Legacy Phuket Gazette

Archiving articles from the Phuket Gazette circa 1998 - 2017. View the Phuket Gazette online archive and Digital Gazette PDF Prints.
  • Phuket NewsCanadian pedestrian killed | Thaiger

    Canadian pedestrian killed

    PATONG: A Canadian pedestrian died after being hit by a motorbike on Thursday evening while crossing the beach road in Patong. Pol Lt Serm Khannimit of Kathu Police Station told the Gazette, “Michel Luc Ladouceur, 44, was crossing the road in front of the Patong Valentine’s Day Fair at about 10 pm when Teera Muangkalee, 24, from Sukhothai, crashed into…

  • Phuket NewsThai press: New government a disappointment | Thaiger

    Thai press: New government a disappointment

    BANGKOK (AFP): Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s new cabinet was poorly received today by the Thai press who saw only a few promising figures among the discredited veterans and inexperienced newcomers filling its ranks. Thaksin won the January 6 elections after campaigning on a platform of new and unorthodox ideas as well as promises of an administration free from the corruption…

  • Phuket NewsMotorbike injury toll hits five figures | Thaiger

    Motorbike injury toll hits five figures

    PHUKET: The number of people injured in motorcycle accidents went into five figures for the first time last year, with 10,359 needing treatment, according to statistics supplied by the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. The number of people injured represented an increase of 4.6% on the previous year’s 9,903. In 1998 the toll was 9,681 and in 1997 it…

  • Phuket NewsLove beats disenchantment, 254 to 1 | Thaiger

    Love beats disenchantment, 254 to 1

    PHUKET: Love was in the air yesterday, as 254 couples formalised their marriages at the island’s registry offices on the year’s most romantic day. With 167 couples, Muang District saw the highest number of registrations for Valentine’s Day, while 57 couples were married in Thalang District and 30 in Kathu. “Our district gave flowers made from fish scales to the…

  • Phuket NewsForged 500-baht notes found | Thaiger

    Forged 500-baht notes found

    KATHU: The manager of a gas station found two forged 500-baht notes on Monday morning while counting the cash taken overnight. Sopit Chaijit, manager of a Caltex station on Wichitsongkram Rd, reported to the police that the two 500-baht notes were lighter in color than normal. Her counting machine also rejected the notes, she said. The notes were received sometime…

  • Phuket NewsToddler killed in motorbike smash | Thaiger

    Toddler killed in motorbike smash

    KARON: The three-year-old daughter of an American expatriate was killed in a motorcycle accident in Karon early on Saturday afternoon. Herman Bachmann, 69, better known to Phuket residents as Shankar, was riding his bike along Patak Rd in Karon, heading toward Phuket Town, with his maid on the back and the child in front. In front of the Karon Tong…

  • Phuket NewsFrench resident dies in head-on smash | Thaiger

    French resident dies in head-on smash

    PATONG: A French resident, 27-year-old Laurent Robert Beauvais, was killed when his motorcycle smashed head-on into a jeep on the bypass road in the early hours of yesterday morning. The investigating officer, Pol Maj Songwut Khunjan of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that the accident happened opposite the Daihatsu showroom at about 3.20 am. The jeep’s driver, 30-year-old…

  • Phuket NewsGambling cases top crime stats again | Thaiger

    Gambling cases top crime stats again

    PHUKET: Gambling cases once again topped the crime lists in Phuket for the period between January 1 and 15, according to statistics released yesterday by the Phuket Provincial Police. A total of 163 people were arrested for gambling in the course of 96 police raids. Following close behind were illegal immigrants; 94 were caught in the same period. Drugs also…

  • Phuket NewsScheduled blackouts announced | Thaiger

    Scheduled blackouts announced

    PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced the following scheduled blackouts for the month of February: The PPEA will be clearing tree branches and installing orange insulating covers on power lines in these areas. The blackouts will last from 9 am to 4 pm. February 13: Chao Fa Nai Rd from the Kwang Rd intersection to the Tah…

  • Phuket NewsAirport passenger figures still rising | Thaiger

    Airport passenger figures still rising

    PHUKET: The number of passengers arriving at and/or departing from the island via Phuket International Airport continues to rise, according to the latest figures released by airport officials. Passenger throughput in December last year rose to 347,720, an increase of 13.51% over the figure for December 1999. The number of passengers on domestic flights increased by 14.16% to 205,939, while…

