- Phuket News
Man found dead with bag over head
RAWAI: A Frenchman who had been living on Phuket for more than five years was found dead in odd circumstances, apparently the victim of a bizarre suicide. Police named the man as Gay Laurent, 43, who lived in the Happy House estate in Rawai. A friend of Mr Laurent contacted police about 7:30 pm on February 7, saying that he…
- Phuket News
Frenchman dies in road accident
CHALONG: Frenchman Jean Vidal, 39, was killed in a road accident on Chao Fa East Rd, near Soi Ta’iad Rd, in the early hours of February 9. Pol Capt Chana Sutthimas of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette today that he received an anonymous call about 2:30 am reporting an accident between a car and a motorcycle. When Capt Chana…
- Phuket News
Big day for big love
PHUKET: On the day marking the patron saint of lovers, St Valentine, 240 couples yesterday turned up at the three district offices on the island to tie the knot. At Thalang District Office, 49 couples got hitched, up from 30 couples last year, while 27 made vows of love at Kathu District Office. Happy with the turnout, up from 16…
- Phuket News
Murder victim dumped in port area
PHUKET TOWN: The body of an unidentified man was found floating in a canal in the Rassada port area in the early hours of Thursday. Pol Capt Rassada Kloung-Wong, of Phuket Town Police Station, said that a local fisherman discovered the body. “The man was shot twice in the chest with a 9-mm handgun. He was about 35 years old…
- Phuket News
Dry season brings water shortages
PHUKET: The taps go on in Patong and off in Karon at 4 pm each day now, under new restrictions caused by Phuket’s shortage of water, and on in Karon and off in Patong at 7 am. Hotels are having to save reserves of water or buy it – and the Phuket Provincial Waterworks (PPW) has warned that other parts…
- Phuket News
Wachira seeks cash for equipment
PHUKET TOWN: Wachira Phuket Hospital is seeking donations so that it can buy medical equipment worth more than 10 million baht. Wachira Phuket Hospital has 522 beds for patients from Phuket and nearby provinces including Phang Nga, Krabi and Ranong. Visiting foreigners also go there for treatment. The equipment needed includes nine respirators for infants and four for children and…
- Phuket News
Reporters call for swift justice
PHUKET TOWN: Vichean Utsa, Chairman of Phuket Reporters Club, yesterday requested Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi to expedite the police investigation into shooting of local reporter Surapong “Od Patong” Rittee. The call came just 48 hours after K. Surapong, a local reporter for newspapers Thai Rat and Siang Tai, and for Channel 3 television, was gunned down early on Tuesday.…
- Phuket News
Mayor announces D-Day for illegal signs
PATONG: Patong Municipality Mayor Chalermsak Maneesri announced today that all Patong businesses will be given one month to remove signs that are out of compliance with municipal regulations. On March 10, at the end of the grace period, the Municipality will send out crews to remove all illegal signs. Vendors operating in restricted areas, especially the sidewalks along Thaweewong (Beach)…
- Phuket News
Shark disco reborn as Star Wars
PATONG: The Shark discotheque, closed for more than a year after allegations of lewd behavior, is to reopen next month under new ownership and with a new name, Star Wars. The Patong landmark on the corner of Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd and Soi Bangla has been taken over by Maroot Tainikom, who also runs the nearby Tiger disco and plans…
- Phuket News
Vendors arrested over fake CDs
PATONG: Police arrested five vendors on Sunday after a Sony representative alerted them to the sale of illegal copies of CDs along the beach road. Three of the vendors were each fined 30,000 baht for being in breach of copyright laws. Police named them as Boonchu Saiwichian, Orasa Kritkamjorn and Kiatisak Krongsintham. Pol Lt Ampol Jantakul, of Kathu Police Station,…
- Phuket News
Police raid gambling den
KATHU: Sixteen gamblers were nabbed by police on Sunday after an informant led them to a rented house on Wichitsongkram Rd. Pol Maj Chawalit Petchsripia, of Kathu Police Station, was told that the popular dice game “High-Low” was being played there, so police raided the house about 9 pm. Those arrested, mostly couples, confessed that they rented the house for…
- Phuket News
TAT targets Europe, Africa
PHUKET TOWN: Tourists from South Africa and Switzerland will be the new targets as the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) attempts to increase the number of visitors coming to Phuket. Anupharp Thirarath, Director of the local TAT branch, revealed the new aim yesterday at an Aviation Business 2003 Trends Conference at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. The TAT is planning…
- Phuket News
V-Day, not VD-Day
PHUKET TOWN: Young Thais have been warned not to lose their virginity on Valentine’s Day this Friday. The Chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong, said research indicated that many Thai teenagers showed their love for each other on this day by having sex. This has led to the slogan among teens: “Lose your virginity on…
- Phuket News
Last chance for drug offenders
PHUKET TOWN: Police have given drug dealers and addicts until February 15 to surrender in the face of the national crackdown on illegal drugs. The leeway in the campaign was announced by Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, and Phuket Town District Chief Weerawat Janpan, who said the dealers would have a chance to be converted…
- Phuket News
Two die as drug dealers crack down on “squealers’
PHUKET TOWN: Two suspected drug dealers have been shot dead in separate incidents, and police fear a wave of gangland-style slayings could follow in Phuket. The executions, within hours of each other, indicate that the island’s drug overlords are having potential “squealers” permanently silenced rather than risk them talking to police. Elsewhere in Thailand, scores of killings over the past…
