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Irish present book of condolences
PHUKET CITY: Helene Fallon Wood, representing the Irish Ambassador to Thailand, handed over a signed book of condolences to Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura at Phuket Provincial Hall today.“This book came from County Galway, on the west coast of Ireland.” said Ms Wood. “Shortly after the events of December 26 last year the Lord of Galway instituted this book. Many hundreds…
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Call for second trash incinerator
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has asked the government for one billion baht to build a second incinerator at Saphan Hin, to help deal with the province’s growing mountain of waste.Gov Udomsak said he has applied to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for the required funding.He said, “Phuket has a big environmental problem. As the number of tourists…
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A low-down, dirty crime
PHUKET CITY: The new garbage cans being distributed throughout the city have proven such a hit with the public that they keep disappearing.Plastic, blue in color and about a meter high, the bins are of such heavy-duty construction that they can be rammed by a moving vehicle without cracking. Other special design features include high chemical resistance and a unique shape that…
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Phuket Air hires “best practice’ experts
BANGKOK: Problem-plagued Phuket Air has recruited a British provider of safety training to instill “best practice” throughout every level of its operations.The deal between Phuket Air and training and development company The Human Factor was announced in London by the founder of The Human Factor, ex-British Royal Air Force pilot George Duncan, and Phuket Air Executive Vice-President Captain Chawanit Chiamcharoenvut.It…
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Immigration office to open in Chalong
CHALONG: Phuket Immigration has set up a permanent service counter at Phuket Port Control Center (PPCC) in Chalong.From next Tuesday (June 7), the counter will be open every Tuesday and Thursday between 9 am and 3 pm. It will be staffed by three Immigration officers.Phuket Immigration Superintendent Pol Col Witawat Buranasompop told the Gazette that he expected that, by the…
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Air Force looks at tsunami lessons
PATONG: Senior officers of the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) are gathered in Patong for a seminar on lessons to be learned from the handling of the tsunami crisis.Gen Chalid Pukpasuk, who is the Director of the RTAF’s Public Emergency Response Center and the seminar chairman, told journalists that the RTAF had delivered emergency supplies “regularly and rapidly” to tsunami…
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Phuket urged to turn out the lights
PHUKET: Phuket is toeing the national line with the local electricity boss urging people to save power by turning off one light per house for five minutes every night.Speaking yesterday – Electricity Saving Day – Amorn Saeng-Ngern, Manager of the Phuket Provincial Electricity Office, said that if the 100,000 electricity users on the island turned off one of their lights…
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Three proposals for massive Chalong marina
PHUKET CITY: Three proposals have been received by Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura for the construction of a large marina in Chalong Bay, to be financed by a mixture of government and private sector money.One proposal is from a consortium headed locally by Lifestyle Properties Co Ltd and the Gazette understands that two other concepts have been submitted, one by an…
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Island to get water from Surat Thani?
PHUKET CITY: Surasak Anakkhaphan, Adviser to Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Minister Suwit Khunkitti, today proposed that water be piped from Chieo Lan Reservoir in Surat Thani Province as a long-term solution to Phuket’s chronic – and worsening – water shortage problems.At a meeting at the Phuket Provincial Hall, K. Surasak explained that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra had allocated each…
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Phuket gets first film festival
PHUKET: The SFX Coliseum Cinema at Central Festival Phuket will host an 11-day festival of movies from the European Union, starting June 16. The event will be co-sponsored by the Phuket Gazette. The opening ceremony, between 5 pm and 10 pm on June 16, will feature music from the band Ocastra and an exhibition about the films. The event will…
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Return to sender!
TAK: A mother in Sam Ngao District paid the ultimate price for letting her curiosity get the better of her – when she opened a parcel addressed to her daughter that turned out to be a letter bomb. The victim, 56-year-old pig farmer Phayao Ruamsuk, had collected the parcel, which was addressed to her daughter Kannitha. Kannitha, 22, had married…
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Airport numbers go into a dive
PHUKET: International passenger arrivals and departures at Phuket International Airport in April plummeted to less than half the number in April last year, and the number of international flights dropped by a third, thanks to the downturn in tourism following the tsunami.The statistics, obtained from Phuket International Airport, show that the number of international passengers using the island’s airport slumped…
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OrBorJor to hire more temporary teachers
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) is to pay for more temporary teachers to be recuited in a bid to relieve the staffing crisis in the province’s schools.Launching the organization’s annual report for May 14, 2004-May 14, 2005, OrBorJor President Anchalee Vanich-Thebabutr told reporters that the teacher shortage – a result of the government offering early retirement sweeteners to…
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Gov orders probe into tour company
PHUKET CITY (Khom Chad Luek, Phuket Gazette) : Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has ordered an investigation into a tour company for allegedly intimidating tourists into buying overpriced package tours.The Tourist Police denied having received any complaints about the company in question, which is located close to their office on the bypass road .The Governor ordered the investigation while chairing the monthly…
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Environment tops Governor’s agenda
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has ordered that a special committee be set up to protect the environment in Phuket.Gov Udomsak said he would like police officers, forestry staff and volunteers to sit on the committee, which would respond to complaints from the public about environmental damage.“I would like the committee to be able to act as soon as it receives…
