- Phuket News
Cafe del Mar’s José Padilla in Phuket sunset performance
PHUKET: Café del Mar’s José Padilla will be playing his signature sunset chill out tunes this Thursday at Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa for a night of ‘Silk Rhythms’. Party goers at the luxury resort’s vast pool-scape can sip sparkling wine in the water with a broad view of the sun setting over the sea while the ‘Godfather of Sunsets’…
- Phuket News
Desperately seeking Simone in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Where is Simone? An English artist who has been traveling to Thailand for holidays with her family for over 15 years is trying to contact ‘Simone’, a Soi Bangla ladyboy, to let her know that a painting of her was recently voted into the ‘Top 50 Favorite’ paintings on the world-famous Saatchi on-line art gallery. Artist Lisa Andrews…
- Phuket News
Phuket PTT attendant returns foreigner’s purse
WICHIT, PHUKET: Cynics take note: Like chivalry, honesty is not yet totally dead in Phuket. A gas station attendant returned a purse containing 10,000 baht (approx US$300) in cash and other valuables to a British woman who had accidentally dropped it while filling up on Sunday morning. English expat Kathleen (‘Katie’) Gooch-Firmin pulled into the PTT filling station on Chao…
- Phuket News
Phuket King’s Cup Day Two: Hi Fi takes lead
PHUKET: Neil Pryde’s Hi Fi is leading the way in the Premier Class after the second day of racing at the 2009 Phuket King’s Cup Regatta.Chris Meads on Full Metal Jacket came second and Pryde’s perennial Asian Yachting Grand Prix rival Ray Roberts settled for third on Evolution Racing.Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban looks set to run away with the IRC1…
- Phuket News
Body found off Karon identified as Australian
PHUKET CITY: Chalong Police have confirmed that the body of a man found floating off Karon Beach yesterday is that of 31-year-old Australian Ben Douglas Richard, who went missing from a villa hotel in the Surin Beach area over the weekend. Chalong Police investigator Boonlert Onklang told the Gazette Mr Richard had been staying at a villa owned by a…
- Phuket News
Phuket King’s Cup: Full Metal Jacket beats favorites
PHUKET: With over 110 yachts and 18 dinghies entered in 15 different classes, this years Phuket King’s Cup Regatta is shaping up for another bumper season. The fleet contains a healthy contingent of old adversaries as well as some new contenders.Ray Roberts on Evolution Racing and Neil Pryde on Hi-Fi were expected to set the running in the Racing Class…
- Phuket News
Phuket’s Amy Jacobs recovering from car crash
PHUKET CITY: The condition of television actress Ameria ‘Amy’ Jacobs continues to improve and she is conscious and breathing on her own. A mass-circulation Thai-language daily newspaper yesterday quoted staff at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok as saying that Amy has been taken off a respirator and was responding to verbal commands. Her father Jan Jacobs confirmed this, telling the Gazette…
- Phuket News
Brits encouraged to sign up with tracking system
PHUKET CITY: British Ambassador to Thailand Quinton Quayle is encouraging all British subjects who live or travel to Phuket or other parts of Thailand to register their presence here using a new on-line service set up by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Click on this link! campaign encourages British Nationals to use LOCATE, an online system, to register…
- Phuket News
King’s Cup Regatta returns to its roots
PHUKET: Action at the 23rd King’s Cup Regatta got underway over the weekend with two days of competitive dinghy racing off Kata Beach.Now in it’s 22nd year, the event is Asia’s biggest and most popular regatta.Inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the 60th birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, the event has been held every year since then during…
- Phuket News
Tourist found dead off Phuket beach
PHUKET CITY: The body of a man presumed to be a foreign tourist was pulled from the sea off Karon Beach earlier today.Chalong Police were notified of the body’s discovery by staff at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort around noon today.Phuket Ruamjai Kupai Foundation workers used one of the resort’s boats to recover the floating body, which was discovered about…
