for the flights, operating Mondays and Fridays, will cost around 10,900 baht and include in-flight food and drink,” said PB Travel Agency Center Managing Director Suranat Taweesap. Air Bagan will open an office in Phuket Town this month, but the…
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Korean owner of Phuket snake farm busted with drugs
PHUKET: The Korean owner of a Phuket snake farm was arrested at the Thai border with Cambodia this morning when he tried to smuggle ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and marijuana into the Kingdom. The Korean, identified as 51-year-old Eun Sooyong, was passing through a security checkpoint at the Phrom Daen border crossing in the Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaew Province,…
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Phuket special needs center facing crisis
PHUKET: The Center for Special Education in Phuket is facing a budgetary and staffing crisis because the number of disabled children on the island is going up every year, its director says. Wanida Suraban said the center, in Kathu, now looks looked after 191 children with problems including blindness, learning disabilities, communication problems, deafness, autism and other conditions. The center…
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Confessed Phuket murderer Fanelli on the inside
PHUKET: Murder suspect Ronald Fanelli has yet to enter a plea with the Phuket Provincial Court and the American says his detention at Phuket Provincial Prison is making him physically ill. Speaking through a telephone in the visitors’ center on March 1, Mr Fanelli said a court appearance scheduled for February 24 had to be postponed after “a timing mix-up”…
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Phuket ITB delegation Czechs out parliament
PRAGUE: The ITB 2011 delegation from Phuket visited the Czech Parliament yesterday morning and learned more about Czech advances in wastewater treatment technology. The tour of the parliament building followed a request by Phuket Provincial Organization Administration (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising, who is leading the delegation jointly with Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha. Also attending were Phuket Chamber of Commerce Chairman…
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Phuket land grab sparks full investigation
PHUKET: The hasty construction of a handful of shelters and houses on an undeveloped plot north of Phuket Town has sparked a full investigation by the Phuket Land Office into who legally owns the land. The issue came to a flash-point on February 22 when Pasinpon Sabtamrongkan arrived at the site to find about 40 local residents – and a…
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Teen dead, another injured in Phuket drive-by shooting
PHUKET: One teenager is dead and another man injured from gunshot wounds following a drive-by shooting in Phuket last night. Thalang Police duty officer Sarit Bootnongsaeng identified the deceased as 19-year-old Khomsun Srirat. Mr Khomsun was riding a motorbike with a passenger along the road from Pa Khlok to Muang Mai at about 8pm when two assailants rode up alongside…
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Extradition of Phuket “kickbox killer’ suspect “may take years’
PHUKET: The City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London has told the Gazette that the extradition hearing of British national Lee Aldhouse “can take months or years”. Aldhouse remains wanted in Thailand for the stabbing murder of American Dashawn Longfellow in Rawai in August last year. However, court official Russel Sykes said the former kickboxer remains remanded in custody at…
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One man dead in Phuket bus tragedy
PHUKET: One man has been confirmed dead as a result of a tour-bus accident on Patong Hill this morning. Patong motorcycle taxi driver Warin Yongyut, 51, died from chest injuries caused when the Patong Municipality bus overturned on Phra Barami road at about 8:30am, a Patong Hospital official said. Mr Warin was among 53 Patong Municipality volunteers on board the…
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ITB Berlin: Phuket officials ponder Czech waste-water solution
PRAGUE: In Europe for the upcoming ITB Berlin tourism and travel show, the Phuket delegation took time out of their agenda to talk waste-water. Led by Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising, the delegation met with the heads of two companies that installed and operate 13 waste-water treatment plants in the Czech Republic. CEO of Prague Diamond Invest…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket bus overturns on Patong Hill, many injured
PHUKET: Many people were injured and one man is feared dead after a Patong Municipality bus returning from a funeral overturned on Patong Hill this morning. Rescue foundation volunteers, municipality officers and rescue workers from various agencies continue to pull people from the wreckage of the bus, which came to rest about 10 meters off the road near the Sea…
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Cops to be drug tested: Phuket Police chief
