Legacy Phuket Gazette

Archiving articles from the Phuket Gazette circa 1998 - 2017. View the Phuket Gazette online archive and Digital Gazette PDF Prints.
  • Phuket NewsDeath plunge victim probably Korean: Phuket Police

    Death plunge victim probably Korean: Phuket Police

    PHUKET: Police suspect that a woman who apparently fell to her death from a condo block in Wichit earlier today was Korean. The body of the woman crashed through the corrugated zinc roof of a Burmese construction worker’s camp at the base of the seven-story Pornsawan Condotel, located on Chao Fa East Road in Wichit. The death was reported to…

  • Phuket NewsDengue fever now at 230 new cases a day | Thaiger

    Dengue fever now at 230 new cases a day

    PHUKET: Seven people died from dengue fever last week, two of them from Phuket’s neighboring province Krabi. The other five fatalities came one each from Chiangrai, Phetchabun, Lop buri, Chachoengsao and Nakhon Si Thammarat. The new fatalities bring to 70 the number of dengue fever deaths recorded across Thailand to date this year, it was announced by Public Health Minister…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Poll: Current “low” season – good or bad?

    Phuket Poll: Current “low” season – good or bad?

    PHUKET: The island is about half-way through the “low season” for tourism and approaching its statistically rainiest month, September. With that in mind, now seems an appropriate time to take stock by asking our readers the simple question: How well is the Phuket economy doing in the current low season? To have your say in the latest Phuket Gazette readers’…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket consuls’ meet: Rape unit, passports top agenda

    Phuket consuls’ meet: Rape unit, passports top agenda

    PHUKET: Topping the billing at today’s meeting of top-level provincial officers with honorary consuls for 24 countries responsible for Phuket and southern Thailand were the setting up of a police anti-rape unit and the handling of passports.Hanns Schumacher, German Ambassador to Thailand, told the Gazette, “We have a general problem in that local police in particular who come in contact…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket resorts lax in warning tourists of surf dangers: poll

    Phuket resorts lax in warning tourists of surf dangers: poll

    PHUKET: Almost 75% of Phuket Gazette readers polled feel that resorts on the island are not doing enough to warn their guests of the potential dangers at beaches during the monsoon season. The poll was prompted by a recent spate of tourist drownings and a call by exasperated members of the Phuket Lifeguard Club for more cooperation from resorts. Overall,…

  • Phuket NewsBlackouts in Phuket this week

    Blackouts in Phuket this week

    PHUKET: The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced scheduled blackouts in Phuket this week to carry out maintenance on high voltage power lines. Affected areas and times are as follows: August 24, Kathu: Wichit Songkram Road from Soi Bang Thong junction to the Kathu District Administration Office, covering Bang Thong Village, Bang Thong Hill Side and Baan Pho Thong Village.…

  • Phuket NewsCharity golf tournament in Phuket | Thaiger

    Charity golf tournament in Phuket

    PHUKET: Golfers get your gear out for the Charity Golf Tournament and Ball to be held on August 29 at Laguna Phuket. Both events are organized by The Rotary Club of Patong and will be to support disadvantaged children. Tee off for the Charity Golf Tournament will be at 11:30am at Laguna Phuket Golf Club (LPGC). The golf format is…

  • Phuket NewsFC Phuket trounce Nakhon Sri Thammarat, 4-1

    FC Phuket trounce Nakhon Sri Thammarat, 4-1

    PHUKET: FC Phuket scored three second half goals to cruise to a 4-1 win at Nakhon Sri Thammarat yesterday. The Southern Sea Kirin had already clinched the league, with 46 points going into the match, but were looking to build confidence for their big home match against Thai Premier League side Osotspa Saraburi FC in the opening round of the…

  • Phuket NewsWorld Expo 2020: Phuket fails to make the cut | Thaiger

    World Expo 2020: Phuket fails to make the cut

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. PHUKET: Ayutthaya, Chon Buri and Chiang Mai have been short-listed in a six-month-long effort to name a Thai candidate city to host World Expo 2020. The three possible venues, which have emerged after a six-month study by…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket villagers seek Bt10m over home demolition

    Phuket villagers seek Bt10m over home demolition

    PHUKET: Villagers in Patong whose modest homes were destroyed by a backhoe last week are seeking 10 million baht in compensation from the development company that ordered the demolition work. The residents of Phra Barami Road Soi 8, in the Kalim area of Patong, last Saturday awoke to the sound of a roaring backhoe that demolished their houses in less…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket motorists advised to avoid Chao Fa East Rd | Thaiger

