Legacy Phuket Gazette
- Phuket News
Aborted fetus found on Koh Sireh
RASSADA: Villagers on Koh Sireh made a gruesome discovery on Monday, finding the corpse of an aborted fetus partially buried by the side of the main road to Koh Sireh.Pol Maj Nanon Pitakkulthorn of Phuket City Police said that on the afternoon of March 10, a villager alerted police after he found the corpse of a fetus, probably in its…
- Phuket News
Brush with death
WICHIT: Female motorcycle rider Arisara Srimaung sustained only a cut eyebrow after colliding with a pickup truck on Chao Fa West Rd outbound near the House and Home building supply center, just before 9 o’clock this morning.Level-headed bystanders administered first aid and ensured that K Arisara remained motionless until a Phuket Ruamjai Foundation ambulance arrived about 10 minutes later to…
- Phuket News
Mother pleas for return of missing daughter
PHUKET: Maria Elfversson, mother of missing six-year-old girl Alicia Elfversson, has offered a US$10,000 reward to anyone who comes forward with information that leads to finding the missing girl. According to Interpol’s website, Alicia was allegedly abducted by her father, Norwegian native Torgeir Nordbo, from her home in Sweden on June 4 last year. Swedish authorities have since charged Nordbo…
- Phuket News
7-baht wage hike had “no effect’ – Labor chief
PHUKET: The seven-baht increase in the minimum wage in Phuket to 193 baht a day, which came into effect on January 1, has not negatively affected businesses on the island, Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima announced on Monday.Before the rise from 186 to 193 baht, bestowing Phuket with the second-most-expensive minimum daily wage rate in the country – and just a baht…
- Phuket News
Date set for OrBorJor elections
PHUKET: Phuket Election Committee (PEC) Director Supap Akkam has announced that the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) elections – one specifically to elect a new OrBorJor president and another to elect a new OrBorJor council – will be held on April 20.K. Supap explained that the election date satisfied statutory requirements for elections to be held within 60 days of…
- Phuket News
Phuket roads leave 2 dead, 15 injured
PHUKET: At least two people are dead and many more injured after a truck overturned in Kamala this morning and a tour bus slammed into a house in Patong yesterday evening.About 9 am today, a 10-wheeled truck carrying mattresses from Bangkok to Phuket overturned on a hill in front of the Kamala Falls condo project site.Lt Col Warit Jado, Duty…
- Phuket News
Wounded tuk-tuk driver still missing
PHUKET CITY: Police have yet to hear back from a tuk-tuk driver who appeared at Phuket City Police Station early Friday morning drunk and bleeding from an apparent gunshot wound – and told to come back later.Pol Lt Saran Redeng, Duty Officer at Phuket City Police Station, said that Somkid Huangsrapram, 42, arrived at the station about 2:50 am, complaining…
- Phuket News
Case closed on Korean drowning
PHI PHI ISLANDS: The drowning of a Korean tourist while on a Hana Tour to Phi Phi Don Island last month is not being treated as suspicious, the Gazette has learned.Sen Sgt Maj Suwan Tuamsri of Krabi Tourist Police told the Gazette the drowning death of 35-year-old Kang Kyong while she was swimming with her tour group at Loh Dalam Bay…
- Phuket News
4 charged, 566 pills seized in ya bah busts
PHUKET CITY: Four people have been charged and more than 500 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills seized in two separate cases in Phuket City on Thursday.Maj Wichan Suwannasit of the Phuket City Police told the Gazette that about 6:30 pm police arrested Thanat “Ped” Soithong with 10 ya bah pills at the home of 23-year-old Chamaiphon “Ann” Kanrit on Luang Por…
- Phuket News
Forest fire on Karon hills
KARON: Yesterday at dusk, Karon Municipality firefighters were called in to fight a forest fire in the Nakkerd Hills, upslope from the desalination plant on Siriraj Rd.Firefighters tried to gain access to the blaze for two hours before giving up.Fortunately, the fire burned itself out during the night.No injuries or property damage were reported.
