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Prosecutors set to arraign Myanmar men for Koh Tao killings
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prosecutors set to arraign Myanmar men for Koh Tao killings The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Public prosecutors are preparing to arraign two Myanmar suspects today on charges related to the murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao in September. “Evidence presented by investigators is…
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Police corruption scandal: B1mn reward for ‘Sia Jo’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police corruption scandal: B1mn reward for ‘Sia Jo’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A bounty of 1 million baht has been offered for information leading to the arrest of a much-wanted Pattani-based businessman accused of trading in contraband petrol and bribing police. Royal Thai Police…
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Phuket officials demand Uber vow against illegal taxi revival
PHUKET: Fears of technology company Uber, which provides an alternative way to catch a cab, thereby potentially allowing a resurgence in illegal taxi drivers operating in Bangkok and Phuket, led to the Department of Land Transportation (DLT) deeming the services illegal prior to a full investigation. The Phuket Land Transportation Office (PLTO) has suggested that Uber clarify its current role…
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Video Report: Swiss Olympian Reudi Wild wins Challenge Laguna Phuket
PHUKET: Swiss Olympian Ruedi Wild yesterday produced a clockwork performance once again at Laguna Phuket to secure his first half-distance win at 2014 Challenge Laguna Phuket (CLP) in 4:02:43. The win follows his debut title win at the 2012 Laguna Phuket Triathlon, which he successfully defended the next year. World champion Melissa Hauschildt of Australia defended her title in the…
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Facebook posts snare Phuket road rage thug
PHUKET: A man who appeared in photos and video clips on Facebook threatening two people with a gun in Phuket on Saturday has been arrested on drug charges. Prasopchok Somboon, 29, from Phang Nga, was caught on camera by people in passing cars intimidating a man and a woman with the gun near the Chinese shrine at the top of…
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Police suspect sex drug in death of Phuket man
PHUKET: Police believe a 72-year-old man who was found dead in a drive-in hotel yesterday morning may have died after taking a generic version of Viagra, an erectile dysfunction drug. Police were called to the scene on Komaraphat Road in Phuket Town and found the man, from Rawai, on the bed, and a shocked 44-year-old woman who said she had…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta: Youth dinghy racers lead the way
PHUKET: Promising young Thai sailors took to the waters in Optimist and Laser dinghies to mark the first competitive class racing action under the umbrella of this year’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta, in the 5th Phuket Dinghy Series. Twelve back-to-back races ran in front of the Sailing Club at the Royal Thai Navy Third Naval Command at Cape Panwa, on…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta shows appreciation to sponsors with grand opening ceremony
PHUKET: The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Organizing Committee, led by its president, Kevin Whitcraft, hosted the official opening ceremony of the 28th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta yesterday. The event was held at Kata Beach Resort & Spa, the spiritual home of Asia’s classic race, and was attended by VIPs, media guests and hundreds of sailors from around the world. Joining…
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AIDS campaigners say pandemic has finally reached tipping point
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community AIDS campaigners say pandemic has finally reached tipping point Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The world has finally reached “the beginning of the end” of the AIDS pandemic that has infected and killed millions in the past 30 years, according to a leading campaign group fighting…
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Public hearings on reform to start on December 27
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Public hearings on reform to start on December 27 The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Legislative Assembly will commence public hearings on national reform and reconciliation in the northeastern provinces of Mukdahan and Bueng Karn in late December. Under the process, NLA vice president…
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Hong Kong police clash with protesters near financial district
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hong Kong protesters clash with police near heart of financial district Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thousands of Hong Kong pro-democracy activists clashed with police early on Monday as they tried to encircle government headquarters, defying orders from authorities to retreat after more than two months…
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Debt collectors arrested in police corruption scandal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two civilians arrested in CIB chief graft case The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The roundup of accomplices of the former Central Investigation Bureau (CIB) chief facing corruption probe continues with the arrests of two civilians yesterday and the scheduled surrender today of two soldiers to…
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“Tourists, bring your own umbrellas,’ says Phuket beach town president
PHUKET: The chief of the local authority governing the beaches in Cherng Talay has called for tourists to bring their own umbrellas and beach mats to enjoy on the sands. “For now, tourists are allowed to bring their own umbrellas to the beach,” said Ma-ann Samran, president of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor). “Mats are allowed too, but…
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Land-grab probe off Phuket mired in claims
PHUKET: A team of police officers from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NED) arrived on Koh Naka, off the east coast of Phuket, yesterday to investigate a complaint of illegal encroachment on public land. However, the officers, led by Lt Col Sutthinan Kongchamdee, found themselves amid a confounding spat over private land leased out by the same…
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From Sweden with love: Cyclists on final stretch to Phuket tsunami orphanage
PHUKET: A group of cyclists raising funds for a post-tsunami orphanage are on the final stretch toward Phuket after having departed Sweden in March. Calle Wollgard and his team have already conquered 18 countries (including Iran), almost 16,000 kilometers of questionable roads, insane traffic, mountain passes, visa issues and countless other unexpected setbacks that lurk within the pages of an…
