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Phuket ladyboys arrested for drunken “hug and run’ thefts
PHUKET: A pair of pick-pocketing ladyboys were arrested in Phuket yesterday after two tourists reported having been robbed by the duo while receiving a hug. Pavel Abramov, 24, from Russia, and Moris Fosaati, 38, from Italy, both reported at separate times to Karon Police on Monday that they had been pick-pocketed by two ladyboys, said Karon Police Deputy Superintendent Sophon…
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Phuket truck driver held after woman crushed by 18-wheeler
PHUKET: A truck driver has been taken into custody after one woman was crushed under his 18-wheeler and another woman injured at the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint yesterday morning. The driver of the truck and trailer, Niran Sawasdee, 37, told police that he was driving onto Phuket from Phang Nga when the accident occurred at about 11am. “I didn’t see…
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Woman caught smuggling drugs in pumpkins
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Woman caught smuggling drugs in pumpkins The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police yesterday caught a woman allegedly trying to smuggle in marijuana and amphetamines stuffed in pumpkins. Kanjana Srijuisai, 37, was arrested at a border checkpoint in Ubon Ratchathani after returning from Laos. Noticing her…
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Koh Tao Murders: Taxi driver accuses police of intimidation, bribe for false testimony
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police promised cash reward to buy false testimony: taxi driver The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A taxi driver on Koh Tao, off the Surat Thani coast, yesterday went public with his accusation that police investigating the murders of two British tourists had tried to intimidate…
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Phuket Navy base swaps top brass
PHUKET: After three years at the helm, Royal Thai Navy Vice Admiral Taratorn Kajitsuwan has been transferred from his post as the commanding officer at Phuket’s Third Area Command, the leading naval base for the entire Andaman coast. An assembly of sailors welcomed his replacement, Rear Admiral Sayan Prasongsamrej, at a handover parade at the base at Cape Panwa yesterday.…
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Australian seriously injured in Phuket balcony fall
PHUKET: An Australian tourist has suffered serious head trauma after falling from a second-floor balcony at the Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa in Patong last night. “Paul Hanson, Anthony Jones and Jean Cover, all 24 years old, were drinking on the balcony at about 9:10pm,” said Lt Col Pratuang Polmana of the Patong Police. “Then something happened, and they all…
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Phuket’s Patong tunnel project balloons past B10bn, to include flyover
PHUKET: The Patong tunnel project, now slated to cost more than 10 billion baht, is to be accompanied by a flyover to prevent a bottleneck at the Thung Thong Intersection in Kathu, it was revealed on Sunday. “Of the three options considered [story here], we have decided for the final plan to include the flyover,” said Aiyanut Tinaphai, governor of…
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Krabi tourism officials accuse EGAT of being “dishonest’
PHUKET: The Koh Lanta Tourism Association has lashed out against a coal-fired power plant slated for Krabi province, east of Phuket, claiming that the authority initiating the project has been dishonest with locals. “The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) held a third public hearing at Ban Klong Ruo, Nua Klong district, on Sunday. We believe it was insincere, as…
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Policeman gets 57 years for drunken gun rampage
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Policeman gets 57 years for drunken gun rampage The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Criminal Court yesterday gave a former crowd control policeman a total of 57 years and 10 months in prison for six cases in which he reportedly shot at motorists in Bangkok.…
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Media, police forensic experts leave Koh Tao
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Media, police forensic experts leave Koh Tao The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Forensic police yesterday pulled out of Koh Tao after completing their task collecting DNA samples from a large number of men, both Thai and migrant workers, in their hunt for the killers of…
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New Army chief vows no coup
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community New Army chief vows no coup The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Newly appointed Army chief General Udomdej Sitabutr vowed yesterday there would be no military coup to oust the Prayut Chan-o-cha administration. “There won’t be [a coup], be it by those [in power] now or…
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Siriraj comes up with an antibody for Ebola
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Siriraj comes up with an antibody for Ebola The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Thai medical school has successfully produced an antibody for the treatment of the deadly Ebola haemorrhagic fever. Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital is preparing to announce its success at…
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Video Report: Krabi Police hunt gibbon tout east of Phuket
PHUKET: Krabi Police are looking to pull gibbon touts out from their hiding places after a video surfaced on Facebook showing a man photographing the protected species with tourists. “We haven’t received a complaint about gibbons being used this way in the Ao Nang area yet. However, I’ll put together a task force and deal with it immediately,” Col Witaya…
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Suicide victim’s mum reveals letter calling for return of Phuket beaches to vendors
PHUKET: A letter presented at a ceremony commemorating a financially distressed Phuket beach vendor found dead last week implored Thailand’s leaders to return the beachfront to those who used it to make a living. At the memorial service on Patong Beach on Saturday, Jirasak Sae-Koo’s mother, Pranee Piromrit, revealed the letter, and explained that her son had written it before…
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Breaking News: Army to probe Phuket visa run “cash for clearance’ claims at Sadao
PHUKET: Reports of foreigners returning from visa runs to Malaysia being asked to pay 200 baht in cash to clear immigration at the Sadao checkpoint are to be directed to the regional Army chief for Southern Thailand, the Phuket Gazette confirmed yesterday. “I was doing a trip with a visa-run company to Penang, Malaysia,” said one British expat, who asked…
