- Phuket News
Belgian fraud suspect nabbed at Phuket Bus Station
PHUKET TOWN: A Belgian fugitive wanted by police for nine months in connection with two fraud cases was arrested on February 15 at Phuket City Bus Station aboard a bus bound for Bangkok. Yvon Van Eyersen, 57, was sought for his involvement in the misappropriation of 6 million baht in customer investments from his Phuket Patong Assest Company last year.…
- Phuket News
Phuket launches ambitious debt reduction program
PHUKET: More than 4,000 Phuket residents owe a total of 432 million baht to loan sharks, it emerged last week. The figures were revealed at a recent meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall attended by government officials, police officers and bank representatives, all members of a new provincial committee set up to deal with the problem of usury and indebtedness. The…
- Phuket News
Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll: 2am best closing time for Patong
PHUKET TOWN: Opinion on the best closing time for bars and other nightlife entertainment establishments in Patong varies widely, but overall 2am was the most popular closing time according the results of the latest Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll. In the poll, readers were asked: What do you think is the best closing time for nightlife venues in Patong? Possible answers…
- Opinion
OPINION: Phuket needs to bite the bag charge soon
PHUKET: The delay of an initiative by 24 island retailers to begin charging for plastic bags comes as a disappointment, especially given all the publicity and fanfare that went into organizing the three-day ‘Phuket Green Island’ event intended to kick off the project last weekend. According to Phuket Energy Office Chief Jirasuk Tummawetch, the initiative has been put on hold…
- Phuket News
IP listing: Phuket Pineapple gets put in its proper place
PHUKET: The iconic ‘Phuket Pineapple’ has been registered on a list of 20 ‘geographical identity’ products by the Department of Intellectual Property. News of the listing, made in November, was announced by Phuket Provincial Commercial Affairs Office Director Sompong Onprasert during a meeting of provincial office chiefs at Phuket Provincial Hall. Also included on the list from the region were…
- Phuket News
Old Phuket Town Festival underway
PHUKET TOWN: Motorists planning to go downtown tonight should take note, as sections of several major arteries are now closed to traffic for the Old Phuket Town Festival that starts today. From 3pm until midnight on all three days of the festival, the following roads will be blocked off: Phuket Road: From the intersection with Dibuk Road south to the…
- Phuket News
Brick-wielding thug robs Phuket 7-Eleven, gets Bt360
CHALONG, PHUKET: A down-and-out man who robbed a 7-Eleven store by threatening the shop assistant with a brick this morning got off with just 360 baht in coins – and was arrested soon after. Mongkhol Pintajan, 33, told police he robbed the store because he had no money. Police said Mr Mongkhol walked into the 7-Eleven on Wiset Road in…
- Phuket News
Patong Darts League Roundup: Week 4
PATONG, PHUKET: Four weeks into the season Piccadilly remain at the top of the pack after an impressive 7-2 home win against Shakers. Most of the games were close, but Shakers had a case of ‘double trouble’ when it mattered most. Matt of Shakers got the high score with a 140. Queen Mary took a 5-4 advantage over Celtic, but…
- Phuket News
Phuket encroachment problem continues to worsen
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket deputy governor tasked with putting an end to encroachment on the island is calling for more arrests. A provincial anti-encroachment panel chaired by Vice Governor Teerayut Eimtrakul met for the first time this year at Phuket Provincial Hall on Wednesday morning. The following statistics compiled by the panel showed a disturbing increase in the number of…
- Phuket News
Phuket hospital painted pink
PHUKET TOWN: A hospital has become the latest piece of Phuket to get the pink paint treatment. The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization Hospital, now under reconstruction on Anupas Phuket Karn Road in Phuket Town, will now join the Phuket Town buses and the new roadside pavilions which dot the island’s roads in being painted various shades of pink. PPAO President…
- Phuket News
