- Phuket News
87 Burmese arrested off Koh Racha Yai
PHUKET: Marine Police have arrested 87 Burmese nationals who were discovered in the hold of an old wooden boat about eight nautical miles west of Koh Racha Yai.Police said that they believe the Burmese, several of whom were in their early teens, were on their way to find work in Phuket’s fishing industry.Following a tip-off, Marine Police patrol vessel Tor…
- Phuket News
Phang Nga politician escapes Phuket assassination attempt
RASSADA: A Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) President from Phang Nga survived what appeared to be a bungled attempt on his life on December 2, after he wrestled the gun away from his would-be assassin at the Phuket Rajabhat University campus.Pol Maj Sarit Butnongsang told the Gazette that 41-year-old Sunit Vorakit, President of OrBorTor Tai Muang, reported to Phuket City Police…
- Phuket News
TAT blamed for inaction on illegal Korean guides
PHUKET: An angry crowd of some 25 Thai tour guides and travel agents marched on Phuket Provincial Hall on November 30, demanding government action over Korean tour guides working illegally in the province.Some members of the group carried signs demanding that Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of Tourism Authority of Thaliand’s Southern Region 4 office, step down to take responsibility for the…
- Phuket News
Tricky regatta conditions handled by Pryde
KATA: The unpredictable weather again played tricks with the record fleet at the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta today, with light winds, rain squalls and strong tides making racing difficult on the third day of Asia’s biggest sailing event.But former King’s Cup winner Neil Pryde proved that experience counts as he skippered his boat Hi Fi into first place in the…
- Phuket News
Regatta fleet pays homage to HM The King with spectacular sail-past
KATA: There was a spectacular start to the second day of the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta today when the record fleet of 101 yachts lined up and sailed past the Royal Thai Navy starting boat to pay tribute to His Majesty the King of Thailand – the regatta’s Royal patron – on his 79th birthday before the start of the…
- Phuket News
Jelik draws first blood in King’s Cup
PHUKET: Frank Pong of China skippered his 75-foot yacht Jelik to first place overall in the hotly-contested Racing class in the opening race of the 20th King’s Cup Regatta today. “We had a great day and crossed the line well in front of the rest of our class, but even with our heavy handicap we managed a first place on…
- Phuket News
Special panel to probe Chalong explosions
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Niran Kanlayanamit has appointed a special committee to investigate the November 28 bombing of three new homes on disputed land in Chalong.During a meeting of the Phuket Provincial Security Council, Gov Niran said he would like to see the police track down and arrest the people responsible for the blasts as soon as possible.The three improvised…
- Phuket News
Dead triathlete “suffered heart attack”
CHERNG TALAY: Laguna Phuket this morning confirmed that Briton William Scott Stewart, 43, died after suffering a heart attack during the swim leg of the Laguna Phuket Triathlon yesterday.Debbie Dionysius, Laguna Phuket’s Director of Destination Marketing, told the Gazette that Mr Stewart was unconscious when he was pulled from the water. He was then taken to Bangkok Hospital Phuket, where…
- Phuket News
Bill Clinton commends Phuket sea gypsies
MAI KHAO: Former US President Bill Clinton today visited the small sea gypsy village Hin Look Diow as one of his last acts as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery.Clinton planted a mangrove tree and commended the villagers on their environmentally-friendly practices. The mangrove tree was planted as a part of a Mangroves for the Future initiative…
- Phuket News
Tsunami buoy on way to deployment site
CAPE PANWA: A ceremony was held yesterday morning to commemorate the launch of the first US-built Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting of Tsunamis II (“DART-2”) tsunami-detection system, now aboard the Royal Thai Navy’s MV Seafdec on its way to be deployed at a location in the middle of the Indian Ocean in a few days’ time.The detection system, built by the…
