Month: December 2013
- Phuket News
Phuket doubles down on Tah Chat Chai checkpoint security
PHUKET: The number of police manning the land-security gateway to Phuket, Tah Chat Chai checkpoint, has been doubled in order to ensure the safety of residents and visitors during Phuket’s high season. The number of Tah Chat Chai Police officers has jumped from 10 officers checking a total of five cars an hour to 20 officers checking a total of…
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Teen sixth road death in Phuket ‘Days of Danger’ campaign
PHUKET: A teenager became the sixth person to die during Phuket’s 10 Days of Danger when he crashed his new motorcycle in Thalang last night. Thanawat Tohting, 19, was travelling at high speed northbound on Thepkrasattri Road when the traffic light at the intersection with the airport road changed to yellow, witnesses told police. Mr Thanawat increased his speed to…
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Safer Phuket launches marine safety petition
PHUKET: The Safer Phuket campaign (story here), designed to significantly improve marine safety on and around the island, launched a petition last week to build mass commitment to change, campaign leader Duncan Stewart told the Phuket Gazette today. “The campaign needs three ‘Ms’: message, momentum and mass – we’re at stage three now,” Mr Stewart said. “We need demonstrable mass…
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Government floats idea of MP registration in Phuket at military bases, police stations
PHUKET: The government has suggested registering election candidates for constituencies in Phuket and elsewhere in the South at local military bases or police stations if the process continues to be disrupted by anti-government protesters (story here) – but such a move would require the approval of the Election Commission (EC), Deputy Prime Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul said yesterday. Mr Surapong was…
Read More » - Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Thailand’s army moves to allay coup fears; Violence at protests continues; Protesters examine voting options
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thailand’s army moves to allay coup fears Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand’s powerful but politicised army sought to ease fears on Monday that it might step in to resolve a festering political crisis, while anti-government protesters entrenched positions around Bangkok as they seek to disrupt…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Second bomb blast in Russia; Volcano in El Salvador; Aussie cyclone heads inland; Four journalists held in Egypt; China says Japan PM ‘shut door’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Second blast in Russia’s Volgograd kills 10 on trolleybus Reuters / Phuket GazetteAt least 10 people were killed when a bomb blast ripped through a trolleybus on Monday in the second deadly attack in the Russian city of Volgograd in two days, law enforcement authorities said.The explosion…
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Phuket MP candidate turned back by protesters
PHUKET: Two police complaints were filed yesterday after protesters once again blocked access to the Phuket Community Center, preventing a candidate from enrolling for the February 2 national elections. Pheu Thai candidate Visit Jaiart was prevented from entering the building to submit his candidacy. “I arrived to register at 8:30am, but protesters were blocking the doors and had taped flags…
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Phuket Pheu Thai candidate braves protest to enroll
PHUKET: One lone candidate yesterday braved the hundreds-strong protest in front of the Community Hall in Phuket Town to register in the February 2 national election. Jirayus Songyos registered as a Pheu Thai candidate for Voting District 2, which encompasses Phuket Town and the south of the island (click here). “So far, he is the only candidate registered to contest…
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Phuket officers take down taxi drivers for intimidation
PHUKET: A sting operation involving an undercover Patong Police officer disguised as a taxi driver put two men operating a hotel taxi queue behind bars yesterday. Pamorn Maipuek, 40, and Narathid Wangaree, 27, were charged for threatening the plainclothes officer, who was attempting to pick up guests at Avista Hideway Resort and Spa at about 7pm. “We had a team…
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Runaway Phuket tour bus leaves two dead, 26 injured [Video]
PHUKET: Seven people remain in hospital after a runaway Phuket tour bus slammed into five vehicles, including one motorcycle, killing two people and leaving 26 others injured late yesterday afternoon. The bus came to a stop after ramming a concrete barrier at the bottom of Patong Hill near Wat Suwankiriwong (map here), explained Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan. “The driver…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: MP shortfall may annul Feb 2 election; Holiday road toll hits 86 dead; Cold-weather boozing feared lethal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community MP total could fall short if blockades continue The Nation/ Phuket GazettePHUKET: Fears that protests will keep 95% minimum from being met; EC to discuss possible poll delay with govt, PDRCA former election commissioner warned yesterday of an impending political deadlock that could make a new House…
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Protesters force temporary closure of Phuket MP registration
PHUKET: Island protesters on the path to political war, armed with only a mourning gift and whistles, forced the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) to close MP registration ahead of schedule, leaving zero candidates put forward to represent the province. “We don’t want to have an election on February 2,” said former Rassada Mayor Suratin Liangudom, who led the protest this…
