Month: August 2012
- Phuket News
Forensics experts: 30 days to identify cause of Phuket’s Tiger Disco blaze
PHUKET: The top forensics police officer in the country yesterday announced it will take 30 days to determine what started the fire that engulfed the Tiger Discotheque last Friday. Four people died and 11 were injured in the blaze. Col Nattapol Samsen, the Superintendent of the national Office of Forensic Science, led a team of 10 investigators in collecting evidence…
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Phuket Sports: The noble art of Muay Chaiya
PHUKET: Muay Chaiya, or Chaiya-styled Thai Boxing, is part of the martial arts that are collectively known as Muay Boran, literally the ancient art of fighting. It’s the ancestor of the ever-popular Thai boxing, Muay Thai, which has been heavily adapted and modified into the fast and furious stage fight that we know today. Originating in Chaiya, a town in…
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Phuket Sports: Thai Futsal season set for October start
PHUKET: Representatives from the 16 teams set to compete in the Thailand Futsal League’s (TFL) 2012-2013 season, including Phuket United, were told to prepare for an unofficial season opener by October. The team representatives recently held a meeting with Tirachai Wuthitham, President of the National Futsal Development council, to discuss the commencement of this year’s season. Initially planned for July,…
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Phuket floods damage roads, pull down power poles
PHUKET: The heavy rains last night and the ensuing floodwater this morning have damaged several roads across Phuket, including the critical route from Patong to Phuket Town. A section of road that suffered a lethal sinkhole in 2009, about 150 meters from Sea Pearl Villas on Phra Baramee Road, last night washed away completely, forcing Patong council workers to shut…
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Phuket van driver takes life by hanging
PHUKET: A heartbroken van driver took his own life by hanging in Phuket Town last night after his girlfriend of seven years refused his pleas to get back together. Phuket City Police at 6:30am today received a report of a death by hanging at a rented room on Soi Saensuk, on the west side of town. The man was later…
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Phuket floods delay flight, mudslide confirmed
PHUKET: The floodwater that slowed traffic to a snail’s pace across Phuket this morning resulted in a Thai Airways flight being delayed to ensure passengers caught in traffic jams could get aboard. Staff at the Phuket International Airport Customer Service department confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that Thai Airways flight number TG204, scheduled to depart Phuket at 10:55am, was delayed…
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Dead sperm whale washes ashore in Phang Nga
PHUKET: The carcass of a sperm whale measuring nine meters long and weighing an estimated six tons was found washed ashore at Bang Sak Beach in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, this morning. Experts from the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) believe the whale died at sea from an illness about four days ago and its carcass was washed ashore…
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Phuket Business: German economist warns about ASEAN+3
PHUKET: Mechanisms need to be in place for crisis prevention and resolution before the next economic crash, and this means the Southeast Asian regional financial structure needs to be reformed, warns Ulrich Volz, a senior economist at the German Development Institute.Giving a public lecture at Chulalongkorn University on lessons learned from the current European crisis, Volz said there were five…
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Phuket Live Wire: Goodbye to ol’ Hotmail
PHUKET: If you have a Hotmail account, you’re in for a big surprise. Microsoft is throwing away Hotmail completely. That’s quite a comeuppance for one of the best-known brands in the world. Imagine Toyota throwing away the Camry brand, or Louis ditching Vuitton. Once upon a time, Hotmail blazed new ground as the first major free web-based e-mail service when…
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Phuket schools close after floodwater hits
PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality this morning announced that Phuket Wittayalai School and Satree Phuket School, both on the north side of Phuket Town, are closed today after heavy rains last night caused minor flooding across the island. The news came as floodwater swept through several areas in nearby Rassada, affecting several housing developments, areas around Phuket Rajabhat University and the…
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Phuket Lifestyle: Paying it forward with a gift that keeps on giving
PHUKET: A student from Phuket who was forced to turn to charity to fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor has graduated as one of this year’s top honors graduates from Prince of Songkhla University in Nakhon Pathom. Thirawat Jewpakanon won first class honors, was named as a top-ten student in a class of 190, led his 30-member intern rankings…
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Motorists across Phuket urged to exercise caution
PHUKET: Motorists throughout Phuket are urged to exercise caution today as flooding from last night’s storm has affected areas across the central and northern parts of the island.Long tailbacks on Thepkrasattri Road are currently stretching from in front of the Isuzu showroom in Koh Kaew all the way back to the Watermark bakery on the bypass road in Bang Khu,…
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Flooding brings Phuket Town to a standstill
