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 NewsSpree of electric wire thefts in Phuket casues B2mn in damages

    Spree of electric wire thefts in Phuket casues B2mn in damages

    PHUKET: Police are hunting for a thief or thieves who have been stealing wires and equipment from electric poles in many areas of Phuket, causing more than 2 million baht worth of estimated loss. Locals in many areas, particularly Thalang and Kathu, have filed several complaints about unlit streets in their areas for the past two months. “They are not…

  • PropertyProperty Watch: The island that never gives up

    Property Watch: The island that never gives up

    PHUKET: Phuket is an island in which the motto “Never Give Up”, rings true. At one time, t-shirts and souvenirs could be seen listing the issues that businesses in Phuket had faced year after year, and yet through the human trait of perseverance and resilience, Phuket and its people carried on. So far as property investment is concerned, the same…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket beachgoers warned of ‘Portuguese Men of War’

    Phuket beachgoers warned of ‘Portuguese Men of War’

    PHUKET: Lifeguards have warned Phuket beachgoers to be wary of ‘Portuguese Men of War’, poisonous siphonophores that deliver a painful sting if touched. “One of our lifeguards spotted a Portuguese Man of War on the beach yesterday. This is not the first one we have found during this monsoon season – several of them have been seen on Phuket beaches…

  • Phuket NewsMalaysian fraudsters arrested for skimming Phuket bank accounts

    Malaysian fraudsters arrested for skimming Phuket bank accounts

    PHUKET: Three Malaysian ATM skimmers were arrested at the Sadao border checkpoint between Malaysia and Thailand on Tuesday. The arrests were made by the Songkla Immigration Office and Sadao Provincial Police. The suspects were wanted for conducting unauthorized money withdrawals in Songkla and Phuket, skimming more than 600,000 baht from 13 Phuket and Songkla-based accounts last month (story here). “We…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket police investigating horrific road death of 26-year-old biker

    Phuket police investigating horrific road death of 26-year-old biker

    PHUKET: A bike rider was killed after he hit a car, flew off his bike and had his head crushed by an 8-wheeled truck in Phuket yesterday. “The accident occurred at about 2:30pm on Chao Fa West road near a shop named ‘Prompan’. It was raining heavily at the time. At the scene, we found the body of Jeerawat Chitchua,…

  • Phuket NewsTruck on fire on tarmac at Krabi International Airport

    Truck on fire on tarmac at Krabi International Airport

    KRABI: Krabi International Airport came under fire after the engine of a pick-up burst into flames on the tarmac yesterday afternoon as bystanders looked on in panic. The pick-up was being used by airport employees for pre-flight ckecks. The flames were soon brought under control by rescue workers and firefighters. “We later discovered that the engine of the pick-up was…

  • Phuket NewsKrabi Hospital denies allegations of ‘ignoring’ injured Brit

    Krabi Hospital denies allegations of ‘ignoring’ injured Brit

    KRABI: Hospital officials yesterday denied reports that they ‘ignored’ the condition of a British man who was brought in with severe head injuries following a motorbike accident in Krabi last week. The accident occurred in front of Tesco Lotus in Krabi Town. The victim, 35, was named only as ‘Jo’ in a social media post shared by his friend, Facebook…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket gov launches weekly farmer’s market

    Phuket gov launches weekly farmer’s market

    PHUKET: Governor Norraphat Plodthong officially unveiled a ‘Farmer’s Market’ at Limelight Avenue in Phuket Town this week. The market is aimed at allowing farmers to directly supply fresh, high quality produce and provide a wider choice to customers. The new market will be held every week from Friday to Sunday, with a variety of organic products on offer. However, pineapples…

  • OpinionOpinion: Implications of the Computer Crimes Act

    Opinion: Implications of the Computer Crimes Act

    PHUKET: We can all let out a big sigh of relief now that the new Computer Crimes Act (CCA 2.0) is in effect, protecting us from ‘unsolicited digital advertising’ (aka spam) as well as a host of other annoyances and potential threats. All of the potential implications of CCA 2.0 are far too broad to address in this space, so…

  • Phuket NewsBypass trees chopped down to ‘ease traffic’, says Phuket highways chief

    Bypass trees chopped down to ‘ease traffic’, says Phuket highways chief

    PHUKET: Officials from the Phuket Highways Office say that the reason for chopping down the more than 20 towering pine trees near the Premium Outlet on the Bypass Road this morning was to provide a ‘better view’ of that road to drivers on both sides. “Due to ‘heavy rain’ these days, it was necessary for us to cut down the…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket gov to reconsider poor communities’ land issue