- Phuket News
Democrats fight back
PHUKET TOWN: Confident Democrat Party leaders said yesterday that they would hold their three seats in Phuket at the next election and could even topple the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party. About 1,000 people attended the Phuket Merlin Hotel yesterday to hear Abisit Vejjajiva, Deputy Leader of the Democrats, and Chamni Sakdiseth, the party’s Deputy Secretary. K. Chamni said that…
- Phuket News
Body sighted off Similan Islands
SIMILAN: Mystery surrounds the sighting of the body of a foreigner in the sea between Koh Bua and Koh Bon, about 30 miles from the Similan Islands. A report was received from a Thai fishing boat at 11:45 am yesterday, giving precise coordinates for the body, said Pol Lt Col Prasopchai Banluesil, Deputy Superintendent of Phuket Marine Police Region 5.…
- Phuket News
Man dies in wild Saphan Hin brawl
PHUKET TOWN: A 45-year-old man was shot dead and others were wounded as a minor confrontation escalated into a wild brawl at Saphan Hin last weekend. At its height, about 30 people were involved, with at least eight shots fired and long knives being used to slash opponents. When police reached the scene at 2 am on Sunday, the group…
- Cannabis News
Couple held for marijuana deal
PHUKET TOWN: Police arrested a couple for selling marijuana after a plain-clothes officer posed as a customer in a drug deal sting. Mahamasu Dearama, 29, and Suwannee Libong, 27, from Phuket Villa 3, were arrested after they met the officer in Sakdidet Road about 6:30 pm on Monday. Police confiscated one kilogram of compressed marijuana and goods allegedly linked to…
- Phuket News
Attack on jogging German couple
PHUKET TOWN: Police are hunting two attackers who bashed a German jogger and her husband at Saphan Hin early on Wednesday. Police said that Andrea Tran, 28, was jogging in the park about 6:30 am with her husband, Toan, 29, accompanying her on a motorcycle. The two men, who had been sitting at a roadside pavilion, ran to the couple…
- Phuket News
Heavy penalities for dancing tax
PHUKET: Businesses caught avoiding the new 10% excise tax on entertainment venues with dance floors face heavy fines, said Narong Srivanitchakorn, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Excise Office (PPEO). K. Narong explained the new tax – which is part of the central government’s excise tax reform – to entertainment venue owners at a seminar at the Phuket Provincial Revenue Office…
- Phuket News
17 tourists hurt as bus crashes
PATONG: Police are still investigating the cause of a bus crash in which 17 tourists bound for Phuket FantaSea were injured last night. The driver was also injured. The bus, coming from Karon about 8 pm, went through a safety rail, hit a drain and flipped to one side, bringing down power lines and knocking over two pillars and a…
- Phuket News
Pytheus Aura in startling regatta win
PHANG NGA BAY: The most startling result in this year’s QBE Phang Nga Bay Regatta was surely the victory by Pytheus Aura in the Racing class. Last year the boat managed only a third place in the Cruising A class. Summersalt made it two in a row by winning the multihull class, while Tag repeated its second place in Cruising…
- Phuket News
New reservoir on hold for tests
THALANG: Construction of Phuket’s new reservoir, which Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has agreed will be paid for by the central government, is to be delayed while tests are made of the site. The tests center on the quality of the soil at the spot in Thalang where the 300-million-baht Bang Neaw Dam is to be built as a solution to…
- Phuket News
Customs Dept goes online
THAILAND: The Customs Department today launched its revamped website featuring details of procedures for importing or exporting goods, items prohibited in Thailand, and a range of online services. The website – found at https://www.customs.go.th – is currently in Thai only. An English version of the website is expected to be online by the end of the year. The new services…
- Phuket News
Petty robbers pose as policemen
PHUKET TOWN: Two young men impersonating plain-clothes policemen searching for Ecstasy tablets robbed a 16-year-old boy on Sunday outside the Phuket Public Library on Phuket Rd. Pol Capt Pin Inmak, of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that Somkeat Maliwan was riding his motorbike along Phuket Rd at about 5 pm when two men on a motorbike pulled alongside…
- Phuket News
Krabi airport to get upgrade
KRABI: Krabi International Airport is now handling visas on arrival and will gain a longer runway and an expanded car park, thanks to a 700-million-baht government grant. Attapol Mansutthi, the airport’s Director, told the Gazette, “The total area of the airport is 2,300 rai including one building, car park and airfield. We will expand the car park and lengthen the…
- Phuket News
Valentine’s Day crush expected
PHUKET: The island’s district offices are getting set for an invasion by hundreds of couples who wish to tie the knot on Valentine’s Day next week. A free stay in a five-star hotel and other prizes are on offer in a lucky draw on the big day at Phuket Town District Office, when Registration Officer Karnjana Hongboonyanurak expects that about…
- Phuket News
Taiwanese tourist drowns
CHALONG: A 56-year-old woman from Taiwan died yesterday after she got into difficulties in the sea off Koh Hey (Coral Island) while on a guided tour. Police named the tourist as Huana Yuying, who arrived in Phuket with several members of her family on Saturday. “The area where the agent took the tourists to swim was not very deep and…
- Phuket News
Mystery surrounds restaurateur’s death
RAWAI: Mystery surrounds the death of 38-year-old restaurateur David “Fat Fingers” Jones of Britain, who was found by the side of the Wiset Rd on the evening of February 2, near the Banthai Restaurant, which he ran with his wife Yuwaluk. Pol Capt Anek Mongkol of Chalong Police Station initially told the Gazette that Mr Jones died in a motorcycle…
