Legacy Phuket Gazette
- Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Chalerm chides ice cream gang; Gov’t pushes B2 trillion loan; Liquid cigarettes inflame health officials
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Chalerm warns Yingluck of her ‘ice-cream gang’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A disaffected Labour Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung yesterday warned Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra that she was setting her government up for an early demise thanks to her new “ice-cream gang”. Chalerm was apparently referring…
- Phuket News
Phuket Navy helicopter rescues cargo shipman in life raft
PHUKET: One more crew member from a foundering Bangladeshi cargo ship was rescued this afternoon when a Royal Thai Navy helicopter spotted him in a life raft, plucked him up from the broiling sea and flew him to safety. “Adubagar Siddiue, 40, was in a life raft not far from the MV Hope,” said Rear Admiral Prayuth Phutien of the…
- Business News
Thai smartphone sales ringing up big numbers
PHUKET: Smartphone sales in Thailand more than doubled in the first four months of 2013, a report by one of the world’s largest research companies reveals. The GfK Thailand office reports that communication consumer electronics went from being just one in every five handsets less than two years ago to more than two in five or 42% of overall unit…
- Phuket News
Phuket receives new Honorary Consul for Italy
PHUKET: Dr Francesco Pensato has been proclaimed the Honorary Consul of Italy for Phuket and the rest of South Thailand. Dr Pensato, a lifelong patron of the arts and himself a composer of music, is also a director of the Thai-Italian Chamber of Commerce (TICC, website here) and chairman of TICC’s Phuket and Southern Region of Thailand Committee. Nominated for…
- Phuket News
Phuket manhunt for rapist who impregnated handicapped stepdaughter
PHUKET: Police are searching for a man who repeatedly raped his 15-year-old handicapped stepdaughter, leaving her pregnant before he ran away. The 40-year-old man, originally from Laos, has been at large since June 29, when his wife discovered what he had done. Police have not released a description of the man or a photograph. Patong Police received the report yesterday…
- Phuket News
Family appeals for help with missing daughter in Phuket
PHUKET: A 20-year-old woman on the verge of moving from Phuket back home to Nakhon Sri Thammarat has been reported missing by her family. Weerawit Sangpan, 28, told Thung Thong Police that his 29-year-old sister, Boonyanee, disappeared sometime early on Sunday. “We talked at midnight on Saturday. She sounded fine; we had a good conversation,” he told police. “She had…
- Business News
Phuket Business: A Swiss sip of homely bliss
PHUKET: Operators of hotels, restaurants, cafes and especially Swiss expats wanting a taste of home, can now purchase Caffe’ Chicco d’Oro and many other imported food products from Switzerland in Phuket. Patty Bamert together with Samai and Fredy Reutlinger, have recently opened their ‘Caffe’ Chicco d’Oro’ coffee and bistro shop in Kathu, serving the popular Swiss coffee brand of the…
- Property
Industrial real estate demand on rise
PHUKET: This fiscal year, the Industrial Estate Authority of Thailand (IEAT) has forecasted sales and rentals to cover between 3,600 to 3,800 rai (1,440 to 1,520 acres) of land in both its own and privately owned industrial estates. The 2013 Thai fiscal year began on October 1, 2012 and will last until the end of September, this year. IEAT governor…
- Property
How to legally own Thai land
PHUKET: I think there is a common misconception in Phuket, and in Thailand generally, that is often reinforced by many long term expats, who are always very eager to give their opinions to new-comers. It goes like this: As long as you remain a foreigner in this country, you will always have to use one of the available loopholes to…
- Thai Life
Phuket Regional Blood Center calls for life saving blood donations
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC), often called upon to save the lives of Thais and foreigners, is low on stocks of blood type A Rhesus-negative“As this is the beginning of [the Thai school] semester period, we got blood [donations] from students that makes us have sufficient stock of blood as we maintain a daily minimum stock of 200…
- Phuket News
Lady Sevenstar will be manned by Phuket Raceweek’s first all female crew
PHUKET: Popular all women’s sailing team Lady Sevenstar has officially entered Asia’s most exciting regatta, the Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Race Week (click here for map, held from 17 – 21 July. “It looked liked we were going to miss the race this time as our usual boat, FireFly Lady Sevenstar /aka the Frog, was not available. Miraculously, in the…
- Phuket News
Phuket raid nets B100mn of pirated goods in Patong
PHUKET: A Department of Special Investigation (DSI) task force in Phuket yesterday arrested seven people and seized pirated goods with an estimated street value of more than 100 million baht. Armed with a search warrant and joined by officers from the Patong Police, the DSI agents raided two three-story shophouses in Soi Sukcharoen, off Phang Muang Sai Kor Road in…
- Phuket News
Phuket road work forces motorists to seek bypass road bypass
PHUKET: The long tailbacks on Thepkrasattri Road caused by the resurfacing of the bypass road at the Bang Khu Intersection in Koh Kaew has forced police to urge motorists to use alternative routes. “We need to resurface about 1.5km of the [bypass] road, starting at the Bang Khu intersection,” said Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad. “The road surface is…
- Phuket News
Young cricketers deliver in Phuket Sawadee League
PHUKET: Young cricket talent took part in another round of the Phuket Cricket Group’s (PCG) “Sawasdee League” at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) last weekend. Although the international school teams were absent, four teams including representatives from the PCG’s Youth Academy, Baan Sapam and Thai Hua played some closely contested matches. The ACGround officially opened last year. Video: Phuket Today…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: Egypt celebrates Independence Day; Putin bans gay adoption; Ex-Taliban now in favor of women; Mexican drug lord slays school bullies
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Egypt army topples Mursi, suspends constitution Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Egypt’s armed forces overthrew elected Islamist President Mohamed Mursi on Wednesday and announced a political transition with the support of a wide range of political, religious and youth leaders.After a day of drama in which tanks and…
- Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: World Peace under fire; Cabinet wows with vows; Five supercars seized; White masks suspend protest
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community World Peace chief welcomes DSI probe The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The World Peace University (WPU) yesterday denied any wrongdoing in the wake of emerging evidence that it has never been accorded the status of a “higher-education institute”.“We don’t cause any trouble. We just confer honorary doctorates,”…
- Property
Phuket airport’s expansion progress to ease overcrowding
PHUKET: The Airport Authority of Thailand (AoT) has accelerated the construction of a temporary terminal building at Phuket International Airport (HKT) in order to ease passenger overload ahead of the next tourism high season. Quoted in a recent report by BangkokBizNews, AoT Board Director Sitha Tiwaree announced that the construction schedule for the temporary terminal had been tightened due to…
- Phuket News
Phuket dengue numbers highest in 20 years
PHUKET: As the number of patients in Phuket diagnosed with dengue fever reached the highest level in 20 years, health officials met at Patong Hospital yesterday to discuss dengue-prevention measures in Kathu. Patong was chosen as the location and the target focus for the meeting as the beach resort town is the most popular district for tourists on the island,…
- Phuket News
Phuket unveils plans for Chalong underpass
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut has unveiled six routes being considered for a new underpass to be built at Chalong Circle, by far the busiest junction in the south of the island.The new underpass will need to serve about 53,000 cars per day, accounting for about 60 per cent of all traffic in Muang District, he told the press at…
- Property
Phuket Property Watch: Just how real is real?
