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Koh Tao murders prompt Phuket security boost
PHUKET: Region 8 Police chief Panya Mamen has ordered all police stations under his command, including those in Phuket, to investigate their options for improving tourists’ safety following the brutal slaying of two British tourists on Koh Tao earlier this month. “I have ordered every police station in Region 8, especially those in tourist destinations, to establish if they can…
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Demolition efforts rock 21 buildings on Phuket’s west coast
PHUKET: Armed Navy officers blocked traffic on the Nai Yang beachfront road today as demolition started on two restaurants along the pristine Phuket west coast beach. The removal of the buildings was led by Cdr Pornprom Sakultem of the Royal Thai Navy, which has its eyes on seven buildings in the area. However, five are still going through the legal…
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Festival looters raid two Phuket restaurants on same day
PHUKET: Unidentified looters capitalized on the holiday closure of two Phuket restaurants yesterday, breaking in to steal electronics. Capt Wattana Bumrungthin of the Thung Thong Police received a call at about 3pm to investigate a robbery at the Fiesta Cafe in Kathu. “We closed the restaurant after all of the staff left to join the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket Town,”…
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Phuket’s Irish Times opens doors for captive dolphin debate [video]
PHUKET: Local marine conservationists and animal right activists will be hosting an event at the Irish Times pub at Jungceylon shopping mall in Patong on October 16 to discuss the implications of capturing dolphins in the wild and keeping them in captivity. Dolphin trainer turned animal rights activist Ric O’Barry, well-known for his role in the Academy-award winning documentary The…
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Chinese tourist attacked over tour guide rivalry, suspect police
PHUKET: Police are hunting four men who attacked a Chinese national on the streets of Phuket Town during the annual Vegetarian Festival (story here) last night. Police believe that the men beat Guo Xing, 26 – to the ground with metal bars – under the presumption that he was an illegal Chinese tour guide. The Vegetarian Festival is renown for…
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Thailand eyes more sepak takraw gold at Asian Games
PHUKET: His teammates call him the “left-footed killer”, an unlikely nickname for a veteran athlete who plays in the same cheap plimsolls worn by common people throughout his native Thailand. But with his prolific point-scoring record and deadly finishing, Pornchai Kaokaew carries Thailand’s hopes of delivering them yet another Asian Games gold medal in sepak takraw, an acrobatic hybrid of…
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Koh Tao Murders: Police pin hopes on DNA test results
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao Murders: Police pin hopes on DNA test results The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Nearly two weeks since the gruesome murders of two British backpackers on Koh Tao, the killers are still at large. Worse still, police have pinned all their hopes on the…
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German beggar faces deportation for charity-paid partying in Pattaya
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community German beggar faces deportation for charity-paid partying in Pattaya The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: After attracting sympathy and donations from Thais in Bangkok, a German with an excessively swollen leg was seen enjoying drinks and the nightlife in Pattaya on Wednesday night. Tourist police have…
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First 16 drivers sentenced in Phuket taxi mafia purge
PHUKET: A judge has handed down sentences to 16 drivers operating in Cherng Talay for their involvement in the Phuket taxi mafia, the Phuket Gazette was told today. The drivers each received a suspended one-year sentence and a 6,000-baht fine. “These drivers from Cherng Talay, who pleaded guilty, will be on a two-year probation to prevent them from intimidating or…
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Blood loss forces Phuket Vegetarian Festival spirit medium to hospital
PHUKET: An entranced Phuket Vegetarian Festival spirit medium, also known as a ma song, was rushed to hospital due to excessive blood loss today. Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers were called to Saphan Hin, the final destination of the first festival street procession (story here), to deliver first aid to the ailing ma song. When they arrived, the ma song, who…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival takes to the streets
PHUKET: Tourists and island motorists were treated to the first street procession of this year’s Phuket Vegetarian Festival when devotees from the Choor Su Gong Naka Shrine south of Phuket Town marched to Saphan Hin this morning. Scores of tourists and residents lined the streets, with many joining the procession along the way and motorists queuing up behind them waiting…
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Phuket’s first Formula One simulators race into Patong
PHUKET: Grid Racing Phuket (GR Phuket) will become the first dedicated F1 racing simulator of its kind in Phuket when it opens its doors to the public on October 3. Combining his past experience with simulators, Australian national Paul and his partner “Visa” decided to capitalize on the rising popularity of the racing simulator industry and open their own “race…
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Tourism ministry calls for Phuket tour guide spies
PHUKET: The Ministry of Tourism and Sports is calling for foreigners to go undercover as “tour guide spies” and report any suspected illegal activities by tour operators in Phuket. Santi Pawai, director of the Tourism Ministry’s Phuket office, is looking to launch the project by October 6. “Volunteer teams of Thais and foreigners will join tours in Phuket and report…
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Buoyant West Ham seek to extend Man United gloom
PHUKET: In-form West Ham United are just about the last team Manchester United would want to face on Saturday as Louis van Gaal’s side seek an immediate response to their Premier League collapse at Leicester City. West Ham, who have lost on their last six league visits to Old Trafford, thumped Liverpool 3-1 on Saturday the day before United twice…
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Customs seizes Bt103m of luxury cars, iPhones
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Customs seizes Bt103m of luxury cars, iPhones The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Customs Department has seized prohibited goods such as counterfeit smartphones, including iPhone 6 models, and tax-evading luxury cars worth a total of Bt103 million, the department’s adviser on customs control systems, Narin Kalayanamit,…
