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Booze ban set for this weekend
PHUKET: Nighttime actives will be drier than usual tomorrow in preparation for the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) elections on Sunday. The Phuket Election Committee has announced that, in accordance with election law, a booze ban will be in effect throughout the province, prohibiting sales and distribution of alcohol, including in bars and clubs, from 6 pm Saturday to midnight…
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Chappell opens well at Cricket Sixes
KARON: Former Australian international cricketer and Phuket regular Trevor Chappell was in exceptional form with the bat, stroking a breezy 31 not out for Lamma CC of Hong Kong in his first match of the Phuket International Cricket Sixes, which began today. His welcomed performance at the crease against the Perth Postels followed a sudden deluge of rain that forced…
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Vice-Governor opens Wat Chalong toilets
CHALONG: Phuket Vice-Governor Tri Augkaradacha this morning chaired the opening ceremony of Wat Chalong’s new three-million-baht public restrooms, which are being hailed as “the first international-standard public toilets” in Thailand by the Office of Tourism Development. The restrooms, built with the help of industrial manufacturing firm SCG (Thailand) Co Ltd, are to commemorate 100 years since the passing away of revered…
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Dim chef serves self to police
CHERNG TALAY: Cherng Talay District Police on April 10 enjoyed making one of their easiest arrests on record, nabbing a thief who foolishly transferred funds from his victim’s bank account directly into his own.Officers led by Maj Thongchai Matitham arrested 24-year-old Songkhla native Areeyang Talae at 5.30 pm for the theft of an ATM card reported lost by Swede Henrik…
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Daniel Jackson dies of heart attack
RAWAI: Long-time Nai Harn resident Daniel Leroy Jackson died of a heart attack early Tuesday morning at Phuket International Hospital. He was 62. Friends and neighbors James and Pat Domville informed the Gazette of Mr Jackson’s passing this morning.Originally from Baltimore in the US state of Maryland, Mr Jackson was a Vietnam War veteran who worked as chief public transport safety…
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Tourist Police volunteer found in apparent suicide
PATONG: Kathu Police are treating as “probable suicide” the death of UK national James Alasdair Elliott, 37, who was found hanging by the neck from a ceiling fan in a rented room on Nanai Rd. Kathu Police Duty Officer Capt Songserm Preecha said police were notified of Mr Elliott’s death at 10:30 am yesterday by Preecha Chormanee, owner of the…
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107 illegal Burmese rounded up in crackdown
PHUKET CITY: Following a crackdown ordered by new Phuket Immigration Police Superintendent Pol Col Chanatpol Yongbunjerd on April 10, more than 100 illegal aliens found working in the province were arrested and deported before the start of the Songkran holidays. News of the arrests was distributed to the media during a special “meet the press” karaoke event hosted by Phuket…
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Appeal made for missing Brit
PHUKET: The Immigration Police Tourist Assistance program is asking for anyone with information about Daniel Christian Hall, who was last seen at the Full Moon Party on Koh Pha-ngan on February 24, to contact them. According to a report filed with police, no-one has heard from Daniel since then and he abandoned all his belongings except for his passport in…
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Songkran road toll in Phuket: 2 dead, 40 injured
PHUKET: Phuket recorded its first two road accident fatalities of the 2008 Songkran Festival, as two male teenagers riding motorbikes were killed in separate accidents in Kathu on Sunday. The first victim was identified by the Phuket branch of the National Road Safety Monitoring Center as 15-year-old Chakkrit Titprong. K. Chakkrit was rushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital following a collision…
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Songkran road toll: 45 dead, 557 injured on first day
BANGKOK (TNA): A total of 45 persons were killed and 557 injured in 477 road accidents nationwide yesterday, the first of “seven days of danger” in the annual Songkran water festival celebrating Thai New Year.The accidents happened as people headed to their home provinces to celebrate the Songkran festival with family and friends.Former Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi, now permanent secretary…