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iBless to put on Phuket charity concert for typhoon victims
PHUKET: Local Filipino community project iBless Philippines is putting on a charity concert tomorrow to help those still suffering from the devastation of Super Typhoon Haiyan. The show, ‘Music for a Cause’, will showcase six local Filipino bands at Molly Malones Irish Pub in Patong. The event starts at 7pm with the MMR Band; FF Kei Vox; Uturn (The Rock…
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Bird strike forces AirAsia flight back to Phuket
PHUKET: AirAsia flight FD3167 from Phuket to Chiang Mai was forced to turn around 32 minutes after departing from Phuket International Airport, after a bird strike. “We believe several birds were sucked into the engine of the plane… After that, the captain decided to turn the plane back and land in Phuket to have the engine checked,” Arun Lilapantisitti of…
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Savvy Chinese Apple user busts thieving baggage handler in Phuket
PHUKET: A technologically handicapped baggage handler at Phuket International Airport was arrested for theft after having been outwitted by a savvy Chinese Apple user. Tah Chat Chai Police arrested Somsak Pohnisai, 31, yesterday and charged with the theft of Yang Liqiang’s iPad on December 14. Mr Somsak might have gotten away with the theft from Ms Yang’s luggage had he…
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Phuket bus drivers caught under the influence
PHUKET: Law enforcement officials are randomly testing bus drivers for drugs and alcohol during the 10 Days of Danger, and in two days have found three drivers working under the influence. Within Phuket, Thung Thong Police and Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) staff are stopping buses at the Thung Thong checkpoint on Phra Barami Road (map here) before they head…
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Druggy Grinch confesses to Phuket holiday robbery, Russian assault
PHUKET: A 42-year-old drug addict confessed to attacking a Russian woman and multiple accounts of robbery after he was arrested by Karon Police on Boxing Day. Boonrit Saeteaw was nabbed after having stolen several items on Christmas Day, including a mobile phone. His failure to turn off the phone’s GPS system, allowed police to track him down, Lt Col Teeradej…
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Speed cameras operational, but speed limit signs continue non-existent
PHUKET: Motorists speeding in Phuket now face a fine of 500 baht if they are caught by one of four speed cameras that became operational on Christmas Day. The cameras are in undisclosed locations: one within Phuket City limits; one on the bypass road; one on Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang; and one in the Tah Chat Chai area (story here).…
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Phuket Opinion: Resolving not to fail
PHUKET: With the New Year rapidly approaching, we wait to see just how effective efforts mandated by the Phuket Provincial Police will be in ridding the island of illegal actions by numerous, unregistered taxi and tuk-tuk ranks by its specified “D-Day” of January 1. Any long-term resident of Phuket can only hold hope that the promised effort will bear some…
Read More » - Opinion
Phuket Opinion: Beware the water
PHUKET: I’ve been losing sleep lately thinking about all the poison I’ve subjected myself to during 12 years in Thailand – alcohol, sugar, fatty and acidic foods, traffic smog, secondhand smoke and perhaps the biggest culprit of them all: water. I’m referring to fluoridated water, and the “forced-medication” of the planet’s prime life supply – drinking water. The practice, which…
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Phuket Opinion: Teaching that it’s not rude, it’s just culture
Madunan Chehteek, 47, is a native of Yala who left school at age 15 and came to Phuket to work at age 19. He held various positions at Phuket resorts, working his way up to receptionist, then was a tour guide for five years. He opened his shop, the Madunan shirt and souvenir shop, on the bypass road in 1997.Here,…
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Phuket high school student stabbed outside school gates
PHUKET: A senior high school student is in hospital after being stabbed yesterday afternoon as he left school in Thalang, in central Phuket. Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers were called to the Muang Thalang School (map here) at 2:30pm and found the youth with a chest wound. “He had been stabbed once in the chest with a long, thin, sharp object…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Phuket sporting year reviewed
PHUKET: A winding year of the snake, 2013 had its ups and downs – but mostly ups. Following are several Phuket Gazette editors’ picks for this year’s top local sporting events, moments and milestones. Top-5 finish for Phuket United’s inaugural season The island’s pro futsal team Phuket United ended their first season in Thailand’s professional five-a-side footy league in fine…
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Phuket Vice Governor calls for police protection of election candidates
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak has called on the police and the Royal Thai Navy to protect candidates enrolling in the national Member of Parliament (MP) election scheduled for February 2. “We have to accept that the current situation [in Bangkok] is not stable, and we need to be prepared,” Vice Governor Somkiet said, referring to the violence yesterday…
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French family lost in Phuket forest found safe [Video]
PHUKET: A French family who went walking in search of a new resort to stay in south of Nai Yang Beach have been found safe and sound after losing themselves in a tropical forest last night. Officers from the Phuket Tourist Police received a call for help from father-of-three Frenchman Bill Letshon, 56, at about 6:30pm. Ten officers from the…