- Phuket News
HM The King’s birthday celebrations cut back
The Royal Household Bureau announced today that His Majesty the King has ordered the indefinite postponement of many functions relating to his birthday celebrations.The Trooping the Color, scheduled on December 2, and HM the King’s birthday speech on December 4 have been indefinitely postponed.HM the King will still grant an audience to royal family members, the cabinet and Members of…
- Phuket News
Readers’ Poll: Plastic initiative good for Phuket
PHUKET: Over half of Phuket Gazette voters think the new charge for plastic bags is a good idea. The results come in as Phuket prepares to implement a one- or two-baht charge for plastic bags at the island’s major retail stores beginning in February. Of the 580 voters who took part in the poll, 306 (or 52.8%) agreed that the…
- Opinion
OPINION: A tough time for Phuket police
PHUKET: The past week has seen a real change in the weather in Phuket, literally and figuratively. The monsoon season appears to finally be drawing to a close and with temperatures dropping in colder northern climes, high season is upon us. Hotel occupancy rates are rising and the island’s population continues to swell. By some estimates Phuket’s actual population is…
- Phuket News
Man nabbed over killing of Japanese in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: A man was arrested yesterday on suspicion of killing a 75-year-old Japanese national, reportedly out of rage at the victim for abusing his Thai wife, with whom the alleged killer was romantically involved. Suwit Maengsri, 21, was wanted for conspiring to murder Yukiho Yamada, stealing his cellphone and burning his body to cover up the crime. He was…
- Phuket News
Transport officials inspect Ao Por wave attenuator
PHUKET CITY: High-ranking Transport Ministry officials paid a visit to Ao Por Grand Marina on Thursday morning to inspect a newly-deployed floating wave attenuator installed on a trial basis at a cost of 20 million baht. Deputy Transport Minister Kuakul Danchaiwijit, Marine Department Director Chalor Kotcharat and other officials arrived at the marina at about 11am. Ao Por Grand Marina customer…
- Phuket News
Grass gets greener for Phuket sea cows
PHUKET CITY: The grass will be greener for sea cows (dugongs) visiting Phuket thanks to a seagrass fertilization project currently underway.Bangkok Hospital Phuket and the Mekawanich Foundation are teaming up to produce 20,000 ‘effective micro-organisms’ (EM) balls that will be introduced into the sea off Pa Khlok and into the fetid waters of Klong Pakbang in Patong.The project will be…
- Chiang Mai News
Dutch crash victim’s remains to be repatriated
SAKHOO, PHUKET : The remains of Dutch national Klaas Verbeek, who was killed in a motorbike accident on Monday evening, will be repatriated to Holland over the weekend.Pol Maj Rassada Kleongwong of Tha Chat Chai Police, identified the driver of the vehicle that collided with Mr Verbeek’s motorbike as Pol Sgt Maj Thavorn Tongkham, who is assigned to the Tah…
- Phuket News
Woman confesses to arranging murder of Japanese husband
CHALONG, PHUKET: Chalong Police say a 50-year-old Thai woman has confessed to having her elderly Japanese husband murdered after he asked if he could keep a mistress. Seventy-five-year-old Yukiho Yamada’s skeletal remains were found in a burning car in Chalong at around 4:30am Wednesday morning. His wife, Tubtim Saehak, said she hired Suwit ‘Kai’ Mansri, a 21-year-old Thai man from…
- Phuket News
Phuket jet-skis now insured
PATONG, PHUKET: More than 200 people with a complement of 70 machines turned out for today’s ‘jet-ski jamboree’ on Patong Beach.The event, organized by the Phuket Jet-ski Rental Club, was held to mark the official launch of the compulsory insurance scheme that the government hopes will put an end to the infamous ‘jet-ski scam’ in which tourists are overcharged for…
- Phuket News
Alleged ladyboy killer nabbed in Phuket Town
PHUKET CITY: The suspected killer of a ladyboy found dead in Wichit on Saturday morning was caught early Wednesday morning at a short-time hotel near Saphan Hin. A Phuket City Police press release identified the suspect as 22-year-old Phichai ‘Muk’ Lakkor. Mr Phichai was initially arrested by Phuket City Police crime suppression officers for the illegal possession of a firearm.…
