Legacy Phuket Gazette
- Phuket News
Third time unlucky for store stick-up man
PHUKET: Police caught a convenience store robber yesterday after his third armed hold up in Phuket. “The robber, named by police as Veerachai Singniew, 26, was arrested in Pa Khlok yesterday afternoon after he robbed a Family Mart in Baan Lipon, holding up staff with a 28cm-long kitchen knife. Police tracked the man down to his home in Pa Khlok…
- Phuket News
Two dead, two seriously injured in rain-drenched Krabi crash
KRABI:Two people were killed and two more seriously injured in a mid-morning car crash in Krabi. “Reports of the accident came in about 10:30am. It took place near the Nua Khlong junction,” said Lt Col Suthorn Kampaphan of the Nua Khlong Police. “A white SUV was wedged into a brown pick-up truck, with two people trapped inside each vehicle.” Rescuers…
- Phuket News
Red Cross blood donation drive schedule for June
PHUKET: Mobile blood donation clinics will be popping up all over the island this month, the Phuket Red Cross announced today. The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is hoping to supplement its limited supplies of O, A, and AB blood types. “We need to maintain a daily minimum of 200 units of these blood types, in addition to 20 units…
- Phuket News
DMCR task force charges 22 shrimp farmers
PHUKET: A Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) task force has charged 22 shrimp farmers in Phuket for encroaching on mangrove forests. Officers from the 120-man inter-agency task force, dubbed ‘White Shark’, conducted raids throughout forests on the island’s east coast from May 29-31. DMCR Deputy Director-General Sakda Wichiansin said that White Shark inspected 34 plots of land, covering…
- Phuket News
Vandals damage clown fish sculpture in Krabi
KRABI: A clown fish sculpture was damaged by unknown vandals yesterday, leading to a disappointed Facebook post by Krabi City Mayor Keeratisak Phukaoluan. “Whoever did this is heartless,” said Mr Keeratisak in his post. “The sculpture was built using public taxes in order to accentuate the beauty of the province for tourists. It is damaged at the tail and was…
- Phuket News
Provincial court convicts four for forging land documents
PHUKET: Four Thais have been convicted for forging land title documents, claiming ownership of more than 400 rai of Sirinath National Park on the northwest coast of Phuket, the Department of National Parks Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) announced yesterday. The felons face up to 14 years in prison and more than nine million baht each in fines, said DNP…
- Thailand News
Four suspected insurgents, one ranger killed in Narathiwat clashes
THAILAND: Four suspected insurgents and a ranger were killed in two clashes in a mountainous area in Narathiwat’s Chanae district yesterday. The first clash occurred about 7am, when Narathiwat task force troops and rangers launched a joint operation to raid a camp of the suspected insurgents in the mountainous area behind I-Kros village in Chang Puean sub district. Intelligence agencies…
- Business News
The financial and legal steps involved in starting a small business
PHUKET: To pick up from where I left off last time, let’s discuss the financial and legal steps involved in starting a small business. Plan your financials: Whether you are putting in a couple of months’ salary, or your entire life savings, finances need to be properly laid out. Many of us make the mistake of putting in too much…
- Phuket News
Security guard breaks into home, assaults owner
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested a security guard who confessed to breaking into a Pa Khlok tourist villa where he was employed. “Amman Tokanee, 24, was apprehended in Narathiwat Province, where he had escaped for fear of being arrested after the incident in Phuket last Friday,” said Thalang police superintendent Sompong Thip-apakul. Mr Amman broke into Cape Yamu Villa, but fled…
- Phuket News
Rescuers free taxi driver pinned to steering wheel
PHUKET: An airport taxi driver pinned against the steering wheel of his vehicle had to be pried out after the car crashed into a power pole this morning. The driver, Chakri Jaruwateekul, is in serious condition at Vachira Phuket Hospital. He was unconscious after rescue workers cut him out of the Honda Civic. “It took about 30 minutes to get…
- Phuket News
Gas station attendants criminally responsible for customers who don’t hang up
PHUKET: Gas station attendants will be held legally responsible for ensuring that drivers turn off their engines and put away their cell phones at the pump, officials from the Department of Energy Business (DOEB) confirmed Sunday. DOEB issued a new law to this effect, according to which, if gas station attendants are caught disobeying regulations, they will be fined a…
- Phuket News
Mayor Somjai takes to the streets following heavy rains
PHUKET: Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana took to the streets to hear out locals’ complaints after a deluge of rain during the past week caused flooding and chaos on the island. Mayor Somjai knocked on doors on Amphor Road and discussed solutions with residents who live by the canal, about flooding in the area. She also visited the Phuket Post…
- Opinion
Opinion: Problems with Phuket’s blood supply
Dr Suprang Suttantapidok, MD, is a hematologist at Vachira Phuket Hospital and the head of the hospital’s blood bank. A Phuket native, she graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at Siriraj Hospital and specialized in hematology. She has been working for Vachira Phuket Hospital since 2013. Here, she talks about the blood-related issues that Phuket faces and the needs of…
- Phuket News
Phuket Muslims prepare for arrival of Ramadan
PHUKET: Muslim clerics in Phuket are to scour the skies to see if the moon is visible on June 5 to determine the beginning of a month of fasting for Ramadan. The sighting of the moon is the traditional requisite for proclaiming the arrival of a new month on the Islamic lunar calendar, said Phuket’s Islamic Committee Secretary Piyadet Chuachalard.…
- World News
Mass coral bleaching cast shadow over future of Great Barrier Reef
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Mass coral bleaching cast shadow over future of Great Barrier Reef Phuket Gazette / Reuters SYDNEY: Mass coral bleaching has destroyed at least 35 percent of the northern and central Great Barrier Reef, Australian scientists said on Monday, a major blow to the World Heritage Site…
