Legacy Phuket Gazette
- Thailand News
Govt rejects Amnesty allegations on torture
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt rejects Amnesty allegations on torture The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Foreign Ministry will defend the government against allegations that suspects behind grenade attacks were tortured while in military custody. It will also explain while the country remains under martial law, PM’s Office deputy…
- Thailand News
Abhisit wants Anupong, Thawil to testify
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Abhisit wants Anupong, Thawil to testify The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday petitioned the NACC (National Anti-Corruption Commission) to question two more witnesses with key roles in the deadly 2010 crackdown on protesters when he was prime minister. The two…
- Phuket News
Earthquake rattles Phuket
PHUKET: An earthquake measuring 3.8 in magnitude rattled the east coast of Phuket before dawn this morning. The Thai Meteorological Department reported the quake as striking at 5:32am, with its epicenter halfway between Phuket and Koh Yao Yai island in Phang Nga Bay (click here). The epicenter of the quake was centered in the same area where a 4.0 quake…
- Thailand News
‘Kamnan Sia’ and wife get 11 years jail for seizing state land
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Kamnan Sia’ and wife get 11 years jail for seizing state land The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former Democrat Party candidate Pracha “Kamnan Sia” Phophiphit and his wife were yesterday sentenced to 11 years jail for seizing state land. They had encroached on a large…
- World News
Germanwings Airbus crashes in France, 148 feared dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Germanwings Airbus crashes in France, 148 feared dead Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An Airbus operated by Lufthansa’s Germanwings budget airline crashed in a remote area of the French Alps on Tuesday and all 148 on board were feared dead. French President Francois Hollande said he…
- Phuket News
Phuket park officials set “no go’ zone to protect new reef
PHUKET: Officers at Sirinath National Park yesterday began installing floating markers off Nai Yang Beach to protect a young reef system discovered only last month. The markers are to establish an exclusion zone preventing swimmers and boats from entering the area, explained deputy park chief Neramit Songsaeng. “Officers from the Phuket Marine National Parks and Protected Areas Innovation Center arrived…
- Phuket News
Phuket mega-party promoter, TV stars jailed for defamation
PHUKET: Two famous national television show hosts have been sentenced to one year in jail, with no suspended sentence and no option for parole, for defaming the organizer of the 2013 New Year mega-party held at Phuket’s Patong Beach. The Criminal Court in Bangkok yesterday sentenced Vuthithorn ‘Woody’ Milintachinda and Chaleumpol ‘Jack Fanchan’ Tikumpornteerawo, of the popular show ‘Chao Doo…
- Phuket News
Civil defence volunteer kills girlfriend in Kathu somtam shop
PHUKET: A civil defence volunteer has confessed to the shooting murder of his girlfriend inside a somtam shop in Phuket last night. Police were called to the scene on Wichit Songkram Road in Thung Thong at about 8:45pm, where they found the body of 46-year-old Yupin Somrak on the floor of the shop’s kitchen. “Ms Yupin suffered fatal gunshot wounds…
- Bangkok News
Bangkok water users to pay for what they use
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bangkok water users to pay for what they use The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Residents of Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan provinces will pay for tap water according to what they use from April 1. Rakkecha Chaechai, secretary-general of the Ombudsman’s Office, said yesterday that…
- Thailand News
Crackdown on human trafficking, slave fishing fleet
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Crackdown on human trafficking, slave fishing fleet The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thailand is cracking down on human trafficking in the fisheries industry under a 180-day international protocol, Deputy Prime Minister Gen Prawit Wongsuwan said yesterday. He said illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, dubbed…
- Thailand News
Nation Group to sue NBTC over hostile takeover bid
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nation Group to sue NBTC over hostile takeover bid The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Nation Multimedia Group (NMG) will petition the Administrative Court against three members of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission’s broadcasting committee for alleged dereliction of duty in deciding the legitimacy…
- Cannabis News
Russians and Iranians nabbed in drug raids
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russians and Iranians nabbed in drug raids The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Russian and three Iranians have been arrested along with 496.52 grams of crystal meth worth 1.5 million baht in Bang Lamung district in Chon Buri and Phaya Thai in Bangkok, the Police…
- Phuket News
Police seize bumper haul of illegal lumber
PHUKET: Marine Police on Friday seized a truckload of rough-cut planks of wood hewn from protected trees that were bound for Phi Phi Island, where they were to be used to build a restaurant. The truck, bearing Chachoengsao license plates and driven by Janyarat Janput, 34, was stopped near Jianwanich pier in Rassada near Phuket Town during a random check…
- Phuket News
No further safety measures at shooting range after tourist kills self
PHUKET: Officials have confirmed that no further safety measures are to be introduced at the Phuket shooting range where a British tourist took his own life on Saturday. Liam Colven, a 21-year-old from the Isle of Skye in Scotland, arrived at the Thalang Shooting Range on Saturday afternoon. During live-fire target practice, Mr Colven pointed the .11mm handgun he was…
- Business News
Anthony Lark takes the reins at Trisara
PHUKET: Widely respected hotelier Anthony Lark has been appointed managing director and general manager of Trisara, a high-end resort of 48 pool villas and 20 privately owned residences on Phuket’s west coast. In his new role, Mr Lark will continue to provide hospitality advisory services to the clients of the Montara Hospitality Group, which operates the resort, and will develop…
- Phuket News
Trial for Tiger disco inferno to start April 23
PHUKET: The first witness testimony over the deaths of four people in Patong’s notorious Tiger Disco inferno is set for April 23, Public Prosecutor Vivath Kitjurak has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. The trial will begin almost three years after the blaze claimed the lives of four people, including two tourists. The popular nightclub erupted into flames at about 4am…
- Thai Life
Excuse Busters: Busting cholesterol myths
PHUKET: In my previous column, I explained how a published dietician missed the mark when it comes to the potential benefits of consuming coconut oil. This week, I want to focus on the following comment made by the same expert: “Speaking from a medical point of view, coconut oil contains over 90 per cent saturated fatty acids, which are likely…
- Property
Pricing Phuket Plots: The attractive north
PHUKET: If one single fact has become evident in Siam Real Estate’s Residential Market Report 2014, it is that since the tragic tsunami on Boxing Day 2004, land prices in Phuket have tripled in value. The surge in prices has been led by land prices on the west coast, most notably in the traditional and well-established tourist destinations of Patong,…
- Property
Across the land: Harvesting monsoon bounty
PHUKET: Those of us who have lived in a tropical country nearly all our lives tend to take rain for granted. We regularly forget that it’s the rain that keeps the plants a lush green, while also providing for our everyday water-usage needs. My grandmother used to collect rainwater in big Chinese urns in the garden. She would use the…
- Business News
Business Buzz: Social media for profit – passing fad or must-have tool?
