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Koh Tao Murders: Police seek help from FBI on DNA
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police seek help from FBI on DNA The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police will request help from the United States’ Federation Bureau of Investigation to test semen found in the body of a female British backpacker brutally murdered on the resort island of Koh Tao…
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Phuket unveils waste-management teaching center
PHUKET: A sustainable waste-management teaching center opened in Saphan Hin earlier this week in a bid to teach island residents how to recycle organic waste and reduce Phuket’s carbon footprint. “More than half of daily household trash is organic waste that can be effectively turned into compost and fertilizer,” said Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana at the center’s opening ceremony…
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Budget approved for billion-baht prison in Phuket
PHUKET: A 1.1-billion baht budget was approved to build the island’s new prison, Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut revealed today in an exclusive interview with the Phuket Gazette. “The budget has already been approved by the National Council for Peace and Order [NCPO] and transferred to the Department of Corrections. We will go ahead with the project as soon as possible,”…
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Soccer Schools Tournament to kick off at Thanyapura
PHUKET: Phuket Soccer Schools (PSS) is bringing the National Youth Tournament back to the island, with over 320 players competing in four age divisions. This year’s tournament, to be held on September 27 and 28 at Thanyapura, will see clubs flying in from various parts of Thailand, including Bangkok, Pattaya and Koh Samui, as well as local Phuket teams. To…
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Scots spurn independence but impatient for new powers
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Scots spurn independence but impatient for new powers Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Scotland spurned independence in a historic referendum that threatened to rip the United Kingdom apart, sow financial turmoil and diminish Britain’s remaining global clout. A vote for the 307-year union is a relief…
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Taking Phuket tourists’ safety to heart
Malika Chergui, 61, originally from Morocco, has been a Tourist Police volunteer for nine years. Before retiring in Phuket, she was a successful business and family woman in Italy. Now, she spends her time helping tourists alongside the Phuket Tourist Police. She patrols the streets of Patong every night from 9pm, using her language skills – she is fluent in…
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The price of looks in Phuket
PHUKET: I’ve been disturbed by my electricity bills recently. Ever since I moved into a new, cheaper house a few months back, my electricity bills got substantially higher. In my search for the energy-sucking culprit, I spent one Saturday evening turning different household appliances and gadgets on and off, and checking the electricity meter readings. The result of this little…
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The need to define Phuket with a clear voice
PHUKET: Efforts by local hotel industry leaders to revive the Phuket Hotels Association in order to give a unified voice to the island’s tourism industry could not have come at a better time (story here). Phuket needs a positive public relations push to provide foreign visitors with clear, accurate information about the “new Phuket”, in contrast to its mafia-infested, pre-coup…
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The Royal and Ancient golf club votes to allow women members
PHUKET: The Royal & Ancient golf club’s decision on Thursday to allow women members after 260 years has been widely welcomed within and beyond the game. Here are a selection of reactions to the vote, which was passed with an 85 percent majority: Peter Dawson, chief executive of the R&A: “This is a very important and positive day in the…
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Hunt for Koh Tao killers stalls
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Hunt for Koh Tao killers stalls The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police are confident that their investigation and the evidence obtained will help them catch the killers of the two British backpackers who were bludgeoned to death on Monday on the resort island of Koh…
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Prayuth apologises for bikini remark after global outcry
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prayuth apologises for bikini remark after global outcry The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha yesterday apologized for his bikini remarks in the face of an international outcry. Britain raised concerns after the junta leader suggested tourists in bikinis could be more vulnerable…
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Death threats, powerful people force Phuket national park chief to resign
PHUKET: Death threats and influential people unhappy with the reclaiming of public land have forced Sirinat National Park Chief Kitiphat Tharapiban to step down after only three months. “There are many reasons that I have to resign. We had many conflicts with powerful people, even though I was doing the right thing,” Mr Kitiphat said. In August, military bodyguards were…
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AMCHAM forum sets course for New Phuket
PHUKET: Is Phuket lacking identity? What makes the Phuket brand? How can the island benefit from the current winds of change? These and other issues were addressed at the September 12 AMCHAM forum, titled “The New Phuket”. The latest installment in the AMCHAM seminar series took place at the Angsana Laguna Phuket ballroom and saw a number of speakers, both…
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Smoke on the water: Boat operators warned of Phuket haze
PHUKET: Boat operators have been warned of limited visibility at sea as hazy skies shroud Phuket following heavy rains and subsequent warm weather. “The haze is a result of recent heavy rainfall combined with high levels of humidity in the atmosphere,” said San Jantharawong, chief of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) Phuket office. “In this situation, visibility…
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Phuket and Penang become twin cities
PHUKET: Phuket Town and George Town in Penang, Malaysia, became official twin cities after signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at Phuket City Hall today. Inspired by the two cities’ long-established historical relationship, the decision was seen as an important move in facilitating the exchange of expertise in areas of tourism, business and cultural heritage (story here). “Both cities have…