    Phuket motorists advised to avoid Chao Fa East Rd

    PHUKET: Motorists traveling along Chao Fa East Rd are in for a real treat this weekend, as drain installation work along a stretch of the busy artery begins today. The roadwork will affect northbound and southbound traffic along the section of road from Dowroong School south to the Tor Song Saeng Hotel, just before Pattana Thongthin Rd. Chao Fa East…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket police auction seized motorbikes

    Phuket police auction seized motorbikes

    PHUKET: Chalong Police this week took the opportunity to clear out their car park with a public auction of motorbikes seized as evidence in drug-related cases. It was short work, with all 18 motorbikes sold in an hour on Wednesday. The proceeds, a total of 100,100 baht, will be handed over to the Ministry of Finance, said Snr Sgt Maj…

  • Phuket NewsThai League Cup: FC Phuket draw high-energy opponents | Thaiger

    Thai League Cup: FC Phuket draw high-energy opponents

    PHUKET: FC Phuket will face a real test of their prowess later this month when they take on Thai Premier League (TPL) team Osotspa Saraburi FC in the opening round of the 2010 Toyota League Cup, the Thai League’s version of England’s FA Cup. The pairing, set for August 29, was the result of a lucky draw among 64 qualifiers,…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Grocery warns of new scam

    Phuket Grocery warns of new scam

    PHUKET: A Phuket supermarket is warning local businesses to be on the lookout for a female con artist who recently relieved them of 45,500 baht in an audacious scam. Phuket Grocery general manager Thavich Boonprasert asked the media to inform the public about their experience as a warning to be on the lookout. On the morning of August 13 a…

  • Phuket NewsRemote-control aircraft crashes into Phuket temple hall

    Remote-control aircraft crashes into Phuket temple hall

    PHUKET: One of the island’s most famous temples is threatening to file a police complaint after a remote-controlled aircraft crashed into the roof of the nuns’ dining hall on Wednesday night. News of the damage at Wat Luang Pu Supha in Chalong Village 6 was reported to the media yesterday at 12:30pm by Mr Piyawat Leehaweerachart, a 45-year-old layman who…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket hospitality; stocks, autos boom; ‘Death Merchant’ verdict today | Thaiger

    Phuket hospitality; stocks, autos boom; ‘Death Merchant’ verdict today

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. Phuket ready for Asian Hospitality Show Phuket’s first Asian Hospitality and Travel Show is shaping up to be a winner, with strong buyer and seller interest in the run-up to the October 1-3 event. Events Thailand, the…

  • Phuket NewsUpdate: Phuket Immigration nabs Taiwanese for drugs

    Update: Phuket Immigration nabs Taiwanese for drugs

    PHUKET: As reported in the Gazette’s Phuket NEWS Hound earlier today, Phuket Immigration Police yesterday announced the arrest of a man wanted for drug smuggling eight years ago in his native Taiwan.Phuket Immigration Superintendent Col Panuwat Ruamrak named the man as Wu Jung Mu, 51.He was arrested at the Mei Zhou Phuket Hotel on Luang Por Wat Chalong Rd on…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket ready for ‘Hungry Ghost’ ceremony

    Phuket ready for ‘Hungry Ghost’ ceremony

    PHUKET: The island’s ethnic Chinese community is preparing for the annual Por Tor Festival, featuring special events organized by Phuket City Municipality from August 26. The Kusoldharm Foundation began its preparations by holding two days of ancestor worship at their headquarters on Phun Pol Rd Soi 9 last week. The event, including various merit-making activities, also saw 122 scholarships of…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket smackdown: Five arrested on narcotics charges

    Phuket smackdown: Five arrested on narcotics charges

    PHUKET: Phuket City Police arrested five people and seized seven vehicles, firearms and a heady variety of narcotics during a drug raid on a home in Koh Kaew on Tuesday. Officers led by Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Komol Watrakorn told a press conference at Phuket City Police Station yesterday that the first arrest was that of Koh Kaew resident…

  • Phuket NewsNorwegian falls for ATM scam in Phuket

    Norwegian falls for ATM scam in Phuket

    PHUKET: Police are warning tourists to be vigilant while using ATM machines following the alleged theft of 200,000 baht from a Norwegian tourist in Kata last week. Kjell Olar Farseth, 52, filed a complaint with Chalong Police yesterday morning stating that a man who offered to help him operate the Kasikorn Bank ATM machine near the Karon Municipality offices in…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket police: Violent crime, drug cases soaring