  • Phuket NewsMalaysia to build free trade zone at Thai border | Thaiger

    Malaysia to build free trade zone at Thai border

    KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – A free-trade industrial zone costing three billion ringgit (789 million dollars) is to be developed near the Malaysian/Thai border over the next decade, a senior official said today. The “ASEAN Industrial Metropolis”, covering 2,400 hectares (5,928 acres), will be built at Bukit Kayu Hitam in the northwestern Malaysian state of Kedah, the state’s chief minister, Syed…

  • Phuket NewsActivist’s alleged killer arrested | Thaiger

    Activist’s alleged killer arrested

    THALANG: Bancha Noppawong, 34, from Songkhla, was arrested yesterday evening on a charge of murdering environmental activist Jurin Rachapol in Pa Khlok on January 30. K. Jurin died after being shot three times while searching for cashew leaves in a forest near to the Wachara Prawn Farm in Pa Khlok. Contrary to earlier assertions by an official that Bancha had…

  • Phuket NewsUnpaid fornication hits “sex workers’ | Thaiger

    Unpaid fornication hits “sex workers’

    BANGKOK (AFP): The advent of casual sex is bad news for Thailand’s prostitutes who are going idle as their customers increasingly engage in pre-marital sexual relationships, according to a government report. The Ministry of Public Health said a study of 10,000 sex workers revealed each woman had on average only one customer a night, compared to an average of 1.5…

  • Phuket NewsDengue fever arrives early | Thaiger

    Dengue fever arrives early

    PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PHO) has warned that there is an increased risk of dengue fever infection this year. From January 1 to 26, 11 cases of dengue fever were reported in Phuket, all in the Muang and Thalang districts. The highest number of patients was reported in Tambon Rassada, followed by Tambon Wichit and Tambon Mai Khao.…

  • Phuket NewsPrawn farm boss out on bail | Thaiger

    Prawn farm boss out on bail

    PHUKET TOWN: The owner of the Wachara Prawn Farm in Pa Khlok, Somsak Wongsawanond, was today released on bail of 500,000 baht. Somsak was initially denied bail when arrested two days ago on charges of illegal possession of a weapon and discharging a weapon in a public area. He denied both charges. Meanwhile, the Thalang District Chief, Kanthee Silapa, told…

  • Phuket NewsPrawn farm owner arrested | Thaiger

    Prawn farm owner arrested

    PHUKET TOWN: The owner of the Wachara Prawn Farm in Pa Khlok, Somsak Wongsawanond, 36, from Songkhla, reported to police in Phuket Town Police Station last night after a warrant was issued for his arrest on one charge of illegal possession of a weapon and another of discharging a weapon in a public area. The warrant was issued last week…

  • Phuket NewsGovernor goes into cyberspace | Thaiger

    Governor goes into cyberspace

    PHUKET: The Governor of Phuket, Pongpayome Vasaputi, now has his own email address for people who wish to make suggestions to him. He has also launched the provincial government’s new website at https://www.phuket.go.th, in line with a Ministry of Interior policy to have every province set up a presence on the Internet. The website, which is currently in Thai only…

  • Phuket NewsDry season for Phuket Island Lager | Thaiger

    Dry season for Phuket Island Lager

    PHUKET: Lovers of Phuket Island Lager will have to exercise some restraint over the coming week; distributors are being rationed after an unforeseen surge in sales resulted in demand outstripping supply. “We’re not completely out of stock, but we can’t match demand,” said Ekaraj Intravisit, general manager of Phuket Island Trading Co. “If a customer wants 10 boxes of beer,…

  • Phuket NewsGunman kills motorbike taxi driver | Thaiger

    Gunman kills motorbike taxi driver

    TUNG TONG: Somyot Saekoey, 36, a motorbike taxi driver based in Patong, was shot dead late on Tuesday after visiting a friend. Pol Capt Kittipong Klaykaew of Tungtong Police Station said that K. Somyot went to visit his friend, Jamroen Soonthon, near the entrance to the Bang Wat Dam near Kathu, at around 10.30 pm. They chatted about their work…

  • Pattaya NewsPattaya firm takes over Phuket radio station | Thaiger

    Pattaya firm takes over Phuket radio station

    PHUKET: The end of a four-year contract has seen Pattaya-based Sunshine Radio win the rights to run the local government radio station, 101.5 FM Phuket. Sunshine Radio won the contract direct from the Phuket branch of the Mass Communications Organization of Thailand (MCOT) in Bangkok. The amount of the winning bid was not announced. “Previously, the contracts were won on…