PHUKET: Severe flooding has affected large areas of Phuket this morning, with traffic brought to a standstill throughout Phuket Town and tailbacks of more than 10 kilometers on the main arteries leading into the city. The Phuket Gazette has spoken to many motorists across the island who were still attempting to reach their destinations. One family said they had not…
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Tiger Disco fire: Expert rates “20 per cent of upper floor as highly flammable’
PHUKET: The chief inspector from a team of expert architects called in to investigate the Tiger Discotheque inferno yesterday said he believed that 20 per cent of the upper area inside the disco was “highly flammable”. Pol Lt Col Bundit Pradubsuk, chairman of the Association of Siamese Architects Under Royal Patronage (ASA) Security Architecture Committee, revealed the news during an…
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Tiger to pay families of victims B1mn compensation each
PHUKET: The management of the Tiger Discotheque has announced that it will pay one million baht in compensation to each of the families of those who died in the blaze early Friday morning. General Manager Sema Sinchai also announced that the Tiger Group will cover all medical expenses of the 11 people injured, as well as pay compensation to them.…
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British tourist confirmed as Tiger Disco fire victim
PHUKET: Royal Thai Police forensics experts have identified British national Michael Tzouvanni, 24, as one of the four people killed in the Tiger Discotheque fire in Patong early last Friday morning. The news was announced at a press conference led by Assistant National Police Chief Charamporn Suramanee at the Royal Thai Police Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok, where the…
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Scores mourn those lost to Tiger Discotheque flames
PHUKET: Over 100 people holding red roses and candles gathered, in the rain, in front of the fire-gutted Tiger Discotheque at 2:30am today to mourn those who died in the inferno last week. Officials, business owners, locals and tourists gathered in a minute of silence on the usually chaotic Soi Bangla before laying flowers in front of the charred building…
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Tesco Lotus counters protests against Phuket Town project
PHUKET: Thailand’s leading retailer Tesco Lotus has issued a corporate statement in response to the more than 500 local traders, business owners and residents in Phuket Town who protested on Thursday against its plan to build a large shopping mall on Bangkok Road. The statement reads: “Tesco Lotus has been operating in Thailand for 18 years, delivering excellent value for…
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Phuket contractors protest rising sand prices
PHUKET: A group of construction contractors and building material retailers yesterday gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall to protest the cost of building sand, which has spiraled upward following the raid and closure of an illegal quarry in Phang Nga. The protesters filed a joint complaint, addressed to Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and Phuket Chamber of Commerce committee member Samran Sinthong.…
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Overturned tour bus cleared from main Phuket road
PHUKET: The overturned bus that blocked Thepkrasattri Road northbound early this morning, causing long tailbacks during rush hour, has been moved and traffic is now flowing freely along the busy Phuket road.At the scene, Sen Sgt Maj Kitti Klaisamniang of Phuket City Traffic Police told the Phuket Gazette that there were no passengers on board the bus at the time…
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Traffic tailbacks in Phuket as tour bus flips
PHUKET: A large tour bus flipped on to its side before dawn today, blocking three lanes of traffic and causing long tailbacks of up to 30 minutes on Phuket’s busy Thepkrasattri Road. The bus, which reportedly overturned at about 3am, came to rest on the long uphill stretch of Thepkrasattri Road northbound between Supercheap and the new Kasikorn Bank branch…
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Phuket Gazette: Women with kind hearts preyed upon
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Suicidal’ man preys on women with kind hearts Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: A woman noticed a “suicidal man” on a Web board, felt his pain and decided to reach out with a caring heart. While the man soon said she had become the light…
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Tiger Disco fire: Governor visits survivor who ‘leaped to safety’
PHUKET: The Phuket Governor and his wife this morning visited a survivor of the Tiger Discotheque fire, who gave the press a first-hand account of how she leaped from the blazing nightspot, breaking an ankle in order to save her life. After the visit, the governor revealed that the Patong Police are now under investigation for neglect of duty for…
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Tiger Disco fire: Pheu Thai’s Prompong calls for bar safety crackdown
PHUKET: After inspecting the gutted remains of the Tiger Discotheque over the weekend, Government Spokesman Prompong Nopparit has called for increased safety measures at all 198 registered bars, pubs and other nightlife venues registered in Patong. “An examination of Tiger Discotheque reveals that the building construction itself was a problem. Its walls were made from a flammable foam material. Other…
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Tiger Disco fire: Styrofoam decor may have fuelled inferno
PHUKET: The highly flammable polystyrene foam used in making the Tiger Discotheque’s iconic decorations has been named by building inspectors as one of many possible fire hazards that contributed to the deadly fire last Friday. The news came yesterday as officers from the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning, the Association of Siamese Architects Under Royal Patronage…
