Legacy Phuket Gazette
- Phuket News
Crewman’s body washes ashore Phi Phi coast
PHUKET: Phi Phi locals yesterday discovered the body of a crewman who drowned after the cargo boat he was working on sank in heavy weather on Monday (story here). The body of the man, named by police only as “Mr Au”, was discovered at Ao Rantee on the Phi Phi coast at about 1pm. “Mr Au’s body washed up on…
- Thai Life
Diving: Herd of seahorses corralled off Mosquito Island
PHUKET: Off the north end of Mosquito Island, part of the Phi Phi archipelago, is a steep sloping hard coral reef. Happily, the staghorn corals there have not yet been destroyed by the anchors of speedboats just around the corner. However, it’s not these elegant hard corals that make this rarely visited dive site a must, it’s what lies beyond.…
- Thailand News
128 killed in accidents over first two days of New Year
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 128 killed over first two days of New Year The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The first two of the New Year period’s “seven dangerous days” have seen 128 people killed and 1,158 others injured in 1,133 accidents nationwide, the Road Safety Center said yesterday. Phetchabun,…
- World News
Weather stalls search for AirAsia black boxes; first victim buried
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Weather stalls search for AirAsia black boxes; first victim buried Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Heavy seas stopped divers reaching the possible wreck of an AirAsia Indonesia jet off Borneo on Thursday and an aviation official said it could be a week before the black box…
- Phuket News
Chinese dive tour company shut down at Koh Racha
PHUKET: Officials have shut down a dive tour company serving Chinese tourists at Koh Racha, located about 25km south of Phuket, after confirming that Myanmar nationals were working illegally there as dive instructors. Santi Pawai, director of the Minister of Tourism and Sports Phuket office, announced the forced closure of dive company Hou Hai Diver Co Ltd during his inspection…
- Phuket News
Teen shot dead in New Year drive-by near Governor’s house
PHUKET: Police are searching for six men wanted for shooting dead a 15-year-old on the streets of Phuket Town last night in an attack that began in front of the Governor’s House on Narisorn Road. Police arrived at scene, near Ministry of Finance Phuket Office, shortly after receiving a report of the shooting at 11:15pm. “We arrived to find one…
- World News
New Year’s Eve stampede kills 35 on Shanghai’s Bund tourist strip
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New Year’s Eve stampede kills 35 on Shanghai’s Bund tourist strip Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A stampede killed at least 35 people during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Shanghai, authorities said, possibly caused by people rushing to pick up fake money thrown from a building…
- Opinion
Opinion: Phuket, an island haven lost
PHUKET: A couple of weeks ago, I joined some work colleagues for lunch at a Cherng Talay restaurant. The restaurant is Australian-owned and caters mainly to expats who are homesick for stodgy meat pies and other Western fare. While waiting to be served I noticed, among the restaurant memorabilia, an old black-and-white photograph on the wall. It depicted a group…
- Phuket News
Phuket suffers first fatality in New Year “Seven Days of Danger’
PHUKET: A Mercedes-Benz and a motorcycle collided at 12:10am today, resulting in the first fatality of the Seven Days of Danger safety campaign – which targeted zero deaths. The Mercedes, driven by Chaichana Seaong, 40, collided with the motorcycle in front of the Mook Phuket shop on Chao Fa East Road, near the Kwang Road intersection. Witnesses claim the the…
- Phuket News
Phuket New Year gifted International Space Station flyby
PHUKET: In addition to the New Year’s Eve celebrations held throughout Phuket tonight, stargazers will be treated to the sight of the International Space Station (ISS) passing overhead. If the skies are clear, the ISS will be visible to the naked eye as its substantial bulk will reflect sunlight during its brief south-southeast trajectory, passing to the west of Phuket,…
- Phuket News
Private jets can set down, but not stay at Phuket Airport for New Year, say officials
PHUKET: Private jets can continue to land at Phuket International Airport over the New Year holidays, but are restricted in how long they can remain parked at the airport, the Phuket Gazette has been told. An order issued by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) mandated that priority be given to commercial flights at Phuket Airport until January 5, confirmed…
- Phuket News
Records tumble at We Freedive Suunto Series final in Phuket
PHUKET: A number of national records were brushed away as the We Free Dive Suunto Series drew to a close on December 21. All eyes were on American Katie Wierenga, who is ranked third among the USA female Dynamic No Fins (DNF) athletes after an outstanding performance in October. Having surpassed the USA DNF record in practice, Wierenga pushed hard…
- Phuket News
Slow lorises touted on Phuket beach
PHUKET: Cherng Talay Police have vowed to search for a pair of beach touts who were taking photographs of tourists with a slow loris at Surin Beach yesterday. “There were issues with touts offering to take photos of tourists with snakes and iguanas on Surin Beach, but we haven’t had a report about this issue since the beach encroachment crackdown,”…
- Property
Regent Bangtao targets Phuket holiday rentals
PHUKET: Expats in Phuket live in a tropical paradise, yet many work full time. Holidaymakers surround them while they divide their time between home and the office. Phuket can be a strange place to live – not to call it schizophrenic – but this dual character of island life comes with a distinct benefit, and The Regent Bang Tao is…
- Business News
In Phuket aviation business, the sky is not the limit
PHUKET: Do what you love and make money doing it – how’s that for a business plan? That is exactly what Sky Club Asia co-owners Mark Silverberg and Paul Derstoff did when they turned their passion into a prospering business. Did their leap of faith pay off? One of the things that Mark Silverberg brought with him when he moved…
- Business News
Phuket Finance: An expat’s guide to the inevitable
