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Police to set up New Year road safety checkpoints
PHUKET: Police will set up checkpoints across the island from December 29 to January 4 in a campaign to reduce the number of road fatalities during the New Year celebrations.The checkpoints, manned by police, volunteers and officers from the Phuket Office for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), will be set up at:– Thepkrasattri Rd (in front of the Muang Mai…
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Biting back
BANGKOK: A drunken security guard had the tip of his tongue bitten off during an unsuccessful attempt to rape a 50-year-old partially-sighted woman. In a tale recounted by Pol Lt Col Paythai Thipmongkol of the Bang Khen Police, security guard Boonrawd Kanwan, 42, was off-duty and drinking with friends in the workers’ quarters of the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA)…
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Vendors forced from Kamala Beach
KAMALA: More than 40 police officers forced beachfront food stall vendors and sun-bed operators to vacate Kamala Beach yesterday morning, to clear the area for the tsunami memorial services on Monday.Kathu District Chief Khantee Silapa told the Gazette the beach was cleared after an order from Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura, because Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to visit the area.However,…
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Work on B46m “Welcome Gate’ under way in Tah Chat Chai
TAH CHAT CHAI: For most of next year, the northern tip of the island will become a building site as heavy machinery is used to transform scrub forest in the area into a landscaped “Welcome Gate” rest stop and vehicle control point (VCP).Work on the 46-million-baht project, the brainchild of Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepbutr, officially began…
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Jet-ski victim still in ICU
BANGKOK: Australian Antonio Scognamiglio, 19, who was involved in a jet-ski collision off Patong Beach on November 23, is recovering in intensive care after undergoing brain surgery at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok.Mr Scognamiglio sustained his injuries when a fellow jet-ski rider crashed into him. He was rushed unconscious to Patong Hospital where his heart stopped. Staff managed to revive him…
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Tsunami memorial service for Australians
PATONG: There will be a tsunami memorial service for Australian families in front of the Graceland Hotel on Patong Beach, from 8 am to 9 am on Monday. The memorial service, organized by the Australian Embassy, will precede formal Thai ceremonies at Patong Beach, commencing at 10 am, and other venues throughout the day. For more information contact the Australian…
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Phang Nga ‘stealing Phuket tourism staff’
PHUKET: Employers in Phuket’s hotel and tourism industry are losing skilled staff to Phang Nga businesses – which are reportedly offering up to double the workers’ current salaries. Phuket Provincial Labour Office (PPLO) Chief Decha Prekpattanarak said today, “The ‘stealing’ of labor is a major problem that is creating a shortage of skilled workers in Phuket this high season.” He…
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Gov sets Dec 26 deadline for bypass road
PHUKET: In a meeting this morning to check on final preparations for the upcoming tsunami memorial services, Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura ordered that work on the bypass road widening project be completed before December 26.“Work on the bypass road must be finished before December 26 so we can provide comfortable transport for our visitors,” Gov Udomsak told those at the…
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Phinij to open clinic for gay men
PATONG: Public Health Minister Phinij Jarusombat will tomorrow preside over the official opening of Patong Hospital’s “Sabaidee Clinic”, which will cater to the medical needs of gay men, whether residents or tourists. The ceremony will take place at the auspicious time of 7:09 am.The hospital’s Deputy-Director, Padungkiet Utokasenee, told the Gazette that the clinic, part of a network known as…
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Deep throat dentistry
BANGKOK: A 19-year-old student spent three agonizing days with a toothbrush lodged in her stomach – after she accidentally swallowed it and nobody would believe her. The student, whose name and address were not reported, felt an itch in her throat on the evening of December 5. Rather than visit the hospital, she decided to use her standard-sized Colgate-brand toothbrush…
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Hundreds get the blues
KARON: A bit of rain and blustery winds couldn’t dampen the spirits of the hundreds of people who turned up for first night of the two-day Phuket Blues Festival 2005, in the Grand Ballroom of the Hilton Arcadia Resort and Spa yesterday. The event kicked off with the all-Thai Blue on Blue band from Bangkok, followed by Phuket’s own Big…
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Tour boat sinks; all aboard saved
PHANG NGA BAY: Twenty-two passengers and crew are safely back on dry land after the Armitis, a tour boat, sprung a leak and sank in heavy seas yesterday in Phang Nga Bay.Pol Lt Col Prasert Srikunnarat, Inspector of Phuket Marine Police Region 5 told the Gazette that he received a distress call saying that the boat, captained by Chamrus Tohmok,…
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Rain damps enthusiasm for tsunami drill
PATONG: The sirens went off (click here for a sound clip), but only about 200 people joined a tsunami evacuation drill in Patong yesterday afternoon, with rain being blamed for the poor turnout. Boonchai Somjai, Head of Phuket Provincial Office Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), told the Gazette, “I was in Patong when the evacuation drill began. It went satisfactorily,…
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Tsunami memorial finalists chosen
KHAO LAK: Design teams from Finland, the US, Spain, China and Australia have made it into the finals of the competition to design a tsunami memorial, which will be erected on Lek Beach in Khao Lak Lamru National Park.The five teams that made the cut are Anu Puustinen and Ville Hara, from Avanto Architects of Finland; Raveevarn Choksombatchai and William…
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Reservoir 70pc full
KATHU: Despite unusually high rainfall during a month that traditionally marks the onset of the dry season, Phuket’s only reservoir is still far from full – and has only enough water to meet demand until the end of April.Isara Anukul, Chief of the Water Allocation Division of the Phuket Irrigation Office (PIO), told the Gazette yesterday that there is now…
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Blues Festival moves indoors