- Phuket News
Darasamuth underpass to close Tuesday night
PHUKET: The Darasamuth Underpass is to close temporarily from 11pm Tuesday night until about 5am Wednesday, confirmed Samak Luedwonghad, director of the Phuket Highways Office. “We have to close all three lanes to improve and maintain the electric system and ensure the efficiency of tunnel lights,” said Mr Samak. “Motorists are advised to use alternative routes during that time.” Mr…
- Koh Samui News
Briton’s body found four days after Samui speed boat sank in storm
PHUKET: The search for a British national, who disappeared after a speedboat sinking near Koh Samui on Thursday afternoon, is over, after officials reportedly recovered the man’s body yesterday. Samui District chief Paiboon Omak accompanied divers, who found the body of 46-year-old Jason Robert Parnell. “Due to heavy winds and quick, murky currents, foreign specialists joined us to help recover…
- Phuket News
Ten charged in White Shark inspection so far
PHUKET: Ten land owners are being charged after a Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) team investigated 24 plots of land for alleged mangrove encroachment on Phuket. The investigations are part of a nationwide operation to reclaim ‘national treasures’ across 24 provinces. The team will inspect a total 34 plots of land covering about 2,200 rai on the island…
- Business News
Centara plans for MICE hub
PHUKET: The Centara Grand West Sands Resort & Villas Phuket revealed an expansion plan on May 16, which revolves around the construction of a new convention center. The resort is located on the west coast of Phuket near the Sarasin Bridge on Mai Khao Beach and already has 558 hotel rooms and a water park with swimming pools, lazy river…
- Thai Life
Profile: Peejay Stanley says farewell to Phuket
PHUKET: For half a decade Texan soul singer Peejay Stanley has been entertaining Phuketians with a larger than life stage presence guaranteed to get audiences on their feet. Peejay’s singing style has been described as similar to Joan Armatrading, Tracy Chapman and Nina Simone, but she is probably best described as a motown, soul and blues artist with a voice…
- Phuket News
Ukrainian tourist wakes up to real nightmare
PHUKET: A Ukrainian woman reportedly woke up to a strange man in her room yesterday, who grabbed her cellphone before bolting down the stairs, she told police. Oleksandra Drobinova, 29, said that she was asleep in the afternoon, when she woke up to see a stranger, who she believed to be Thai, pick up her phone off the dressing table.…
- Phuket News
White Sharks hunting for encroachers in Phuket mangroves
PHUKET: A new taskforce set up by the National Parks Department, known as ‘White Shark’, launched an investigation into alleged encroachment of more than 2,200 rai of mangrove forest in Phuket. The taskforce mustered 200 officials to check several plots in Phuket. Officials estimate encroachment of the mangrove forest has cost the state 250 million baht. Officials were split into…
- World News
Killing of gorilla to save boy at Ohio zoo sparks outrage
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Killing of gorilla to save boy at Ohio zoo sparks outrage Phuket Gazette / Reuters OHIO: The killing of a gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo after a 4-year-old boy tumbled into the ape’s enclosure triggered outrage and questions about safety, but zoo officials called the decision…
- Phuket News
Land Department revokes B4bn titles for disputed Freedom Beach land
PHUKET: The long-debated four-billion-baht land titles, covering 65 rai of land off Freedom Beach, were officially revoked by the Land Department on May 12, as the two Chanotes were proved to overlap the Khao Narkkerd Preservation Forest. The Land Department signed off on the order on May 12, and the Royal Forest Department (RFD) officially received the letter on May…
- Phuket News
Tourists abandoned in stormy sea after illegal longtail sinks off Krabi
KRABI: A boat captain abandoned four tourists in rough seas, leaving them clinging to rocks, after his overloaded longtail boat capsized near Wang Sai Seafood restaurant, en route to Ao Nang from Railay Friday afternoon. The boat was overloaded with nearly twice the vessel’s maximum capacity of eight people. Canadians, Polish and Spanish men and women were among the passengers…
- Business News
Finance: Service your clients the right way
PHUKET: I often run across clients of other firms who complain that they receive absolutely no service on their policies. I understand how they feel, but having been in the industry a long time, I also understand why. It is simply a misalignment of interests and is inherent in the way many of the insurance companies allow the introducing and…
- Phuket News
Environmentalist praises tourist’s arrest
PHUKET: A marine expert and environmentalist is calling for help in keeping tourists from taking coral and other marine life out of the country. Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a member of the National Reform Council (NRC) and a marine expert and activist, expressed his concerns on social media after receiving a large number of reports by airport staff that tourists were taking…
- Phuket News
Vachira Hospital thanks blood donors on 49th anniversary
PHUKET: Vachira Phuket Hospital on Monday awarded certificates and souvenirs to more than 50 regular blood donors to the hospital’s blood bank. The ‘thank you’ event for blood donors and more than 70 supporting organizations was hosted by hospital director Dr Jessada Chungpaibulpatana at the hospital’s Baan Khun Poom building and coincided with the blood bank’s 49th anniversary. Among the…
- Thai Life
Gardening: Caring for plants in dry weather
PHUKET: This is the time of year when the prolonged dry weather stimulates certain flowering trees to bloom as if their very lives depended on it. In a sense this is literally true, since an exceptional drought will probably mean that fruits may not form, and even that mature trees may shed so many leaves that they die. Already the…
- Phuket News
Last of the Rohingya escapees captured
PHUKET: The last of 21 Rohingya escapees, who broke out from a Phang Nga Immigration Detention Center early Monday morning, were finally arrested last night, officials confirmed. “We received reports from locals in Baan Thai Thoi that the Rohingya men were spotted inside a mangrove forest and shrimp farm,” said Songyot Nakrit, Tum Bor Put village headman. “The men had…