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Aussie lifeguards lend a hand
KAMALA: Ahead of the rainy season arriving next month, when the rough surf along the west coast of Phuket becomes dangerous for all but very experienced swimmers, Phuket lifeguards are being trained in surf life-saving techniques at Kamala Beach today and tomorrow.Conducting the training are experienced members of the Avoca Beach Surf Life Saving Club (SLSC) in New South Wales,…
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Patong restaurateur stabbed
PATONG: The owner of a restaurant off Sawasdirak Rd, near the Patong beachfront, is in stable condition after being stabbed early on Thursday morning.He was allegedly stabbed by a drunk teenager who was dining in his restaurant.Capt Jongserm Preecha of Kathu Police Station told the Gazette that he received a call from Patong Hospital at 3 am reporting that a…
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Owner of Burmese “death truck’ in custody
RANONG: The owner of the truck in which 54 Burmese, including an eight-year-old girl, died on Wednesday from suffocation while being smuggled from Ranong to Phuket presented himself today to police for questioning, Col Kraithong Chanthongbai, Superintendent of Suksamran District Police, told the Gazette.The truck owner, who has been named as Damrong Phussadee, of Rungruengsup Limited Partnership, is now in police custody, Col Kraithong confirmed.However,…
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Songkran “soaking zones’ announced
PHUKET: As the island prepares for Songkran, which gets underway in earnest tomorrow, Phuket Vice-Governor Smith Palawatwichai has announced that a number of zones have been designated for water play.Muang district: Saphan Hin, Rawai Beach, Kata Beach, Karon BeachKathu district: Patong area.Thalang district: Nai Yang Beach, Surin Beach.The designation system has been set up in the hope that it will help decrease…
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Saphan Hin incinerator given top-level support
PHUKET CITY: A Prime Minister’s Office inspector who is in Phuket to review mega-projects for which the governor has requested funding said that top priority should be given to having a second burner installed at the incineration plant at Saphan Hin.Changthong Opassiriwit arrived in Phuket on Tuesday and spent the day visiting the proposed project sites, including a 150-rai site…
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Finn dies of suspected heart failure
KARON: Police are waiting for medical analysis of the body of a Finnish tourist who died Wednesday morning at the Hilton Phuket Acadia Resort and Spa before moving ahead with any further investigation.Capt Theerawuth Thepluan of Chalong Police Station identified the deceased as 46-year-old Onerva Kastehelmi Jaktholm. She was found dead of apparent heart failure in her room on the…
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54 Burmese dead in trafficking horror
RANONG: Fifty-four Burmese, 17 men and 37 women, suffocated to death while being transported in the sealed container of a seafood delivery truck yesterday en route from Ranong to Phuket.Col Kraithong Chanthongbai of Suksamran District Police today told the Gazette that police received a call from local people saying that a 10-wheeled truck had been left by the side of Petchkasem Rd…
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American man commits suicide in Rawai
RAWAI: Chalong Police are treating as suicide the death of an American man found hanged from a bridge behind the Rawai Municipality offices early yesterday morning.Lt Col Chana Suthimas of the Chalong Police identified the man as Duane Willis Daugherty, aged 45.A local resident called Chalong Police at 6:30 am, immediately after discovering Mr Daugherty’s body, Lt Col Chana said.The…
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Fowl play suspected in local election
ANG THONG: Police Region 1 are leaving no stone unturned in their attempt to bring to justice a vicious gang of youths who abducted 1,500 waterfowl from a local politician, in what police believe could be a politically motivated ducknapping. At about 3 am on March 28, six young men, some on motorcycles, some in a six-wheeled truck, pulled up…
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Burglar busted during cat nap
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: In most professions, apart from those involving heavy machinery or driving perhaps, falling asleep on the job will earn you a strict telling off, a warning letter or in the worst case, the sack. In the burglary trade, however, sleeping on the job can have somewhat more serious consequences as one young army deserter in Phraphrom District…
