News
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Opinion: Learning from mistakes during Samkong Underpass construction
PHUKET: Chalermpol Wongkiattikun, originally from Chonburi province, is currently the Samkong Underpass project engineer from the Department of Highways. He graduated with a Master’s degree in structural engineering from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) and a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering from Srinakharinwirot University. Here, he talks about the problems with the Samkong Underpass construction and his advice for…
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Ministry of Farang Affairs: Willing to forgo principles
The Ministry of Farang Affairs is a one-stop shop where foreigners in Thailand can learn all they need to know about living here. No, we’re not talking about work permits, visas or taxes. We’re talking about day-to-day life in the Land of Endless Shocks and Riddles, of Blur, Befuddlement and the Bizarre. Stay tuned for weekly insights from Minister Stephff.…
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Sea gypsies march to submit letter to PM
PHUKET: Hundreds of sea gypsies and community activists today marched to Phuket’s Rajabhat University in an attempt to petition the prime minister during his visit to the campus today. The gypsies had gathered at Rassada Municipality Office earlier in the morning and then marched to the university, where Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha was meeting with Phuket industry leaders, but they…
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Island View: Don’t need a 12-lane highway
PHUKET: With over 20,000 deaths every year, Thailand is second only to Libya – a country in the midst of a civil war – for the highest rate of annual traffic fatalities. Here in Phuket, poor planning, dense populations, unqualified drivers and a lack of law enforcement conspire to constantly raise each week’s body-count. The main thoroughfare through the island…
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Opinion: Born to be wild
PHUKET: The report of gibbons reproducing naturally in the wild in Phuket comes as rare good news for an island that has suffered much environmental degradation in recent decades. Hopefully this discovery can serve as a reminder of the importance of preserving what remains of our once natural ecosystems. Baby gibbons rank right up there in the Anthropomorphic Hall of…
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Jehovah’s Witness to hold national convention
PHUKET: Members of the church of Jehovah’s Witness from Phuket and throughout Thailand are meeting in Bangkok from Friday September 30 to Sunday October 2 for a multinational convention titled ‘Remain Loyal to Jehovah!’. The convention, to be held at Thurakit Bandit University on Prachachuen Road in the Lak Si district of the capital, is one of a series of…
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Phuket sports organizations make it to SPIA Asia finals
PHUKET: A handful of Phuket events and sports businesses have made the final shortlists of the 2016 Asian Sports Industry Awards (SPIA Asia) and will be competing against the best in Thailand and Asia for a prestigious SPIA award this year. A total of 72 Thai entries made the final shortlist for SPIA Asia 2016 in a variety of categories,…
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PM opens international terminal
PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha arrived at Phuket International Airport this morning. The visit by the head of Thailand’s military government is billed to last only for today, as he headlines the opening ceremonies of the airport’s international terminal, inaugurates ‘Startup Thailand’ and meets with trade representatives at Phuket Rajabhat University. This morning, in an elaborate ceremony attended by…
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Task force raids Coconut Island development in new encroachment case
PHUKET: Officers from a joint task force raided a Coconut Island (Koh Maprao) development yesterday, after locals warned authorities that the developer had already begun construction without proper land ownership documents. Police refused to name the property development company or the female suspect listed on the development’s tax documents, stating that they were in the preliminary stages of investigations. “After…
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Krabi monks cough up cash to repair road
KRABI: Monks and other locals in Krabi took it upon themselves yesterday to finally fix a road that had remained damaged for over a decade. The Abbot of Suwan Thararam Temple, Luang Phor Prathuan Jitseelo, led a team of nine monks and locals in repairing the pot-holed road. The monks financed the operation by diving into their own pockets as…
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Local vendors oppose Supercheap rumored to open in Rassada
PHUKET: Local vendors took to the streets of Rassada on Tuesday to voice their opinions, following rumors that Supercheap plans to open a store in the area. About 40 vendors gathered in Soi King Kaew Utit at about 5:30pm. “Panumas Nukuea, one of the vendors, has stated that locals can’t compete with the prices that Supercheap offers its customers and…
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Krathom peddling, foreigner-targeting bus gang apprehended
PHANG NGA: Police detained three men yesterday accused of robbing a Belgian tourist aboard a Phuket-bound bus. Peter De Balabander boarded the bus in Surat Thani and said he had asked bus staff to load his bags, but after arriving at Khao Sok National Park in Surat Thani and hailing a taxi to his rented bungalow, he realized that he…
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American man found dead in Patong apartment
PHUKET: Investigations are underway into the death of an American man, whose body was found in a rented apartment in Patong Tuesday night. The body of 63-year-old Horace Nelson Higdon Jr was found after a housekeeping staff member noticed a foul smell coming from inside the third-floor apartment at the Fasai Apartment & Home on Pisitkoranee Road. “The owner of…
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Wanted posters of bombing suspects go up in Phuket
PHUKET: Wanted posters with photographs of the August 12 bombing suspects (story here) as well the suspects of the Samui bombing last year (story here) were put up in four hot spots on the island yesterday. The four 3×4 meter posters show pictures of the eight suspects. The general public is being urged to contact the 24-hour hotline on 191…
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Phuket to host November Ironman 70.3
PHUKET: Phuket is to host the next Ironman 70.3 triathlon on November 27 with a US$15,000 professional prize purse, Ironman Asia announced yesterday. The ‘Foremost Ironman 70.3 Thailand’ comprises a 1.9km rectangular swim that will start and end at Xana Beach Club Laguna Phuket, a 90km bike ride through the Laguna Phuket property and on to the Sarasin Bridge, and…