PHUKET: No matter where we go, we are surrounded by social media and its influences. Tweet this, like that, share and like this; terms we were not familiar with all that long ago are now in common, daily use. So is this a passing fad or is this social media craze here to stay, and even more importantly, is this…
- World News
Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore’s founding father, dies at 91
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore’s founding father, dies at 91 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister, died on Monday aged 91, triggering a flood of tributes to the man who oversaw the tiny city-state’s rapid rise from a British colonial…
- Phuket News
British man, 21, kills self at Phuket gun range
PHUKET: A 21-year-old British man turned a gun on himself and committed suicide at a Phuket shooting range this afternoon. Staff and witnesses at the Thalang Shooting Range said the man arrived at the tourist attraction before 3pm. The man hired an 11mm pistol and emptied his magazine at the target, before asking for three more bullets. He then turned…
- Phuket News
Teen dies in motorcycle crash
PHUKET: A teenage boy is dead and one man injured after their motorcycle slammed into a traffic sign near the main intersection north of Thalang town at around 1:15am today. Somjai Tengsomboon, 18, suffered a head injury and died at Thalang Hospital early this morning. “The passenger, Sathaporn Wongwai, 35, received minor injuries and confessed that they had both been…
- Phuket News
Suspects yet to be charged for billion-baht illegal beach rental scheme
PHUKET: The public prosecutor has yet to press formal charges against the Kata-Karon mayor or any of the other suspects allegedly involved in the island’s billion-baht illegal beach rental scheme. At least 15 people, including Kata-Karon Mayor Tawee Thongcham, were accused at a press conference in September last year of illegally issuing permits for local beach vendors to use public…
- Thailand News
Death sentence for man who had his family killed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Death sentence for man who had his family killed The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Bangkok’s Thon Buri Criminal Court yesterday handed down the death sentence to 23-year-old Kittinan Homchong, after finding him guilty of hiring killers to murder his parents and older brother in 2014.…
- Phuket News
Chinese tourists safe after airport taxi slams into motorcycle, kills man
PHUKET: Two Chinese tourists brought their holiday in Phuket to a close by witnessing one man being killed and another suffering serious injuries in a road accident before dawn this morning. The tourists were heading to Phuket International Airport when their taxi slammed into a motorcycle at Baan Porn, in Thalang, at about 5am, explained Lt Suporn Muangkhai of the…
- Phuket News
Navy probes ATV tour operator, shrimp farms for mangrove encroachment
PHUKET: The deputy commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command in Phuket is spearheading an investigation into an ATV tour company and five shrimp farms for alleged encroachment of more than 200 rai in a mangrove forest in Pa Khlok. Rear Admiral Teansiri Montriwade personally led an inspection of the alleged encroachment site in Baan Pak Chit on…
- World News
Myanmar convicts five over fake rape claim that sparked riots
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Myanmar convicts five over fake rape claim that sparked riots Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Myanmar court convicted five people for spreading fabricated allegations that a Muslim man raped a Buddhist woman, which led to deadly riots last July, a court official said on Friday.…
- Thailand News
Ex-princess’ family members get five-year jail terms
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ex-princess’ family members get five-year jail terms The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three relatives of the former Princess Srirasm were given five-and-a-half-year prison terms yesterday for abduction, intimidation and lese majeste – crimes associated with a racketeering gang led by disgraced former crime-buster Maj Gen…
- Phuket News
Government evicts Surin Beach clubs
PHUKET: Several iconic beach clubs are among 39 businesses along the Surin beachfront boardwalk that were given eviction notices yesterday. The notices, and the negation of contracts for the use of the buildings, follows the demolishing last year of some of the businesses’ developments on the west side of the boardwalk, which were deemed to be encroaching on public land…