    Phuket gov to reconsider poor communities’ land issue

    PHUKET: Hundreds of people from poor communities in Phuket gathered outside Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday morning to protest an official announcement disqualifying them from attaining ‘community’ status. The sit-in was organized by the ’23 Communities Network’, which comprises of poor and marginalized communities in Phuket. As an officially-labeled ‘community’ the group would be entitled to the use of communal land…

  • Phuket NewsPEA announces temporary blackout schedule for Phuket

    PEA announces temporary blackout schedule for Phuket

    PHUKET: The Provincial Electricity Authority has announced a series of “temporary” blackouts again, this time for “maintenance” in various parts of Phuket, starting tomorrow. The power cuts, which are expected to last from 9am-4:30pm, are scheduled as follows: June 6: Premium Outlet to Biztown and from Siam Niramit to Phuket A&P Trading. June 8: Rock Garden Bypass Housing to Moo…

  • Phuket NewsOne injured as Phuket International Airport ceiling collapses

    One injured as Phuket International Airport ceiling collapses

    PHUKET: A 59-year-old Thai passenger was hospitalized with head injuries when part of the ceiling at Phuket International Airport’s domestic terminal crashed down on Saturday. Bancha Sanguannam was travelling to Bangkok via NokAir. He was seated at Gate 81-82 while waiting for his flight when the incident occurred. Mr Bancha was taken to Thalang Hospital where he received nine stitches…

  • Phuket NewsThousands participate in the 12th Laguna Phuket Marathon

    Thousands participate in the 12th Laguna Phuket Marathon

    PHUKET: More than 4,000 runners lined-up yesterday morning to run the Marathon and Half Marathon distances at the 12th annual Laguna Phuket Marathon. With a record turnout of almost 7,000 runners during the two-day event, the Marathon and Half Marathon proved to be the most popular. With more than 1,600 athletes competing in the marathon alone, it was the largest…

  • Phuket NewsMom Tri’s Villa Royale to host 5-course wine dinner

    Mom Tri’s Villa Royale to host 5-course wine dinner

    PHUKET: Mom Tri’s Villa Royale is hosting a five-course wine dinner from 7pm onwards on Tuesday (June 6). Featuring seared tuna; kurobota pork Italian tradition; veal sirloin and cheek ravioli; an Italian cheese collection; and a layered chocolate and coffee cake for dessert; each course is paired with vintage wine especially chosen by Mom Tri’s Wine Director George Ciret. With…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket woman wanted for allegedly cheating ‘savings group’ out of millions

    Phuket woman wanted for allegedly cheating ‘savings group’ out of millions

    PHUKET: Police are searching for a woman who allegedly swindled a ‘rotating savings’ group out of millions of baht. ‘Rotating savings’ is a form of combined peer-to-peer banking and lending system wherein a group of individuals agree to contribute a certain amount of money per month in order to save with and borrow from each other. Thirty people yesterday went…

  • Phuket NewsAnother dead marine creature washes up on Phuket beach

    Another dead marine creature washes up on Phuket beach

    PHUKET: A dead turtle in an advanced state of decay washed up at Surin Beach yesterday, two days after a beached whale in a similar state was discovered in the same place (story here). Officers from the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) came to examine the creature after receiving reports from the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor). They took…

  • Phuket NewsBus driver caught with nearly 1,000 protected marine creatures

    Bus driver caught with nearly 1,000 protected marine creatures

    PHUKET: A bus driver was arrested in Phang Nga early this morning with nearly one thousand protected marine creatures. He was enroute to Phuket. “We received information from one of our sources that a big delivery of marine creatures would be made by bus today. We monitored the route and finally spotted the bus on Petchkasem Road in Moo 2,…

  • Phuket NewsUnidentified British man killed in Phuket crash

    Unidentified British man killed in Phuket crash

    PHUKET: Police are trying to identify a British man who was killed in an early morning crash in Chalong today. From witnesses’ accounts, police believe the victim lost control of his bike and crashed into a wall at a bend in the road. “The accident occurred at about 2:40am in Soi Ta-Lad about 50 meters from Chao Fa East Road.…

  • Koh Samui NewsOn Deck: Samui – The unpolished marine jewel of Thailand

    On Deck: Samui – The unpolished marine jewel of Thailand

    PHUKET: Samui is an island of coconuts and a microcosm of Thailand’s modern tourism industry, with facilities geared to backpackers at one end of the scale, right up to five-star resorts at the other, and everything in between. From a marine perspective, it is – to some extent – an unpolished jewel. If Samui Island was on Thailand’s east coast,…