- Phuket News
Bloody day on Phuket’s roads
PHUKET: Four people, including three 11-year-old boys, were killed in two separate road accidents on Monday.The first accident occurred about 7:30 pm, when three boys on a motorcycle and a sedan collided head-on in front of Andavana Spa, on Thepprathan Rd, Koh Sireh.The driver, Channarong Sadimin, and one of his passengers, Suriyapong Premjaroen, died at the scene.The third boy, Piyapong…
- Phuket News
Clinton to tour sea gypsy village, plant mangroves
PHUKET: Former US President Bill Clinton will speak in Phuket tomorrow as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery. Clinton will arrive tonight and speak at Hin Look Diow, a small sea gypsy village, tomorrow morning.After Clinton arrives at the village, near the airport, he will meet community leaders and make a short statement before taking a tour…
- Phuket News
New Phuket Vice-Governors appointed
PHUKET CITY: Two new Vice-Governors will take up their posts on the island on December 4. On the same day, current Phuket Vice-Governor Pongsak Plaivaj will be transferred to Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, where he will serve as a Vice-Governor.The two new Vice-Governors will be Tri Augkaradacha, promoted from Roi-Et Provincial Chief Administrative Officer, and Smith Palawatvichai, currently serving as…
- Phuket News
Phuket City biker blasted by shotgun
PHUKET: A 20-year-old man died after being blasted at close range with a shotgun early on Tuesday as he rode his motorbike around Phuket City, with his girlfriend riding pillion.Pol Maj Wicharn Suwansith, Duty Inspector at Phuket City Police Station, said that Kheng Phatthong was confronting other young men on motorbikes who had shouted insults at him, when he was…
- Phuket News
Homemade bombs blast new development
CHALONG: Three houses were badly damaged by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that detonated about 2:30 am on Saturday. Police believe the blasts were motivated by a land dispute. No one was killed in the blasts, but two Burmese workmen were reported injured.The houses are located in a rural residential development on Soi Songkun, Moo 1, Nabon, Chao Fa East Rd.Chalong…
- Phuket News
B2m of ya bah seized in Thalang
THALANG: Provincial Drug Suppression Police seized 6,800 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and arrested two men in a sting operation on November 23.Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth said an investigation had revealed that Chatree ” Mee” Waiyawut, 26, was dealing ya bah in Phuket.“Undercover officers contacted Chatree, ordering 300 ya bah pills for 45,000 baht. Delivery was…
- Phuket News
Aussie saved off Patong after three weeks adrift
PATONG: An Australian sailor who had been adrift for more than three weeks was rescued by Phuket Marine Police on Saturday.Rocky Bonow, 52, left the Cocos Islands on October 17 on his 13.2-meter boat Moonstar, bound for Phuket.As he was rounding Sumatra, the boat’s engine stopped, leaving Bonow adrift with limited supplies.Pol Lt Col Prathueng Srilamontree of Phuket Marine Police…
- Phuket News
Rawai sea gypsy homes spared
RAWAI: Four sea gypsy houses originally slated for demolition have been spared the wrecking ball in Phuket Provincial Highway Office’s (PPHO) road-widening project in Rawai.Sarayuth Intarawichien, Assistant Project Manager of the PPHO, told the Gazette that the road-widening project will be finished by the contract date in March next year. The project began in May and extends along Chao Fa…
- Thailand News
The root of suffering
“Attachment is the origin, the root of suffering; hence it is the cause of suffering.” – The Dalai Lama at Harvard University, 1988 A devout monk in Phattalung’s Kongra District took the quest for non-attachment to an unprecedented level recently, when he cut off his erect penis, which was was distracting him during a meditation session. News of the story…
- Phuket News
Tuk-tuk driver stabs Welshman
PATONG: A Welsh tourist is expected to be discharged from Phuket International Hospital today after being stabbed in the chest following a dispute over a tuk-tuk fare early yesterday morning.Kathu Deputy Inspector for Crime Suppression, Pol Capt Leucha Polkarn, confirmed that Julien Bennett, 31, was stabbed on Nanai Rd about 3:30 am, following an altercation with Patong tuk-tuk driver Wisut…