Thaksin asset ruling: embassies issue travel advisories
PHUKET: The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is warning its citizens throughout Thailand to exercise ‘great caution’ in advance of a Supreme Court ruling on the fate of exiled former Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s 76 billion baht in seized assets. A statement posted on the FCO’s website and signed by British Ambassador to Thailand Quinton Quayle reads as follows:…
- Phuket News
Cherng Talay suffers from drought
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: Cherng Talay is drying up. That’s the fear of many local residents, who voiced their concerns at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday. Phuket Vice Governor Teerayut Eimtrakul chaired the discussion, which saw community representatives explain the area’s water management problems to Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (TAO) officials and hydrology experts. Residents say Cherng…
- Phuket News
Big name DJs in bumper beach fest
PATONG, PHUKET: Nine international DJs will be blasting out beats on Patong Beach for the island’s biggest beach party yet from 6pm until 1am this Thursday and Friday. Organized by Seduction Nightclub and 24Phuket.com, the two-day event at the beach end of Soi Bangla dubbed ‘Festival On The Sand’, will see the much anticipated return of award-winning DJ David Morales from…
- Phuket News
Cement truck overturns in Phuket
PATONG, PHUKET: A heavily laden cement truck overturned along the Patong to Kamala road in Phuket around midday today. The driver, 57-year-old Sukhon Sang-iat of Nakhon Sri Thammarat lost control of the vehicle while rounding a curved section of the road. The truck, carrying ten tons of Insee brand ready-mixed concrete, fell into a roadside drainage ditch and overturned. Mt…
- Phuket News
Phuket plastic bag plan hits snag
PHUKET TOWN: The ‘Phuket No Shopping Bag’ project was officially launched on Sunday, but a controversial plan by island retailers to begin charging for plastic bags is apparently on hold. The launch ceremony, which included the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), was held at 4:30pm at Central Festival Phuket. The ceremony was presided over by Energy Minister Wannarat…
- Phuket News
Patong Darts League report
PHUKET TOWN: Defending champs Piccadilly moved to the top of the table in the Patong Dart League with a beer-driven 7-2 win over Boozers last week. Both teams picked up some Scandinavian talent from former members of the Queen Mary bar, which is now under new management. Ronnie from Sweden went to Piccadilly, while his former teammate Steen opted to…
- Phuket News
Phuket aid for Haiti tops B3m
PHUKET: Money raised in Phuket to help earthquake-stricken Haiti may surpass the 3-million-baht mark, as the Rotary Club of Patong has revealed it has sent more than 400,000 baht to its Canadian-based Shelter Box relief project. Club president Woody Leonhard said matching donations from the Canadian government will result in more than 800,000 baht going to the charity. Shelter Box…
- Phuket News
FAT Football result: Phuket 0 Phattalung 0
PHUKET: FC Phuket have a new squad, a new nickname and a new kit, but it was the same old story at Surakul Stadium yesterday, when they played to a scoreless draw against Phattalung. The match was the first of the season in Division Two (Southern Section) play in the Football Association of Thailand. Hopes were high for FC Phuket…
- Phuket News
Aussie air steward dies in Valentine’s Day plunge in Phuket
KARON, PHUKET: A young Australian air steward fell to his death at Phuket’s largest hotel yesterday. Police believe Nathan Edwards, 25, fell five stories at the Hilton Arcadia Resort and Spa in Karon after trying to enter the wrong room. Chalong Police Inspector Boonlert Ongklang said he received a report that a tourist had plunged to his death at the…
- Phuket News
Aerial survey finds encroachment in six areas of Phuket
PHUKET: Forest protection officers arrested two men for illegal encroachment after helicopter surveillance revealed signs of forest destruction in Phuket. Panumet Dam-on, chief of the Phuket Forest Protection Unit, said officers spent three hours in a helicopter on February 8 searching for signs of encroachment. The team flew over three sites. The first was Bang Khanoon forest reserve in tambon…
- Opinion