- Phuket News
One dead, three injured in motorbike accident
PATONG: A young French tourist has been charged with negligent driving resulting in accidental death after the motorcycle he was driving collided with another motorbike early Thursday morning, killing the driver and leaving two passengers critically injured. Kathu Police Deputy Superintendent Pol Lt Col Chawalit Niamwadee identified the Frenchman as Diallo Guimba, 24. At about 4:20 am, Guimba was riding…
- Phuket News
Drug dealer avoids capture
KATHU: Following a series of tip-offs, Kathu Police seized a suitcase containing 510 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills in a sting operation on March 3. However, police narrowly failed to snare the intended target, a major drug dealer from Chiang Mai known as Suphawat, who fled the scene before he could be arrested.Police set a trap to catch Suphawat following inquiries…
- Phuket News
Major blackouts announced for March
PHUKET: In order to continue its work on high-voltage power lines, the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced scheduled blackouts that will affect major business areas as follows:March 7, from 9 am to 5 pmKoh Kaew: the west side of Thepkrasattri Rd, from Soi Harnfarang in Baan Sapam to the Isuzu showroom in Koh Kaew, including Soi Bangku 1…
- Phuket News
Three Brits still in Phuket jail
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Court has denied bail to a British family charged with bank fraud after they were caught using counterfeit cards to withdraw more than 100,000 baht from a Kasikorn Bank ATM in downtown Phuket City. Lt Col Chakaphol Suchon of Phuket City Police Station told the Gazette that the three suspects are still being held at Phuket Provincial…
- Phuket News
Patong bars to fight 2 am closing
PATONG: Bar, discotheque and pub owners will be given a 90-day grace period before police begin to strictly enforce a 2 am closing time at all nightlife venues on the island, authorities have announced.Starting at 2 am on February 27, police presence was unexpectedly heavy on Soi Bangla and along nearby roads that make up the heart of Phuket’s nightlife…
- Phuket News
Four Phuket police stations upgraded
PHUKET: As part of a nationwide reorganization of the Royal Thai Police Force, Phuket’s four subdistrict police stations have been upgraded to district police stations, effective from an order dating back to January 16, the Gazette has learned.Col Phuwanart Rithawej, Phuket Provincial Police Superintendent of General Staff, told the Gazette that the order is intended to improve investigation and budget management…
- Phuket News
Two Princesses to visit Phuket
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will visit Phuket on March 11 and HRH Princess Ubol Ratana Rajakanya will visit Phuket City on March 14, the Phuket Provincial Office announced at a meeting held on February 26 in preparation for their arrival.Princess Sirindhorn will make stops in Phuket, Krabi and Phang Nga during her trip.On March 11, Princess Sirindhorn will…
- Phuket News
Anchalee resigns OrBorJor presidency
PHUKET: Anchalee Vanich Tephabutra, president of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), yesterday tendered her resignation to the Governor’s Office, the Gazette has confirmed.Manus Nooluck, Secretary to Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit, this morning confirmed receipt of the letter.No reason was given for the resignation, which takes effect today, he said.However, a source in the OrBorJor told the Gazette the move…
- Phuket News
Top cop toppled after Phuket visit
THALANG: Royal Thai Police Commissioner Gen Sereepisut Taemeeyavej had a busy day in Phuket yesterday, attending two important dedication ceremonies.However, it turned out to be his last day as national police chief as Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej today announced his abrupt transfer to a temporary post in the Prime Minister’s Office.Gen Sereepisut arrived in Phuket from Bangkok yesterday and at…
- Phuket News
Foreigners charged over ATM card forgery in Patong
PATONG: Two European men arrested by Kathu Police last Sunday night for scanning information allegedly to be used in committing bank card forgery remain in jail without bail, the Gazette has learned.Maj Narong Laksanavimol said that the two men arrested, whom he named as German national Hota Bogdan Nicolae and Romanian Andrei Gugioman, both 25, are part of a larger…
