Month: July 2017

  • Phuket News

    Five houses burned down in two Phuket fires

    PHUKET: More than 700,000 baht’s worth of damages were caused as five houses burned down in two separate incidents in Phuket. The first fire broke out at Baan Klang in Chalong yesterday. Chalong Police received reports of the fire and contacted the municipality for help. Firefighters spent 30 minutes battling the flames, but the whole house was burned to the…

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  • Phuket News

    Angry mob protests against arrest of mentally disabled man

    PHUKET: Baan Thasak locals on Wednesday gathered in front of Thalang District Office to demand justice for a mentally disabled man who was allegedly attacked by police officers during a drug arrest earlier that day. About 50 locals gathered at the scene and demanded that the arresting officers be held responsible for what they did. On Wednesday evening, civil defense…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket business operators protest migrant labor exodus

    PHUKET: More than 20 business operators and contractors gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall to protest against a newly announced migrant worker labor law yesterday morning. “A new executive decree on foreign workers’ management was launched on June 26, according to which operators who employ illegal foreign laborers may be fined up to 800,000 baht. This has caused thousands of laborers…

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  • Property

    Property Watch: Welcome to Phuket’s Darwinian season

    PHUKET: I love nature, the environment, and all it has to offer. However, I know that my shark fin soup eating ways aren’t popular, and my Darwinistic sympathies applied to nature will be mocked on social media as simplistic and outdated. However, Darwin’s Theory and Phuket are linked. Phuket has it’s own environments – natural and economic, and these environments…

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  • Thai Life

    Hooper Trips Asia: Mt Bromo Sunrise

    As I sat in the darkness of the chilly pre-dawn morning, I just had a feeling that this day would be a special one. I had woken up groggily at 3:00am to start the long journey to this viewpoint that overlooks the incredible active volcano Mt Bromo in East Java, Indonesia. While sitting patiently waiting for the sun to shed…

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  • Phuket News

    Phuket Gov chairs opening ceremony of tourism fair

    PHUKET: The opening ceremony of the ‘Andaman Hotelier and Tourism Fair 2017’, the biggest hotel fair in the south, was held at Homeworks yesterday afternoon. “The tourism industry is vital for Phuket’s economy. This event aims to enhance our standard of service and make us more competitive with other countries,” said Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong, who chaired the ceremony. The…

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  • Health

    Do we need a Last Will and Testament in Thailand?

    With the growing number of people retiring in Thailand, our firm has received several inquiries for a Last Will and Testament. The primary question that we receive is, “Do I need a will?” What does a Last Will and Testament do? The purpose of a Last Will and Testament is to direct funeral arrangements, determine property distributions, assign a guardian…

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  • Phuket News

    Alleged zoophile ‘warned’ as video of sexual abuse of dog goes viral

    PHANG NGA: Residents of Phang Nga registered strong criticism and disgust over the actions of a man who allegedly abused a dog by having sex with it at a public park yesterday. Facebook user Paitoon Somritdisook posted a video of the incident, which occurred at Phang Nga OrBorJor park, on Facebook. He said he shot it while exercising at the…

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  • Phuket News

    Injured dolphin stranded at Patong Beach

    PHUKET: An injured spinner dolphin was stranded on the shore at Patong Beach yesterday. The dolphin was 1.2 meters long and weighed about 20kg. Tourists found him yesterday evening. He looked weak and was struggling to get back into the sea. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation used specialized equipment to lift the dolphin and transfer him to the Phuket…

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  • Phuket News

    Angry mob burns effigy to protest falling palm oil prices

    KRABI: An angry mob of more than 100 people gathered outside Krabi Provincial Hall this morning and burned an effigy of the Deputy Director General of the Department of Internal Trade to protest against the falling prices of palm oil. Members of the protest, who had gathered from Krabi and nearby provinces, including Trang, Phanag Nga, Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani…

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  • Phuket News

    One killed in collision with garbage truck

    PHUKET: A 41-year-old biker was killed in a crash with a Phuket Municipality garbage truck early yesterday morning. “The victim, Chote Promphan, was driving toward Saphan Hin. The accident occurred at the Phuket Vocational College intersection,” said Lt Col Sakchai Chunyong of Phuket City Police. The severely injured driver was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital by Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers,…

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  • Phuket News

    Slow loris released back into the wild

    PHUKET: Officers from the Office of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) Phuket helped release a slow loris back into the wild on Monday. “A villager in the Baan Kuku area found the loris in the middle of the road, so he kindly brought it to us,” said NRE Director Kasem Sookwaree. The loris was delivered to Pongchat Chuehorm, head of…

