News
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Two injured in Phuket parasailing accident
PHUKET: A Chinese girl and a Thai man were injured in a parasailing accident at Kata Beach yesterday afternoon when the pair became caught up in a tree and then fell to the ground. The 9-year-old girl was flying tandem with Prasert Boonkert, 30, an employee of Sea Sport Speed Boat, at around 1pm when the pair became entangled in…
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Wet road surface blamed for three vehicle pile-up
PHUKET: A slippery road surface due to rain was blamed for a three car pile-up on Thepkrasattri Road on Thursday night, causing long tailbacks and delays for northbound motorists. Two people were injured in the multi-car collision near Wat Phra Thong in Thalang at about 10pm. The driver of a Mazda sedan heading southbound lost control and rammed into oncoming…
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Join the festivities at the last Lighthouse Market of the season
The last Lighthouse Market of the season is being held at the Boat Lagoon in Koh Kaew today and tomorrow from 6pm. The spacious water-edge promenade will be decorated with imagery from countries around the world – including the Champs-Elysees in Paris, the windmills of Holland, then to Egypt, Japan and back to Thailand. The market features a panoramic view…
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Drugs litter fiery crash
PHUKET: Two people were injured when the driver of a car lost control and hit a power pole on the byapass road near the Premium Outlet mall, resulting in the car catching fire early this morning. The driver, Amran Dueramae, 27, suffered a serious head injury, while his passenger, Sulaimarn Da-O, 25, sustained minor injuries. Police found several packs of…
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Tourist dies while snorkelling in Phang Nga
PHUKET: An Indian tourist suffered a fatal heart attack while snorkeling in Phang Nga Bay yesterday. Officials originally believed that the man, Prakash Narayan Raote, 63, had drowned and that a doctor failed to resuscitate him. Mr Raote and his family were snorkeling with a Pachtree Company tour group when the incident occurred. The Mumbai man was examined by the…
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A-negative blood needed for Canadian crash victim
PHUKET: Vachira Phuket Hospital requires donations of A-negative blood to save the life of a 35-year-old Canadian motorcyclist who was seriously injured in a collision with a 10-wheel truck in Phuket yesterday. “Connelly Bavid Lee was admitted to Vachira Phuket Hospital early yesterday morning with serious injuries to his chest, back, and legs. We have given him four units of…
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B2.4mn Provincial Hall roundabout opens today
PHUKET: The grand opening of the Narisorn roundabout near Phuket Provincial Hall was held at midday today, with Phuket Vice Governor Kajornkiet Rakpanitmanee, Phuket City Deputy Mayor Thavorn Jirapattanasophon and other officials in attendance. Construction of the 2.4-million-baht roundabout was funded last year by the UK-based non-profit Safer Roads Foundation at the island’s deadly Narisorn-Surin intersection. Last year, a total…
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Job-training program graduates prisoners
PHUKET: Certificates were awarded to prisoners who completed a sticker-cutting course yesterday, officials confirmed. The ceremony marked the end of a cooperation course by Phuket Provincial Prison, Southern Media Co Ltd and the Thai Advertising Business Development Association, under the ‘Building Sustainable Future’ project. The course aimed to help prisoners acquire knowledge and employable skills that might be useful after…
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DNA test results of human remains found in Udon Thani ready
THE DNA test results of human remains found at one of 23 spots in the degraded forest of Udon Thani’s Ban Phue district have been released and are pending comparison with the 31 relatives of missing persons, deputy police spokesman Pol Colonel Krissana Pattanacharoen said yesterday. The move followed the discovery in April of skeletons – many with signs of…
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No respite from heat; rains may be delayed
THAILAND: The country continues to suffer scorching temperatures this month and the rainy season may be further delayed due to the lack of moisture in the air, meteorologists have warned. Wattana Kanbua, senior meteorologist and Marine Meteorological Centre director, revealed yesterday that Thailand may start getting some rain from May 14 onward, as the moisture-bearing southwestern wind from the Indian…
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Suspect at large after one killed in Krabi shootout
KRABI: A shootout in the early morning hours today left one man dead in Krabi, allegedly slain by his close friend. Somyot Kuantai, 20, reportedly fired 10 rounds into the home of the victim while he and his family cowered inside. Police are collecting evidence to issue an arrest warrant for the shooter, who reportedly attacked the family after arguing…
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Spin out on slippery road injures teen passenger
PHUKET: A teenage woman was injured in an accident on Thepkrasattri Road at about 8:15pm last night, when a pick-up truck spun out of control on the slippery road, hitting two motorbikes parked on the side. Krittiya Kengreng, 19, a passenger in the pick-up truck, suffered injuries to her right leg and forehead. Rescue workers rushed her to Vachira Phuket…
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Driver in stoning incident files attempted murder charges
