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Sea walking probe starts in Phuket
PHUKET: In the latest development in one of Phuket’s longest-running sagas, researchers from the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) arrived yesterday to begin checks on local sea walking operators. The checks are part of a six-month study to develop regulations for the controversial industry which, according to critics, is damaging to the environment – particularly coral –…
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Prison still swamped with drug offenders
PHUKET: More than half of the inmates at Phuket Provincial Prison have been convicted or are awaiting trial on drug-related charges, according to statistics released by prison officials yesterday. Of the 1,199 prisoners, 495 men and 109 women have been incarcerated in relation to narcotics offenses. Of the remaining prisoners, 229 are being held for theft, 143 for murder or…
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Gazette Guide to the World Cup
PHUKET: The latest issue of the weekly Phuket Gazette, on sale today, includes the guide that’s a must for all soccer fans. The clip-and-keep – or clip-and-stick-on-the-wall – chart contains a full guide to all World Cup matches, from the early group contests through to the finals, with dates, times (in Thailand), venues and TV channels carrying the games. Get…
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Governor heads anti-gambling parade
PHUKET TOWN: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi led a parade today urging people not to gamble during football’s World Cup, which begins tonight. A microphone and speakers were used to address bystanders as the governor and police moved in a cavalcade of vehicles around Phuket Town this afternoon. Later, anti-football gambling brochures and information about penalties for gambling will be distributed,…
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It’s official: Phuket goes crackers
PHUKET TOWN: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is to stage a Fireworks Festival at Saphan Hin on July 26. More than 4,000 skyrockets and other fireworks, costing about 2 million baht, will be fired off in a 45-minute spectacular, which the TAT hopes will attract tourists from overseas and from neighboring provinces. If it is successful it will become…
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Restaurants warned: no alcohol after 2 am
PHUKET: Restaurants, as well as pubs and nightclubs, must stop selling alcohol after 2 am or face losing their licenses for good, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi warned today. “If any restaurants disobey, I will stop them selling alcohol permanently,” he told a monthly meeting of about 100 senior provincial officers at Phuket Provincial Meeting Hall. In a wide-ranging address, he…
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Thirsty threesome in bungled burglary
PHUKET TOWN: A trio of thirsty drinkers, finding that the nightclubs, bars and restaurants of Phuket Town all seemed to have stopped selling beer after 2 am, decided that self-service was the only solution. So they broke into the Tungka Café at the top of Rang Hill and helped themselves to several crates of amber fluid. What they hadn’t bargained…
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Probe finds road is substandard
CHERNG TALAY: The committee investigating the 4-million-baht road fiasco in Moo 2 Cherng Talay, today dug up the road in question and announced that accusations that the road is shoddy are well-founded. Committee chairman and Thalang District Chief Kanthee Silapa announced the findings after a three-hour meeting at the Cherng Talay Administration Organization (OrBorTor) offices. Although invited, neither the road…
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Damaged cable slows Internet access
PHUKET: Access to large parts of the Internet has been slow, if not impossible, since Sunday when an undersea telecoms cable was damaged between Taiwan and Japan. It is unclear what caused the damage. One source at a local Internet service provider (ISP) said the damage was caused by sharks mistaking the cable for a large fish. But Thitiporn Panichphol,…
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Another murder in “Burmese Cemetery’
PHUKET TOWN: Another victim of a vicious stabbing frenzy was found floating yesterday morning in a small mangrove klong by Si Sena Rd – an area that is becoming known locally as the “Burmese cemetery”. He had been stabbed about 50 times. Pol Maj Pitsanu Poonwong of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that local residents called the police…
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Road death toll falls
PHUKET: Eighteen people died in traffic accidents on Phuket’s roads between March 20 and April 20, a drop of 25% when compared with the 24 deaths during the previous 30-day period, according to statistics from Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. The figures, issued yesterday, show that one person died in a car accident while 17 deaths involved motorbikes. In…
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Crackdown on Burmese labor imminent
PHUKET: In what it describes as an effort to protect Phuket’s image, the island’s work permit committee has announced that officials will soon begin arresting illegal Burmese laborers living “in a campsite on a mountain”. Vice-Governor Manit Wattanasen, chairman of the committee, said that a request has also been sent to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare to reduce…
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Navy arrests Burmese timber smugglers
RANONG: The Royal Thai Navy stopped a suspicious boat in Thai waters around Koh Chang, Ranong, last Saturday, and found it full of timber, which the boat’s 10-man Burmese crew were apparently trying to smuggle into Thailand. Vice-Admiral Pairoj Theerachai, Commander of the Third Fleet, said that a warship spotted the 20-meter gray boat lurking around the island. The cargo…
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Health Office issues dengue advisory
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has issued its traditional annual advisory about dengue fever. Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong, chief of the PPHO said today, “This is the time when the fever spreads. Because of the rain of the past few weeks, the number of cases has increased. The average is 10 a week, but last week 20 were reported.”…
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Gov denies bowing to pressure on land title
PHUKET: In response to recent intense national media coverage, Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi has emphatically denied employing his powers in unusual ways to effect the upgrading of titles on land owned by Deputy Prime Minister Pitak Intrawitayanunt. Nipat Intarasombat, Democrat MP for Phattalung, raised the controversial issue on Thursday, during last week’s televised censure debate. Since then Governor Pongpayome…
