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Tattooed body found off Phuket beach, believed to be foreigner
PHUKET: Police are trying to establish the identity of a body, believed to be of a foreign man, found floating off Pansea Beach this morning. The gruesome discovery was made by Santisuk Patkhim, a beach guard at the upscale Amanpuri Resort. Mr Santisuk secured the body then called Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers to help bring it to shore. “So far…
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Governor orders probe into “reckless’ bungy-jump operators
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut has ordered police to investigate the illegal construction site of the Phuket bungy-jump tower where two men died and one was seriously injured on Friday (story here). “I received a report that the bungy-jump tower was illegal. The owners were issued a permit to construct a building 12 meters tall, but they erected a structure reaching…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Prosecutors extend Korea ferry captain’s detention as death toll mounts
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prosecutors extend Korea ferry captain’s detention as death toll mounts Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: South Korean prosecutors investigating a ferry disaster said on Sunday they would seek to extend the detention of the ship’s captain and two other crew by 10 days as they tried…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Reds to rally; Election slated for July; Farmers threatened over rice payments
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Red shirts to rally on eve of Yingluck verdict The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The United Front for Democracy against Dictatorship (UDD) will hold a mass rally of red shirts one day before the Constitutional Court delivers its verdict on whether Yingluck Shinawatra has lost…
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Phuket officials order a halt to deadly bungy jump
PHUKET: Officers have ordered a halt to any further development of the illegal bungy-jumping site in Phuket where two men died and one was seriously injured Friday night. “It was built more than four times higher than had been approved,” said Chalong Mayor Samran Jindapol. The Chalong Municipality had approved construction of a 12-meter jump tower. However, the final construction,…
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Kamala combats black water threat
PHUKET: Phuket officials pushed for a 300-million-baht water-treatment plant on Friday after Kamala residents filed a complaint about stinking black wastewater. Officials and residents chalked the rancid water up to laundries and residents washing clothes and releasing the untreated wastewater into a canal that connects to the sea, said Krit Sariya, chief of the Kamala branch of the Community Organizations…
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Phuket laundry raided over wastewater poisoning canal and wells
PHUKET: A commercial laundry in Chalong has been ordered to restrict its operations pending an inquiry into untreated wastewater poisoning of private wells and killing fish in a nearby canal. Officials led by Chalong Mayor Samran Jindaphol Friday morning raided the laundry, located along a dirt track off Soi Klumyang, about 300 meters south of Wat Chalong. “Just the stench…
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Police begin hunt for French murder suspects
PHUKET: Police are hunting for suspects involved in the killing of a French national who was found dead in a Phuket rental room yesterday. The body of Fabrioe Boigeol, 37, was found lying partially under a stripped mattress in a room at the Morgot Resort in Chalong at about 1:45pm (story here). “Police and forensic investigators are checking CCTV in…
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Video Report: Phuket’s B70mn one-stop yacht center to open Monday
PHUKET: Two years behind schedule and 70 million baht in the making, Phuket’s long-awaited one-stop yacht center will open with a two-week trial period, starting on Monday. “Officers involved in yacht-arrival services, such as immigration, customs and the harbor master, are now moving into their new offices,” Phuket Marine Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut told the Phuket Gazette. The rotunda-style building at…
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Avalanche kills at least 12 guides in deadliest incident on Mount Everest
PHUKET: An avalanche sweeping down Mount Everest killed at least 12 Nepali guides on Friday in what may be the deadliest single incident on the world’s highest peak. The avalanche struck a perilous passage on the main route to the summit as sherpas were preparing the way for climbers at the start of the season. Nepal’s tourism ministry listed the…
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Police suspect French national murdered in Phuket
PHUKET: A 37-year-old French national was found dead in his underwear in a rental room in Phuket this afternoon. The Parisian was found in a pool of blood partially under a stripped mattress at the Morgot Resort in Chalong. There was evidence of blunt trauma to the side of his head. Police believe he had been dead for more than…
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Thongchai caps a memorable week at the Masters
PHUKET: EurAsia Cup star Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand capped a memorable week at the Masters Tournament when he signed off with a one-over-par 73 to finish in a share of 37th place at the year’s opening Major last Sunday. The 13-time Asian Tour winner, who led Team Asia to a stunning fightback draw against Europe last month, made the cut…
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Sustaining Phuket people and environment
Sayan Chanachaiwong, 56, has been Kathu District Chief for about five months. With a master’s degree in political science from Ramkhamhaeng University, he worked as district chief in the restive Deep South province of Narathiwat for more than nine years, most recently in Su-ngai Padi, before coming to Phuket. Here, he talks about his three priorities for Kathu. PHUKET: My…
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Video Report: ITF Seniors Tennis tournament at Thanyapura a success
PHUKET: Thanyapura Phuket ITF Seniors Tennis Tournament organizers said they were very pleased to see such a great turnout of players at the event, which took place from April 7 to 12. Many players also expressed their gratitude to the event organizers and praised the quality of the facilities where the tournament took place. It was a good start for…
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Phuket closes Songkran Seven Days of Danger with one dead, 22 injured
PHUKET: The Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign drew to a close at midnight last night with Phuket amassing a tally of one death and 22 people injured during the week-long holiday. Saeree Panitkul, the chief administrative officer at the Phuket Provincial Office, reported the news at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket) this…
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Babies thrown away throughout history
