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Special Report: Tackling Phuket’s kid thugs is no child’s play
A growing number of teenagers in Phuket are becoming involved in drug abuse and violent crimes in a shift that is concerning local officials involved with juvenile cases, from court judges who hand down sentences to the minors to the counselors tasked with reforming them in the hope the children do not become repeat offenders. The Gazette’s Saran Mitrarat reports.…
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Phuket Police launch 10pm street curfew for minors
PHUKET: Following the recent spate of violent teenage attacks throughout Phuket, the island’s top-ranking police officer has ordered a 10pm curfew for all minors, effective immediately. “I have ordered officers from every police station in Phuket to start cracking down on children under 18 years old who are found roaming the streets at night,” Provincial Police Commander Krajang Suwannarat told…
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Phuket Raceweek: Doldrums leave fleet hanging on for final day
PHUKET: The signs were ominous as the boats left the anchorage this morning for Day 3 of the 2014 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek. Grey skies, no rustling in the trees and confusing reports from the weather professionals. Wind Guru was predicting anything from zero to four knots and Windfinder were predicting in the eight knot range, while the Thai…
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Phuket Governor prepared to cry “disaster zone’ to combat coastal erosion
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut has pledged to support all budget requests by local authorities to combat the resurgence of coastal erosion that has plagued Phuket’s beaches during the past week. If need be, the governor is willing to specifically declare Surin Beach a disaster zone in order to be able to release money from a disaster-relief fund in order…
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Phuket thief smashes car window, makes off with 20,000 baht
PHUKET: Police have warned motorists against leaving valuables in their cars after a Phuket thief this morning smashed a car window with a rock and made off with a bag containing 20,000 baht. Phuket City Police were called to the scene on Wirat Hongyok Road, near Suan Luang Park (also called Chalermprakiat Ror IX Park or King’s Park), at about…
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Phuket beach tear-down debris stabs tourist through foot
PHUKET: A Phuket tourist exercising barefoot on Kamala Beach yesterday was stabbed through the foot by a one-foot-long metal rod that was hidden beneath the sand. Local rescue workers called to the scene near the Kamala Cemetery found Benedict Tauber, 55, sitting on the ground with the metal rod sticking through the bottom of his foot. “We had to cut…
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Protest over Club Med lease brings promise of public hearing
PHUKET: A protest in April over renewing the lease for Club Med’s beachfront property in Kata has won locals the promise of a public hearing before any decision is made. “We will have a hearing next month,” Phuket Provincial Administration Organization [PPAO] Vice President Chawalit Na Nakorn told the Phuket Gazette this week. “The interest of the majority is our…
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Obama condemns Russia over Malaysia Airlines plane shot down over Ukraine
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama condemns Russia over downed plane in Ukraine Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: U.S. President Barack Obama demanded Russia stop supporting separatists in Ukraine after the downing of a Malaysian airliner by a surface-to-air missile he said was fired from rebel territory raised the prospect of…
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Next Target: Land-snatching Phuket officials
PHUKET: National level politicians involved in commandeering more than 1,000 rai of public land in Phuket will face fire as a joint agency operation pushes to shake out the long history of illegal land titles plaguing Sirinath National Park. “The people at the root of the issue of encroachment in Sirinath Park go all the way up to the top……
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Phuket Raceweek: Foxy Lady stretches her legs with four straight wins
Bill Bremner’s Foxy Lady VI, out of Singapore, scored two more firsts in the Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek Regatta today to card four straight wins in the IRC 1 Racing class. Winds eased to 10 to 12 knots off the east coast of Phuket, where the fleet of 35 yachts competed in the second day of racing in slightly…
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Nominations being accepted for Thailand’s first Expat Entrepreneur Awards
PHUKET: Bangkok-based publisher, The BigChilli Company, has announced that it will be hosting Thailand’s first Expat Entrepreneur Awards 2014 on September 25 in Bangkok. The accolades will be awarded in a variety of categories such as arts and culture, education, hospitality and travel to highlight the contributions that foreign-owned/managed companies have made to Thailand’s economy. The awards ceremony is jointly…
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Jellyfish warning after Russian woman suffers serious sting
PHUKET: A 24-year-old Russian woman was rushed to hospital today after being stung by a bluebottle jellyfish while swimming at Nai Thon Beach, off Phuket’s west coast. “At about 12:30pm we heard a woman screaming. We helped her out of the waist-deep water and found a bluebottle jellyfish stuck to the back of her hand,” Jit Chairap, head of the…
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Dig up the land titles next
PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) deserves the island’s full support for the ongoing efforts to rid public beaches of illegal encroachment in all its myriad forms. The results, which have been nothing less than stunning so far, are sure to go a long way towards restoring the island’s attractiveness to quality tourists, of both the foreign…
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Sea Sheperd rails against allegedly wild caught dolphins for Phuket Dolphinarium
PHUKET: Sea Shepard Global has put out a call to stop the Nemo Dolphinarium from being built in Phuket. Phuket Aqua Project Co Ltd’s application for the facility has been handed over to the Department of Fisheries’ head office in Bangkok, confirmed Kiattikhun Charoensawan, chief of the Phuket Fisheries Office, to the Phuket Gazette today. “I don’t see the construction…
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Video Report: Pony Up – Phuket marine conservationists launch international seahorse specialty course
PHUKET: Marine conservationists in Phuket today announced the international launch of a seahorse diver specialty course to promote accurate crowdsourcing as Thailand, and the rest of the world, attempts to protect endangered populations. The Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) course will teach student divers the basics of seahorse biology and conservation, how to identify and search for seahorses and…
