Month: July 2012

  • Phuket NewsTAT Phuket Director steps up to Bangkok
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 19:03, 31 July 2012
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    TAT Phuket Director steps up to Bangkok

    PHUKET: Bangonrat Shinaprayoon, Director of the Phuket office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), bade her final farewell to Governor Tri Augkaradacha at Phuket Provincial Hall this morning before her move to Bangkok.Ms Bangonrat leaves the island on August 1 to take up her new position in Bangkok as Director of Attractions Promotion Division.“My new department is responsible for…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket expat Dokset murder trial: all charges denied
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 18:56, 31 July 2012
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    Phuket expat Dokset murder trial: all charges denied

    PHUKET: In a day for denying criminal charges at Phuket Provincial Court, Norwegian national and long-term Phuket expat Stein Havard Dokset yesterday denied all charges against him for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Rungnapa Suktong. Dokset was arrested in a police raid on his luxury villa in Kata on February 28. Officers searching the house found the remains of a…

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  • Phuket NewsKrabi killers escape after ‘M16 ambush’
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 16:56, 31 July 2012
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    Krabi killers escape after ‘M16 ambush’

    PHUKET: Krabi Police suspect revenge was the motive for a shooting in Khlong Kanan subdistrict on Saturday, when gunmen opened fire on a moving pickup truck in a well-planned ambush. One person was killed and five others were injured in the attack. The murder victim, driving an Isuzu D-Max, was identified by police as Paruhas Kongbannuek, village headman of Baan…

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  • Thailand NewsThailand News: Death sentences for police who murdered youth
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 16:11, 31 July 2012
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    Thailand News: Death sentences for police who murdered youth

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Death terms for police guilty of murdering youth Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: The Criminal Court yesterday handed down a guilty verdict to five former Kalasin-based policemen for their involvement in the extrajudicial killing of a 17-year-old boy in 2004. Three of them were sentenced to death,…

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  • Thailand NewsIntellectual Property: Dildos, porn and sex pills seized in massive haul
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 14:22, 31 July 2012
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    Intellectual Property: Dildos, porn and sex pills seized in massive haul

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Members of Thailand’s largest ring of traders in aphrodisiacs and sex toys were apprehended in Bangkok with goods worth more than 100 million baht, the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) chief said yesterday. DSI Director-General Tharit Pengdit and Pol Lt-Col Chinnachot Daengsurisri, commander of the Intellectual…

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  • Phuket NewsMichelle Smith “killers’ reject confession
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 13:45, 31 July 2012
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    Michelle Smith “killers’ reject confession

    PHUKET: The two men charged with the death of Australian travel agent Michelle Smith, who died from a stab wound inflicted in a bag-snatch in June, yesterday denied all charges against them. Surasak Suwannachote, 26, and Surin Tadthong, 37, were presented at Phuket Provincial Court to enter pleas to the charges, which collectively accuse the men of murder and gang…

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  • Phuket NewsMurder suspect arrested in Phuket flown to Bangkok
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 13:29, 31 July 2012
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    Murder suspect arrested in Phuket flown to Bangkok

    PHUKET: A murder suspect arrested in Phuket yesterday was flown to Bangkok* last night, flying out of Phuket at 9pm. Chalong Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri told the Phuket Gazette that 57-year-old Marc De Schutter was arrested at a home on Soi Samakee 2 in Rawai, where he was living with his Thai girlfriend. Phuket Immigration Police and Chalong Police both…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Live Wire: How Windows 8 will roll out
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 11:32, 31 July 2012
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    Phuket Live Wire: How Windows 8 will roll out

    PHUKET: Even if you have no intention of getting Windows 8, there are currently forces at work in the computer industry that will have an enormous impact on what kinds of computers are available in the near future, and how much they will cost. If you’re thinking about buying a new computer, you need to understand what’s about to happen.…

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  • Phuket NewsBelgian ‘Most Wanted’ arrested in Phuket
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 10:48, 31 July 2012
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    Belgian ‘Most Wanted’ arrested in Phuket

    PHUKET: A top-secret investigation has led to the arrest of one of Belgium’s most-wanted criminals in Phuket. The suspect, named as Marc de Schutter, was reportedly wanted for murder, money laundering and economic crimes in his native Belgium. His arrest by some 30 officers of the Crime Suppression Division and Chalong Police followed a one-month investigation launched at the request…

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  • World NewsPhuket Gazette: Four sentenced to death in Iran’s biggest bank fraud case
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 10:10, 31 July 2012
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    Phuket Gazette: Four sentenced to death in Iran’s biggest bank fraud case

