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Maid of money
PHUKET CITY: A woman who, in a three-year spree, allegedly robbed at least 15 homes of as much as 570,000 baht apiece, has been caught in a police sting.The woman, named as Jirapa “Ying” Pasomsub, 34, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, got into the homes by answering advertisements for a maid. Once in a home she would work for a few…
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Diveboat sinks: one dead
PHUKET: One person died when a diveboat capsized and sank 40 kilometers off the coast of Phuket in a storm this morning.The 24-meter liveaboard boat Bubble Blue, from the Khao Lak-based dive business of the same name, was travelling from Phuket to the Similan Islands to carry out a survey of coral reefs when it was hit by a four-meter…
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Storm forces flights to turn back
PHUKET: Driving rain and strong winds forced several scheduled flights to abort their landings at Phuket International Airport this morning.An officer at Phuket International Airport, who spoke to the Gazette on condition of anonymity, said that the strong winds forced pilots of four flights to abort their landings at the airport because they were not confident that it was safe…
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Pelé and Cantona to visit Phuket
PHUKET: The island will play host on July 28 to a charity beach soccer match, which will be attended by soccer giants Edson Arantes do Nascimento – better known as Pelé – and Eric Cantona.The announcement was made by Somsak Thepsuthin, Minister of Sports and Tourism, who visited the island to watch the Phuket round of the 1st ASEM (Asia…
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Monk war
NONG KHAI: A dispute over alms collection routes turned violent when three novices from Chansamakee Temple were set upon by an armed gang of monks and novices from a rival temple. Police were notified of the “Monk War” on the morning of May 29. Arriving on the scene at the Kokmang-ngao community in Tambon Meechai, they found 17-year-old novice Vitthaya…
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209 arrested in May for gambling
PHUKET CITY: Gambling topped the Phuket Provincial Police list of arrests made between May 1 and May 30, with 209 people taken into custody.Of the arrests, 10 were for involvement in illegal lottery operations while the other 199 were held for what the police describe as “other” gambling.Possession of illegal drugs resulted in 80 arrests – down from 93 in…
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Irish present book of condolences
PHUKET CITY: Helene Fallon Wood, representing the Irish Ambassador to Thailand, handed over a signed book of condolences to Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura at Phuket Provincial Hall today.“This book came from County Galway, on the west coast of Ireland.” said Ms Wood. “Shortly after the events of December 26 last year the Lord of Galway instituted this book. Many hundreds…
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Call for second trash incinerator
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has asked the government for one billion baht to build a second incinerator at Saphan Hin, to help deal with the province’s growing mountain of waste.Gov Udomsak said he has applied to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for the required funding.He said, “Phuket has a big environmental problem. As the number of tourists…
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Phuket Air hires “best practice’ experts
BANGKOK: Problem-plagued Phuket Air has recruited a British provider of safety training to instill “best practice” throughout every level of its operations.The deal between Phuket Air and training and development company The Human Factor was announced in London by the founder of The Human Factor, ex-British Royal Air Force pilot George Duncan, and Phuket Air Executive Vice-President Captain Chawanit Chiamcharoenvut.It…
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Three new public parks planned
PHUKET: The island may get three new public parks under the Cabinet’s “One Tambon, One Park” initiative.The Phuket office of the Royal Forestry Department is to ask its national HQ at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives for permission to create “Pa Bangkanun” in Tambon Thepkrasattri, Thalang District; “Khao Toh Se” in Tambon Rassada, Muang District, and “Khao Phanthurat” in…
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Immigration office to open in Chalong
CHALONG: Phuket Immigration has set up a permanent service counter at Phuket Port Control Center (PPCC) in Chalong.From next Tuesday (June 7), the counter will be open every Tuesday and Thursday between 9 am and 3 pm. It will be staffed by three Immigration officers.Phuket Immigration Superintendent Pol Col Witawat Buranasompop told the Gazette that he expected that, by the…
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Air Force looks at tsunami lessons
PATONG: Senior officers of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) are gathered in Patong for a seminar on lessons to be learned from the handling of the tsunami crisis.Gen Chalid Pukpasuk, who is the Director of the RTAF’s Public Emergency Response Center and the seminar chairman, told journalists that the RTAF had delivered emergency supplies “regularly and rapidly” to tsunami…
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Three proposals for massive Chalong marina
PHUKET CITY: Three proposals have been received by Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura for the construction of a large marina in Chalong Bay, to be financed by a mixture of government and private sector money.One proposal is from a consortium headed locally by Lifestyle Properties Co Ltd and the Gazette understands that two other concepts have been submitted, one by an…
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Land issues “still a priority’ – Minister
PHUKET CITY: Revocation of improperly-issued land title deeds will remain a top government priority in the upper southern provinces of Thailand, the Interior Minister announced at a meeting with provincial officials yesterday.The meeting, held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, was chaired by Interior Minister Pol Gen Chidchai Wannasatit who, in his dual role as a Deputy Prime Minister, also serves…
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Island to get water from Surat Thani?