KARON: After a night of squalls and heavy rain the organizers of the Phuket Blues Festival – which opens tonight – have decided to move the two-day event indoors, into the ballroom of the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa.The overnight storms blew down tents set up for the festival, shredding some of them, and turned the outdoor venue into…
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Officials seize illegally felled hardwood
KOH KAEW: A team of government officials recovered hardwood planks valued at an estimated 1.5 million baht from an illegal logging and wood processing operation on forest conservation land in the Phanthurat Hills on Wednesday morning.The loggers, tipped off to the operation by a helicopter surveying the area before the raid, used their knowledge of the difficult terrain to evade…
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Brox set for big blues blowout
KARON: British Blues legend Victor Brox, who arrived on the island yesterday for the Phuket Blues Festival tomorrow and Saturday, says that island-based musicians proficient in playing blues are welcome to join him on stage.Asked about his reputation for jamming with a lot of people, Brox said, “There’s a Welsh guitarist on the island [Rob Davies] that I’m going to…
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Khao Lak skeleton is TTVI Phuket’s last case
PHUKET: A skeleton discovered in Khao Lak last week became the final case to be dealt with in Phuket by the Thai Tsunami Victim Identification unit (TTVI) which closed its doors on Monday in preparation for opening new premises in Bangkok on January 4 next year.Pol Col Khemmarin Hassiri, Superintendent of the TTVI’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) unit, told the…
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Tsunami alarm test mix-up scares 6 provinces
PHUKET: Tsunami warning towers in the six tsunami-affected provinces sounded a false alarm at noon today because of a mix-up at the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC).Adm Thaweesak Daengchai, Adviser to the National Disaster Warning Center, told the Gazette, “Radiance International Co was testing the tsunami warning system and the towers to confirm they will be ready for the test…
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WTO says tsunami recovery needs publicity
PHUKET: A World Tourism Organization (WTO) report has concluded that complete post-tsunami recovery will not be possible until hotel capacity on Thailand’s Andaman coast, in Sri Lanka and the Maldives, and seat capacity on flights to these regions, return to pre-disaster levels.The report noted that Phuket’s latest official statistics show arrivals on the island down by 50% in August, although…
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Tsunami warning towers test on December 16
PHUKET: The 15 operational tsunami warning towers on Phuket will be tested in conjunction with the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) on December 16 at 1:30 pm. The government has also assigned the NDWC to run tests in Ranong, Phang Nga, Trang, Krabi, and Satun Provinces, again at at 1:30 pm.Boonchai Somjai, head of the Phuket Provincial Office of Disaster…
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Gov vows to help with little Solitaire
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has assigned a team to help Sascha and Patchara “Riem” Meissmer investigate the identity and whereabouts of the Eurasian-looking girl in a photograph posted on the Internet.The Meissmers believe the girl in the picture may be their daughter, Solitaire, who was identified as having died in last year’s tsunami.The Governor told a news conference this morning,…
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Boat show rated a success
KOH KAEW: As the Phuket International Marine Exhibition (PIMEX) 2005 closed on Sunday, exhibitors were in an excellent mood. At least 12 boats were sold during the show at the Boat Lagoon, and initial estimates of solid sales achieved amount to approximately US$4 million (160 million baht).Dealers and brokers all reported new contacts made and strong leads to follow up…
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German, 25, stabbed to death
PATONG: A 25-year-old German man died early on Sunday morning of stab wounds received in a furious argument with his Thai girlfriend in their rented room on Nanai Rd.Pol Lt Col Chawalit Niamwadee, of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette, “I received a call from Patong Hospital at 4 am that a man had been brought into the emergency room,…
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Task force formed to blitz illegal labor
PHUKET: A task force of about 50 officers has been set up to crack down on illegal labor in Phuket.Phuket Provincial Employment Services Office (PESO) Chief Boonchock Maneechot announced the crackdown following a closed meeting last Thursday with Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura and new the Phuket Provincial Immigration Office (PPIO) Superintendent, Pol Col Prayut Chommalee.K. Boonchock cited poor sanitary conditions…
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Parents still hope to find daughter alive
PHUKET: Sascha and Patchara “Riem” Meissmer have new hope of being reunited with their five-year-old daughter, Solitaire, who was presumed lost in the tsunami in Phang Nga nearly a year ago. Since friends in Germany alerted them last week to an Internet photo showing a young, Eurasian-looking girl they thought resembled Solitaire, the Meissmers have been trying to determine the…
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Layan Marina construction to start next month
PHUKET: Construction of the 1.7-billion baht Layan Marina project will begin next month.The Managing Director of Layan Marina Co, Nathaphut Na Pathalung, confirmed today that the project, on 51 rai of land at the north end of Bang Tao Beach, is still going ahead.He noted, however, that the start date has been put back in light of developments on neighboring…
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Drumstick and Hi Fi head for King’s Cup showdown
PHUKET: Ray Roberts’ Drumstick Quantum Racing will be aiming to make the most of its four-point lead over Neil Pryde’s Hi Fi in tomorrow’s final race of the Racing class of this year’s Phuket King’s Cup Regatta.In winds gusting up to 14 knots today, tight racing saw Hi Fi win Race 6 by just 51 seconds over Drumstick, which in…
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Airport Immigration chief hopes to up staffing
PHUKET: Pol Col Chirdchai Rattanametanon, the new Superintendent of the Immigration Office at Phuket International Airport, has applied for more officers in order to reduce tiresome delays in processing tourists.Col Chirdchai told the Gazette, “I understand that there are not enough Immigration officers at the airport to process the volume of tourists, but I have already applied to my superior…
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