Legacy Phuket Gazette

Legacy Phuket Gazette

Archiving articles from the Phuket Gazette circa 1998 - 2017. View the Phuket Gazette online archive and Digital Gazette PDF Prints.
  • Phuket NewsBikes blazing across Phuket, arson suspected

    Bikes blazing across Phuket, arson suspected

    PHUKET: A series of suspected arson attacks on motorbikes in Phuket over the last two days has police scrambling to identify the culprit(s). “We suspect the bikes were set on fire by a single gang of teenagers out to cause trouble,” Phuket’s top cop, Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavalviwat, told the Phuket Gazette. “I have already assigned a joint police…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket continue streak in Bangkok

    Phuket continue streak in Bangkok

    PHUKET: The island’s pro futsal team Phuket United won their sixth match in a row after defeating Bangkok FC (2-3) in an away match in the Thai capital yesterday evening. Played at the Fashion Island Futsal Arena, it was Phuket’s penultimate match of the 30-fixture GMM Sport Thailand Futsal Premier League (TFPL) 2012-2013 season. The Andaman Pearl’s leading scorer, Jackson…

  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: Khmer Rouge Ieng Sary dead

    Phuket Gazette World News: Khmer Rouge Ieng Sary dead

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ieng Sary, minister for Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, dies in hospital Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Ieng Sary, who was standing trial for crimes against humanity during his time as the Khmer Rouge’s foreign minister in Cambodia in the 1970s, died this morning, the court said.Ieng Sary’s death will…

  • Phuket NewsBus driver charged with drunk driving after dropping tourists off at Phuket Airport

    Bus driver charged with drunk driving after dropping tourists off at Phuket Airport

    PHUKET: Police arrested a drunk bus driver returning from a drop-off of tourists at Phuket Airport last night. The arrest occurred after he clipped a pick-up truck near the airport and was chased down by the driver of the truck.Sirisak Suksai, 48, was driving the truck on Thepkrasattri Road near the airport when his vehicle was clipped by the tour…

  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: Royal Thai Navy Commander-in-Chief dismisses Human Rights Watch’s report

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Royal Thai Navy Commander-in-Chief dismisses Human Rights Watch’s report

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Navy dismisses reports on Rohingya killings Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Royal Thai Navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Surasak Rounroengrom dismissed the report as impossible and untrue and asserted that the Thai navy had not killed any Rohingya people as it did no more than offer them humanitarian aid.…

  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: ‘Habemus Papam’

    Phuket Gazette World News: ‘Habemus Papam’

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Argentina’s Bergoglio elected as new Pope Francis Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Jorge Mario Bergoglio of Argentina was elected in a surprise choice to be the new leader of the troubled Roman Catholic Church yesterday, taking the name Francis I and becoming the first non-European pontiff in nearly…

  • Phuket NewsPolice raise alarm after Phuket hotel thief uses skeleton key

    Police raise alarm after Phuket hotel thief uses skeleton key

    PHUKET: Police have warned hoteliers across the island to beware of thieves targeting Phuket hotels after a Patong hotel room safe was robbed by a man who reportedly used a skeleton key to enter the room.The news follows 29-year-old Russian tourist Egor Nikolaev reporting valuables being stolen from his room safe at the hotel on the Patong beach road where…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Heroines Festival to re-enact Battle of Thalang

    Phuket Heroines Festival to re-enact Battle of Thalang

    PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut tonight will play a leading role as King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, also referred to by Thais as “Rama I”, in the annual re-enactment of the Battle of Thalang.The event marks the historical battle in 1785 in which Phuket’s own “angels”, Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisoonthorn, better known as the Phuket Heroines, led local villagers to…

  • Phuket NewsBangkok tip-off prompts Phuket abortion pharmacy shutdown

    Bangkok tip-off prompts Phuket abortion pharmacy shutdown

    PHUKET: An unlicensed pharmacist in central Phuket Town has been charged with illegally selling abortion pills after being caught in an undercover operation carried out by Ministry of Public Health officials.A complaint filed directly to police in Bangkok resulted in the sting operation on the City Health Care pharmacy, on Dibuk Road, near the junction with Soi Romanee, late yesterday…

  • Phuket NewsHuman Rights Watch calls for probe into alleged Rohingya shootings

    Human Rights Watch calls for probe into alleged Rohingya shootings

    PHUKET: New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) today issued a statement calling for the Thai authorities to investigate reports of Royal Thai Navy sailors opening fire on a boatload of Rohingya off the Phang Nga coast, north of Phuket, allegedly killing at least two of the refugees. “Rohingya fleeing Burma should be given protection, not shot at,” said Brad Adams,…