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Four sentenced to death in Iran’s biggest ever bank fraud case Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: A court in Iran has sentenced four people to be executed for their role in what has been described as the country’s largest ever bank fraud case, judicial officials said yestersday.…

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  • Phuket NewsElection alcohol bans to cost Patong venues B5mn a night
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 09:38, 31 July 2012
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    Election alcohol bans to cost Patong venues B5mn a night

    PHUKET: The mandatory ban on the sale of alcohol for upcoming elections at the end of this month will cost Patong’s nightlife industry at least 5 million baht a night, the Phuket Gazette has been told. The sale of alcohol will be banned across Phuket on August 26 and again in Patong on September 2 as voters go to the…

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  • Thailand NewsOlympic: Shooter Sutiya misfires; Thai lifts silver; Phuket’s Maneepong progresses
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 08:57, 31 July 2012
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    Olympic: Shooter Sutiya misfires; Thai lifts silver; Phuket’s Maneepong progresses

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Phuket’s Maneepong progresses to knockout stagesPhuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Despite bitter disappointment for world No 22 Boonsak Ponsana, Thailand’s badminton team have kept the flag flying in the 30th Olympic Games, with the men’s duo of Bodin Isara and Phuket’s Maneepong Jongjit storming their…

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  • Phuket NewsDecomposing body recovered off Koh Racha, Phuket
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 19:47, 30 July 2012
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    Decomposing body recovered off Koh Racha, Phuket

    PHUKET: Chalong Police are trying to identify a badly-decomposed human body found washed ashore at Koh Racha Yai early this morning, and now in storage on Phuket.After the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center at Chalong Pier was notified of the discovery at 7am, they dispatched a speedboat marked as operated by the “Chalong Tambon Administration Organization” (now called Chalong Municipality) to…

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  • Phuket NewsKrabi drug rehab school owner called to answer police inquiry
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 19:29, 30 July 2012
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    Krabi drug rehab school owner called to answer police inquiry

    PHUKET: Following the reported drowning of a runaway student, the owner of the Por Noh Klong Gom School during a video-conference with Royal Thai Police Deputy Commissioner-General Adul Saengsingkaew admitted that “improvements” to the school’s management were urgently needed. The video conference, at Krabi Provincial Hall on Saturday, was in reaction to the drowning and subsequent mass-walkout by hundreds of…

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  • Phuket NewsRestaurant, resort ordered removed from Phuket protected forests
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 19:14, 30 July 2012
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    Restaurant, resort ordered removed from Phuket protected forests

    PHUKET: More than 150 officers from the Royal Forest Department (RFD) led raids on three sites in Phuket on Saturday.In Thalang, officers discovered a resort under construction within the boundaries of the protected Bang Kanoon Forest.“We found buildings that looked like a resort under construction on land inside the forest. However, there was no one at the site to declare…

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  • Thai LifePhuket People: Raise a toast to a coffee roast
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 15:53, 30 July 2012
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    Phuket People: Raise a toast to a coffee roast

    PHUKET: Each cup of coffee served at Hock Hoe Lee has more than 50 years of history steeped inside. It’s a taste to be savored. Three generations of one Phuket family have worked tirelessly to create the coffee served up today at Hock Hoe Lee, which has shops in town and in Rawai. Back in 1958, when Chinese migrant Cheng…

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  • Business NewsBoonthaworn Phuket showroom to open by October 1
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 15:21, 30 July 2012
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    Boonthaworn Phuket showroom to open by October 1

    PHUKET: After years of delay, Bangkok-based construction materials retailer Boonthavorn is moving forward with its plans to enter the Phuket market with the opening of a “mini-showroom”.The new facility will be located between Songkhla and Yaowarat roads, near the Tesco-Lotus junction in Rassada.Speaking to the Gazette at the project site, Boonthavorn architect Jiravut Kararun said the company is currently renovating…

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  • Phuket NewsYamaha Division One: Phuket 0 – 1 PTT Rayong
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 14:02, 30 July 2012
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    Yamaha Division One: Phuket 0 – 1 PTT Rayong

    PHUKET: A single goal was all that PTT Rayong FC needed to prevail over Phuket FC on Saturday night at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town. It was the second time the two sides met this season; exactly two weeks earlier Phuket endured a 6-0 thrashing at Rayong. It was the last straw for former coach Milos Josic of Serbia, who…

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  • Business NewsPhuket Business: New trade surplus high; FDI jumps 66%; Foreign shares to be scrutinized
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 12:12, 30 July 2012
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    Phuket Business: New trade surplus high; FDI jumps 66%; Foreign shares to be scrutinized