PHUKET: The new Phuket City Police chief today announced plans to introduce drug testing for police nationwide to ensure that the force remains completely drug free. “Police are the last line of defense in society’s war on illegal drugs, so if they themselves are involved, then its ‘game over’,” Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chitchai told a press conference today.…
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Phuket music fans: Mango House Festival kicks off in Koh Lanta, Krabi
PHUKET: Lovers of house music in Phuket may want to take a trip to Krabi this week, as the Lanta Lanta Festival in Lanta Old Town will feature five great nights of music, all free of charge. The Mango House Festival sessions run from 9pm to 1am nightly, starting tonight. The highlight will be sessions on Thursday and Friday by…
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Phuket blood center seeks Songkran stocks
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center run by the Thai Red Cross has announced the dates and locations of its mobile blood donation clinics in Phuket and the Andaman Coast region this month. Center director Pornthip Rattajak thanked those who responded to an emergency call for negative blood types last month. There are currently no shortages, but the center wants…
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Phuket tour tragedy “Raging bull’ retired
PHUKET: The male elephant that went berserk and killed a Phuket tourist at Khao Sok National Park on February 22 has been released into a wildlife sanctuary and will no longer be used in the tourism industry, the Phuket Gazette has learned. One of the survivors, Helen Gothe of Australia, said she was told by the general manager of Siam…
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PHUKET LIFESTYLE: ‘Phuket a diamond’ for rich jet owners
PHUKET: MJETS is in talks with Airports of Thailand (AOT) about building a private jet terminal at Phuket International Airport (PIA). The move comes on the back of the success of its first private jet terminal at Don Muang Airport in Bangkok, the company says. MJets Executive Chairman, Jaiyavat Navaraj, believes the company’s venture at PIA could put Phuket on…
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Phuket Promise: The beach guards ‘will be back’
PHUKET: Lifeguards will soon be back on the beaches in greater numbers and with more new lifesaving equipment, Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. The news follows the February 26 expiration of the contract for the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) to guard the beaches, leaving no organization officially responsible for saving swimmers.…
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PHUKET OPINION: Some notes on the value of spam
PHUKET: Following a salvo of gratuitous email last week from a local hospitality service company announcing the launch of a new business – which has now itself begun to indulge in daily bulk mailings – we at the Phuket Gazette have re-evaluated our long-standing policy against the use of spam for any purpose. And we’ve decided to change nothing. We’re…
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British man, 37, dies in Phuket suicide plunge
PHUKET: A 37-year-old British man died in Phuket yesterday after falling from a five-storey apartment block in what police believe was an intentional suicide leap. Thung Thong Police duty inspector Sakchai Chuyong received a report of the apparent suicide at 7:30am. The name of the deceased was widely reported in the Thai media, but is being held by the Phuket…
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Phuket Police target ladyboy meth users
PHUKET: Almost 50 per cent of the ladyboys rounded up in a sweep of Phuket’s Soi Bangla area last night tested positive for methamphetamines, Patong Police say. The random testing, led by drug suppression division inspector Akanit Danphithuksdart, targeted transsexuals along Soi Bangla and surrounding areas, including the beach road and Soi Joreoernsup. Of 40 tested for drug use, 17…
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Football Legends of Liverpool to play in Phuket
PHUKET: Liverpool Football Club fans on Phuket are set for a huge treat this June when a Legends of Liverpool team swing into town to take on a Legends of Thailand side at Surakul Stadium. A squad that includes 15 Anfield greats will don the famous red shirt in Phuket on June 18 as part of their tour of Thailand,…
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Phuket road rape victim still in ICU
PHUKET: Police are still searching for the two suspects wanted for the brutal roadside assault of a Phuket woman last week. The victim, 58, was set upon by two men just before dawn Thursday morning as she rode her motorbike to a local market. She was left unconscious by the roadside with blood running from a wound to her head,…
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Phuket Live Wire: Internet speeds up; TOT down; iPad2 launches
PHUKET: Tales of woe about TOT lines to new housing developments in Phuket continued this week. In at least two cases, major new developments have reached exclusive agreements with TOT to deliver voice and data lines to the developments. As you might have guessed, the results have been, uh, less than stellar. The lesson: for best service, count on competition.…
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What’s in this week’s Phuket Gazette?