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Phuket beach club to be demolished
PHUKET: The owners of five businesses at Nai Yang Beach have been given just 11 days to pull down their buildings – or else have the might of a military-backed demolition team do it for them. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak issued the deadline at a meeting on Thursday, when he explained that the Court of Appeal had dismissed the…
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Hunt continues for more corrupt officials
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hunt continues for more corrupt officials The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police are tracing more corrupt officials after probing lists of bribe-takers seized from a fugitive, Pattani-based businessman who ran an illegal band petrol trade in the far South. Initial findings showed some 12 million…
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Phuket Highways Office to target illegal roadside advertising
PHUKET: The growing number of unsightly roadside advertising signs illegally erected on government land will be pulled down, confirmed a Phuket official today. The news flies in the face of reports that all billboards along Phuket’s roadsides will be pulled down. “I have already discussed the problem of haphazardly erected signs beside Phuket’s roads with Governor Nisit Jansomwong,” Samak Luedwonghad,…
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Phuket man robbed of B1mn worth of amulets
PHUKET: A local resident is pleading with police to track down those responsible for stealing amulets and other valuables worth more than 1 million baht from his home in Chalong last week. Charoen Chamnanyon, 56, even put a large, vinyl sign in front of his house on Soi Chao Fa 45 addressing the thieves. It reads: “To my dearest thieves…
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Navy backs Patong jet-ski plan as model for Phuket
PHUKET: Patong’s management system for jet-skis will be the model for the rest of Phuket, the Royal Thai Navy announced yesterday. “Zones separating swimmers from jet-skis will be applied in Patong first, and then at other beaches on the island,” said Vice Admiral Sayan Prasongsamrej, commander of the Royal Thai Navy’s Third Area Command. “The order has already been signed…
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Navy approves umbrellas for Phuket beaches
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy yesterday granted permission for tourists to bring umbrellas to Phuket beaches. The move comes after weeks of pressure from local business owners, foreign governments and tourists themselves. “I am aware that tourists were not allowed to bring their own umbrellas to the beach. However, this is no longer the case,” Phuket Provincial Police Commander Patchara…
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Phuket sailors head for Platu Trans World Invitational
PHUKET: Fresh from his team’s 2014 Platu One Design Championship victory, Kingdom Property helmsman Scott Duncanson has announced his intention to compete in the Platu Trans World Invitational. Held from March 18-22 out of the Ocean Marina Yacht Club in Pattaya, up to 20 crews will compete for the internationally recognized trophy. Five European teams have entered, including current world…
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Phuket health officials: no need to panic over plague outbreak
PHUKET: Health officials are urging Phuket residents fearing bubonic plague, otherwise known as the Black Death, not to panic following an outbreak of the deadly disease in Madagascar. Krit Sakulpat, deputy chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that his office has not been alerted to the Madagascan plague endemic by the Ministry of…
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Abuse against women on the rise: study
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Abuse against women on the rise: study The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Moves to stem the rising incidents of violence against women have not succeeded and in Thailand there are almost 100 abuse cases reported daily, with most of the attackers a partner or family…
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NRC panel in favour of direct election of Cabinet and PM
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community NRC panel in favour of direct election of Cabinet and PM The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A new parliamentary system that has never been seen before in Thailand – separation of the executive and legislative branches where the entire cabinet, including the PM, will be…
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Elections ‘unlikely before 2016’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Elections ‘unlikely before 2016’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The next general election could be delayed by a year, two top ministers said yesterday. In an interview with the BBC on Wednesday, Finance Minister Sommai Phasi said bringing back democracy any time before mid-2016 was…
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Evidence mounts against 3 DSI agents in police graft scandal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Evidence mounts against 3 DSI agents in police graft scandal The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three DSI agents have been incriminated in the probe of the petrol-smuggling ring in the Deep South allegedly involving former crime-buster policeman Lt Gen Pongpat Chayaphan. Suwana Suwanjuta, director-general of…
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Video Report: Dutch diplomat poses tough questions to Phuket Governor
PHUKET: The Dutch Ambassador to Thailand posed some tough questions during a visit with the new governor yesterday, honing in on the island’s biggest problems and the future of Phuket’s tourism sector. Due to numerous complaints that have streamed in to the Embassy from Dutch tourists visiting the island recently, Ambassador Joan Boer focused mainly on the high cost of…
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Opinion: Bad timing for Phuket’s full-scale tsunami drill
PHUKET: The announcement of plans to conduct a full-scale tsunami evacuation drill in Phuket on Christmas Day was a surprise (story here), given that the next day marks the 10th anniversary of the most horrific loss of life and devastation in the island’s recorded history. Thankfully, the inevitable complaints about the timing have been lodged, and hopefully it is not…
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Challenge Laguna Phuket ready to break records (video)
PHUKET: A record 900 participants have registered to take part in the second annual Challenge Laguna Phuket triathlon on Sunday. The event’s inaugural edition launched last year with 602 entrants signing up to complete the 1.9 kilometer swim, 90km bike ride and 21km run. The Challenge Laguna Phuket triathlon will bring to a close the iconic week-long “Challenge Laguna Phuket…
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