    PHUKET: Three-quarters of the way into the government’s current fiscal year, international trade in Phuket is thriving, with this year’s trade surplus already surpassing last year’s record high. Phuket Customs House’ records through June 30 show that the value of exports in the 2012 government fiscal year (October 1, 2011 to September 30, 2012) is now at 12.06 billion baht…

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  • Phuket NewsBone fragment of Lord Buddha installed at Phuket temple
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 11:53, 30 July 2012
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    Bone fragment of Lord Buddha installed at Phuket temple

    PHUKET: A bone-fragment relic of Lord Buddha was respectfully installed at Chedi Dok Bua Kaew “Crystal Lotus Pagoda” in Nakaram Temple, Wichit, during a ceremony on Friday. The ceremony was led by Phra Thepsitthimunee, Deputy Monk Dean of Region 16 from Dusidaram Warrawiharn Temple in Bangkok, along with 108 Buddhist monks from the greater Phuket area. “The relic of the…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket man rescued from dire drunk dozing decision
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 11:16, 30 July 2012
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    Phuket man rescued from dire drunk dozing decision

    PHUKET: A drunken man chose an exceptionally bad place to sleep off the effects of alcohol over the weekend: in the middle of the busiest and most deadly road in Phuket.A good citizen called the Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation at 6:45pm yesterday to report that a man was asleep in the left lane of Thepkrasattri Road outbound in Srisoonthorn, opposite the…

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  • Thailand NewsNational News: Three arrested for shootings; Govt criticized; Olympics update
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 08:01, 30 July 2012
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    National News: Three arrested for shootings; Govt criticized; Olympics update

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three arrested in shooting deaths of soldiers in Pattani Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: Three men have been arrested for their alleged role in Saturday’s fatal shooting of four soldiers in Pattani, according to Pattani Governor Thira Mintarasak. “We have also retrieved 9mm guns stolen…

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  • World NewsAt least 78 killed in western Myanmar clashes – UN
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 07:16, 30 July 2012
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    At least 78 killed in western Myanmar clashes – UN

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 78 killed in western Myanmar clashes – UN Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Clashes between Buddhist and Muslim communities in western Myanmar have reportedly killed at least 78 people and displaced thousands last month, the United Nations (UN) said on Friday. UN High Commissioner…

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  • Phuket NewsKenyan Sammy Ridrond wins Phuket Marathon
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 11:07, 29 July 2012
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    Kenyan Sammy Ridrond wins Phuket Marathon

    PHUKET: Kenyan runner Sammy Ridrond won the open division of The Phuket Health International Marathon in a time of just over 2 hours, 35 minutes this morning. The 42-kilometer event, which got underway at 4am at the Mai Khao Tambon Administration Organization offices, finished at Phuket Provincial Hall in Phuket Town. Two other events, a 13-kilometer mini-marathon and a 4.5-kilometer…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket’s Big Buddha project cleared of wrongdoing
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 16:29, 28 July 2012
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    Phuket’s Big Buddha project cleared of wrongdoing

    PHUKET: An internal inquiry by the Royal Forestry Department’s Community Forestry Management Bureau has found no wrong doing by any parties involved in the Phuket Big Buddha project. The inquiry was launched after a flood of complaints, led Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak, demanding a completion date from the project’s managers, the Mingmongkol Faith 45 Foundation. The complaints have now…

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  • Phuket NewsWildlife activist supports Forestry, National Parks merger
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 16:18, 28 July 2012
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    Wildlife activist supports Forestry, National Parks merger

    PHUKET: A well-known wildlife activist has told the Phuket Gazette that he supports the planned merger of the Royal Forest Department and the Department of National Parks (DNP), Wildlife and Plant Conservation. The merger was announced on July 11 by Preecha Rengsomboonsuk, who heads the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry that controls both departments. Once the merger gets the green…

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  • Phuket NewsKrabi drug rehab student drowned in escape, says friend
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 15:22, 28 July 2012
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    Krabi drug rehab student drowned in escape, says friend

    PHUKET: Eyewitness reports are now indicating that the student who died after escaping a youth drug rehab facility in Krabi last week was not beaten to death by teaching assistants, as initially reported, but rather drowned during his escape. Allegations that student Maha Manitaya was beaten to death by the teaching assistants at Por Noh Klong Gom School prompted more…

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  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: New ‘guide-lines’ needed for tourism
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 14:17, 28 July 2012
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    Phuket Opinion: New ‘guide-lines’ needed for tourism

    PHUKET: One chronic tourism-related problem that periodically bubbles to the surface of the local media here in Phuket is that of illegal foreign guides conducting tours for fellow countrymen. While the problem was originally mainly centered around illegal Korean guides, its scope has expanded over the past decade due to robust growth in the inbound markets from both Russia and…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket’s Muslim prison inmates gifted supplies for Ramadan
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 13:01, 28 July 2012
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    Phuket’s Muslim prison inmates gifted supplies for Ramadan

