- Bangkok News
Massive blaze breaks out at Bangkok cinema
BANGKOK: A faulty billboard was blamed for sparking a massive fire at the Major Cineplex in the Central Pinklao shopping mall in Bangkok this morning. Police said the fire broke out at 11:15 and within 20 minutes had caused the third-floor roof to collapse, just as a team of firefighters pulled out of the building. No one was trapped inside…
- Phuket News
Boat Lagoon director awarded marina certification
PHUKET: Wicky Sundram, executive director of operations at the Phuket Boat Lagoon, was yesterday awarded ‘Certified Marina Professional (CMP)’ status by the Global Marina Institute (GMI). He joins the ranks of six other CMPs across the Asia/Pacific region and is the first to receive the certification in Thailand. Mr Sundram was presented with his CMP by Andrew Chapman, President of…
- Phuket News
Task force nabs four for working illegally
PHUKET: Two foreign tour guides and two photographers were arrested yesterday for working illegally in Phuket. The grand spectacle was led by Phuket Provincial Labor Office Chief Suttipong Saisakares and included a powerhouse of officers from the labor office, the tourist police, the provincial government office and civil defence volunteers, among others. The officials were acting on complaints from locals…
- Phuket News
Elderly tourist falls to death at Kata Beach
PHUKET: An elderly Chinese tourist was killed when he slipped and fell on rocks at Kata Beach on Tuesday. Beach lifeguards reported the incident to the Royal Thai Navy and police at about 2pm after locals found him lying on the rocks between Kata and Kata Noi beaches. Officers went out on jet-skis to retrieve him as it was too…
- Phuket News
Fridge on the fritz blamed for apartment blaze
PHUKET: A short-circuiting fridge is believed to have sparked a fire that gutted an apartment at Salabua Mansion Apartments in Wichit last night. The apartment’s occupant, Kriangkrai Suthammetha, 50, discovered his third-floor room was ablaze when he returned from an errand just after 6pm, Wichit Police Lt Patcharee Wongboon told the Gazette. Firefighters from the Wichit office of the Department…
- Phuket News
Bangla shooter charged for attempted murder
PHUKET: A man wanted for shooting another four times in Bangla early yesterday morning surrendered to police that same afternoon, after a warrant was issued for his arrest. The shooter, Thanapon Pankaew, also handed over a 9mm pistol and magazine that he admittedly used during the altercation. The victim, Sayan Padungsap, 35, was shot four times and admitted to the…
- Phuket News
Late night Bangla shooter hunted for attempted murder
PHUKET: Police are hunting for a man who allegedly shot another four times early this morning in Patong. Patong Police received reports of the incident at 3.41am, which took place at a parking lot behind the VIP Room nightclub on Bangla Road. The victim, Sayan Padungsap, 35, identified the shooter as 34-year-old Thanapon Pankaew before being rushed to Patong Hospital.…
- World News
US backs resumption of China-Philippines talks on South China Sea
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community US backs resumption of China-Philippines talks on South China Sea Phuket Gazette / Reuters VIENTIANE: US Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday he supported the resumption of talks between China and the Philippines over the South China Sea, following an international court ruling against…
- Phuket News
Tsunami warning buoy out of action
PHUKET: A tsunami warning buoy off of Phuket’s west coast has been broken since at least March, officials confirmed yesterday. News of the buoy’s malfunction was reported on the public Facebook page ‘Phuket Quake Watcher (PQW)’, a group that monitors Phuket’s weather forecasts and seismic activity, on June 21. PQW members wrote that one of the buoys donated by the…
- Phuket News
Cape Panwa Raceweek wraps up after controversial contest
PHUKET: After three days of challenging conditions and tough racing, the sailors were looking for a final day bang. However, Principal Race Officer Simon James and team left the sailors onshore as they headed off in search for wind, which turned into a search for the proverbial needle in a haystack. It was never found. While the sailors enjoyed the…
- Phuket News
Tourist in ICU after snorkelling mishap
KRABI: A Chinese tourist is recovering in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Krabi Hospital after nearly drowning while snorkelling near Koh Hong yesterday morning. “At the scene, we found Chinese national Guobiao Guangdong, 26, in a very serious condition. He was choking after breathing in water, so officers applied first aid and then rushed him to hospital, where he…
- Phuket News
Girl abandons baby in gas station toilet
KRABI: An 18 year-old Songkla student living in Phuket allegedly abandoned her newborn baby girl in a Krabi gas station toilet bowl yesterday. Police in Trang province were warned by officers in Krabi that the newborn’s mother was aboard a Songkla-bound bus from Phuket. Nayong District police in Trang reportedly checked passengers on every bus until they identified a female…
- Thailand News
Krabi thief chops off cow’s tail
KRABI: A Krabi villager was dismayed to discover that an unknown thief had chopped off and stolen his cow’s tail when he left the animal out to graze overnight. Udom Yala, 37, a villager from Khao Khram in Krabi, said that his cow is still in pain, despite the incident having taken place three months ago. The 13-year-old cow, named…
- Koh Samui News
Cruise ship port for Samui
SAMUI: Government officials are getting excited about making Koh Samui a hub for cruise ship tourism to Thailand. Officials met with private-sector cruise ship experts while touring a ship docked off of Samui’s gulf coast yesterday. The tour comes after last week’s announcement by the government in Bangkok that it has approved a plan to build a cruise port on…
- Phuket News
Phuket traffic nightmare: Number of island-based tour buses to double
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada announced on Saturday that a whopping 100 new tour buses will be added to the province’s transportation network next month. Speaking at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa in Karon, the governor said that the approval of these buses is the first step in a much larger tourism promotion endeavor that would see the…
