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Sponsored Where to shop for sports gear at Jungceylon Phuket
Phuket might be known for its beaches and nightlife, but the island also has a thriving fitness culture. From Muay Thai gyms to beach runs at sunrise, staying active is part of daily life for many who live here (as...
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Phuket tourist safety among top concerns: US Ambassador
PHUKET: Highlighting the role of wardens as her embassy’s “eyes and ears” in Thailand, United States Ambassador Kristie Kenney today affirmed that tourist safety was among the top priorities of her mission. Amb Kenney’s comments came during a day trip to Phuket, which included a visit to the offices of the Phuket Gazette and a closed-door meeting with the island’s…
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Phuket machete attack puts Burmese workers in ICU
PHUKET: Two Burmese workers on their way home from a Phuket karaoke bar were critically injured after they were attacked by knife-wielding youths yesterday. Thalang Police received an anonymous report at 1:10am from a local resident in Srisoonthorn reporting that two heavily bleeding men were lying in an alley near the Baan Manik boxing camp on Srisoonthron Road. Arriving at…
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Phuket Police yet to question tour driver attackers
PHUKET: Kamala Police have been issued a court summons to bring in two drivers for questioning over the savage beating of a Phuket tour company driver last Sunday. “I will give them a week to come and see me. If it’s more than a week, a second summons will be issued. If they still don’t come, I will apply to…
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Phuket officials “reprimand’ The Village
PHUKET: During a day-trip inspection tour to Koh Maphrao off Phuket’s east coast on Tuesday, Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkhaosutthirak reprimanded The Village resort for environmental and licensing law infractions. Accompanied by an entourage of no fewer than 30 officials and members of the press, V/Gov Somkiet inspected the upscale resort in response to a complaint filed at the Damrongtham…
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Phuket expats to remember fallen Dane
PHUKET: Friends of Michael Sand Andersen, a long-term Phuket expat who died in a motorcycle accident on August 26, will hold a remembrance gathering for him on Saturday, September 10. Mr Andersen, 39, died from injuries sustained when he fell off his motorbike on Soi Yodsane while trying to drive down Big Buddha Hill in Chalong during heavy rain. Mr…
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Patong Hospital to fight Phuket floods
PHUKET: Patong Hospital faces a chronic flooding problem so bad that its administrators plan to construct an emergency dike and pedestrian footbridge to keep out flood water and allow patients to access the facility during periods of heavy rainfall. Phuket Public Health Office Director Sak Tanchaikul reported on short-term solutions to the hospital’s growing flood problem, which caused a shutdown…
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Top Cop: Phuket is car-theft capital of the South
PHUKET: Thailand’s top traffic cop was in Phuket yesterday to brief top-ranking officers on the need to crack down on vehicle theft and the smuggling of luxury cars. Assistant national police chief Rapeepat Palawong chaired a high-level meeting on the issue at Phuket Provincial Police Headquarters yesterday morning. Lt Gen Rapeepat, who also serves as director of the National Traffic…
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Complaints mount against British fraud suspect in Phuket
PHUKET: Fugitive British fraud suspect Paul Ridden has been charged with a three-month immigration overstay and faces additional charges for working without a work permit, Phuket Police told the Phuket Gazette this morning. Mr Ridden, 58, was arrested without incident in front of Chalong Police Station yesterday. Chalong Police duty officer Boonlert Onklang said a check of the Briton’s travel…
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Honda racing returns to Phuket
PHUKET: More than 100 racing cars representing 40 teams will be zooming around Saphan Hin in Phuket Town on September 17-18 as the Phuket Honda Racing Fest 2011 comes to town. “This is the fifth year of Honda Motor Sport racing [in Thailand] and the second time this event will be held in Phuket,” said Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha at…
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Phuket fishermen win right to use local beach
PHUKET: Local fishermen at Palai Beach, on Phuket’s east coast, today won the right to use a section of the beach for landing and repairing their longtail boats. Led by Jirapat Phum, about 20 local fisherman arrived at the beach this afternoon to meet Phuket Marine Office Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut and officers from other relevant organizations in order to inspect…