    Phuket police: Violent crime, drug cases soaring

    PHUKET: Forty murders in Phuket since the beginning of the current fiscal year have led a 95% year-on-year increase in the number of violent crime cases on the island, according to official police statistics. Figures released by Phuket Provincial Police for this year show eight cases of premeditated murder in July alone, with arrests in five cases. Figures for the…

  • Phuket NewsArson attack on Phuket guesthouse | Thaiger

    Arson attack on Phuket guesthouse

    PHUKET: Police are seeking a foreign tourist who threw a Molotov cocktail into the office of a guesthouse on Nanai Road in Patong yesterday. According to the Siangtai Daily website, the attack shattered a large window and caused a deafening explosion at the Jaraan Guesthouse on Nanai Soi 7 shortly before 1am yesterday. The incident was reported by 65-year-old Krissana…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Property: Vikings wary; Phuket Fitness Fiesta; Cops slammed, loved; Phuket villas | Thaiger

    Phuket Property: Vikings wary; Phuket Fitness Fiesta; Cops slammed, loved; Phuket villas

    Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. Phuket property: Scandinavians scared Scandinavians are planning to sell their properties in Phuket ‘en masse’ after the political riots in Thailand badly shook their confidence, says Thanan Tanpaiboon, president of the Phuket Real Estate Association. “In the…

  • Phuket NewsRevered Phuket monk to turn 114

    Revered Phuket monk to turn 114

    PHUKET: Hundreds of well-wishers are expected to help revered Phuket monk Luang Pu Supha celebrate his 114th birthday next month. The secret to the aged monk’s longevity is to “eat less, speak less and always speak the truth”. Last year the Gazette broke the story about Luang Pu Supha’s reputed age on September 4. For previous reports click here. Having…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Thailand Open volleyball dates confirmed

    Phuket Thailand Open volleyball dates confirmed

    PHUKET: It has been confirmed that the Swatch FIVB Beach Volley World Tour will once again have a stop in Phuket, with this year’s Phuket Thailand Open to take place on the sands of Karon Beach from November 2 to 7.More teams competed in last year’s event than in any other tournament on the Beach Volley World Tour. This year,…

  • Phuket NewsGerman man found dead in Phuket home | Thaiger

    German man found dead in Phuket home

    PATONG: A German man passed away at his rented home in Patong over the weekend. Kathu police Pol Maj Jongserm Preecha identified the deceased as Josef Stefan Distler, age 68. The body of the late Mr Distler was discovered at 9pm Sunday by the owner of the Ban Dok Din rental homes on Soi Veerakit, off Nanai Road. The deceased…

  • Thailand NewsLucky numbers take root | Thaiger

    Lucky numbers take root

    An obscenely shaped tree at a police station in the northern province of Phayao has reportedly predicted the winning lottery numbers. The talented tamarind tree is in the yard of Phayao Muang Police Station. The tree has an approximately two-foot-long gash in its trunk with a fist-sized sparkling lump at one end. Villagers say the combination makes the tree look…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket musician in charity drive for son

    Phuket musician in charity drive for son

    PHUKET: Rino Mangon Vogt, 10, is a boy who knows he could die before the end of this year. Rino is suffering from a rare and congenital heart condition known as Ebstein’s Anomaly. Usually present at birth, this life threatening anomaly can show itself at any time, even into adulthood. The cause lies within one of Rino’s heart valves, which…

  • Phuket NewsBlackout in Chalong, Phuket tomorrow

    Blackout in Chalong, Phuket tomorrow

    PHUKET: The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA), Phuket branch, has announced scheduled blackouts to carry out maintenance on high voltage power lines in Chalong from 9am to 4pm from tomorrow and on Thursday. Affected areas include: August 18: West side of Chao Fah West Road from the Wat Chalong area to and along Soi Ban Klang, and Soi Gloom Yang. August…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Police seek high-tech solution to ya bah problem

    Phuket Police seek high-tech solution to ya bah problem

    PHUKET: With no end in sight to the battle against the illegal trade in ya bah (methamphetamine), Phuket Provincial Police hope to buy high-tech drug detection technology in order to better check vehicles entering the province at the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint. Phuket Police Commander Pekad Tantipong made the announcement at a press conference at Phuket City Police Station this…