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Phuket Gazette: Army files complaint against Thaksin’s lawyer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prayuth files complaint against Thaksin’s lawyer for defamation Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Army commander-in-chief General Prayuth Chan-ocha has asked police to take legal action against red-shirt lawyer Robert Amsterdam and a Thai female interpreter for allegedly defaming the Army.On Friday, Prayuth had a legal officer, Colonel…
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Phuket student wins national English-language speech award
PHUKET: Phuket Wittayalai School student Tevin Thiplueporn was among the winners in a national English-language speech competition organized by the Ministry of Education earlier this month. Winner of the Matthayom 4-6 category in the National Speech Contest 2012, Tevin impressed the judges with his off-the-cuff speech on the topic:”How to Encourage People to Enhance English Ability”. “Among tips of effective…
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French tourist dies snorkeling in Phi Phi speedboat accident
PHUKET: A French tourist died after being struck by a speedboat while snorkeling off Phi Phi Island, near Phuket, yesterday afternoon. Phi Phi Police named the man as Olivier Jannequin, 42 years old. Police were notified of the accident at about 12:30pm. Mr Jannequin was travelling with four Frenchmen. Two of them went snorkeling not far from the shore, the…
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Tiger Disco fire: British man appeals to find lost brother
PHUKET: A British man today held a public appeal to find his brother, who was last known to be at Tiger Discotheque at the time the deadly fire broke out at about 4am on Friday. With tears in his eyes, Joseph Tzouvanni, 26, told the press in Phuket that his brother, Michael Pio Tzouvanni, 24, had not been heard from…
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Tiger Disco fire: French, British named as probable victims
PHUKET: Patong Police Superintendent Jirapat Phochanaphan this afternoon confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that police were now investigating at least three more missing persons now suspected of being victims of the Tiger Discotheque fire that killed four people early Friday morning. “Police are investigating four people named as missing. We will ask for DNA samples to be provided so they…
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Phuket knock off Bangkok FC, 1-0
PHUKET: Phuket FC fans who gathered at the Nok Sanarm sports bar near Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town this morning erupted with cheer when the Islanders scored late in their away-match at Bangkok FC, then held on to win 1-0. The result marks the Islanders third consecutive victory, all from a 1-0 scoreline, and gives them great momentum going into…
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Patong Tunnel inches forward to 2018
PHUKET: The Expressway Authority of Thailand (EXAT), the government agency tasked with conducting a feasibility study of the Patong Road Tunnel project, has said that the tunnel from Kathu to Patong could be completed by 2018 if the budget is procured by the 2013 financial year. A study undertaken in November 2011 projected the amount required from the central government…
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Patong electricity chief denies transformer started Tiger inferno
PHUKET: The chief of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) Patong office today refuted allegations that the Tiger Discotheque fire yesterday morning was caused by an exploding transformer. The popular nightclub was reportedly packed with tourists when the fire broke out. Four people died in the blaze. Atipong Thongyon this morning told the press, “We have checked the transformer and it…
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Phuket corruption probe reveals “hundreds’ of suspicious land titles
PHUKET: The investigation by the Office of Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) into illegally issued land titles in Phuket has identified 100 plots that will be investigated thoroughly, but the number could easily double if tip-offs from local informants are accurate.PACC Secretary General Col Dusadee Arayawuth said that “some” of the 100 plots investigated so far had been cleared and…
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Mass-circulation ‘Asia Weekly’ launched in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette is proud this week to be ushering into Phuket the China Daily Asia Weekly, a world-class publication built in Hong Kong by, among others, senior expatriate editors from the UK, the United States, Europe, India, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.Please find the launch issue tucked into this week’s Phuket Gazette, now on sale throughout the…
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Phuket Opinion: ‘Unframe’ your vision of the world
PHUKET: In this week’s hard-copy edition of the Phuket Gazette, we are proud to carry the Phuket launch issue of the China Daily’s Asia Weekly newspaper. The journal offers Gazette readers a long-awaited – and much-needed – fresh perspective on the economic giant at our doorstep, and her relationship with Asia and the world. More than a million Chinese tourists…
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Phuket Airport B5.7bn expansion “likely to start next year’
PHUKET: The 5.7-billion-baht expansion of Phuket International Airport is likely to begin next year, and take two and half years to complete, the Senate Standing Committee on Transportation was told this week. The Standing Committee, led by Committee Chairman Kecha Saksomboon, heard the news at a high-profile meeting at Phuket Airport on Wednesday. “The 5.7-billion-baht expansion project has now passed…
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