- Phuket News
Dr Anuroj dies of cancer
PHUKET CITY: Dr Anuroj Tharasiriroj, 66, founder of Phuket International Hospital, passed away at 3 am today after a long battle against cancer of the large intestine.Dr Anuroj founded Siriroj Hospital on Krabi Rd, Phuket City, in 1982. The hospital opened with just 35 beds.The hospital moved to its current site on the bypass road in 1993 and began trading…
- Cannabis News
Police raid Patong bars in Chalerm’s crackdown
PATONG: Last night’s police crackdown on Soi Bangla entertainment venues trading past 2 am was in response to an order by new Interior Minister Chalerm Yoobumrung, Kathu Police chief Col Grissak Songmoonnak has confirmed.Col Grissak, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette today that he ordered the crackdown after Interior Minister Pol Capt Chalerm told police nationwide to get…
- Thailand News
Mischievous monkey meddlers meet their match
SRISAKET: A man was arrested in the early hours of February 21 for kidnapping monkeys from a popular tourist spot in Rasi Salai District. Police believe the monkeys were to be smuggled to Korea, to be eaten for perceived health-giving benefits.At 3:30 am, Pol Lt Col Wisanu Reuangsri, an investigating officer at Rasi Salai District Police Station, received a phone…
- Phuket News
Revered Abbot passes away
WICHIT: Phra Ratchakiti Soonthorn, revered Abbot of Wat Thepnimit died of congestive heart failure at Thalang Hospital on Sunday night at the age of 78.As head of Phuket’s provincial monastic council, Phra Ratchakiti Soonthorn was Phuket’s highest-ranking Buddhist cleric at the time of his death.Born as Sommart Kinkaew, the Phuket native entered the monkhood at the age of 22, when…
- Phuket News
Missing monk found dead in PSU lagoon
KATHU: Police are treating as a case of accidental drowning the death of a monk whose body was found in a pond at the Phuket campus of Prince of Songkla University on Sunday.Maj Passakorn Sonthikun of the Tung Tong Police identified the monk as Phra Thawat Theerawiniyo.The body of the 29-year-old monk, originally from Nongkhai province, was discovered by a…
- Phuket News
Low turnout for advance voting in Senate race
PHUKET: Advance voting held in Phuket on Saturday and Sunday for the March 2 senatorial election saw much less interest among out-of-town Thais than before the parliamentary election held last December.PEC Director Supap Akkam told the Gazette that of 30,291 non-Phuket Thais registered to cast advance ballots in the province, only 7,301 (24.1%) chose to do so. Of those, 2,968…
- Phuket News
Blues Fest rocks Karon
KARON: Blues fans were treated to a lineup of local and international acts last night at the first night of the Phuket International Blues Rock Festival at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa. Gates opened at 6 pm and the crowd slowly swelled as the acts played late into the night. Bangkok-based Soi Dog Blues Band were the first…
- Phuket News
Young love ends in ya bah bust
PHUKET CITY: A Muang District special operations unit arrested a pair of young lovers and seized 697 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills in a sting operation early this morning.The arrests were announced by Phuket Vice Governor Worapoj Ratthasima and Muang District Chief Wisit Kurattanavej at a press conference at Muang District Office at 9:30 this morning.The couple were identified as Nakhon…
- Phuket News
Runaway truck causes Patong Hill pileup
KATHU: Tailbacks several miles long streamed from both sides of Patong Hill yesterday evening after a broken-down truck rolled backwards, setting off a chain reaction smash-up that left five cars and a motorbike damaged.Maj Passakorn Sonthikun of Tung Tong Police in Kathu said, “About 5 pm, a six-wheeled truck broke down halfway up the hill on its way to Patong.…
- Phuket News
Officer charged over tsunami funds misappropriation
BANGKOK (Kom Chad Luek): The Royal Thai Police Disciplinary Division has charged a high-ranking officer in the Foreign Affairs Division over alleged improprieties in the use of funds for the Thailand Tsunami Victims Identification (TTVI) center.Col Chaiyaporn Wannaprapa, Deputy Commander of the Disciplinary Division of the Royal Thai Police, on February 12 announced that Col Pornprasert Karnjanarin was formally notified…