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Railway staffer child rapist-murderer sentenced to death
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Railway child rapist-murderer sentenced to death The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Criminal Court today sentenced to death State Railway of Thailand employee Wanchai Saengkhao, 22, for raping and strangling a 13-year-old girl before dumping her body from a moving train in July. He was…
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Phuket provides easy access to tech-diving world with PADI Tec Xplor Day
PHUKET: All divers in Phuket and the surrounding regions are invited to get a taste of the technical diving world with the PADI “Tec Xplor Day” on October 9. Kiwidiver, Blue Label Diving, Aquamaster and Dive Supply will have rebreathers, sidemounts and twin tank setups available for participants interested in “tech rec”. The technical diving community has a reputation around…
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Judge kills his wife, himself
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Judge kills his wife, himself The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Phitsanulok Court judge Chalermpol Butrdee shot dead his wife before turning the gun on himself early yesterday morning at their home in Nakhon Sawan’s Muang district. Following the report of the incident at about 2am,…
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Koh Tao party zone plan amid security concerns
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao party zone plan amid security concerns The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Designated entertainment and activity areas and a special management team will be implemented on Koh Tao, Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul said yesterday.The scheme, dubbed the “Koh Tao Model”, is a…
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Breaking News: Violent Phuket taxi drivers return to work
PHUKET: Expect to see taxi drivers who have been convicted for their role in Phuket’s taxi mafia back behind the wheel without delay, the Phuket Provincial Land Transportation Office (PLTO) confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. “Anybody who was sentenced for his or her role in the taxi mafia – even individuals who ripped people off, were violent or intimidated…
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Giant crab nips at Krabi villagers’ emotions
PHUKET: A huge mud crab caught by accident in a canal has stirred a veritable pot of emotions among local villagers in the mangrove-rich Klong Prasong area south of Krabi Town. Sompong Klongrouw, a 33-year-old local fisherman, landed the giant crab last week and brought it home so he could show his neighbors. By Friday, some locals were in a…
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Body of woman with hands bound washes onto Phuket beach
PHUKET: Police are trying to identify a woman whose naked body was found washed onto a Phuket beach with her hands bound behind her back this morning. Local resident Lumyong Kunpai made the gruesome discovery on Surin Beach and quickly called the police. “We believe that the woman was killed about a week ago and that her body was dumped…
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Phuket men wanted over street shooting
PHUKET: Police are scouring Phuket for two attackers who gunned down a man in Cherng Talay last night. Officers were called to a home in Pasak Soi 8, where rescue workers were tending to Rattikorn Weeraphruk, 25, from Roi Et, who was bleeding on the kitchen floor after being shot twice. Mr Rattikorn told police that he was riding his…
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Man denies rape of Phuket Russian tourist
PHUKET: A man* has confessed to tying up a Russian tourist before having sex with her, but has denied charges of rape and assault. Police arrested Somdet Srisai, 33, at his apartment on Patak Road on Saturday, hours after the 29-year-old woman lodged a complaint with the Karon Police. “The man was arrested and charged with sexual assault and rape.…
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Man kills daughter, wife, burns bodies
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Man kills daughter, wife, burns bodies The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have arrested a man with a history of drug use and mental illness after he allegedly stabbed to death his wife and daughter and then burned their bodies in his pickup truck on…
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Australian tourist stabbed in Patong street fight with Thai teens
PHUKET: Police are looking to press charges against an Australian tourist and a Thai teenager after both used broken bottles as weapons in an early-morning fight on the Patong beach road yesterday. Capt Thawatchai Srimai of the Patong Police arrived at the scene at 2am with other officers to find Dwayne House, 23, on the ground in agony. He had…
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Drinking buddies save Phuket man from drowning
PHUKET: A man who went swimming off the east coast of Phuket late last night is in hospital after being saved from drowning by two friends he was drinking on the beach with. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation were called to Tala Beach in Pa Khlok at about 11:15pm. “We arrived to see two teenagers trying to help their…
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Bulgarians busted for ATM skimming in Phuket
PHUKET: Three Bulgarian men were arrested in Phuket early this morning for skimming ATM cards and making withdrawals from hacked accounts totalling more than 170,000 baht. Tsvetozar Georgiev Slavchev, 44, was arrested while withdrawing money from an ATM in front of a Super Cheap convenience store at Karon Beach at 1am. “We have CCTV recordings of Mr Slavchev making seven…
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German ‘beggar’ to be deported
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community German ‘beggar’ to be deported The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Immigration Bureau will begin the process of deporting a German who was found enjoying the nightlife in Pattaya after begging for money on Bangkok streets. Benjamin Holse, 29, claimed his passport and cash were…
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Battle against Phuket land grabbers moves to the hills
PHUKET: The entire island should give its full support to the ongoing efforts by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to rid public beaches of encroachment in all its forms. The results, which so far have been nothing less than stunning, are sure to go a long way to restoring the island’s attractiveness to tourists, both foreign and…
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