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  • Thai Life

    Profile: Georges Ciret – Tales from the wine cellar

    PHUKET: Georges Ciret is currently the Wine Director at Mom Tri’s Villa Royale in Phuket. With more than 40 years of experience in wine making and hospitality, he brings unique skills to the craft that few others could boast of. “We have a big collection at Villa Royale, with more than 300 labels from all over the world. We always…

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  • Phuket News

    Zipline business under investigation for forest encroachment

    PHUKET: A team of officials from the Royal Forestry Department (RFD) yesterday visited four ziplining facilities in Phuket and uncovered one allegedly guilty of forest encroachment. Nationwide raids of such facilities are being conducted after a tourist died in a ziplining accident in Chiang Mai late last year. Six operators in Chiang Mai and one in Rayong have been charged…

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  • Phuket News

    Uzbek tourist arrested with fake US dollars in Phuket

    PHUKET: A tourist from Uzbekistan was arrested for trying to exchange fake US dollars at a money exchange in Rawai yesterday. “Karnika Patkong, 59, the owner of M&P money exchange on Patak Rd, informed us that a tourist asked for Thai baht and Malaysian ringitt in return for US$1,700. He suspected the US dollars were forged, so he called us…

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  • Phuket News

    Three-meter python found in Phuket apartment building

    PHUKET: Rescue workers in Phuket helped capture a large snake at an apartment building in Kathu yesterday. The Kusoldharm Foundation received reports from residents of the Ratchaporn Apartment about a python found inside a drain there. The rescue team arrived at the scene with specialized equipment to capture the reptile. They removed the grill covering the drain and then used…

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  • Phuket News

    Iraqi national arrested for allegedly stealing 60,000 baht from tourist

    PHUKET: An Iraqi national was yesterday arrested for allegedly stealing 60,000 baht from a tourist at a Phuket hotel last week. The suspect, Ouday Kadim Rashek, 27, was arrested at a housing estate in Vichit. “The victim, a tourist from Qatar, told us that he came to Phuket with a friend on June 26 and was initially scheduled to go…

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  • Phuket News

    New labor laws see hundreds of migrant workers fired, sent home

    PHUKET: At least 400 Burmese migrant workers in Phuket were sent back home yesterday morning after their employers terminated them as a consequence of draconian new labor laws. Phuket Governor Norrphat Plodthong and other relevant officers oversaw the exodus. The workers gathered at the Tha Rua shrine near the Heroines Monument in Si Sunthon. They were then transported to Ranong…

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  • Phuket News

    Dead whale washes up at Phuket beach

    PHUKET: Another dead marine creature, this time a bryde whale rarely seen in these parts, washed ashore at a Phuket beach yesterday. The 10-meter-long animal was missing its tail. It was stinking and its skin was falling apart. Officials from the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), National Park Preservation Unit 4 and Cherng Talay Police arrived at the scene at…

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  • Opinion

    Opinion: The role of sugar in Thailand’s worsening obesity epidemic

    PHUKET: One of the biggest changes to Phuket’s rapidly urbanizing roadside landscape over the years has been the proliferation of shops selling liquid confections such as chaa manao (lime tea) and a wide range of other colorful drinks, all laced with as many as 25 tablespoons of pure sugar. It would be interesting to do a statistical analysis on this…

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  • Phuket News

    Phang Nga airport plans shrouded in controversy

    PHANG NGA: The proposal for a full-scale commercial airport in Phang Nga, first revealed by the Phuket Gazette a year ago, has a long way to travel before it can hand a prospectus to more potential investors. Enthusiasm from its lead drivers, however, Bangkok Airways and the Phang Nga provincial governor, continues unabated. Governor Pakkapong Tawiphat told the Phuket Gazette…

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  • Phuket News

    Slow loris recovering from electrocution in Phuket

    PHUKET: A slow loris was rescued and placed under the care of veterinarians after being electrocuted in Thalang Friday evening. “It seems the creature got lost while trying to find food and was electrocuted after climbing onto electric wires near the Ban Pa Krong Cheep School. He is fatigued and has suffered some burns,” said Kusoldharm Foundation rescue worker Virat…

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  • Phuket News

    Man survives road crash by jumping out of moving truck

    PHUKET:A truck driver survived an early morning crash after he jumped out of his truck before it ran into a roadside barrier and trees on the Bypass Road yesterday morning. The incident took place in front of the Premium Outlet. “The driver, 24-year-old Bunlung Issara, told us that he was on his way back to Surat Thani after making a…

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