Month: July 2015
- Opinion
Opinion: Traffic bubble buster
PHUKET: There is a social glue that seems to be forcing more and more drivers to a complete standstill at red lights in Phuket than ever before. However, it only takes one weak link in the proverbial chain for old habits to kick in, along with first gear. Depending on how long ago you arrived on the island, the significant…
Read More » - Business News
Finance: Millennium in a league of its own
PHUKET: I have been asked quite a few times by my readers for some of my advice that I actually follow myself, since I often tend to focus in my articles on warnings to stay away from certain asset classes or at least temper exposure to them. With that in mind, I have chosen to write about a few funds…
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Successful fundraiser for Kiwi in coma
PHUKET: The friends and family of 28-year-old New Zealander Paul ‘PJ’ Lupi, who was seriously injured in an accident on Patong Hill, have now received adequate donations from generous helpers willing to fund Mr Lupi’s fight back to health. Mr Lupi was driving over the notorious hill at about 12:30am on July 6 when he fell off his motorbike and…
Read More » - Phuket News
Lay Pang Beach getting bike lane, sidewalk
PHUKET: An ocean-view sidewalk and cycling path have been tabled to run along the once encroached-upon Lay Pang Beach, it was announced yesterday by Somchai Chanrod, chief inspector-general of the Ministry of Transport. The paths will run about three kilometers, with the bike lane being three meters wide and the sidewalk four meters wide. “If we receive positive feedback about…
Read More » - Pattaya News
Tread carefully in budget condo market
PHUKET: Regardless of whether the Thai gross domestic product expands at the lower target of 3 to 3.8 per cent, as earlier expected this year, it would not help the Phuket budget condominium market, or that of other major provincial cities, as they have already been affected, Phanom Kanjanathiemthao, managing director of Knight Frank Chartered Company, said in an exclusive…
Read More » - Phuket News
Rescued boatman rushed to hospital
PHUKET: The fourth survivor of a barge that sank between Koh Racha Yai and Koh Phi Phi on Tuesday is being transferred from Koh Ngai, where he was found this morning in weak condition, to Koh Lanta Hospital. Myanmar national Thar Hlaing, 46, was plucked from the sea and brought to Koh Ngai, southeast of Phuket, by a transport ship…
Read More » - Phuket News
Ace condo developers face more charges
PHUKET: The developers behind the unfinished Ace 1 condominium project in Phuket are facing multiple charges after dozens of buyers filed complaints seeking compensation for down payments on the project, which was scheduled to be complete in April this year. The company behind the project, Nine Property (Patong), was given two weeks from June 15 to address compensation to pre-build…
Read More » - Cannabis News
Special Delivery: Drug network uses social media, post office
PHUKET: Enormous quantities of drugs are being shipped to Phuket through the Thai Postal system as island dealers buy in bulk through online social media platforms. “It has become more difficult catching drug dealers after they started using social media applications such as LINE and Facebook to buy and sell their products,” Director of the Narcotics Control Board (NCB) Sithisak…
Read More » - Business News
Business Buzz: Peer into the phones of others with Periscope
PHUKET: Welcome to Periscope, the latest craze to hit the online world. Periscope is an addition to the Twitter stable, with huge information sharing possibilities. This is an app that allows you to ‘discover the world through somebody else’s eyes’. Users can download it and then choose from a multitude of people and experiences that they want to be a…
Read More » - Phuket News
Squatters demand officials dig up mining concession
PHUKET: Officers are now searching for the exact location of an old mining concession in Chalong, after squatters refused to move from a disputed 70-rai property in the area. Sra Ton Po villagers have remained firmly rooted to the piece of land and even filed a complaint to the Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office) claiming that the Chanote title holders of…
Read More » - Phuket News
Silent alleged killer out on 500k baht bail
PHUKET: A second man wanted for the murder of a SuperCheap store manager turned himself in to Phuket City Police on Wednesday. Nattapong Thongsirthong, 24, arrived at the station with his lawyer after a warrant for his arrest was issued. “Mr Nattapong refused to answer any of our questions, saying that he would make his statements in front of the…
Read More » - Cannabis News
Opinion: Thailand’s embarassing ‘war on drugs’
PHUKET: The recent revelation that the Thai Postal Service is being used to transship large quantities of illicit drugs is just the latest in a long list of embarrassments in our country’s effort to combat recreational drug use. As far back as 1943, the government passed the Krathom Act in a bid to halt declining revenues from the government-taxed opium…
Read More » - Phuket News
Breaking News: Fourth survivor of sunken barge rescued
PHUKET: A fourth survivor from a barge that sank between Koh Racha Yai and Koh Phi Phi on Tuesday was found this morning by locals on Koh Ngai, southeast of Phuket. A naval rescue team is en route to the island in Trang province. The survivor, Myanmar national named only as Thar Hliang, 46,* is said by locals at the…