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Raided, a Phuket drugstore coughs up colorful comments from officialdom
PHUKET: A police raid on an out-of-town pharmacy last Friday coughed up more than the Phuket authorities were looking for. Acting on a tip-off, health officials and Thalang police entered the S.C. Phesat pharmacy on Srisoonthorn Road, right beside Phuket’s famed Heroines’ Monument in Thalang. Inside the drug store, officers found 138 Alprazolam (Xanax) pills for sale – and more…
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Phuket Police anti-drugs campaign targets kids
PHUKET: About 300 students yesterday began their first day of an “anti-drugs camp” as part of a new campaign by Phuket City police targeting youngsters. The children, from schools throughout Phuket Town, gathered at Srinagarindra The Princess Mother School Phuket (or “Chalermprakiat School“) in Saphan Hin for the four-day camp, which ends on Thursday. “Drug addiction is still a big…
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Labor chief: Phuket not consulted on minimum wage hike
PHUKET: Authorities in Phuket have yet to be consulted on whether or not the minimum wage hike to 300 baht a day should be implemented here. Of the seven provinces listed to be the first to introduce the raise, if the raised is approved, Phuket will be the only province not near Bangkok to do so, Phuket Provincial Labor Office…
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Patong Hill closed to traffic today
PHUKET: The road over Patong Hill, the only direct route from Phuket Town to Patong, will be closed today (Tuesday) from 9am to midday. The road closure is to allow electrical workers to cut down trees interfering with power lines, Surasak Jantharuek of Patong Municipality’s Engineering Division told the Phuket Gazette. “We need to cut down branches and reset power…
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Phuket convention center impasse triggers political concerns
ANALYSIS PHUKET: The latest political obstacle to the construction of an international convention and exhibition center on the island is a staggering blow to the Phuket tourism industry. Over the past five years, the nation’s domestic political infighting has crippled efforts to develop a sustainable plan for tourism in Thailand. As Asia led the world in a post-2008 economic surge,…
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Phuket taxi mob beats driver in broad daylight
PHUKET: A gang of taxi drivers encamped outside an upscale resort on Phuket’s west coast today beat a local driver with an iron bar before causing a reported 50,000 baht in damage to his car. His tourist passengers were reportedly inside the vehicle at the time of the attack. Preecha Choowong, 38, filed a complaint at Kamala Police Station this…
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Aldhouse extradition to Phuket looks inevitable: British press
PHUKET: The extradition of British kick-boxer Lee Aldhouse to Thailand to stand trial for the August 2010 stabbing murder of US Marine Dashawn Longfellow now seems inevitable, British media have reported. Britain’s Sunday Mirror today reported a source in the British Home Office as saying: “The only way he could have realistically avoided extradition is if he would have faced…
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Phuket Corruption: Senate probes alleged police protection racket
PHUKET: A senate subcommittee on police graft and corruption is in Phuket investigating allegations of an alleged police protection racket targeting tailor shops in Phuket’s Kata-Karon area. Subcommittee chairman Pol Gen Jongrak Juthanon said the investigation follows complaints made by people in Kata-Karon that tailor shops and other retail businesses that employ ethnic Nepalis are forced to hand over 2,000…
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Phuket Square plans Bangkok mall
PHUKET: Phuket Square, managers of Jungceylon in Phuket, will launch a 300-million-baht “lifestyle community mall” on Sukhumvit Soi 20 in Bangkok during the first quarter of next year. The venture follows the company’s success with the Patong-based Jungceylon, it’s first and only other mall project. But the tail is not wagging the dog. Phuket Square has been headquartered in Bangkok…
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Phuket’s convention center, slammed by a report, now on hold
PHUKET: Phuket’s decades-old dream of having a world-class convention center took a leap backward on Wednesday when the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) issued an Initial Environmental Examination (IEE) report that highlighted numerous environmental and financial flaws in the project. A source at the MNRE Office of Policy and Planning (OPP) told a Prachachat reporter that his agency…