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Pata Zoo fights efforts to move caged gorilla Bua Noi
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pata Zoo fights efforts to move caged gorilla Bua Noi The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The owners of Pata Zoo are fighting back efforts by many people to move the gorilla, Bua Noi, to what they consider “a better home”. “Don’t use mob rule here,”…
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PM vows crackdown on Koh Tao scourge
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM vows crackdown on Koh Tao scourge The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: N THE WAKE of the murder of two British citizens on Koh Tao, off Surat Thani coast, Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday vowed to tackle influential rackets and illegitimate businesses on the…
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Orient Thai Airlines mechanics in high-speed Phuket crash
PHUKET: An Orient Thai Airlines mechanic will be charged with reckless driving after he and his colleague crashed into a Phuket used car lot at high speed early this morning. The two mechanics were driving an Orient Thai company pick-up from Phuket International Airport to Phuket Town at about 2am when the vehicle careened off the road. “Witnesses said that…
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Preparing for retirement
PHUKET: Many expats don’t know where to begin when planning for retirement. The key is getting a head start. While it’s best to start planning as soon as possible, it’s never too late to take control of your finances and your own destiny. This is the first of a three-part series outlining the three critical steps that must be taken…
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Patong Police fail to find any illegal tour operators in Phuket crackdown
PHUKET: More than 30 officers led by Patong Police scoured the resort town yesterday afternoon, but failed to find any culprits as part of an ongoing island-wide sweep for illegal tour operators and guides. The officers split into five teams and began inspecting businesses from 2pm as part of the crackdown announced at a meeting on September 5 (story here).…
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ICC claim Outrigger T20 title after epic final
PHUKET: The final of the Outrigger T20 took place on a gloriously sunny day at the Alan Cooke Ground between the Bondi Bar Bashers and the ICC. BBB’s had only lost one game all season, however, that was against ICC and they were very keen to avenge the loss and claim the title at the same time. ICC had been…
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Russian arrested for installing ATM skimmer
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russian arrested for installing ATM skimmer The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Russian has been arrested for allegedly installing a “skimmer” device to steal PIN numbers of cardholders who used an automatic teller machine (ATM) at a 7-Eleven convenience store in eastern Bangkok. The new…
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Police free bar owners and look for ex-village headman’s son
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police free bar owners and look for ex-village headman’s son The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police are looking for the son of a former Koh Tao village headman in their pursuit of the killers of two British backpackers on the night of September 14, after…
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Three Laguna resorts step up to help jobless Phuket beach vendors
PHUKET: Three major hotels at Laguna Phuket have agreed to allow vendors who lost their jobs in the Cherng Talay beach cleanup to work on sections of their beachfront properties. “After the cleanup [in Cherng Talay] we got our beautiful beaches back, but we have been left with many jobless vendors who want to make a living,” said Ma-ann Samran,…
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Koh Tao Murders: Police arrest one suspect, launch manhunt for another
PHUKET: Police have arrested the brother of a local village chief on Koh Tao for the brutal slaying of British tourists David Miller and Hannah Witheridge last week (story here). Region 8 Police Commander Panya Mamen named the man arrested only as “Mon”, reported Thai PBS. Local officers are coordinating with Bangkok Metropolitan Police to hunt down a second suspect,…
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Facebook tip-off leads to Laguna Phuket beach fence teardown
PHUKET: Laguna Phuket today was ordered to pull down a fence at Bang Tao Beach until it could be established whether or not the operators of the resort complex own the land. Ma-ann Samran, president of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), issued the order after inspecting the site while accompanied by armed soldiers. “Photos of the fence were…
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B15.9mn budget approved to tackle some of Phuket’s water woes
PHUKET: A 15.9-million-baht budget has been approved to manage and develop Phuket’s water-resources in order to increase storage capacity and improve a canal that has become a health hazard. “We have approved a 4mn-baht project to dredge about a kilometer of Bang Yai Canal in Phuket Town to improve the water flow and drainage,” Natural Resources and Environment Minister General…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival to begin tonight
PHUKET: As the sun sets on Phuket tonight, all Chinese shrines taking part in the annual Vegetarian Festival will raise their go-teng poles so that the Jade Emperor, among the Nine Emperor Gods, can descend from the heavens, heralding the beginning of this year’s event. Devotees began pasting gold-leaf papers to the poles last night ahead of the festival’s precursor…
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Gala Leon becomes Spain’s first female Davis Cup captain
PHUKET: The Spanish Tennis Federation have named former WTA player Gala Leon as the country’s new Davis Cup captain following Carlos Moya’s decision to step down last week. Moya quit after five-times winners Spain were relegated from the World Group following defeat against Brazil in a playoff. The RFET federation said in a statement on Monday that 40-year-old Leon, who…
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Phuket Town to suffer more water shutoffs
PHUKET: The mains water supply will be shut off throughout most of Phuket Town for two nights, starting tonight, so that Phuket City Municipality workers can install larger pipes to serve the growing town. Water supply will be shut off at 8pm and restored at 5am on Wednesday. The second shutoff will see water supply cut from 8pm Wednesday through…
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