Read More » - Phuket News
Marine Office on lookout for boats defying warning
PHUKET: The local Marine Office chief has confirmed that captains taking boats under 12-meters long out from Phuket will be charged for disobeying the small-boat warning issued this week. The order is now for boats of 12 meters or less, down from the 24-meter-long boat order issued earlier this week (story here). However, Phuket Marine Office Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut said…
Read More » - Phuket News
Body washes up on Patong beach
PHUKET: Police found the body of a man who had been reported missing by relatives on Sunday washed up on Patong Beach yesterday. Police told the Phuket Gazette yesterday that Suriya Rattanajan, 20, had been fishing on the rocks near Tri Trang Beach on Sunday when he was knocked into the water and dragged out to sea. “Mr Suriya’s relatives…
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A Decade Ago: Dog food in short supply
PHUKET: Pups found themselves on page one of the July 2, 2005, issue of the Phuket Gazette: food supplies were dwindling at the Mid Road Dog Shelter in Thalang, leaving some 300 dogs to subsist on rations of cat food donated after the tsunami. The humiliation of having to eat cat food aside, it was not a good situation. The…
Read More » - Phuket News
Bungy-jump firm keeps quiet on compensation
PHUKET: World Bungy Jump in Patong has declined to confirm rumors that it has offered the family of a Kuwaiti tourist, who recently plunged to his death during a jump, compensation of up to 300,000 baht. However, the company’s representative Kullanan Samnuk revealed yesterday that negotiations are in fact being held with the family of the victim, 25-year-old Abdullah Adel…
Read More » - Phuket News
Three of six missing crew found alive
PHUKET: Three crew members of a barge that sank between Koh Racha Yai and Koh Phi Phi on Tuesday were found by locals and rescued from the sea off Koh Lanta yesterday and early this morning. The 30-meter barge Sintu Phuket 1 was transporting construction materials and a backhoe from Ao Makham to Koh Racha Yai when it sank in…
Read More » - Phuket News
Schools of Phuket fishermen scramble to get legal
PHUKET: The flood gates opened yesterday as hundreds of employers and migrant workers in the fishing industry queued up at Phuket’s newly-opened one-stop service center designed to get fishing boats and their crews legal. “I couldn’t believe there were that many people who needed to be taken care of,” said Capt Preecha Tuntiruk of the Third Naval Area Command, who…
Read More » - Phuket News
Video Report: Boat crews saved from sinking vessels
PHUKET: Crew members of the two boats which sank this morning off Koh Racha and Koh Hei (Coral Island) have been safely rescued by Marine Police. Meanwhile, search and rescue teams are still looking for the barge Sintu Phuket 1, which sank early yesterday morning, and its six crew members (story here). There were six people on the fishing trawler,…
Read More » - Phuket News
Tourists stranded as fierce storm rolls in
PHUKET: Hoteliers on Koh Phi Phi, Koh Racha Yai and other islands in the Phuket region have requested that the Navy and Marine Police assist in transporting tourists back to Phuket following a ban on any boats smaller than 24 meters going out to sea. The Phuket Marine Office’s ban on small boats comes as the Thai Meteorological Department issued…
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Three in Phuket arrested for involvement in UFUN pyramid scheme
PHUKET: Three suspects have been apprehended in Phuket for their alleged involvement in the international 10-billion-baht UFUN pyramid-scheme. Police first arrested Natthinont Puttathammarong, 42, yesterday afternoon at his car shop, NN Used Car, in front of the new bus terminal in Rassada. During the raid police seized a Mercedes-Benz E 250 8 and an Audi A7, together worth more than…
Read More » - Phuket News
Breaking News: One more boat sinks, one wrecked off Phuket
PHUKET: One boat sank and another was beached this morning off Phuket in the rough southwest monsoon seas, confirmed Phuket Marine Police Chief Panya Chaichana. “There were six people on the fishing trawler that sank at about 8:15am. There are 10 people on the other boat, which is currently wrecked on Koh Hei [Coral Island] and taking in water,” Mr…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket allocated B3.5bn for infrastructure upgrades
PHUKET: Road projects will make up half of the 3.5 billion baht worth of projects approved to make much-needed changes on the island, said Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong last week. The Highways Department has been awarded 1.75bn baht to improve the island’s infrastructure through four projects, confirmed Samak Luedwonghad, director of the Phuket Highways Office. First is a 550-million-baht underpass…
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Search for missing crew to halt at dark, says Navy
PHUKET: The search for the six crew members of the 30-meter barge Sintu Phuket 1 will carry on until dark, with stormy conditions continuing over the seas where the boat was lost early this morning, about 25 kilometers south of Phuket (story here). “We suspect that the ship sank northeast of Koh Racha Yai, and have been focusing our search…
