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Chinese tourist drowns at Patong Beach
PHUKET: A 19-year-old Chinese tourist drowned last night at Patong Beach, on Phuket’s west coast, after going for a night swim with a female friend.Sakhon Chaithong, chief lifeguard at Patong Beach, told the Phuket Gazette that two Chinese tourists were pulled from the surf near Laem Petch, at the north end of Patong, at about 7:30pm.Foreign tourists spotted the two…
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Phuket Airport director hails anti-cheat measures a success
PHUKET: Security measures taken at Phuket International Airport to prevent airport service staff, such as illegal taxi drivers, from taking advantage of tourists were declared successful yesterday by Airport Director Prathuang Sornkham. The announcement follows Police joining forces to launch a campaign in March to put a stop to illegal taxi drivers overcharging people, and to stop tour guides and…
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Phuket divided over best approach to surf safety: Poll
PHUKET: While there is a broad consensus that more needs to be done to warn visiting tourists of the dangers of monsoon-season surf, Phuket Gazette readers are divided over what method would be the most effective at getting the message out. In the online poll, the Gazette asked readers: “The monsoon season is here and once again hardly a week…
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Swedish Road Deaths: Crash driver sentencing deferred – again
PHUKET: The handing down of the court sentence to the driver of a refrigerator truck that killed four Swedish tourists and their Thai driver in Phang Nga early in February, has been deferred for the second time, the Phuket Gazette has learned. The driver, 27-year-old Muhummadyukee Jehyusoh, turned himself in to Khok Kloy Police on February 3, two days after…
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Drug suspect caught in Phuket after year on the run
PHUKET: A man wanted in connection with a police bust involving 9,600 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills last year was arrested last night while walking along Wiset Road in Rawai. The warrant for the man, Kriangkrai “Fad” Mahasod, 24, was issued by the Phuket Provincial Court on September 19 last year. The court issued the warrant pending charges being brought against…
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Phuket Gazette: Sport briefs
PHUKET: England named the same side that defeated the West Indies 2-0 for their upcoming one-day series against Australia.The first game of the five-match series is at Lords this Friday and England will need to maintain their current run of good form to stand any chance against the world’s top-ranked one-day international team. England’s 14 man squad: A Cook (capt),…
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Two dead in Phuket as motorbike swerves to avoid fallen power pole
PHUKET: Two men died and one was seriously injured in Phuket this morning in a single-vehicle motorbike crash after the driver swerved to avoid a utility pole blocking the road in Mai Khao. Tah Chat Chai Police received the report at about 5am and arrived at the scene, about 100 meters from the Holiday Inn hotel, along with Kusoldharm rescue…
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Phuket Sports: Golf round-up and tips
PHUKET: After the excitement of the US Open, the PGA tour moved on to the TPC River Highlands golf course at Cromwell, Connecticut for the Travelers Championship. Newly crowned US open champion Webb Simpson and Masters Champion Bubba Watson started the first two rounds with Keegan Bradley. Going into the last round, Brian Davis was in second place on 10…
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Experts call for Phuket ‘Special Admin Zone’
PHUKET: Experts speaking at a public forum held in Phuket Town last week have voiced their strong support for Phuket to be designated a “Special Administrative Zone”, saying the move would pave the way to resolving many of Phuket’s long-standing problems. Dr Chantinee Boonchai, assistant to the president for Organization and Collaboration Development at the Prince of Songkla University (Phuket…
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Phuket Sports: F1 – A triumph of errors
PHUKET: The Valencia GP since its birth has been F1’s answer to Valium. Suddenly it has hosted one of the greatest races any of us has seen. There were pre-race fans opting for the two-snooze strategy. Hah! “And gentlemen in England now-a-bed shall think themselves accurs’d they were not here.” No-one has been able overtake in Valencia. But this year…
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James Lakin, founding member of Rawai Supports’ Club, passes away
PHUKET: James Lakin , long-term Phuket resident and one of the founding members of the Rawai Supporters’ Club, has died at the age of 38.Mr Lakin, nicknamed “Shaggy” by his friends, died on the evening of June 23, having suffered from a heart condition.His funeral will be held at Wat Sawang Arom in Rawai today and the wake will be…
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Weird World News: Vote for sex; Mandarin teachers strip and turtles – hold that position
PHUKET: We all know that sex sells, but this latest Weird World News Round-up is about pushing the limits: a female Mexican presidential candidate encourages women to withhold any “favors” if their husbands don’t vote; a instructional website that exposes pupils to flesh as well as Mandarin Chinese, and a pair of turtles is caught in their favorite position for…
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Warrant issued for alleged shooter of Phuket Prison guard
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Court has issued an arrest warrant for the prime suspect in the shooting and wounding of Phuket Prison guard Danunun Teepapan on Wednesday night in Chalong. Chalong Police Deputy Superintendent Narong Laksanawimon told the media that all of the evidence collected at the scene, as well as the information provided by the victim, indicated the assailant to…
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Wreckage found on glacier is missing plane from 1952
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Wreckage found on an Alaskan glacier is missing plane from 1952 Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: The aircraft wreckage which was found on a glacier near Anchorage earlier this month is believed to be a plane which went missing in the 1950s with more than…
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Phuket Opinion: Sloganeering down a silly slope
PHUKET: Days after the brutal stabbing of an Australian travel agent on a “familiarization tour” of Phuket, and the mysterious poisoning deaths of two young Québécoises on Koh Phi Phi, comes an announcement by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) trumpeting the success of its latest promotional campaign slogan: “Discover the Other You”.It’s all part of the TAT’s larger “Creative…
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Phuket Police crack motorbike theft gang in Kamala