  • Thai LifePhuket International Boat Show to celebrate 10th Anniversary

    Phuket International Boat Show to celebrate 10th Anniversary

    PHUKET: Asia’s favorite boat show, the Phuket International Boat Show (PIMEX), celebrates its 10th Anniversary this year from 21 to 24 March at Royal Phuket Marina with a line-up of marine and lifestyle products second to none. Having grown from humble beginnings, PIMEX will host the region’s largest in-water display with a range of luxury power and sail boats ranging…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Gazette Sports: Champions League latest; Barc and Galatasaray win; Arsenal falling short – Graham

    Phuket Gazette Sports: Champions League latest; Barc and Galatasaray win; Arsenal falling short – Graham

    Magical Messi lifts Barca to stunning comeback Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A fired-up Lionel Messi answered his critics by inspiring Barcelona to a sensational Champions League comeback against AC Milan last night with two goals in a 4-0 home win to help them reach the quarter-finals. A rampant Barca, all-but written off after a surprise 2-0 reverse at Milan’s…

  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: No Pope as black smoke rises over Sistine Chapel

    Phuket Gazette World News: No Pope as black smoke rises over Sistine Chapel

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cardinals begin voting in earnest for new pope to face Church crisis Phuket GazettePHUKET: Cardinals begin the process of choosing a new pope in earnest today, holding their first full day of voting for a leader to face a major crisis in the Roman Catholic Church.The 115…

  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Queer News: Masturbating old monk ends career | Thaiger

    Phuket Gazette Queer News: Masturbating old monk ends career

    A MONK was disrobed after 20 years as a clergyman after he was caught red-handed masturbating in the lobby of an apartment building in Phang Nga. Police received a report that a monk was creating a scene, revealing his penis and shouting indecently in the lobby of Sunimit Mansion. Police rushed to the scene, but when they arrived the monk…

  • Phuket NewsVietnamese Defense Minister visits Naval Command in Phuket

    Vietnamese Defense Minister visits Naval Command in Phuket

    PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy’s Third Area Command gave a warm welcome to General Phung Quang Thanh, Vietnam’s Minister of National Defense, yesterday as he made his first diplomatic visit to the Phuket naval base responsible for Thailand’s Andaman coast.“I am very lucky to have had the opportunity to visit Thailand several times. This is my first official visit to…

  • Phuket NewsGovernment chief, 100-year-old tree deliver crushing blow to driver’s insurance

    Government chief, 100-year-old tree deliver crushing blow to driver’s insurance

    PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Provincial Social Security Office (PPSSO) has denied any liability for a tree – believed by locals to be about 100 years old – that fell and crushed five cars in the Social Security car park this morning.No injuries were reported in the incident.“It was an accident and the tree was here before the building,”…

  • Phuket NewsBikes found flaming near popular Phuket Beach

    Bikes found flaming near popular Phuket Beach

    PHUKET: Police are investigating the possible arson of four motorbikes parked on public land at the entrance of Laem Sing Beach.At about 3:45pm today Kamala Police received a report that four vehicles had burst into flames.“Three of the motorbikes belong to locals who work on the beach as masseuses; the other motorbike was the rental bike of a tourist who…

  • Phuket NewsThe digital blues of Phuket computing – Live Wire

    The digital blues of Phuket computing – Live Wire

    PHUKET: Over the years I’ve talked a lot about how computing in Phuket is different – what you can expect, what will never come to pass, how to work around a whole lot of problems. This week I want to share with you a couple of stories from some friends of mine, who got stung simply because they were trying…

  • Thai LifePhuket Environment: The rime of the ancient mariner

    Phuket Environment: The rime of the ancient mariner

    PHUKET: At the end of the 18th Century, and just after the bloodbath of the French Revolution, Coleridge wrote a narrative poem called “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.” A wonderful poem in its own right, it contains a pertinent lesson for our time. It chronicles how a sailor shot an albatross, a pervasive harbinger of good luck, thereby shattering…

  • Phuket NewsOfficers arrest six foreigners for working illegally in Phuket

    Officers arrest six foreigners for working illegally in Phuket

    PHUKET: Phuket Immigration officers yesterday raided a software design office in Rawai, where they arrested six foreigners, half of them Russian, for working illegally. Phuket Immigration Investigator Chidchanok Sakornyen led the raid, which saw his team of officers enter the site at 12:30pm. We found six foreigners working as software and web design consultants and operating a website. We questioned…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Gazette Sports: Must provoke things – Arsene Wenger