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Trailer-truck flips on curve
PHUKET: A 10-wheel truck towing an 8-wheel trailer and carrying 900 bags of cement overturned on Chao Fa West Rd last night. While the overturned truck and trailer made for a dramatic scene for motorists on their way to work this morning, no one was hurt in the accident. Pol Maj Peeraphan Meemak, inspector of Phuket Town Police Station, told…
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June Bahtra tour boat seized
PHUKET: Phuket Marine Police and officers from the Bangkok-based Economic Crime Investigation Division this morning seized one of Phuket’s best-known tourism icons, the junk June Bahtra 2. The officers seized the 16-meter wooden boat from the Yacht Haven marina on allegations that the owner, East West Siam Ltd, had presented forged documents when registering the boat eight years ago, in…
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Bars urged to close on holy day
PHUKET TOWN: Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, yesterday urged bars and nightclubs to close tomorrow (Sunday) and requested shops to refrain from selling alcohol between noon and midnight as a way of showing respect on Visakha Bucha Day. Col Paween told the Gazette, “I have sent a notice to bar owners asking them not to…
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Tuk-tuks defeat governor’s fair fare plan
PHUKET: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi announced today that his plan to curb tuk-tuk ripoffs by introducing fixed, published fares has been put on hold indefinitely. The announcement came after a tense two-hour meeting between the Governor and some 20 representatives of Phuket’s tuk-tuk drivers, who told him that they would not accept the new distance-based scale of fares that he…
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Drugs summit in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: The National Security Council held a meeting today behind closed doors at the Royal Phuket City Hotel to discuss ways of combating drug proliferation in Thailand. Sixty officials from the central government and Phuket reviewed results so far in the current “war on drugs” at the meeting, which was chaired by Kachadpai Burusapatana, Secretary General of the National…
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Committee to probe shoddy road
CHERNG TALAY: Following a protest by villagers on Wednesday about the poor quality of a new concrete road in Moo 2, Cherng Talay, a special committee has been formed to investigate the handling of the 4-million-baht budget for the project, and the officials involved. Siri Yokthong, chief of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), said yesterday that the OrBorTor…
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Thai-Malaysian Naval exercise concludes
AO MAKHAM: A ceremony was held yesterday to mark the conclusion of a joint naval exercise between the Royal Thai Navy Third Fleet, the Malaysian Navy and the Marine Police. Burma’s sudden closure of its border with Thailand added some interest, but the annual event, which started on Sunday, was otherwise without incident. The exercise featured the Royal Thai Navy…
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Thai-Burmese border closed
RANONG: All border crossings between Thailand and Myanmar were closed today by Rangoon for undisclosed reasons. Latest reports point to renewed conflict between the two governments over their dealings with the Shan State Army as being the reason. An official at the Immigration Department in Ranong – favored destination for “visa hops” from Phuket – said that the border has…
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Villagers protest over shoddy new road
CHERNG TALAY: Some 60 villagers in Cherng Talay staged a protest this morning on Soi Masjid Langkao, complaining about the rapid deterioration of a new concrete road running through the village. The villagers accused unnamed officers of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) of acting without transparency in this and other construction projects in the tambon. During the protest,…
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Indonesian boats caught fishing illegally
CHALONG: Phuket Marine Police boarded two Indonesian fishing boats moored near Koh Racha Noi on Sunday and arrested 10 crewmen for fishing illegally in Thai waters. Pol Lt Col Prathuang Srilamontri, inspector of the Phuket Marine Police, said that he had received a report from an investigation team that foreign boats had been seen fishing in Thai territory. At around…
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Campsite plan for Nai Yang beach
PHUKET: Tourists will be able to camp out on Nai Yang beach under a proposal to set up a company to run a campsite business, with profits going to the local community. The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), and the Moo Baan Saku Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) want to set up Saku Co with local stakeholders providing sites, equipment and…
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New official fees to curb tuk-tuk ripoffs
PHUKET: An official scale of fees based on kilometers travelled will be imposed on tuk-tuks from June 1 to curb overcharging of tourists. In some cases, the official fares are half what tuk-tuk drivers have been demanding. A trip from Phuket Town to Patong (15 km) will cost 200 baht, while the 32 km from Patong to the airport will…
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Immigration steps up English skills
PHUKET TOWN: Thirty officers from Immigration Division 3, the division for Southern Thailand, today began a four-day English-language workshop at the Pearl Hotel with the aim of improving their English skills. The course, called the English Language Training Camp II, was organized by the Immigration Bureau in conjunction with Chulalongkorn University Language Institute to improve the quality of Immigration service…
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Phuket looks at creative ways to raise funds
PHUKET: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi says he is seeking new ways to raise additional funds to develop the island. The provincial government, he explained, receives 3.2 billion baht a year from Bangkok. About 2 billion baht of this covers fixed costs such as salaries and equipment, while the remaining 1.2 billion baht is allocated for specific projects. So far this…
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Sewerage project almost complete
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok has announced that the final phase of the project to upgrade Phuket Town’s sewers is nearing completion. Speaking at a press conference, Mayor Phummisak said, “Phase 2 [the final phase] of the project is 77% complete and is on target to finish on schedule, on January 2 next year.” He explained that, of…
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