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Phuket Campaign for standard tuk-tuk fares sparks colorful comments
PHUKET: Tuk-tuk drivers in Kata and Karon are stepping up their campaign to have members operating in their areas certified as “safe” and in compliance with a schedule of standard fares. Certificates, to be issued annually, are meant to assure tourists that they will be treated politely and not overcharged for their ride, said Vice Governor Nivit Aroonrat at a…
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Police boost patrols past Phuket gold shops
PHUKET: Local police have been ordered to pay special attention to Phuket gold shops as the price of the precious metal continues to rise, the provincial police commander has announced. Maj Gen Pekad Tantipong ordered patrol units in all districts to be on the lookout for strange activity near gold shops, such as repeated passes by the same vehicle. “People…
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Thailand dishes Australia world cup surprise
PHUKET: Cheers could be heard across Phuket as Thailand scored first against Australia in the FIFA World Cup 2014 qualifying match late this afternoon. The affair marked both sides’ opening match for the World Cup 2014 third round Asia regional qualifiers. Thailand and Australia were drawn in Group D along with Saudi Arabia and Oman, who also play tonight. Since…
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Envoy warns of EU advisory against tourists using Phuket tuk-tuks
PHUKET: The continued failure of local authorities to address problems of tuk-tuk drivers with foreign tourists could force European Union (EU) member states to issue a joint travel advisory warning against using tuk-tuks while in Phuket, the Austrian Ambassador to Thailand has warned. Austrian Ambassador to Thailand Johannes Peterlik issued the warning to local officials during the third meeting between…
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Gunfire silences Phuket construction clamor, says Swede
PHUKET: A Phuket estate manager terrified a team of Thai workers when he fired warning shots over their heads in an effort to get them to stop making noise yesterday morning, says the construction team’s foreman. Swede Mike Hjort and Songkhla native Waleeporn Chinpised, both 41, appeared at Phuket City Police Station to file a complaint against Seree Duangsuwan. The…
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FIVB Beach Volleyball returns to Phuket – for now
PHUKET: The 6th Swatch FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour is set to make Karon Beach its stage again this year, starting November 1, despite the possibility of the event moving elsewhere in the future due to a lack of funding from Phuket, organizers say. The Phuket Thailand Open, which is a women’s tournament, has been growing in popularity and scope,…
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Phuket Police nab teenage murder gang
PHUKET: Phuket Police took just a few hours to track down and arrest three teenagers wanted for the strangling murder of a Phuket resort worker yesterday. At least two more suspects remain at large. Police presented two of the suspects to the press at Phuket City Police Station this morning. The suspects were identified as Charin “Mutt” Chokekue and Kittiphum…
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German victim of Phuket mob bashing out of coma
PHUKET: German national Kurt Trotnow, who is in intensive care after being beaten by a mob in Patong, is conscious but still on a respirator. “Kurt is conscious now but still cannot talk because he is on a respirator. When he wakes up, I talk with him and he looks at me. He understands my words,” said his wife, Jiraporn…
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Tuk-tuks, jet-skis top complaints by Aussie tourists in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha yesterday received more bad news about the state of Phuket’s tourism industry as the Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok told him that complaints about tuk-tuk drivers and jet-ski scams topped the embassy’s list of complaints filed by Aussie tourists in Phuket. “I personally haven’t heard any complaints, but I do…
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Two homosexuals found dead in as many days
PHUKET: Phuket City Police this morning announced the results of their investigation into the strangling murder of a Patong resort worker whose body was discovered at his home in Wichit last night. The body of the late Yusop Wattanarot, age 35, was discovered by friends who went to visit him at 7:30pm yesterday. Sathien Chartsuksiridej, a close friend of the…
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