    Phuket Gazette Sports: Must provoke things – Arsene Wenger

    Arsenal seek unlikely escape route in Munich Reuters / Phuket Gazette “Our mentality is to go there, not resigned, but ambitious and provoke things, not go there and think ‘we will not qualify anyway,” Wenger said yesterday before leaving for Bayern Munich. PHUKET: Arsenal must stage one of the most unlikely Champions League comebacks if they are to advance at…

  • Thailand NewsPhuket Gazette Thailand News: Protection for shark and manta; Tiger and elephant poaching

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Protection for shark and manta; Tiger and elephant poaching

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Five shark species and manta ray to get protection Phuket Gazette / The Nation PHUKET: After being killed in unlimited numbers for decades, five shark species and the manta ray have won the protection of the world’s wildlife and plants summit, prompting countries to regulate trade…

  • World NewsPhuket Gazette World News: India rape suspect suicide; Iran-Pak lays pipeline; Neo German Party; Harvard says sorry

    Phuket Gazette World News: India rape suspect suicide; Iran-Pak lays pipeline; Neo German Party; Harvard says sorry

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Alleged ringleader in India gang-rape case found dead in cell Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The man police say was the ringleader in a gang rape on a New Delhi bus in December that outraged India hanged himself in his cell yesterday, prison authorities said, raising…

  • Phuket NewsPhotographer offers B100,000 reward for return of life’s work

    Photographer offers B100,000 reward for return of life’s work

    PHUKET: A professional travel photographer and boutique resort owner in Phuket is offering a 100,000-baht reward for any information leading to the return of his MacBook Pro and backup hard drive – which contain his life’s work.Brian Skyum, owner of Coco Palace Resort in Rawai, returned to Phuket after five weeks in the Philippines to find his maid was the…

  • Phuket NewsTiger Woods: ‘That’s why I work my tail off…’

    Tiger Woods: ‘That’s why I work my tail off…’

    Tiger works his tail off Reuters / Phuket Gazette“I enjoy being there. That’s why I work my tail off to lift all those weights, hit all those balls and spend those countless hours out there to be in that position,” Tiger Woods said after clinching victory at the WGC-Cadillac Championship. PHUKET: Tiger Woods made 27 birdies on his way to…

  • Phuket NewsSix children caught in Phuket beggar bust

    Six children caught in Phuket beggar bust

    PHUKET: Six children were part of a group of Cambodian beggars rounded up in Patong on Friday, as police continue to crackdown on beggars from abroad (story here). Police took six children into custody, aged between 5 months and 8 years, in addition to arresting six adults – three men and three women. None of the adults had a passport…

  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: Tough love for Phuket stray dogs

    Phuket Opinion: Tough love for Phuket stray dogs

    PHUKET: For the past 10 months, Weerasit Puthipairoj, 58, has been the chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office. Originally from Narathiwat, Mr Weerasit has a master’s degree in Agricultural Development from the Prince of Songkla University Haad Yai campus in Songkhla. Here, he talks about stray dogs in Phuket, the best way to deal with them and what to…

  • Business NewsPhuket’s scrap yards cleaning up

    Phuket’s scrap yards cleaning up

    PHUKET: As part of a campaign to raise awareness about pollution, and thus reduce it, the Phuket Environmental Office is conducting appraisals of the island’s antique shops, warehouses and old household item scrap yards. So far, a total of 39 businesses on Phuket have been targeted by the government campaign, which looks to certify related operators as a “Green Antique…

  • OpinionPhuket Opinion: Drivers – Charming, to the last

    Phuket Opinion: Drivers – Charming, to the last

    PHUKET: At first I was charmed by Thai driving idiosyncrasies, like motorcycles puttering along on the wrong side of the road. To all those who said “There are no rules”, I said “But there are!” For example, that wrong-way driving motorcyclist knows he had better stay well to the side and go slowly.When someone said, “Drivers in Phuket don’t get…

  • Business NewsPhuket Business: Three more subdivisions get approval

    Phuket Business: Three more subdivisions get approval

    PHUKET: A recent Phuket Land Subdivision Committee (PLSC) meeting gave provisional approval for three Land Subdivision Permit (LSP) applications, while denying another application. Chaired by Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, the PLSC’s first meeting this year was held on March 5 at the Phuket Land Office. Among the topics addressed in the meeting was the review and consideration of four…