- Phuket News
Phuket TV star in ICU following smash
PHUKET: A Thai soap star and former Miss Teen Thailand from Phuket is in serious condition following a car accident in Pathum Thani. Ameria ‘Amy’ Jacobs, 21, and 25-year-old Buphakorn Nilat are being treated in Krung Siam St Carlos Hospital in the central Thai province. Mr Buphakorn was driving Miss Jacobs home to Nonthaburi province when he lost control of…
- Phuket News
German tourist takes on foul latrine in Kamala
KAMALA, PHUKET: A German tourist disgusted with the state of a public toilet at Kamala Beach has taken it upon himself to give the bog a thorough cleaning every day. The German, 56-year-old Rohlofe Jeck, is in Kamala on a one-week holiday, staying in a rented accommodation near the Kamala Public Health Office. Yesterday afternoon, Mr Jeck was spotted by…
- Phuket News
OPINION: A positive step at last for Phuket
PHUKET CITY: In a show of public-private sector co-operation, Phuket’s major retailers are working with the government to institute a nominal fee for shoppers who carry off their purchases in plastic bags. The first of its kind in Thailand, the initiative is a sensible and long overdue attempt to deal with Phuket’s waste management crisis. With each passing day, approximately…
- Phuket News
Dutch biker killed in Phuket collision
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Dutchman Klaas Verbeek was killed and his Thai passenger seriously injured when the motorbike they were riding collided with a pickup truck driven by a policeman in Tah Chat Chai early yesterday evening.Mr Verbeek, 53, was an annual visitor to Phuket for at least 15 years and was highly regarded in Phuket’s expat community.His body is being…
- Phuket News
Reckless driver kills Phuket monk, merit-maker
PHUKET CITY: A man drove a pick-up at high speed into an elderly monk and a man donating alms on his 23rd birthday early this morning, killing both. Luangpor Samarn Narakea, 60, was accepting alms from Grissada Nootngiewngarm, 23, when they were hit by an Isuzu pick-up at around 6am. The pair were standing on Takuapa Road, across the canal…
- Phuket News
Phuket police nab fugitive murder suspects
PHUKET CITY: Chalong Police on Sunday arrested two brothers wanted for armed robbery and murder in Ratchaburi province last year. Police identified the pair as 28-year-old Aekapop Soonthorn and his brother Anurak Soonthorn, 25. Both are Ratchaburi natives. Mr Aekapop was arrested first on Soi Anusorn in Chalong Village 2. Mr Anurak was picked up later the same day at…
- Phuket News
Jet-ski jamboree’ to restore Phuket’s image
PATONG, PHUKET: Phuket’s jet-ski operators are going all out to mend their industry’s grubby image on Thursday, when a ride on any of the island’s 200-plus jet-skis will be entirely free of charge. The message they hope to send out: Phuket’s jet-skis are no longer a rip-off. The Phuket jet-ski industry made headlines earlier in the year when foreign diplomats…
- Phuket News
Phuket Buddha image thief shot dead
PHUKET CITY: A suspected serial robber was shot dead in an intense shootout between police and alleged thieves earlier today in Rama IX Park.The deceased, identified as 32-year-old Phuket City resident Amnard Rodpradit, was wanted by police in connection with a recent spate of robberies of Buddhist images from stores and homes around Phuket.Police told the Gazette that Mr Amnard…
- Phuket News
Phuket Rajabaht student stabbed to death
RASADA, PHUKET: A Phuket Rajabhat University student handed himself in to police after stabbing a fellow student to death early on Saturday morning, Wutiphong Meemai, a first year student from Krabi, confessed to stabbing 20-year-old Kritsana Lao-orn in the chest outside the ‘Wihok’ bar on Rassada Anuson Road in Tambon Rasada earlier that night. When police, including Lt Col Wijak…
- Phuket News
Phuket Spa Association to push for licensing
PHUKET: In a bid to improve health and safety standards, the Excise Department has canceled excise tax for spa treatments in licensed spas. It is good news for licensed venues, but not the vast majority of Phuket spas that are unlicensed and will have to continue paying the tax after the new regulation takes effect on January 20. Even worse…