PHUKET: Child welfare and safety issues have been much in the news recently and our special report this week explores for our readers some of the options available locally to young mothers who are either unwilling or unable to support children they have given birth to. Few news stories generate greater emotional resonance than reports of abandoned babies. Yet it…
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Unwanted babies in Phuket are not to be abandoned
Special Report The discovery of a newborn boy abandoned in the bed of a pick-up truck in front of a luxury resort on April 10 has highlighted the issue of unwanted pregnancies on Phuket. Many women, not knowing which way to turn, abandon their babies or seek illegal abortions. The Gazette‘s Chutharat Plerin explores what options are available for pregnant…
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Navy defamation case proceeds against PhuketWan
PHUKET: Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian of local blog PhuketWan were released on bail yesterday on charges of criminal defamation and other offenses in connection with a story they published on trafficking in Rohingya. Mr Morison, an Australian, and Thai national Ms Chutima published a story last July that contained excerpts from a Reuters Special Report alleging that some Thai…
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Phuket Gazette World News: At least nine Nepali guides killed in Everest avalanche
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least nine Nepali guides killed in Everest avalanche Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: An avalanche swept down a slope of Mount Everest on Friday, killing nine Nepali mountaineering guides at the beginning of the main climbing season, a Tourism Ministry official said. The avalanche hit…
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Celebrity comedian Teng a no show for Phuket Town
PHUKET: Anti-government protesters have prevented another well-known celebrity from performing in Phuket, this time the nationally renowned comedian Pongsak Pongsuwan, better known by his stage name Teng Terdtheong. Mr Teng was set to appear in the Sam Cha Carniwow event at Saphan Hin in Phuket Town tonight. “Event organizers from Workpoint Entertainment confirmed that Mr Teng, a popular comedian and…
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Korean Association Phuket calls for donations to aid victims of ferry disaster
PHUKET: The Korean Association in Phuket is collecting money to help those affected by the sinking of the South Korean ferry on Wednesday – both survivors and victims’ families. As many as 271 of the 475 passengers on board when the ship began sinking are still unaccounted for (story here). Many of those missing are schoolchildren. “We have called on…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Captain not at the helm when South Korean ferry capsized
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Captain not at the helm when South Korean ferry capsized Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A junior officer was at the helm of a South Korean ferry when it capsized and the captain may have been away from the bridge, investigators said on Friday as the…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: B10mn watch heist; CAPO warns courts; Hezbollah suspects to be deported
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Three Chinese sought in B10mn watch heist The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three Chinese suspects have left the country after allegedly stealing a Mont Blanc wristwatch worth over Bt10 million from a luxury shopping mall in the heart of Bangkok, Immigration Police Bureau chief Lt-General…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Students add Easter twist to dwindling Venezuela protests
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Students add Easter twist to dwindling Venezuela protests Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Venezuelan students are marching barefoot, building crucifixes and planning to burn effigies of President Nicolas Maduro to try and breathe new life into their protest movement over Easter. The religious-themed demonstrations are the…
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Wolfpack gore the Galahs to retain Cricket 7s title
PHUKET: Australia’s Wolfpack retained their title by winning the 11th Annual Phuket International Cricket Week 2014 Kata Group International Cricket 7s at Republic Phuket Football Ground last weekend. Captained by Australian Indoor Cricket Team champion Will Badger, the Wolfpack fought back to defeat the Galah Cricket Team, who had been admirable opponents during the Kata 7s. Wolfpack had defeated Phuket…
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Phuket survives Day 6 of Songkran road-safety campaign
PHUKET: No road deaths were reported in Phuket yesterday, the sixth day of the Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign, but one more injury was added to the official tally. During the 24 hours from midnight on April 15 to midnight on April 16, only one victim of a road accident was reported admitted to a hospital for…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Search continues for South Korea ferry sinking survivors
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Search continues for South Korea ferry sinking survivors Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: South Korean coastguard and navy divers resumed searching on Thursday for about 290 people still missing, many of them students from the same high school, after a ferry capsized in sight of land.…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: CAPO calls meet; Hezbollah suspects arrested; Songkran road death toll hits 248
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community All eyes on CAPO meeting with top ministry officials The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The spotlight will be on this afternoon’s meeting between the Centre for the Administration of Peace and Order (CAPO) and permanent secretaries, as the stance of the top officials might reflect…
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Phuket Gazette World News: More than 300 people missing after South Korean ferry sinks
More than 300 people missing after South Korea ferry sinks Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: More than 300 people were missing after a ferry sank off South Korea, the coastguard said on Wednesday, with a three-fold increase in the number of passengers unaccounted for put down to a miscalculation by officials. The ferry was carrying 477 people, of whom 164…
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Phuket Songkran heatwave claims three lives on same day
PHUKET: Doctors at Patong Hospital have confirmed that three foreigners died yesterday after collapsing from heatstroke. Russian tourist Igor Kiselev, 59, was rushed to hospital for medical treatment after he passed out at Karon Beach, Patong Hospital Director Sirichai Silpa-archa confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this morning. “He died en route to the hospital. Medical staff tried for one hour…
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