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One-stop center for migrant worker registration to open in Phuket this month
PHUKET: Migrant workers living and working illegally on Phuket may be able to become fully legal and registered by the end of the month, confirmed the island’s employment office chief yesterday. “We expect illegal workers to be able to register at Phuket’s one-stop center by the end of the month. All application processes and procedures will be completed in one…
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Phuket to be waste management model for nation
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy has vowed to find a budget to fix Phuket’s third incinerator, broken since 2012, and make the island a model of garbage management for other provinces to follow. Royal Thai Navy Commander Narong Pipathanasai made the pledge after touring the island’s waste facility at Saphan Hin on Monday. On a similar tour in March (story…
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Phuket dog turns in fugitive
PHUKET: An astute dog led police to arrest a fugitive who had escaped from a Phuket police pick-up truck yesterday as it was stopped at a red light (story here). About 7 hours after 22-year-old Boonrit Boontang, arrested for motorbike theft, escaped from police custody while being transferred to Phuket Provincial Court, a barking dog gave up his hiding spot.…
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Ukraine says Malaysian airliner shot down, 295 dead: agency
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ukraine says Malaysian airliner shot down, 295 dead: agency Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Malaysian airliner was shot down over eastern Ukraine by militants on Thursday, killing all 295 people aboard, a Ukrainian interior ministry official was quoted as saying by Interfax-Ukraine news agency. The…
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Knife-wielding bag snatcher bagged by Phuket police
PHUKET: Police snared the knife-wielding thief who threatened and robbed a Chinese couple last night at Karon View Point in just over 24 hours. “We were notified about the attack at about 10:30 yesterday morning,” said Lt Col Ason Jiraksa of the Karon Police. “The victims said the man threatened them with a knife, snatched the woman’s bag and then…
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Thai MICE sector secures major international events
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thai MICE sector secures major international events Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Thailand and Convention Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has announced that the country will play host to several major international MICE events (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions), including the 74th “FIP World Congress of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical…
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Be alert, Phuket: Traffic violation clampdown begins today
PHUKET: Police officers throughout Phuket are ready to dish out fines for motorists who violate traffic laws as part of a nationwide crackdown on road safety starting today. The Royal Thai Police identified 199 intersections throughout the country known for being traffic-heavy and dangerous, three of which are in Phuket, said Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Sakchai Limcharoen yesterday. They…
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Phuket police hunt handcuffed thief who fled from police vehicle at red light
PHUKET: A handcuffed man left behind only his slippers today when he jumped from a police pick-up truck while it was stopped at a red light. Boonrit Boontang, 22, who has been evading police since his escape, had been arrested on July 15 for stealing a motorbike. He was being transferred to Phuket Provincial Court at about 11:30am when he…
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Phuket bound bus kills three in Krabi
PHUKET: Three people died and 10 were injured in Krabi when a pick-up truck rammed another truck, sending it into the path of a bus last night. The accident occurred as a Mazda pick-up was approaching a u-turn near the Makro store on the Krabi-Ao Luek Highway at 8:30. “Witnesses said that the Mazda was going slowly into the u-turn,”…
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Phuket Raceweek: Fast boats, slick crews to make most of blustery weather
PHUKET: The shift to heavy weather this week has set the scene for dramatic racing off Phuket’s east coast as a fleet of 36 yachts compete in this year’s edition of the renowned Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek Regatta. Racing began today following last night’s gala opening party. Setting the courses over the next four days is Simon James, who…
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Italian couple return home to find Phuket rental house on fire
PHUKET: A short circuit started a fire in the Cherng Talay rental house of an Italian couple yesterday, damaging their bedroom. Antonino Raneri, 54, and his wife Claudia Crescini Laffranchini, 56, were out when the blaze started on Soi Bangtao 11. “At about 5pm my wife and I came home and saw smoke coming from the house,” said Mr Raneri.…
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Phuket python magnet catches third snake seeking shelter
PHUKET: An unlucky resident in northern Phuket suffered deja vu early this morning as he discovered that a two-meter-long python had taken cover from the rain in his chicken coop. At about 1:30am, Chokdee Inklub heard his chickens crying loudly so he went out to investigate. “I found a snake in the coop,” said Mr Chokdee. Rescue workers from the…
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Libyan air controllers strike to protest airport shelling
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Libyan air controllers strike to protest airport shelling Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Air controllers in western Libya have gone on strike to protest the shelling of Tripoli’s main airport, halting flights in much of the oil-producing country, a government official said on Thursday. The strike puts pressure…
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Nepal ex-prince arrested for drugs in Thailand
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nepal ex-prince arrested for drugs in Thailand The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former Nepalese crown prince Paras Shah has been arrested on drugs charges in Thailand for a second time and could face up to five years in prison, police said Wednesday. Shah was arrested…
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Kata-Karon mayor denies five more charges in connection to Phuket taxi mafia
PHUKET: Police have slapped five more charges on Tawee Thongcham, mayor of Phuket’s tourist-popular beach area Kata-Karon, for his alleged connection to the powerful taxi mafia in the area. Mr Tawee has denied all charges. “Mr Tawee has been charged with the same thing as before, which is conspiracy and the aiding of illegal activities carried out by criminal associations,”…
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