PHUKET CITY: Surasak Anakkhaphan, Adviser to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Minister Suwit Khunkitti, today proposed that water be piped from Chieo Lan Reservoir in Surat Thani Province as a long-term solution to Phuket’s chronic – and worsening – water shortage problems.At a meeting at the Phuket Provincial Hall, K. Surasak explained that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had allocated each…
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Phuket gets first film festival
PHUKET: The SFX Coliseum Cinema at Central Festival Phuket will host an 11-day festival of movies from the European Union, starting June 16. The event will be co-sponsored by the Phuket Gazette. The opening ceremony, between 5 pm and 10 pm on June 16, will feature music from the band Ocastra and an exhibition about the films. The event will…
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Airport numbers go into a dive
PHUKET: International passenger arrivals and departures at Phuket International Airport in April plummeted to less than half the number in April last year, and the number of international flights dropped by a third, thanks to the downturn in tourism following the tsunami.The statistics, obtained from Phuket International Airport, show that the number of international passengers using the island’s airport slumped…
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Miss Canada is Miss Universe 2005
BANGKOK: Natalie Glebova, 23, from Canada, was crowned Miss Universe 2005 at about 10 am today.Miss Glebova was born in Russia but moved with her family to Toronto when she was 12 years old. She is an information technology management and marketing student at Ryerson University, and also works as a model.Runners-up, in order, were Miss Dominican Republic, Miss Mexico and Miss…
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OrBorJor to hire more temporary teachers
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) is to pay for more temporary teachers to be recuited in a bid to relieve the staffing crisis in the province’s schools.Launching the organization’s annual report for May 14, 2004-May 14, 2005, OrBorJor President Anchalee Vanich-Thebabutr told reporters that the teacher shortage – a result of the government offering early retirement sweeteners to…
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Gov orders probe into tour company
PHUKET CITY (Khom Chad Luek, Phuket Gazette) : Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has ordered an investigation into a tour company for allegedly intimidating tourists into buying overpriced package tours.The Tourist Police denied having received any complaints about the company in question, which is located close to their office on the bypass road .The Governor ordered the investigation while chairing the monthly…
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Tsunami mental health center opens
KHAO LAK: More than five months after the tsunami, the Mental Health Recovery Center (MHRC) – in Khuek Khak, Takua Pa District, Phang Nga Province, and set up at a cost of some 20 million baht – was opened on May 26 by Deputy Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul.Dr Benjaporn Panyayong, the Director of the MHRC, told the Gazette…
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Blood bank in plea for foreign volunteers
PHUKET CITY: The blood bank at Wachira Phuket Hospital is appealing for expats of all ages and nationalities to become volunteer helpers. The head of the blood bank, Sriroung Choophak, told the Gazette that foreign volunteers could help put donors at ease when they came to give blood, and maybe give the hospital ideas on improving the blood service. K.…
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PTA use Japanese star to promote Phuket
PHUKET: Top Japanese actress Maju Ozawa is to make a 54-minute TV show for presentation in her home country in order to promote Phuket to the Japanese market.Ms Ozawa, who yesterday signed a contract with the Phuket Tourist Association to promote Phuket for a year, won the job after she took part, along with six other Japanese actresses, in the…
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April sees rise in road deaths
PHUKET CITY: Official figures for April obtained from Wachira, Thalang, Patong and Ruampaet government hospitals show that 18 people died in motorcycle accidents on Phuket’s roads during the month.In addition, three died in car accidents and one unlucky pedestrian was killed.The figures are an increase on those for March, when 11 people died in Phuket, all in motorbike accidents.The hospital…
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Drive to promote duty-free shopping
PHUKET: The government is to urge businesspeople to open more duty-free shops in Phuket, the Director of the Thai Customs Department, Sathit Limpongpan, said today.K. Sathit said it was hoped that having more duty-free shops in the province would encourage more tourists to come here.At present there are only two duty free shops in the province, one at Phuket International…
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Man found dead in Burmese Cemetery
RASSADA: A man, thought to be Burmese and about 30 years old, was found dead yesterday at Klong Tah Jeen, near Choke Raft, in an area long known as the Burmese Cemetery because of the number of murder victims dumped there.Pol Sub-Lt Teeradat Jiragsa of Phuket City Police Station explained that the victim, who was about 165cm tall and dark-skinned…
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Fantastic fungus launches lottery lust
RAWAI: Hundreds of people have been making their way to a small house in Village 6 to see a clump of enormous, white mushrooms that sprang up there on Visaka Bucha Day and which is thought by many villagers to be a harbinger of good luck.Homeowner Suwan “Prachuap” Phungkung, a fortune-teller by trade, told the Gazette she discovered the mushrooms…
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Training seminar for volunteer officers
THALANG: Ninety new volunteer police officers have taken part in two days of training during which they learned the rudiments of martial arts along with topics including providing security for VIPs and dealing with sensitive situations such as bomb threats.The 90 men who have volunteered to support the province’s 400 paid, full-time officers gathered at the Khao Pra Taew Wildlife…
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Tsunami delays Jungceylon opening
PATONG: It has been decided to delay the opening of the Jungceylon shopping, entertainment and hotel complex until October, seven months later than originally planned, because of the tsunami.Jungceylon public relations and events supervisor Khemawat Pudpuang told the Gazette this morning that the management team, meeting after the tsunami, decided not to open the centre in March, as originally intended,…
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A quiet night in
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: A man in Srichon District put a shotgun in his mouth and blew his brains out after his wife refused to let him attend a neighbor’s funeral with her. Arriving at the scene on May 8 with doctors from Srichon Hospital, police found the body of 36-year-old Wimol Phetchoo lying on a bed, dressed only in a…
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