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Candidates register for Phuket City elections
PHUKET CITY: The first day to register candidacies for the upcoming Phuket City Municipality elections saw a large turnout by supporters of both the incumbent Khon Noom (Young Turks) party led by incumbent mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana and her rival Ayuth Tansiriroj and his Chao Baan Sarng San (Creative) party.K. Ayuth, a lawyer and former ally of K. Somjai, hopes to…
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Robbery ring rounded up
PATONG: Kathu Police yesterday arrested six men for a string of robberies in this popular beach town.Kathu Police Inspector Lt Col Chalermchai Hernsawas and a squad of fellow officers made the initial arrest about 5 pm.The case started when 25-year-old Saiyon Jantorn reported seeing a man sitting atop her red-and-black JRD motorcycle, which was parked near Laem Petch Temple opposite…
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Bepy passes away
PHUKET: Well-known restaurateur and local resident “Bepy” Graziano di Ceneda passed away about 9:30 last night after succumbing to lung cancer.A native of Florence, Italy, Bepy had lived in Phuket for 15 years and was well known here, especially in Cherng Talay where his popular Toto restaurant stands at Tinlay Place on the road into the Laguna resort complex.Bepy was…
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Jetstar and Tiger slash Singapore-Phuket route
PHUKET: Citing a lack of demand, Jetstar Asia Airways has ditched its service between Phuket and Singapore, while Tiger Airways has halved its service of the same route.Only 18 months after introducing a Phuket-Singapore air link, Singapore-based Jetstar Asia announced on March 30 that it has suspended its service of six flights a week. Low demand and a reallocation of…
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Destination Air flies on
PHUKET: The managing director of Destination Air has described Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit’s order to suspend flight service to Patong as “anticlimactic”, saying the airline had for months been scheduled to wrap up operations in Patong because of unsafe monsoon-season conditions now setting in. Pat James told the Gazette that the governor’s decision, taken in the wake of complaints about noise…
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Danish tourist dies in hotel reception
KARON: Danish tourist Finn Hansen, 54, was found dead on Thursday in the lobby of the “Welcome Inn” hotel, where he had been staying since March 18.“He was sitting in a chair in the hotel lobby for three hours before anyone noticed he was dead,” Capt Theerawut Thep-Luen of Chalong Police told the Gazette.As there was no evidence of foul play, police…
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Gov suspends Patong seaplane service
PHUKET: Citing complaints of noise pollution and threats to public safety, Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit yesterday ordered Destination Air to stop its seaplane shuttle flights to and from Patong Bay until the company complies with all Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) regulations.At a two-hour meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, Gov Niran called a halt to the flights after conferring with three…
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Registration van makes slow progress
PHUKET CITY: The introduction of a high-tech mobile registration van late last year has recorded an increase of 16,000 in Phuket’s official population, only a small fraction of the island’s “hidden population” of about 300,000.The project is the brainchild of Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit, who announced that tackling the hidden population problem would be a top priority after he was…
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Trang man executed on Koh Sireh
KOH SIREH: A man was fatally shot by a single bullet to the mouth as he was riding his motorbike on Koh Sireh early yesterday morning. Phuket City Police Inspector Lt Col Sarit Butnongsang identified the victim as Reab Paothong, 46, of Kantang district, Trang province. The murder happened on Theppratan Rd near the Koh Sireh Community Health Office about…
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Frenchman crushed under cement truck
PHUKET CITY: French national Dominique Jules Valery Bagus, 46, died instantly when he was crushed under the wheels of a cement mixer truck on Sunday.Capt Supachai Petchsakul of Phuket City Police told the Gazette that Mr Bagus was driving a Suzuki motorcycle on Thepkrasattri Rd when the accident happened.“He was overtaking a cement truck being driven by 31-year-old Yutthana Promwiset, who was on…
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