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Phuket Police probe Bangla bar worker shot dead by off-duty cop
PHUKET: A Patong Police sergeant has been suspended pending an investigation into the shooting death of a 27-year-old bar worker from Soi Bangla early yesterday morning. Officers arrived at the Fong Beer Pub on Phang Muang Sai Kor Road (map here) at 6am to find the body of Sawitree Kaewnin, from Phattalung, slumped over a table in front of the…
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Phuket honors victims on ninth anniversary of the tsunami
PHUKET: The Phuket community yesterday morning honored those who died in the devastating tsunami that struck the island in 2004 with a ceremony at the Tsunami Memorial Wall in Mai Khao followed by the traditional “Light Up Phuket” candle-lighting ceremony on Patong Beach last night. About 50 people turned out at the Tsunami Memorial Wall in Mai Khao, including a…
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Phuket Govt offices shut down for New Year
PHUKET: All government offices in Phuket will close for five days over the New Year holidays, Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa has confirmed. “December 27 will be the last day of service for the year for all government officers in Phuket. They will return to work on January 2,” Vice Governor Sommai told the Phuket Gazette yesterday. Vice Governor Sommai…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Egypt arrests dozens under new anti-terrorist law; Plane crash in Siberia; American al Qaeda captive in plea to Obama
Egypt arrests dozens under anti-terror law, one killed in Cairo Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Egypt stepped up pressure on the Muslim Brotherhood a day after declaring it a terrorist group, using the new classification to detain dozens of its supporters on Thursday, while one person died in street clashes ignited by political tension.A bomb blast in a Cairo suburb wounded…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Policeman killed in Bangkok clashes; EC calls to defer poll; Kobkul killer death sentence upheld
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police officer killed in clashes with protesters The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: One police officer was killed and at least 96 anti-government protesters and journalists and 28 police officers were injured after violence erupted at the Bangkok Youth Centre (Thai-Japan) aka the Thai-Japanese Stadium yesterday, according to…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Phuket Marine Office launches New Year boat safety drive
PHUKET: Officers from the local Marine Office led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut today conducted safety inspections of ferries and other tourist boats operating out of Rassada Pier as part of a safety drive for the new year. Rassada Pier, located on the east side of Phuket Town (map here), is a major jump-off point for tourists boarding ferries and…
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Phuket Red Cross Fair 2013 kicks off with B1.5mn golden touch
PHUKET: The Phuket Annual Red Cross fair kicks off at Saphan Hin tonight and runs until January 5, offering over 1.5 million baht in gold lucky draw prizes and 14 motorcycles for anyone who buys a ticket to support the Red Cross. The popular 11-day fair features hundreds of stalls selling local delicacies, knickknacks, clothing and a huge variety of…
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Phuket Police chief calls to play down bomb scare
PHUKET: The commander of the Phuket Provincial Police has called for the media to not “help suspects” by publishing news of the car bomb found in Phuket Town last weekend. Maj Gen Ong-art Phiewruangnont’s call for media silence follows police confirmation that a pickup truck rigged as a bomb discovered in Phuket Town last Saturday was stolen from a man…
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Phuket bomb fears disarmed by shrimp paste
PHUKET: Fears that an abandoned bag might contain a bomb sent ordnance disposal experts racing to Baan Laem Hin yesterday. However, the team quickly discovered that the bag contained only shrimp paste. A bus driver who had just finished his shift discovered the bag and, with the recent news of the explosives-laden pickup truck found last Saturday (store here), called…
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Phuket captain, meth user sunk
PHUKET: Two men who had just returned tourists by speedboat to the pier at Phuket Boat Lagoon were arrested yesterday afternoon for using ya ice (crystal methamphetamine); one was also charged for possession of over eight grams of the drug.The men were apprehended as part of a holiday drug-sweep in the area, Marine Police Inspector Chatchai Sakdee told the Phuket…
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Ukrainian motorcyclist first death in Phuket safety campaign
PHUKET: Phuket skated by the first day of the Ten Days of Danger campaign with zero deaths, but a big bike accident that killed a Ukrainian* early this morning puts the goal of zero road deaths out of reach. The traditional Seven Days of Danger campaign was bumped to ten days in hopes of saving more lives during the extended…
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Phuket Blood Bank’s vaults low on Rh- blood ahead of New Year demand
PHUKET: As Phuket enters the 10 Days of Danger (story here), the Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) scrambles to boost low stocks of Rhesus-negative blood, calling on blood donors to come forward and save lives this holiday season. “We have no AB- blood in stock at all,” PRBC Chief Pornthip Rattajak told the Phuket Gazette today. “We have a lot…
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