  • Phuket NewsEnvironmental activist shot dead | Thaiger

    Environmental activist shot dead

    PA KLOK: Environmental activist Jurin Rachapol, 50, was shot dead this morning while out collecting cashew nut leaves for salad. Pol Capt Anan Jengjit of Thalang Police Station said that K. Jurin went into the forest around 9 am with his wife. He was shot three times; two bullets hit his left shoulder while the third hit his head, killing…

  • Phuket NewsIBAP elects first general committee | Thaiger

    IBAP elects first general committee

    PHUKET TOWN: Members of the International Business Association of Phuket (IBAP) elected the organization’s first general committee at a meeting at the Royal Phuket City Hotel on Friday. They also adopted its constitution. The new committee is headed by Chairman Satit Viddhayakorn, managing director of Bangkok Phuket Hospital. Oraual Paethong, manager for South Thailand of Pacific Leisure (Thailand) Ltd was…

  • Phuket NewsGuard drowns after fall into sea | Thaiger

    Guard drowns after fall into sea

    AO MAKHAM: A security guard at the Phuket Deep Sea Port drowned on Saturday after falling about seven meters into the sea. Pol Maj Adul Niraphai of Phuket Town Police Station named the dead man as Amnuan Kamnuan, 35, from Trang. He said, “Staff at the port told me that the guard fell into the sea at 10 am. His…

  • Phuket NewsNationalists: Soros not welcome in Thailand | Thaiger

    Nationalists: Soros not welcome in Thailand

    BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand will not be putting out the welcome mat for international financier George Soros when he fronts up here next week, say angry nationalists who accuse him of sabotaging the Thai economy. “Our foreign ministry should bar entry to a man who has hurt 60 million Thais, and turned Thailand into one of the United States of America,”…

  • Cannabis NewsSix tourists arrested for drugs at “rave’ | Thaiger

    Six tourists arrested for drugs at “rave’

    KANCHANABURI (AFP): Six foreign tourists have been arrested on drugs charges after a raid on a “Black Moon” party at a campsite in this western province, police said today. More than 100 backpackers were netted in the crackdown on an all-night “rave” at a local holiday spot. Police swooped on the site early on Thursday, seizing ecstasy pills and marijuana.…

  • Phuket NewsBag-snatchers have a busy week | Thaiger

    Bag-snatchers have a busy week

    PHUKET: Motorbike-riding bag-snatchers have been busy over the past week, police report, with two or three cases a day, all in the same area south of Phuket Town. “Most of the thefts took place on Chao Fa Nok Rd, Chao Fa Nai Rd, Kwang Rd, or Sakdidet Rd,” said an undercover policeman who asked not to be named. “They work…

  • Phuket News115 illegals held in raids on wat fair | Thaiger

    115 illegals held in raids on wat fair

    CHALONG: The annual fair at Wat Chalong has proved a bonanza for officers targeting illegal immigrants. In the first two days – Tuesday and yesterday – 115 Burmese were arrested, and there are four more days to go. “There are many construction camps in the area, and the fair is famous among the Burmese,” explained Pol Col Abhirak Hongtong, superintendent…

  • Phuket NewsThief steals 500,000 baht while victims sleep | Thaiger

    Thief steals 500,000 baht while victims sleep

    PHUKET TOWN: A well-known Ranong fishing raft owner and his wife lost close to 500,000 baht in the early hours of Tuesday morning when a thief stole into the Phuket Town hotel room where they slept. Pol Lt Khaneung Pitakkullatorn of Phuket Town Police Station said that the victims, 39-year-old Apirak Sornsom and his wife, were staying at the Phuket…

  • Phuket NewsBar owner rounds up turtle hatchlings | Thaiger

    Bar owner rounds up turtle hatchlings

    BANG TAO: Local bar owner Tony Somrak discovered 95 Olive Ridley hatchling turtles on the beach in front of the Banyan Tree Resort late last night. “This is the first time that I’ve seen turtles hatch,” Tony told the Gazette, “and it was only because we had a small family picnic on the beach last night. When I went back…

  • Phuket NewsChuan to open major seminar in Phuket | Thaiger

    Chuan to open major seminar in Phuket

    PHUKET: Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai will open the 18th National Chamber of Commerce Seminar, which will take place in Phuket on February 3 and 4, hosted jointly by the Phuket Chamber of Commerce and Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC). The seminar, which is expected to draw about 150 participants representing chambers of commerce from across Thailand, will begin at 8:30…