PHUKET: This week’s Andaman Edition of the Phuket Gazette went on sale yesterday and 20,000 copies of our Nationwide Edition were delivered early this morning to all Star Alliance airlines for placement aboard all of their flights serving Thailand. Both editions contain extensive content not available here in the Gazette Online. However, digital subscribers may click here to download their…
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Phuket roads claim more lives
PHUKET: High-season mayhem continues on Phuket roadways, with one man dead and two others in ICU in separate road accidents in recent days. Yesterday morning, 31-year-old Apiwan Wongcheu sustained severe head trauma, a broken wrist and other injuries when the motorbike she was riding along Chao Fa West Road northbound in Chalong was struck by a southbound truck turning across…
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Phuket Mining Museum now open
PHUKET: Governor Tri Augkaradacha stepped up to buy the first entrance ticket to the Phuket Mining Museum yesterday to mark the official opening of the 180-million-baht attraction. The museum showcases Phuket’s tin mining history and the lives of the Chinese miners of the era through indoor and outdoor exhibits in both English and Thai languages. Outdoor displays include an abandoned…
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Phuket gears up for Heroines’ Festival 2011
PHUKET: This year’s Phuket Heroines’ Festival will feature the acting debut of Phuket governor Tri Augkaradacha, who will take center stage in the role of King Rama I in a historical drama based on the history of Thalang. The 2011 installment of the annual event will take place March 13 to 15 at Thalang Victory Memorial Field in Thepkrasattri subdistrict.…
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Canine-crazy couple have gone to the dogs
NAKHON PATHOM: Champa Tangsombun is crazy about dogs – so much so that it’s ruining his wife’s retirement. Mr Champa, 74, has been taking stray and injured dogs into his home in Village 9 in Bangchang subdistrict for 15 years. The retired bus station master now has 61 canines to take care of and he has spent his entire life…
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Middle East riots will not affect Phuket tourism
PHUKET: Tossaporn Thepabutr, chairman of the House Committee for Tourism and Sports, said the political unrest in the Middle East would have little effect on Thailand’s tourism industry. Speaking to reporters in Phuket late last month, Mr Tossaporn called for tourism operators nationwide to work together to attract 18 million tourists to Thailand this year. This was a realistic figure,…
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New Phuket police station plans inch forward
PHUKET: Plans to build a new police station in Karon are progressing at a snail’s pace, but work on the new Police Region 8 headquarters now under construction in Mai Khao is steaming ahead, officials were told this week. Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth, Deputy Commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8, told a meeting on Tuesday that his office was still…
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Join Phuket’s grumpy men on their rally for a cause
PHUKET: The Phuket GOMS (Grumpy Old Men’s Society) will stage their inaugural Car Rally-Treasure Hunt this Sunday, and there’s still time to get involved. GOMS consists of over 130, presumably grumpy expat and Thai members who get together twice a month to meet, discuss issues which grind their gears and think of ways to raise money for local charities. There…
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Dead leatherback sea turtle discovered in Phuket
PHUKET: Experts believe a 200kg leatherback sea turtle found floating in the shallows of Klong Tha Cheen in Phuket yesterday afternoon died after becoming entangled in a fishing net. The death comes amid what one expert has described as a “crisis” for the endangered species. The body of the turtle, estimated at between 15 and 25 years old, was discovered…
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Phuket telephones: Phone booths dying but some to stay – for now
PHUKET: The last decade has seen rapid development in telecommunications technology, which has led to cheaper mobile phones and greatly reduced need for public land lines. Consequently many phone booths in Phuket, run by the TOT Public Company, have been removed. However, according to Chanwis Bunjongkarn, the TOT’s Senior Director for Phuket Customer Services, phone booths continue to provide an…
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PHUKET CHARITY: Blazing saddles, bangers and cash
PHUKET: Members of the Old Bangkok Bangers Rugby Club were in Phuket late last month after a mammoth cycle challenge in aid of a Phuket children’s charity. The eight fearless men set out from Bangkok on Valentines Day, and for five energy-sapping days labored on bicycles to reach Phuket in one piece – all in aid of raising 500,000 baht…
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