PHUKET: Phuket Police have arrested a member of a motorbike theft ring in Kamala, seizing 15 stolen bikes and other evidence valued at 900,000 baht. Local residents who have had motorbikes stolen in recent months are encouraged to visit Kamala Police Station to see if theirs is among those recovered. Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul presented the suspect, 19-year-old Athiwat…
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Tailbacks expected at Tesco Lotus Phuket intersection
PHUKET: Expect longer-than-usual tailbacks around the Tesco Lotus intersection starting tomorrow, when the Phuket Highway Office will break ground on a drainage improvement project to address chronic flooding that occurs in the area.The construction at one of Phuket’s busiest intersections will force the closure of some lanes between June 30 and July 4.“The Phuket Highway Office decided to temporarily solve…
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“Cool-off’ leads monks to blows
PHUKET: Two monks in the Northern province of Kamphaeng Phet were defrocked last month after getting drunk and beating each other black and blue.lao khao (rice wine) was lying nearby. Officers separated the two holy men and took them to be defrocked at Wat Bo Sam Saen in Nongpaling Subdistrict. Both were very drunk and had swollen faces from the…
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Phi Phi Poisonings: Autopsy results on Canadian sisters “inconclusive’
PHUKET: Krabi Police today announced that the autopsies conducted by Thai authorities on the bodies of Canadian sisters Audrey and Noemi Belanger failed to find any traces of drugs. The lack of discovery as to what caused the women’s deaths now forces police to follow other leads in their investigation, Krabi Provincial Police Deputy Commander Boontawee Toraksa said today. Audrey,…
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Phuket Gazette: Suicide victim’s son learns of father’s death after photos go viral
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Netherlands: Suicide victim’s son learns of father’s death after photos go viral Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: Teenagers who witnessed a man jump in front of a train in the Netherlands yesterday took photos of his decapitated body and posted them to Twitter, where the…
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Singapore buyer shells out B1.4bn in Evason Phuket buyout
PHUKET: A subsidiary of Singapore firm LC Development has acquired the former Evason Phuket and Bon Island Resort for a total consideration of 1.4 billion baht, reports Phuket Gazette Property columnist Bill Barnett. The deal was struck on April 21, with Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels acting as broker to the transaction, Mr Barnett said on his Property Insider website. The…
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Phuket prison officer shot and robbed of Bt 3mn
PHUKET: A Phuket prison officer was shot and robbed of 3 million baht in cash near Wat Chalong last night, in what police believe was a sweet business deal gone sour.At about 8:30pm, Chalong Police received a report about the shooting on Luangpor Chaem Road from a concerned local resident, who explained that despite injuries sustained the victim had driven…
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Phuket Gazette: Dutch court outlaws pedophile association
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dutch court outlaws controversial pedophile club Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Dutch civil court yesterday outlawed a controversial association which advocates the acceptance of pedophilia, saying its promotion of sexual relations between adults and children violates the country’s generally accepted values. The civil court in the northeastern…
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Indonesians nabbed with B2mn stolen from Phuket policeman
PHUKET: Four Indonesian men were arrested in Haad Yai, southern Thailand, yesterday while heading for the Malaysian border after stealing 2 million baht from a Phuket policeman. Tedi Usman Bin Husin, 43; Yusuf Anwar, 30; Aldi Pratama, 27; and Muhammad Amid, 34, were presented a few hours later at a press conference presided over by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit…
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Phuket Aussie stab suspects denied bail, behind bars
PHUKET: The two men arrested for the fatal stabbing of Australian tourist Michelle Smith were denied police bail yesterday and are now being held at the Phuket Provincial Court holding cells awaiting the formal pressing of charges. Chalong Police officers presented suspects Surasak Suwannachote and Surin Tadthong to Phuket Provincial Court at 11:30 am yesterday. Surasak has confessed to stabbing…
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Poll: Boosting tourist safety in Phuket
PHUKET: The recent confession by two Thai migrant workers in Phuket arrested for the fatal stabbing of Australian travel agent Michelle Smith has once again raised the issue of tourist safety on the island to a national level. The latest Phuket Gazette online poll asks readers which of six measures would best improve tourist safety on the island: Increased CCTV…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket-bound tour bus crashes, 11 injured
PHUKET: A tour bus bound for Phang Nga and Phuket crashed in Prachuap Khiri Khan province late last night, injuring 11 people. The state-run MCOT news agency reported that the coach was carrying 35 passengers when it crashed into the median strip drainage gully on the Petchkasem Highway in Thong Mongkol subdistrict, Bangsaphan District last night. The exact time of…
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Phuket Sports: FIVB Grand Prix update
PHUKET: Thai ladies continue to live up to their reputation as some of the world’s best ball control artists, with the final round of the Féderation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) 2012 Grand Prix, providing the latest stage for them to demonstrate their considerable skills. Considered the women’s equivalent of the FIVB World League of mens volleyball, the annual tournament is…
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Phuket locals outraged by stab attack re-enactment
PHUKET: Police staved off scenes of chaos this morning as local residents shouted out insults at the two suspects who were required by police to carry out a public re-enactment of the botched bag-snatch that led to the fatal stabbing of Australian tourist Michelle Smith. Police intervened and kept the angry crowd members at bay. Surasak Suwannachote, who confessed to…
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Aussie murder fallout: CCTV saturation sought for Phuket
PHUKET: A top-level meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday heard that the island needs 10,000 CCTV cameras and more police officers to keep tourists and locals safe from criminals. Speaking to the media after the meeting, Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising said, “We want the government to provide a budget of about 2 billion baht to install…
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