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Transport co fined after biker killed in smash with unregistered bus
PHUKET: The Phuket Land Transport Office fined a transportation company 50,000 baht this morning after their unregistered bus killed a motorbiker attempting to make a u-turn yesterday. The accident occurred about 4pm on the southbound lanes of Thepkrasattri Road, in front of the Hongyok Bumrung School in Baan Suan Maphrao, northern Phuket (story here). “We called in Ratcharot Travel to…
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PM’s Phuket speech venue changed
PHUKET: The venue for the Startup Thailand 2016 seminar in Phuket, where the Prime Minister is scheduled to make a speech during his visit to the province on Friday, has been moved to the Duangjitt Resort and Spa in Patong. After presiding over the official opening ceremony of the new international terminal at Phuket Airport from 8:30 to 9:30am, Prime…
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New Phuket governor named
PHUKET: Thailand’s Council of Ministers announced this morning that Chokchai Detamornthan will replace Chamroen Tipayapongtada as the governor of Phuket. The announcement comes after the cabinet decided to transfer Governor Chamroen to Nakhon Sri Thammarat, effective October 1 (story here). Mr Chokchai, who has been governor of the northeastern Maha Sarakam province since last October, reportedly fired 32 Tambon Administration…
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Motorbike rider killed by tourist bus
PHUKET: A man on a motorbike was killed as he attempted to make a u-turn on Thepkrasattri Road this afternoon. The accident took place at about 4pm on the southbound lanes of the busy thoroughfare, in front of the Hongyok Bumrung School in Baan Suan Maphrao, northern Phuket. “Witnesses said that the man, currently known only as Mr Dol since…
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South Korea supports Phuket’s smart city endeavor
PHUKET: A Delegation from the South Korean city of Busan visited Phuket late last month to reiterate their support for Phuket’s ‘smart city’ endeavors. Busan’s special economic advisor, Gi-Ryong Jung, and an entourage of Korean agency representatives were at the 2nd Asia-Pacific Regional Forum on smart sustainable cities and e-government, held at Le Meridian Phuket. Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada welcomed…
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Phuket Muslims celebrate Sacrifice Feast
PHUKET: Muslims in Phuket are today celebrating Eid ul-Adha, also called the ‘Sacrifice Feast’ or ‘Bakr-Eid’. The festive day is celebrated worldwide each year on the tenth day of the Islamic month of Zil-haj, marking the end of the annual pilgrimage to Mecca. Goats and cows are usually sacrificed for the day’s feasting and the meat is traditionally divided into…
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Russian nabbed for failed gold shop heist
PHUKET: Police have caught a hapless Russian robber who broke into a gold shop in Patong on Friday night but failed to snag any swag after discovering that all the gold had been locked away in the shop’s safe for the night (story here). Dmitrii Sevastianov, 32, admitted to breaking into Yaowarat Namchok Gold Shop on Phra Metta Road in…
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Gloucester man killed in crash
PHUKET: A British expatriate died after reportedly being cut off by a pickup truck on Saturday night. Michael Fraser Macpherson, 44, was killed on Kwang Road, in front of the Baan Manee Kram Jomthong Tanee housing complex, when his motorcycle slammed into the side of a pickup truck at about 8:40pm. Police reported that Mr Macpherson was not wearing a…
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Train services in deep South set to resume today
PATTANI: Trains in the Deep South are to resume operations today, in time to serve the surge in Muslim holidaymakers celebrating Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice), following completion of repairs to railway tracks in Pattani damaged by a bomb blast on September 3. Thanongsak Pongprasert, deputy governor of the State Railway of Thailand, said yesterday that a train without passengers…
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Woman finds snake in her paste tin
PHUKET: A Phuketian Facebook user took to social media after finding a disfigured snake in her anchovy paste. Facebook user Wanida Pagamat yesterday posted an image of Thai anchovy paste (Pla-ra) with a black snake-like slough in it. She claimed to have bought the paste in a local Phuket store. “How do you sell this to someone? It looks like…
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Bungling burglar sought after failed Patong gold shop robbery
PHUKET: Police are hunting for a ‘farang-looking’ man who broke into a gold shop in Patong on Thursday night but left empty handed after failing to snatch any stash. However, the burglar did leave clues, including dusty finger prints on the door of the shop’s safe, where all the gold had been locked away. The owner of the Yaowarat Namchok…
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DSI: Land officer’s death not on CCTV
BANGKOK: The Department of Special Investigations (DSI) claims that it has no CCTV footage of the events surrounding the suspicious death of Tawatchai Anukul in a police cell, insisting that the system’s server was faulty at the time. Police are investigating the death of Mr Tawatchai, 66, a former land department official previously based in Phuket and Phang Nga, to…
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Phuket Smart City Innovation Park launched
PHUKET: The Phuket Smart City Innovation Park officially opened at Saphan Hin yesterday. “The four-storey building is a symbol that the pioneer smart city project in Phuket is becoming a reality. The venture is supported by the Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA),” Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada said at the launch. The building houses an ASEAN Tourism Software Excellence Center, IOT…
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Showers, high surf expected next week
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Office confirmed they have issued no warnings for boats leaving shore due to the recent spate of weather yesterday. “The waves and wind are still stable and suitable for boating,” said Phuket Marine Chief Surat Sirisaiyas. “However, we have issued a notice urging all boats to proceed with caution as their vision may be impaired during…
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Phuket hospital warns blood donors not to over react
PHUKET: Staff at Vachira Phuket Hospital’s blood bank have warned the public to be careful about reacting to requests on social media for urgent blood donations, after news went viral on Wednesday of a teenage motorbike accident victim urgently needing A-type blood donations. The hospital was inundated with blood donors who had seen the social media posts and believed that…
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