OPINION: In defense of Phuket tourism
PHUKET: There is widespread support in Phuket for Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop’s idea to fit all taxis and tuk-tuks on the island with meters. It is not possible to quantify the economic damage the tourism industry in Phuket has suffered from the notorious patchwork of transport syndicates that continue to operate in defiance of the law, colluding to keep passenger fares…
- Phuket News
Phuket raises Bt 2 million for Haiti
PHUKET TOWN: An island-wide fundraising event by the Phuket Red Cross to provide aid to victims of the Haitian earthquake disaster raised about 2 million baht, organizers say. The campaign culminated in a telethon on local television and donation drive on Soi Bangla on Thursday night. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop was among the many volunteers going from bar to bar…
- Phuket News
Phuket ready for Chinese tourists
PHUKET: Roughly 800,000 foreign tourists are expected to take part in concurrent celebrations of Chinese New Year and Valentine’s Day in Thailand today, with many of them having arrived in Phuket on charter flights. Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Governor Suraphon Svetasreni said on Friday that 120,000 ethnic Chinese were expected to arrive inn Thailand from China, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong…
- Chiang Mai News
Swedes skate from Chiang Mai to Singapore
PHUKET TOWN: Two Swedes who are skating almost 5,000 kilometers from Chiang Mai to Singapore are on course to roll into Phuket next month for a quick respite – and maybe a foot massage or two. Education workers Jim Petersson, 25, and his girlfriend Maria Larsson, 29, have endured high speed spills, heat and exhaustion, but say they’re relishing the…
- Phuket News
‘Patong Taxi Federation’ formed
PATONG, PHUKET: More than one thousand tuk-tuk, motorbike and car taxi drivers are banding together to form a new ‘Patong Taxi Federation’. One of the organization’s primary goals will be to clean up the image held by many of Patong’s taxi drivers. A second aim will be to improve traffic flow by having a central body that will oversee all…
- Phuket News
FC Phuket start season on Sunday
PHUKET TOWN: FC Phuket will kick off the new football season against Phattalung at Surakul Stadium on Sunday. The team endured a disappointing first campaign, failing to win a single home game and finishing second to last in the Football Association of Thailand’s second division, southern section. The team, which has changed its name from Phuket FC to FC Phuket,…
- Phuket News
Paragliders to get high in Phuket
RAWAI, PHUKET: International daredevils are getting ready to throw themselves from the island’s southernmost cliffs as part of Phuket’s first ever ‘Fun Fly’ paragliding festival in May. The festival will take place at Laem Phromthep, Nai Harn Beach, Ya Nui Beach, and Koh Deang, where Phuket’s only wind turbine is located. The death-defying event is the brainchild of Phuket Paragliding…
- Phuket News
Human smuggling: soldiers nabbed in Phuket
PHUKET: Two former soldiers face up to five years in jail for attempting to smuggle four Burmese illegal immigrants from Phuket to Kanchanaburi. Immigration Police arrested Cpl Chettha Moonnam, 52, and L/Cpl Prasit Moonnam, 48, on Tuesday night. There were four Burmese women in the back of the men’s pick-up when it was stopped at around 10pm on Thepkrasattri Road…
- Phuket News
Home invasion: Frenchman fends off Fortuner attack in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Chalong Police are hunting for the owner of a ‘beer bar’ who allegedly drove his Toyota Fortuner into the house of a former friend, then entered the home and began smashing property. When Chalong Police arrived at the house on Soi Saiyuan in Rawai around 2pm yesterday, they found 31-year-old Gabriel Troisgros in a state of shock. Mr…
- Phuket News
Hammertime in Phuket: counterfeit goods destroyed
PHUKET TOWN: The Intellectual Property Department and Phuket Provincial Police on Monday destroyed over 200,000 counterfeit products valued at 43 million baht. The event, intended to show Thailand is serious about enforcing intellectual property laws, was held at the solid waste incinerator at Sapan Hin. Taking part were the Phuket Provincial Police, Department of Intellectual Property, Phuket Office of Commercial…