    PHUKET: The Phuket Islamic Committee gifted food items to Muslim inmates at Phuket Provincial Prison on Thursday so they could properly partake in Ramadan.At 11:30am, Phuket Islamic Committee President Komon Doomluck handed over rice as well as other dried foods, such as palm dates, which are the traditional foods for breaking fasts, to the 225 male and female Muslim prisoners…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket Life Music Festival to honor “The Stars’
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 12:49, 28 July 2012
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    Phuket Life Music Festival to honor “The Stars’

    PHUKET: Phuket-born Jaruwat “Dome” Cheawaram, better known as “Dome The Star” after winning the popular television singing contest, will headline the Phuket Life Music Festival 2012, to be held in Phuket Town on August 14. The concert will be held at Anuphas Field, near the Phuket bus terminal on Phang Nga Road, from 7pm to 10:30pm. Other live acts to…

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  • Phuket NewsDrug rehab youths escape facility after friend beaten to death
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 11:56, 28 July 2012
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    Drug rehab youths escape facility after friend beaten to death

    PHUKET: More than 200 youths escaped from the drug rehabilitation center at Por Noh Klong Gom School and sought the protection of a local mosque in Krabi on Thursday after one of their classmates was allegedly beaten to death by teaching assistants. The school, although in Krabi, serves as a drug rehabilitation center for about 800 troubled youths from throughout…

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  • Hua Hin NewsQueen’s Cup Hua Hin International Triathlon 2012 starts August 19
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 09:47, 28 July 2012
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    Queen’s Cup Hua Hin International Triathlon 2012 starts August 19

    PHUKET: Following the successful Columbia Trail Masters 2012, sponsored by the Phuket Gazette at Thanyapura earlier this year, the idyllic fishing village of Kao Tao, 10 kilometers south of Hua Hin, will host the 4th edition of the Queen’s Cup Hua Hin International Triathlon 2012 on August 19. The event will honor Her Majesty the Queen’s 80th birthday. The event…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket T20 Cricket gets under way
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 09:27, 28 July 2012
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    Phuket T20 Cricket gets under way

    PHUKET: The T20 cricket league kicked off last weekend with Neill Culpan scoring 57 not out, helping current champions Laguna defeat last season’s runners-up Patong in the first game. Patong won the toss and chose to bat first. They didn’t start well, losing opener Richie Desmond for five with only 12 runs on the board. Manesh Sadarangani scored 32 not…

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  • Phuket NewsAnonymous donor gives stranded Kiwi ticket home
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 18:18, 27 July 2012
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    Anonymous donor gives stranded Kiwi ticket home

    PHUKET: Sean Kenzie, the 27-year-old New Zealander stranded and unable to pay his mounting medical bills after a hit-and run-accident, boarded a plane for home today thanks to an anonymous donor who supplied the funds for his flight. Sean looked a little tired when he arrived at Phuket Airport; he walked straight to the Thai Airways check-in counter to catch…

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  • Phuket NewsPoll: Is Phuket’s property market over-developed?
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 16:59, 27 July 2012
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    Poll: Is Phuket’s property market over-developed?

    PHUKET: Tanan Tanpaiboon, former head of the Phuket Real Estate Association, recently warned that over-development in the Phuket real estate sector risks creating a “bubble” that could burst, sending real estate prices tumbling due to oversupply. What do you think will be the overall trend in real estate prices on Phuket over the next five years? To have your say…

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  • Phuket NewsPhuket FC set for home battle with PTT Rayong
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 16:05, 27 July 2012
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    Phuket FC set for home battle with PTT Rayong

    PHUKET: Soccer fans who missed out on seeing Phuket FC’s new line-up which was successful against Songkhla on Wednesday will have their next chance tomorrow evening when the Islanders are set to host PTT Rayong FC. Kick off for the league match, to be played at Surakul Stadium, will be at 6:30pm. Aside from seeing some of Phuket’s new signings…

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  • Business NewsPhuket Business: Transit investors; Travelmob makes a move
    Legacy Phuket GazettePublished: 14:51, 27 July 2012
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    Phuket Business: Transit investors; Travelmob makes a move

    PHUKET: A Thai-Australian consortium was the latest multi-national delegation to express interest in constructing the Phuket mass-transit, light-rail project which Cabinet gave provisional approval for at the mobile Cabinet meeting in Phuket in March. Thai Rail Tech company representative Sirichai Prasertwaree and Neil Heaton, general manager of the Hong Kong branch of United Group Limited (UGL), on July 10 met…

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