- Phuket News
Accidents and crime Phuket’s biggest tourism threats
PHUKET: Despite fears of terrorism, natural disasters and health pandemics, government officials rate everyday crime and road accidents as the greatest dangers to Phuket’s tourism industry, a Phuket Provincial Tourism Management Strategy (PPTRMS) workshop revealed on Tuesday.During the workshop, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, government officials were presented with the results of a survey from the previous workshop, held…
- Phuket News
Boy driver dies in smash
KOH KAEW: A 12-year-old boy died when he crashed his motorcycle while overtaking a car on a curved section of Thepkrasattri Rd on Tuesday.Pol Lt Apichart Rainchana of Phuket Police Station identified the boy as Adisak Det-aran, a student at Baan Sapam Mongkol Wittaya School. He was still in his student uniform when police arrived at the accident scene, about…
- Phuket News
70 Burmese arrested for having too much fun
KARON: Seventy Burmese workers celebrating a friend’s wedding were arrested and taken to Chalong Police Station after a neighbor complained that they were singing too loud.Chalong Police Inspector Pol Maj Peeranat Chatinkaew told the Gazette that his office received a complaint about 1:30 am on Tuesday, informing police that Burmese workers behind Wat Karon were disturbing the peace by singing…
- Thailand News
Full-House Fiasco
CHON BURI: Three unlucky vacationers from the Islamic Republic of Iran were taught a lesson on November 15, when they learned the hard way that pleasures of the flesh rarely come cheap – even in the steamy sois off south Pattya’s infamous Walking Street. The three men, Sedaghat Heiydari, 30, Saber Mobanazade, 31, and Nohsen Nadsill, 32, came to the…
- Thailand News
That’ll teach him
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: Mystery surrounds the murder of a who was found beaten and stabbed to death, his penis burnt to a crisp. The grisly murder was reported to Thung Yai District Police around dawn on November 2. Arriving at the scene, in a rubber-tapping community in Tambon Prik, police led by Duty Inspector Pol Lt Col Leuachai Thongsin found…
- Phuket News
Aids Day campaign targets “karaoke sex’ kids
PHUKET CITY: As part of the preparations for this year’s World Aids Day on December 1, the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) has called for a close watch to be kept on private karaoke booths in the city because the “unsuitable behavior” by some youths in the rooms is putting them at risk of contagious diseases.The PPHO called for department…
- Phuket News
Couple injured in acid attack
PHUKET CITY: A woman was seriously injured after having acid thrown in her face on Friday. The woman’s boyfriend was also injured in the attack.Pol Sub Lt Thada Sodarak, Duty Officer at Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette that the injured man, Pissanu Praduppet, told police that his wife had committed the attack after he had asked her for a…
- Cannabis News
Prostitution rates second in latest crime figures
PHUKET: Statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police show that prostitution-related crime resulted in the second-highest number of arrests, 91, in October, knocking drug offenses from its usual number two position and trailing only the perennial leader, gambling.Of the 214 people arrests for gambling-related offenses, 23 cases involved the sale of illegal underground lottery tickets.Seventy-four people were arrested for drug-related offenses,…
- Phuket News
Patong to try one-way traffic
PATONG: In the hope of bringing some order to Patong’s traffic chaos, on January 15 the town will adopt a one-way road system on a three-month trial.The one-way system will see Rat U-Thit 200 Pi Rd become one-way southbound and Thaweewong Rd (the beach road) one-way northbound from Prachanukhro Rd to Phra Barami Rd.Prachanukhro Rd will become one-way from Rat…
- Phuket News
Man killed in drunken mass brawl
PHUKET CITY: A young man was killed and another critically injured after being stabbed during a drunken melee that broke out in a children’s playground at Saphan Hin early Tuesday morning.Phuket City Police Investigator Pol Lt Col Somkid Boonrat identified the dead man as Sompob Chumpan, 24, who died of a single three-inch-deep stab wound to the abdomen.The other victim,…
