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AirAsia flight forced to land in Phuket – twice
MAI KHAO: AirAsia flight FD3024 from Phuket to Bangkok was forced to land twice shortly after takeoff at Phuket International Airport (PIA) yesterday evening.A passenger on the flight told a Gazette source, “I heard the sound of wind rushing and then the engines roar [shortly after takeoff] and thought something had happened, but the crew didn’t tell the passengers exactly…
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Sirens sound for tsunami drill
BANG TAO: The tsunami warning sirens at Bang Tao Beach sounded at 10:30 am today in a tsunami evacuation drill organized by the provincial government to ensure local villagers, especially the teachers and students at the local school, are prepared for an emergency.The sirens were triggered locally for the simulation, which lasted about 60 minutes. School children were evacuated to…
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OrBorJor aims for Bt 80 million in room tax
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Organization Administration (OrBorJor) has set a target of 80 million baht in room tax revenue from hotels by the end of the current fiscal year, which ends September 30.The announcement was made by OrBorJor President Paiboon Upatising, who admitted that some hotel operators still refuse to pay the tax, which is levied at 1% of the room rate…
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Number of drug arrests shoots up
PHUKET: Crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police show that the number of drug-related arrests in May was up 61% compared with the same month last year, while the number of arrests related to ya bah (methamphetamine) was twice the number for April.In May, there were 173 arrests for drug-related offenses, 101 of which involved ya bah, with a total…
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Burmese man held for “death truck’ tragedy
PHUKET: Phuket police have arrested a Burmese man suspected of organizing the human smuggling ring that led to the death of 54 Burmese migrant workers on April 9.He is also suspected of involvement in the execution of former Kathu Police officer Decho Kaewnabon last Wednesday.Speaking after the Governor Meets the Press conference at Phuket Provincial Hall this morning, Phuket Police Commander Maj…
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Governors warned over ASTV ban
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Democrat Party yesterday warned provincial governors they would be at risk of violating the Constitution if they blocked ASTV broadcasts in line with Interior Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung’s instruction.Although Chalerm backpedalled from Friday’s threat by arguing he wanted cable operators to just gag inflammatory comments instead of imposing a total ban on ASTV broadcasts of the Bangkok…
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Aussies dominate Laguna Marathon
CHERNG TALAY: Australian Stephen Paine completed the 42-kilometer course around the north end of the island in 2 hours 37 minutes and 52 seconds this morning to win the men’s championship title in this year’s Laguna Phuket International Marathon. In second place was defending champion Brent Roeger from the US. He rounded the course in 2:41:57, six minutes faster than…
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Aussie wins Laguna Marathon
CHERNG TALAY: Australian Stephen Paine completed the 42-kilometer course around the north end of the island in 2 hours 37 minutes and 52 seconds this morning to win the men’s championship title in this year’s Laguna Phuket International Marathon. In second place was defending champion Brent Roeger from the US. He rounded the course in 2:41:57, six minutes faster than…
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Government threatens legal action against local TV networks
BANGKOK (The Nation): Interior Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung Friday threatened to invoke Article 85 of the Criminal Code to take legal action against ASTV for broadcasting demonstrations of the People’s Alliance for Democracy [PAD].Chalerm said cable TV operators in the provinces who relay broadcasts of ASTV to their subscribers would also be taken to task by the government if they do…
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Crooked conductor caught in Mai Khao
THALANG: The Phuket Highway Police have arrested a bus conductor for stealing the equivalent of more than 18,000 baht from a young Aussie on his way to Phuket from Surat Thani.At a press conference yesterday afternoon, Phuket Highway Police Inspector Maj Jittrapol Kesornrak identified the suspect as Udon Thani native Rakpong Passawong, 22.His victim, 21-year-old Australian Jai Ruben Wadick, boarded a bus in…
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Kamala residents seek suspension of troubled cop
KAMALA: About 30 local residents this morning met Kamala Police Deputy Superintendent Lt Col Winai Kongkeaw to demand that one of his officers be removed from active duty because his behavior was “dangerous”.At 11 am, the residents, including Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) representative Sontaya Soontarak and other elected officials, explained to Col Winai that a police lieutenant under his command had…
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“Pastrygate” scandal intensifies
BANGKOK (Daily Xpress): Top Supreme Court Justice Kriengchai Jungchatupit says he would have arrested the lawyer suspected of attempting to bribe judges “on the spot”.“If I had been there, I would have arrested him on the spot,” says Kriengchai. “I would not have let him take the money back. I would have charged him with contempt.“I have learned that the person who…
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Aussies, Thais dominate Samui Regatta
KOH SAMUI: Ray Roberts, the top Asian sailor for 2008, Matt Allen, Commodore of the Cruising Yacht Club of Australia, and Andrew Short, also from the Sydney club, have won the top prizes in the International Racing Class (IRC)1, IRC 2 and Cruising Classes, respectively, in the 7th Samui International Yacht Regatta.Roberts, a regular racer in Phuket and Thailand, and…
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Snack box with a bonus winds up in court
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Supreme Court has set up a committee to investigate an alleged attempt by a politician’s lawyer to bribe court officials, which a spokesman for ex-prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra described as “a joke and impossible”.Sarawut Benjakul, deputy secretary-general of the court, confirmed a report that a lawyer representing a politician had given a box of pastry filled with…
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Chief Ombudsman hears Phuket complaints
PHUKET CITY: Phuket people’s top source of grief were problems stemming from land, Chief Ombudsman Gen Theeradej Meepien told reporters after two days of hearing complaints from Phuket residents.Gen Theeradej and his staff heard complaints from local people and held public information sessions explaining the role of the Ombudsman’s Office at the Phuket Merlin Hotel on June 3 and 4.“This…
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Seafood prices ready to soar?