  • Phuket NewsMillion-baht-a-month lottery ring busted, three arrested

    Million-baht-a-month lottery ring busted, three arrested

    PHANG NGA: Police yesterday arrested two women and a man for allegedly running an underground lottery operation in Phuket’s neighboring province Phang Nga. The arrests were made at a staff housing unit at Banglam ‘Health Promoting Hospital’ in Takuathung District. The three suspects are Kamol Tongdeeying, 48, a palm oil farmer; Cholthida Makkhum, 35, an accountant;; and Pornthip Jankham, 31,…

  • Phuket NewsThailand 4.0, Smart City main focus of TCEB conference in Phuket

    Thailand 4.0, Smart City main focus of TCEB conference in Phuket

    PHUKET: The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) in cooperation with the ‘Southern Thailand MICE Cluster’ organized the ‘4th Thailand Domestic Mice Mart’ event at Duangjitt Resort & Spa in Patong yesterday. More than 200 participants attended the proceedings, which featured Thai Airways, Thai Smile, Air Asia and Bangkok Airways among the exhibitors. “This is a great opportunity for buyers…

  • Phuket News10kg monitor lizard found in Phuket home

    10kg monitor lizard found in Phuket home

    PHUKET: A 10kg monitor lizard was released into a forest after it was found in a foreigner’s house in Thalang yesterday. “We received a request from the owner of the house to help catch the lizard in Baan Suan Neramit 5, Srisoonthorn sub-district. When we arrived, it was hiding somewhere in the house,” said Pongpan Juanan of Kusoldharm Foundation. “It…

  • Phuket NewsCarcass of 10-meter whale washes up at Phuket beach

    Carcass of 10-meter whale washes up at Phuket beach

    PHUKET: The carcass of a 10-meter-long whale in a state of advanced decay washed ashore at Surin Beach yesterday morning. Officers are trying to identify the cause of death and find a place to bury it. “We received reports that the body of an unidentified marine animal had washed up at about 11am. We have identified it to be a…

  • Phuket NewsPrivate entrepreneurs reveal plans to launch ‘smart buses’

    Private entrepreneurs reveal plans to launch ‘smart buses’

    PHUKET: The shareholders of Phuket City Development Co Ltd (PKCD), a group of private entrepreneurs who came together late last year to form a company to work hand in hand with government departments to boost investment and promote seamless business operations in Phuket (story here), revealed their latest plans on Tuesday. The company announced that six separate “offshoots” would handle…

  • Business NewsFinance: Using monthly charts to analyze trends

    Finance: Using monthly charts to analyze trends

    PHUKET: Monthly charts are among the first buy signals I look for when selecting stocks because they show bigger time frames where long term trends can be seen. As we enter the summer months, a short term pull back could still happen and this would be a perfectly normal price action. Lately we haven’t yet seen any price action to…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket fishermen protest closure of community seafood restaurant

    Phuket fishermen protest closure of community seafood restaurant

    PHUKET: Local fishermen and representatives from fish processing groups yesterday morning gathered at the Damrongdharma Center to ask for help after the Phuket Fisheries Office ordered the closure of the Sarasin Seafood Restaurant in Tah Chat Chai. The group of 30, led by Ronnakorn Hongsa, president of Fish Processing Group Baan Tah Chat Chai, submitted a letter to Damrongdharma Center…

  • Thai LifeProfile: Mexican Ambassador Jaime Nualart meets with the Gazette team

    Profile: Mexican Ambassador Jaime Nualart meets with the Gazette team

    PHUKET: Jaime Nualart is currently the Ambassador of Mexico to Thailand. Born in Mexico City in 1952, Amb Nualart remembers his childhood with fondness. “I went to a good school and was among the top three students in my class. I had good friends, but I was also very shy. That is perhaps the reason my mother decided to enroll…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket City museum officials give 30-day deadline for reopening

    Phuket City museum officials give 30-day deadline for reopening

    PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality officials have confirmed that the Peranakannitat Museum launched earlier this month will be ready and open to the public within a month’s time. Last week, officials announced that the museum would temporarily remain closed until exhibitors could return all the items borrowed from Phuket residents to display during the grand opening ceremony, but could not give…

  • Phuket News29-year-old killed in high-speed Phuket crash

    29-year-old killed in high-speed Phuket crash

    PHUKET: A motorbike rider was killed after he lost control of his bike at a bend in the road and crashed into the back of a parked car in Phuket’s Rassada sub-district early this morning. “The accident occurred on Thepkrasattri Road northbound. At the scene, we found the victim lying on the road, covered in blood. His Kawasaki motorbike was…