Read More » - Phuket News
Governor backs GrabTaxi push into Phuket
PHUKET: GrabTaxi is preparing to push into Phuket, following the attempt of similar service provider Uber, which has sliced off a piece of the island’s taxi-service market since it arrived here in November last year (story here). Unlike Uber, which was originally declared illegal by local government officers as they wrangled with exactly what the business model was (story here),…
Read More » - Phuket News
Two meth dealers busted in Phuket
PHUKET: Police arrested two dealers and seized more than 2 million baht in assets over the weekend. Police first apprehended 41-year-old Jaruek Sittisak, also known as ‘Bang Dam Koh Kaew’, in Soi Koh Kaew 24 on Friday in possession of 200 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine). “After we arrested him, we accompanied him to a shack where he kept his…
Read More » - Phuket News
Cash out Phuket: Kbank to close services for 48 hours
PHUKET: Kasikorn Bank (Kbank) has advised all bank customers on Phuket to plan ahead as it will be closing all banking services, including ATMs, for 48 hours next week. Customers will be unable to use Kbank services from 10pm on Friday, July 17 to 10pm on Sunday, July 19. “We are aware that this will affect a lot of our…
Read More » - Phuket News
Six missing as ship sinks between Koh Racha and Phi Phi
PHUKET: Six people remain missing after a boat sank between Koh Racha Yai and Koh Phi Phi at about 3:55am today. The Navy was informed of the sinking and immediately dispatched a search team for those on board the vessel, which was carrying construction materials and a backhoe from Ao Makham to Koh Racha Yai. “We were first alerted by…
Read More » - Phuket News
Myanmar workers protest foreman assault
PHUKET: More than 100 Myanmar laborers from Care Con Co Ltd gathered to protest the assault of a coworker at the company’s construction site in Thalang on Saturday. Police spent 30 minutes talking to protesters before taking the suspect and victim to the police station for questioning. “Foreman Atipong Saenboon, 28, confessed to threatening Sai Min Lin, 22, with a…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket Governor pushes green plan on Koh Racha
PHUKET: Phuket officials moved to ensure the environmental sustainability and the growth of the tourism industry on Racha Island with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with local hotels and restaurants on Saturday. Governor Nisit Jansomwong signed the MoU on proper trash and wastewater disposal during his visit to the island, while also underscoring that all segments, including…
Read More » - Phuket News
Phuket native headed to Miss Universe Thailand 2015 final
PHUKET: Phuket native Chavika Watsang, 19, is asking island residents to vote for her as ‘Miss Popular 2015’ as she awaits the final round of the Miss Universe Thailand competition. Ms Chavika attended Plukpanya School before graduating and going to Srinagarindra the Princess Mother School in Phuket, her father, Chairat Watsang, told the Phuket Gazette today. “Now she is in…
Read More » - Phuket News
Alleged robbery victim found dead next day
PHUKET: The alleged victim of a robbery on Friday evening was found dead, hanging from the door to the rooftop terrace of her apartment building yesterday morning. Jantana Seangdee, 37, filed a report with Phuket City Police that two thieves robbed her of her brother’s 400,000 baht in cash after kicking her off her motorbike and stealing her bag (story…
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Kenyan arrested with allegedly fake passport, pharmaceuticals
PHUKET: A Kenyan national was arrested at Phuket International Airport on Saturday night for carrying an extensive amount of pharmaceuticals and an allegedly fake passport. Josphat Gikundi Gichunuku, 35, entered Thailand via a flight from Dubai, confirmed Phuket Tourist Police Chief Urumporn Koondejsumrit. “As Mr Gichunuku proceeded through the immigration queue, the officer checking his passport noticed several suspicious aspects…
Read More » - Phuket News
Small boats ordered to stay ashore, day trips cancelled
PHUKET: Day-trip tourists are to remain ashore today after Phuket officials ordered that all boats less than nine meters remain on the island until further notice. “The order became effective today. We’ll see what the weather does and make adjustments accordingly. I’m expecting to have to order boats smaller than 12 meters to keep ashore soon,” Phuket Marine Office Chief…
Read More » - Phuket News
Breaking News: Another two killed on Patong Hill
PHUKET: A cement truck descending the infamous Patong Hill killed two women on a motorbike before crashing into the guardrail. Police and rescue workers are at the scene, and have yet to release the names and ages of those killed in the accident. Just two days ago, a 26-year-old woman succumbed to injuries sustained after a six-wheeled truck struck her…
Read More » - Phuket News
Iranian tourist drowns at Patong Beach
PHUKET: An Iranian tourist drowned at Patong Beach Saturday night after getting dragged out to sea by a strong current. Hasan Fhakhr, 30, was pulled out of the water near the Patong Police box at about 6:30pm by lifeguards. They immediately administered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for about 15 minutes, until an ambulance arrived to transfer him to Patong Hospital. Mr…
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