PHUKET: Royal Thai Navy Chief Adm Narong Yutthawong, who once served as Supreme Commander of the Thai Armed Forces, has met leading local fishing industry figures as part of his senatorial fact-finding tour into the impact of rising fuel prices on the nation’s fishing industry.At a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on June 4, Adm Narong said that his tour…
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4 cars destroyed in Toyota Pearl blaze
PHUKET CITY: Owners of three vehicles waiting for repairs will have to wait a little longer before being reunited with their cars following a fire at the Toyota Pearl Phuket showroom and garage on Thepkrasattri Rd early on Saturday. Initial estimates put the loss from the fire at about 4 million baht, with damage to seven vehicles, four of which were totally destroyed. Police said they…
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Failure rate for Bangkok condos nears 50%
BANGKOK (The Nation): The chance of failure for condominium developers in Bangkok has grown to almost 50 per cent as competition heats up amid a glut of fresh supplies, warned Aquarius chief executive Yongyuth Chaipromprasert.After conducting a study over the past five months, the building consultant said even the inner Sukhumvit area, once deemed immune to downturns, “no longer guarantees success”.“The average take-up…
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Gen Apirak returns to Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police yesterday morning held a ceremony bidding farewell Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth on his last day of duty as Phuket Provincial Police Commander and welcoming back his replacement, Pol Maj Apirak Hongthong.Gen Decha has been promoted to the position of commander of general staff at Police Region 8 headquarters in Surat Thani.Among those attending the ceremony were…
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Tawee still Karon Mayor
KARON: In the Karon municipal council election on Sunday, incumbent Mayor Tawee Tongcham, running unopposed, easily received the minimum 20% of all eligible votes required for him to reclaim the mayoral seat.Voter turnout was just over 60% of the 4,601 eligible voters. Of these, 2,269 people voted for Tawee.Eleven of the 12 regular council seats went to members of Tawee’s…
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PIH “bypass turnoff’to be closed
PHUKET: A provincial committee on traffic safety has decided to block the dangerous turnoff to Phuket International Hospital (PIH) from the bypass road southbound lanes for a trial period of one month.The committee, chaired by Phuket Vice-Governor Smith Palawatvichai, came to a unanimous decision on the issue at a meeting held last Thursday afternoon.Signs warning motorists that U-turns are forbidden…
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It’s a Toy Library
PHUKET: With the aim of developing children’s imaginations, emotional responses and social skills, the Phuket Community Foundation (PCF) and Phuket International Hospital (PIH) will be opening the island’s first toy library at the end of July. The PCF is appealing for donations of new and secondhand toys in good condition and it is hoped that, in time, a series of “toy…
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Fighting chance: green turtle has flipper amputated
CAPE PANWA: A green sea turtle rescued from a fishing net in Satun last week had a badly inflected flipper amputated at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) this afternoon.PMBC veterinarians led by Sontaya Manawattana said that the “flipperectomy” was the only way to save the animal, an otherwise healthy 20-year-old female.The turtle was found off Koh Rayatot Yai, in…
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Dial S for stolen
PHUKET AIRPORT: Following the arrest of two baggage handlers for stealing a mobile phone from luggage at Phuket International Airport, police are urging airline passengers not to pack valuables in checked-in luggage.At a press conference last night, Tah Chat Chai Police Superintendent Col Sakchai Limchareon said that Sarawuth Saowarun, 21, of Nakhon Sri Thammarat, and Chiang Rai native Surakrai Sirisor, 22, had…
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Megaquarium site still not chosen
BANGKOK: Plans by Minor International Plc to build a 2.1-billion-baht aquarium in Phuket are still in the land acquisition and design phase, and the company doesn’t expect to finalize plans or announce the project site until some time later this year at the earliest. In July 2007, Minor International Plc announced its intention to build Southeast Asia’s largest aquarium as…
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SPECIAL: Letter from Myanmar
BANGKOK: Since Cyclone Nargis devastated the Irrawaddy delta region in Myanmar on May 2, the world has stood by waiting to help those still suffering while the ruling military junta lets in only a trickle of relief supplies and workers. A Thailand-based Rotarian, whose name has been withheld at his request, describes the situation on the ground in Myanmar, and…
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Whale stranded in Patong dies
PHUKET: A dwarf sperm whale that washed up on Patong Beach this morning died from ingesting a wide variety of man-made items, researchers at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) today told the Gazette. The whale was discovered by local residents on the beach near the Soi Bangla intersection about 6 am. Villagers and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers pushed the…
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US Navy servicewoman dies in Patong
PATONG: A US servicewoman accidentally fell to her death from a seventh-floor hotel room in Patong yesterday, the Gazette has been told.In a news release posted on its website at noon today, Manager Online quoted Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnark as identifying the woman as 25-year-old Ebony Cooper.There were few other details in the report, except that police were…
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Runaway bride
SAPHAN BURI: Being forced into a loveless marriage is an unhappy fate for any girl to endure, but not everyone takes the situation lying down. After being forced to marry the son of a wealthy local cattle owner, one young woman from Suphan Buri managed to escape with not only her freedom, but also the 400,000-baht sin sot (bride price)…
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Burmese aid on its way
CAPE PANWA: Stocks of donated food and emergency-shelter supplies today finally began their journey from the Third Naval Command at Cape Panwa to help victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar.Approximately 10 tonnes of supplies were loaded onto four container trucks heading for the Thai-Myanmar Border Fishery Co-ordination Center in Ranong province. From there, the supplies are expected to be distributed…
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