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Phuket police hunt mother of dead newborn found in Patong
PHUKET: Police are searching for the mother of a newborn boy whose body was found dumped in a pile of trash in a small street in Patong this morning. Laiad Pongtuan, 55, was scouring through trash while looking for plastics and other recyclables in Soi 8 off Nanai Road, when he came across a large black plastic bag. “When I…
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PM Prayuth under fire for tourist safety bikini remarks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM Prayuth under fire for tourist safety bikini remarks The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Britain Thursday raised concerns after Thailand’s junta leader Gen Prayuth Chan-ocha suggested that female tourists wearing bikinis could be more vulnerable to attack, as DNA tests failed to yield a breakthrough…
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DNA test clears British suspect from Koh Tao murders
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community DNA test clears British suspect from Koh Tao murders The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Briton questioned over the murder of two countrymen on Koh Tao on Sunday did not match DNA found on the female victim, police confirmed today. The man, Chrtstopher Alan Ware,…
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Phuket OG269 disaster ushers in B34mn lottery windfall for airport staff
PHUKET: Four people – all staffers working at Phuket International Airport – won government lottery prizes yesterday totaling more than 34 million baht. One of the prize winners, Saowaluck Katekaew, won 4mn baht after choosing the lucky number 269 in memory of the One-Two-Go Flight OG269 disaster that killed 89 people seven years ago to the day on Tuesday. Miss…
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Phuket health officials challenge Chang over Vegetarian Festival ‘beer flags’
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has filed a complaint against those responsible for emblazoning flags heralding the upcoming Vegetarian Festival with Chang Beer logos. Krit Sakulpat, deputy chief of the PPHO, led a delegation to Phuket City Police Station yesterday to lodge a formal complaint against ThaiBev, the company that produces Chang Beer, and Jui Tui Shrine for…
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Six arrested over rival student street slayings
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Six arrested over rival student street slayings The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Six students are facing the charge of premeditated murder for fatally shooting three students from a rival college to take “revenge for a female friend” who was killed last month. This case provides…
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Man who hanged 2 dogs named amid online furore
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Man who hanged 2 dogs named amid online furore The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have identified a man who allegedly killed his two pet dogs by hanging them from a petrol station’s garage roof beam in Chon Buri’s Bang Lamung district on Tuesday and…
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Cabinet members required to declare assets by Oct 3
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cabinet members required to declare assets by Oct 3 The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Members of the new Cabinet are required to declare their assets and liabilities by October 3 – 30 days after having been sworn in on September 4, Worawit Sukboon, deputy secretary-general…
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Koh Tao Murders: Police turn focus to friends of slain man
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao Murders: Police turn focus to friends of slain man The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police investigation into the murder of two British tourists on Koh Tao last Sunday has shifted from migrant workers to friends of the male victim, while autopsy results have…
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Tax havens only for the rich
PHUKET: The annual report published by tax relocation specialist Bradley Hackford has recently named the top ten jurisdictions for 2014. They use five criteria in total, which include quality of life, security, geographical location and accessibility, as well as the quality of the economic citizenship program. Sadly, for most, the achievable tax savings make the high sticker price of establishing…
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British backpacker arrested for Koh Tao murders
PHUKET: Surat Thani Police have arrested a British tourist suspected to be involved in the murders of fellow Britons Hannah Witheridge and David Miller on Koh Tao late Sunday night, reported Thai news agency PBS. Police named the suspect as Christopher Alanvare, said the report (click here). Mr Alanvare was arrested after resort employees reported seeing him walking near the…
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ICC claim a fortunate place in the T20 final
PHUKET: The semi final playoff between ICC and Thalang was shortened due to a lengthy rain delay and ended with calculators out on the ground and ICC being awarded entry into the Outrigger Twenty20 cup final. After the morning’s friendly match was shortened with waves of bad weather blowing across the Island, Thalang’s captain won the toss and elected to…
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Phuket Town water shut off for pump station repairs
PHUKET: Taps throughout Phuket Town ran dry at 9am today as Phuket City Municipality shut off the water supply to some areas so that workers could repair power cables for one of the main water pumping stations serving the town. The water supply is scheduled to return at 4pm. For more information, call the Phuket City Municipality Water Supply Office…
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Income tax to drop
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Income tax to drop The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Cabinet yesterday approved the reduction of personal income tax to 5-35 per cent from 10-37 per cent, while corporate income tax has been set at 20 per cent of net profit. Government spokesman Yongyuth Mayalarp…
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Myanmar suspects of British tourists’ murder released
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Myanmar suspects of British tourists’ murder released The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police last night ruled out three Myanmar workers being involved in the murder of two British tourists, as the government appeared to call into question the “behaviour” of the victims themselves. The bodies…
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