PHUKET: It’s natural to experience culture shock as an expat, but the real shock comes when expats consider just how complicated proper investment or financial planning becomes after they expatriate from their home countries. Here are some of the key areas expats will need to have a plan for and likely consult with knowledgeable experts about. EXCHANGE RATE AND REMITTANCE…
- Thailand News
Death sentences commuted to life in prison for Akeyuth murder
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Death sentences commuted to life in prison for Akeyuth murder The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Criminal Court handed down the death sentence to two of six defendants for murdering high-profile and outspoken businessman Akeyuth Anchanbutr last year – but the penalty was commuted to…
- World News
Divers set to search for AirAsia wreckage after debris, bodies found
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Divers set to search for AirAsia wreckage after debris, bodies found Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Divers and ships will search for the wreckage and the all important black boxes of a doomed AirAsia plane on Wednesday after Indonesian rescuers found several bodies and debris floating…
- Phuket News
Patong’s Keesin clan yet to face Phuket mafia charges
PHUKET: The Public Prosecutor has yet to press formal charges against Prab and Pattawee Keesin, both sons of former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, for operating a mafia organization. Pisitpol Phumsawat, chief Phuket public prosecutor, confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that his office was still reviewing evidence presented by the police “I have dedicated a team to investigate the police claims,”…
- Phuket News
Famed director arrested for trespassing to make tsunami horror film
PHUKET: Famed Thai-film director Anon Mingkwanta, better known as Poj Anon, was arrested at Suvarnabhumi Airport last night after allegedly trespassing at a derelict Phuket resort to film a tsunami horror movie. Charges against Mr Anon were filed at Tah Chat Chai Police Station on September 12 by Nipon Rangsimanwong, a representative of the Toon Maha Larp Company, which owns…
- World News
Bodies, debris from missing AirAsia plane pulled from sea off Indonesia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bodies, debris from missing AirAsia plane pulled from sea off Indonesia Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Indonesian rescuers searching for a missing AirAsia plane carrying 162 people pulled bodies and wreckage from the sea off the coast of Borneo on Tuesday as relatives of those on…
- Phuket News
Phuket pick-up truck smash near Mission Hospital
PHUKET: Emergency medical orderlies at Mission Hospital, north of Phuket Town, rushed out to rescue several injured people from a road accident directly outside the facility yesterday morning. An Isuzu pick-up truck had hit the back of Honda saloon car opposite the Toyota dealership on the southbound side of the road, causing the car to skid and hit a motorcycle…
- Phuket News
Cargo boat sinks off Phi Phi, crewman believed drowned
PHUKET: Marine Police are continuing their efforts to locate a crewman still missing from a cargo boat that sank in a storm two kilometers off Phi Phi Island yesterday afternoon. The Sor Jatuporn was carrying goods from Ao Nang on the Krabi coast to Phi Phi Island when it was slammed by a storm, said Krabi Marine Police Inspector Chaiyasit…
- Phuket News
Kiwi arrested in Phuket for drug dealing, wanted for fraud
PHUKET: A Kiwi charged for dealing ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and cocaine in Phuket is wanted on fraud charges in his homeland, The New Zealand Herald has reported. The man, named by Patong Police as Taylor Grainge, 41, is in fact Grainge Taylor, after having changed his name in 2010, confirmed Jeff Montgomery, registrar-general and general manager for births, deaths,…
- Phuket News
Phuket expat, Microsoft MVP Henry Habermacher passes away
PHUKET: Long-time Rawai resident Henry Habermacher passed away peacefully on the morning of December 11. Born Heiri Habermacher on July 2, 1961, in Sachseln, Switzerland, he graduated from ETH Zurich in 1986 with a degree in electrical engineering, specializing in acoustics project management superconductivity. In 1994, he received a graduate degree in business management from HWV Luzern – IBR University.…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s “naughty maid’ strikes again in Patong
PHUKET: Reports of Phuket’s infamous “naughty maid” surfaced yesterday, following a police warning about her kleptomaniac behavior in May (story here). Patong Police repeated their warning yesterday, cautioning any prospective employers to be on the watch for the still-unidentified woman. “We received a complaint from a hotel on Nanai Road that a woman took a job as a maid and…
- Phuket News
Welfare officers tread softly in Phuket sea gypsy child prostitution probe
PHUKET: Officers are treading warily as they investigate reports of sea gypsy child prostitution and youth drug abuse at Phuket’s Rawai Pier. The pervading fear among all departments involved is that any direct confrontation could drive the children deeper into a world of crime. Pimporn Khorsantiwichai, director of the Phuket office of Social Development and Human Security, confirmed to the…
- Thailand News
NRC votes for Andaman coast to be listed as World Heritage Site
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NRC votes for Andaman coast to be listed as World Heritage Site The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A National Reform Council panel on natural resources and the environment yesterday agreed to push for a vast marine conservation site in the Andaman Sea to be recognized…
- World News
Indonesia expands search for missing AirAsia jet, US sends warship
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Indonesia expands search for missing AirAsia jet, US sends warship Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Countries around Asia on Tuesday stepped up the search for an AirAsia plane carrying 162 people that is presumed to have crashed in shallow waters off the Indonesian coast, with Washington…
- Thailand News
Websites with lese majeste content to be shut down
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Websites with lese majeste content to be shut down The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) intends to shut down all websites carrying lese majeste content by the year-end, according to its secretary-general Takorn Tantasith. If websites violate Article 112…