Phuket Property Watch: It’s Wednesday and far too early in the day for an epiphany. I’ve just been online trying to book a trip to Nirvana and even my trusty sidekick Jimmy Zen can’t help. No leap of faith here, no walking on water, just an aisle seat on the big bus. In the whole wired world of travel, more…
- World News
Phuket Gazette World News: 45 dead in Iraqi bombings; Mandela family feud twist; Wikileaks trial update; Outsiders are in – Tennis
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nearly 50 killed in Iraq bombings Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: At least 45 people were killed in bomb attacks across Iraq yesterday, most of them in busy markets and commercial areas of the capital Baghdad, police and medics said.The deadliest assault took place in the predominantly Shi’ite…
- Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Missing monk wanted for money laundering; Chalerm unhappy; Yingluck warned of impeachment
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Monk had 10 bank accounts with daily transactions of Bt2m The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO) has found 10 bank accounts under the name of Luang Pu Nenkham, who calls himself the abbot of Si Sa Ket’s “Wat Pa Khanti Dhamma”…
- Phuket News
Illegal taxi drivers in Patong threaten Phuket governor with mob action
PHUKET: Illegal taxi drivers from Patong today threatened Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut with mass protests if the government does not do more to help them become legal. The naked threat was delivered today at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall immediately after the Governor’s monthly address to the Phuket media. “We need help from the governor to find a way…
- Phuket News
Phuket Immigration: British realtor to be deported
PHUKET: Phuket immigration today arrested for illegal entry a British man who had been working on the island as a realtor, a profession reserved for Thais, since 2011.Richard James Daffund, 44, was picked up by police as he walked along Phuket Road, just several hundred meters from the Phuket Immigration Office.The Englishman was recognized by police, who notified immigration, Capt…
- Phuket News
Phuket Police urge motorist safety as car flips into canal, more wet weather forecast
PHUKET: Phuket drivers are urged to drive defensively during the current rainy weather, said Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan this afternoon. “Wet roads have already caused several accidents in Phuket. Everyone should slow down while driving in rainy conditions,” he said. The warning follows an early morning accident in Patong today when a car flipped over into the Pak Bang…
- Phuket News
Phantom sex noises in Phuket, voodoo suspected
PHUKET: An inconclusive police investigation has prompted a Phuket woman to publicly appeal for help in unravelling the mysterious “sex noises” she keeps hearing at her Chalong home. Onanong Waltham, 46, accompanied by her housemate Sujittraporn Tephabutra, made her public appeal at the Phuket Press Club yesterday afternoon. “I keep hearing moaning sounds in my house. It sounds like people…
- Phuket News
Phuket driver escapes injury as car slams into tree
PHUKET: A Phuket woman escaped serious injury late last night when her car slammed into a tree at high speed, ripping the engine from the vehicle and flinging it 50 meters from where the car came to rest.Maj Kittiphum Tinthalang of the Thalang Police received a report of the accident, on Srisoonthorn Road in Baan Manik, in central Phuket, at…
- Phuket News
Canadian expat, 64, faces deportation from Phuket for visa overstay
PHUKET: A 64-year-old expat from Canada will be deported from Thailand after being caught in Phuket after overstaying his visa by three years.James H Nelson was arrested in Thung Thong yesterday afternoon.“Officers approached him and asked for his passport. He said he didn’t have it because he had sent it to the Canadian embassy in Bangkok to be renewed,” explained…
- Thailand News
Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Healthcare funds in intensive care; Govt caves in on rice; Secret Deep South talks; Supercar probe: DSI IDs BMW
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Govt urged to find new funds for health security The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Given the rising cost of the country’s healthcare costs, prominent health economists yesterday urged the government to seek alternative financial sources to support medical insurance schemes.Collecting tax from the sale of unhealthy food…
- Phuket News
Phuket lifeguard contract signed – budget remains unaltered
PHUKET: In the aftermath of Phuket’s deadliest beach weekend and the first-time-ever forced closure of sections of beaches by lifeguards, the Phuket Lifeguard Club’s contract with the local government has been renewed, but only for 10 months (story here). “The contract was renewed on June 28 and will last for 10 months,” an officer at the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization…