- Phuket News
Buses aim to compete with low cost airlines
PHUKET: THE Transport Company Limited has launched one hundred new 15-meter-long buses to compete with the rapidly rising number of flights on low-cost airlines, the company revealed on its 86-year anniversary earlier this month. “The new buses contain extra-comfortable seats; lockers above every seat; free wifi; and a modern entertainment service for watching movies and sports matches,” said company chairman…
- Pattaya News
On Deck: Better co-ordination in the marine industry
PHUKET: Almost three weeks of back-to-back yachting events in Phuket sounds great, right? December is set to be a veritable orgy of regattas, boat shows, lavish cocktail parties, gala dinners, pomp and glam – it’s an all-out marine love-in and it starts with the 30 year old Phuket King’s Cup Regatta from December 3-10 at Kata Beach Resort & Spa.…
- Thai Life
Multihull winners announced after a brisk day’s racing
PHUKET: With podium places on the line, the nervous excitement and anticipation of a great day’s sailing was clear to see by the feel at the breakfast tables around the Phuket Yacht club. What made it even better, Mother Nature decided to grace Chalong Bay with a westerly breeze of 10 to 12 knots, which promised to grow throughout the…
- Phuket News
Rose renews role as official TYS Ambassador
PHUKET: The Thailand Yacht Show (TYS) team has announced that Rose Maitland-Smith has renewed her role as the show’s official Ambassador. The second TYS, for which the Phuket Gazette continues as National Media Partner, is set to take place at Ao Po Grand Marina, December 15-18. The show will give visitors access to a large cross-section of exhibitors, including international…
- Opinion
Governor’s Letter: Improvement plans for Phuket
PHUKET: Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada assumed his role as Phuket Governor on September 30, 2015. He is a Phuket native with a Master’s degree in political and administrative science from the National Institute of Development Administration. Last month, he was awarded the honor of ‘best drug fighting governor’ by the Deputy Prime Minister. Here, he talks about his plans to improve…
- Thai Life
Profile: Simon James – Phuket’s jet-setting race officer
PHUKET: The yachts may change, the weather always, but one constant in the Phuket yacht racing firmament is Race Officer Simon James. Up at the crack of dawn and ready on the start line as the racers roll out their sails, Simon James has officiated at almost every regatta in the Andaman and the Gulf of Thailand since the turn…
- Phuket News
Suspect in Phuket Town shooting surrenders
PHUKET: One of the perpetrators involved in the Phuket Town slaying of a hill-tribe woman surrendered to Phuket City Police on Saturday. Police are reporting that the man claimed he was only the driver and knew nothing about the shooting before the gun was fired. On July 8, two suspects shot a woman in the head in a souvenir shop…
- Property
B9mn allocated for pier improvements
PHUKET: A budget of 9 million baht has been allocated to spruce up Chalong Pier with plans to improve facilities for the hundreds of tourists who visit the ferry point daily. Transportation Division Chief Prasit Yotharak of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) said last week that renovation plans include more seating, more toilets, shower stalls and a Muslim prayer…
- Phuket News
Phi Phi fellatio puts couple in trouble
PHUKET: A farang couple surrendered to police yesterday after a video of them engaging in oral sex at a Phi Phi Island swimming pool went viral earlier this month. The Irish man and American woman were caught by locals at poolside on July 18. The video, which lasts about two minutes, shows locals asking the couple in poor English peppered…
- Property
Across the land: Expats hit by Brexit fallout
PHUKET: Two days after the United Kingdom held a referendum to leave the European Union (EU), now famously known worldwide as ‘Brexit’, the global financial markets suffered US$3 trillion in paper losses. The aftermath is eerily quiet. The consequences of Brexit will unfold in the coming months and years ahead, and they will be far-reaching. Good or bad, they will…
- Phuket News
Phuket disgrace: plastic pollution in the Andaman
PHUKET: My concerns over plastic pollution were stimulated anew by an excellent analysis in the China Daily called ‘Drowning in Plastic’, and also by the cover story in a recent edition of the Phuket Gazette in which a seasoned local fisherman expressed surprise at the decline in fish catches in our seas. The main contributor to that story – the…
- Thailand News
Migrant parents refuse to cremate daughter
KOH SAMUI: The father of a four-year-old girl killed by a pickup truck in a temple has stated he will refrain from cremating her body until his family receives compensation. In Thailand, it is customary to cremate the body of the deceased after their funeral rites are administered. The Burmese parents, Zo Ao, 49, and Cho Ma Rui, 43, held…
- Business News
Finance: A formula for prosperity
PHUKET: There is a fantastic equation that can be used in almost any decision you make in life. I learned this from the supplement company that I work with but it also applies to financial planning, life planning, and many other areas in life. The equation is simply X=Y. In the equation we can substitute any action for X so…
- Opinion
Opinion: Reconsidering our stance on plastic marine pollution
PHUKET: The current government has made a commendable effort in convincing the European Union (EU) and other international observers that it will impose some order over illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) practices in the Thai fishing industry. The fact remains, however, that bureaucrats from Brussels to Bangkok have little to no control over the commercial forces that are turning our…
- Thai Life
Gardening: Erotic undertones of orchids
PHUKET: The epithet ‘sexy’ is much overused, not to say abused. It appears in contexts that have nothing to do with people’s erotic appetites at all. Inanimate objects can apparently fit the bill; cars, dishes or even flowers. ‘No Orchids For Miss Blandish’, a raunchy 1939 novel, invoked orchids in its title because author James Hadley Chase knew they possessed…