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Tsunami mental health center opens
KHAO LAK: More than five months after the tsunami, the Mental Health Recovery Center (MHRC) – in Khuek Khak, Takua Pa District, Phang Nga Province, and set up at a cost of some 20 million baht – was opened on May 26 by Deputy Minister of Public Health Anutin Charnvirakul.Dr Benjaporn Panyayong, the Director of the MHRC, told the Gazette…
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PTA use Japanese star to promote Phuket
PHUKET: Top Japanese actress Maju Ozawa is to make a 54-minute TV show for presentation in her home country in order to promote Phuket to the Japanese market.Ms Ozawa, who yesterday signed a contract with the Phuket Tourist Association to promote Phuket for a year, won the job after she took part, along with six other Japanese actresses, in the…
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April sees rise in road deaths
PHUKET CITY: Official figures for April obtained from Wachira, Thalang, Patong and Ruampaet government hospitals show that 18 people died in motorcycle accidents on Phuket’s roads during the month.In addition, three died in car accidents and one unlucky pedestrian was killed.The figures are an increase on those for March, when 11 people died in Phuket, all in motorbike accidents.The hospital…
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Cop gets life for killing tourists
KANCHANABURI: Pol Sgt Somchai Wisetsingha has been handed a life sentence for the murders eight months ago of British tourists Adam Lloyd, 25, and Vanessa Arscott, 24.The court had heard that, after an argument with Mr Lloyd, Somchai assaulted him and then shot him dead. As Ms Arscott fled from the scene Somchai ran her down with his Volvo car,…
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Drive to promote duty-free shopping
PHUKET: The government is to urge businesspeople to open more duty-free shops in Phuket, the Director of the Thai Customs Department, Sathit Limpongpan, said today.K. Sathit said it was hoped that having more duty-free shops in the province would encourage more tourists to come here.At present there are only two duty free shops in the province, one at Phuket International…
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Fantastic fungus launches lottery lust
RAWAI: Hundreds of people have been making their way to a small house in Village 6 to see a clump of enormous, white mushrooms that sprang up there on Visaka Bucha Day and which is thought by many villagers to be a harbinger of good luck.Homeowner Suwan “Prachuap” Phungkung, a fortune-teller by trade, told the Gazette she discovered the mushrooms…
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Training seminar for volunteer officers
THALANG: Ninety new volunteer police officers have taken part in two days of training during which they learned the rudiments of martial arts along with topics including providing security for VIPs and dealing with sensitive situations such as bomb threats.The 90 men who have volunteered to support the province’s 400 paid, full-time officers gathered at the Khao Pra Taew Wildlife…
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B280m more needed to identify tsunami dead
PHUKET: Around 20 million baht is needed to pay for the testing of DNA samples of victims of the tsunami who have yet to be identified, the head of the Thai Tsunami Victims Identification centre (TTVI), Pol Gen Noppadol Somboonsap, said yesterday.And an additional 260 million baht, or more, may be needed to set up a proposed Thai-run disaster victims…
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Tsunami delays Jungceylon opening
PATONG: It has been decided to delay the opening of the Jungceylon shopping, entertainment and hotel complex until October, seven months later than originally planned, because of the tsunami.Jungceylon public relations and events supervisor Khemawat Pudpuang told the Gazette this morning that the management team, meeting after the tsunami, decided not to open the centre in March, as originally intended,…
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Drug cases top crime stats again
PHUKET: Drugs were yet again the main cause for arrests in Phuket in April, according to the latest Provincial Police crime statistics.A total of 93 people were arrested for drug-related offenses between April 1 and April 30, compared with 81 arrests in March.Possession of ya bah (methamphetamine) accounted for the largest number of arrests – 38 – in April, followed…
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Democrat leader drops in for coffee
PHUKET: Democrat party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva took part in a “coffee council” discussion with people in Mai Khao this morning, during a visit to Phuket.More than 500 people waited to see the opposition leader arrive with Phuket Democrat MP Chalermluck Kebsub and Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thebabutr.K. Abhisit said the party’s “coffee councils” were a good way…
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Funding for tsunami victim ID “embarrassing’ – Interpol
PHUKET: Ronald K Noble, the Secretary General of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), this morning lashed out at the lack of funding from the international community for work to continue in identifying victims of the December 26 tsunami.“We, as a world community, should be embarrassed that the people in the DVI teams, who should be [regarded as] heroes, aren’t…
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Surakul gets green card for Premier League kid’s soccer clinic
PHUKET CITY: Three representatives of English Premiership teams Everton, Bolton and Manchester City yesterday gave their approval for Surakul Stadium to be the venue of a one-day kid’s soccer camp on July 21, run by three coaches and two players of each team.Eam Thavornvongwongse, President of the Phuket Sports Association, said, “The purpose of this course is to give about…
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Patong police get new “beach busters’
PATONG: Officers from Kathu Police Station will find it easier to patrol the sands of Patong Beach with the new 4×4 off-road vehicles presented to them yesterday by the US Embassy in Thailand.The vehicles, called ST 4×4, were donated by E-Z-Go Company, which is owned by Textron, well-known for its Bell Helicopter and Cessna Aircraft brands.Two of the vehicles, which…
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B10m tsunami archive to be established
NAI YANG: Some 200 government officers from Bangkok and the six tsunami-affected provinces gathered at the Pearl Village Hotel yesterday to offer suggestions of what data should be included in the Tsunami Information Center (TIC), which will be built in Bangkok at a cost of 10 million baht.The hearing was organized by the National Archives of Thailand (NAT), operated under…
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