PHUKET: A driver whose car was pelted with stones, causing it to veer off the road and crash into a power pole on Tuesday, filed attempted murder charges against the motorcyclist responsible for it. The accused motorcyclist, Anucha Yeemuda, 21, was initially charged with assault and causing damage to property after he turned himself in to the police (story here).…
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Thailand commemorates Coronation Day
PHUKET: Thailand commemorates Coronation Day (Wun Chatramongkhon) today, which marks the ascension to the throne of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej on May 5, 1950. The auspicious date is a public holiday and this year’s commemorations mark the 66th anniversary of His Majesty’s reign. Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada today gathered officers at Satree Phuket School to pay their respects to HM…
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Austrian paraglider warned over Nai Harn flights
PHUKET: An Austrian expat allegedly running an illegal paragliding business received an official warning from the municipality and narrowly escaped charges on Tuesday. “We were informed by a concerned resident that Kurt Pirker was operating an illegal paragliding business at the windmill in Nai Harn,” said Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos. “We sent out municipality officers to warn him, but he…
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Miracle escape for family of four in Phuket car-flip horror
PHUKET: A family of four escaped serious injury when their car skidded off the road, smashed into trees and flipped over early this morning. The accident occurred at 3:40am on Thepkrasattri Road during a rainstorm. The driver, Somchai Kennadam, 44, said he lost control of the car as he took a bend on the slippery road heading towards Mai Khao.…
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Baby pulled out alive three days after collapse of Kenya building
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Baby pulled out alive three days after collapse of Kenya building Phuket Gazette / Reuters NAIROBI: Kenya, Rescue workers pulled a six-month-old baby girl out of the rubble of a building in Kenya’s capital on Tuesday and reunited her with her father, more than three days…
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Stone thower charged after road rage injures family of three
PHUKET: A Phuket man who pelted a car with stones, making the driver lose control and crash, has been charged for assault and causing damage to property after the family of three in the car was hospitalized. Police received a call at 1:10pm yesterday that a car had lost control and hit a power pole in the Laem Hin area,…
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Social media sleuth snares smokey bus
PHUKET: A pollution-emitting tour bus was banned from service after a Facebook user posted a video showing clouds of thick, black smoke emanating from it, confirmed officials on Sunday. Facebook user Joke Moodie, who posted the video, immediately alerted authorities to take action and shut the bus down. Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) Chief Policy Adviser Jaturong Kaewkasi said that…
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Manhunt for murderer after rotting body found in forest
PHUKET: Police have launched a murder investigation after the decomposing body of a Myanmar national was found this morning, wrapped in a mattress and dumped in a mangrove forest in Rassada. The body, identified by locals as a 52-year-old fisherman named Tai Jor, was found at 7:30am. “The body was found rolled up in a mattress that had been bound…
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Phuket expat requests A-negative blood donations
PHUKET: A pensioner from the UK currently being treated in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Phuket International Hospital is in urgent need of A-negative blood. “The hospital needs the blood in stock before doctors can perform surgery”, explains an expat relative of the patient. A-negative is a rare blood type found only in 7 per cent of Caucasians, 2…
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A Decade Ago: Election day grumbles, then and now
PHUKET: Election polls were again on page one of the Phuket Gazette at the end of April 2006, after the first round of voting failed to meet the necessary requirements to nominate Phuket representatives to Parliament. The election followed the decision by then-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to dissolve the House of Representatives. Five citizens, angry with the government and the…
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Governor letter: Tourists need to obey Phuket laws
Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada started his first day as the Phuket Governor on September 30, 2015. He is a Phuket native with a master’s degree in political and administrative science from the National Institute of Development Administration. Here he talks about a list of dos & don’ts aimed at preventing so many tourists dying on the island and improving Phuket’s reputation…
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Phuket cashew nut industry goes global
PHUKET: Metee Company Phuket Ltd’s unique cashew-nut cooking process and new packaging is bringing the company international recognition and larger revenues. The Chalong-based company is just one of several local businesses that have changed the quality of their products and branding in order to compete in larger markets. The company has since been accredited by the Ministry of Commerce as…
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Krabi woman gives birth on boat
KRABI: Two Krabi police officers helped deliver a baby at sea on Sunday morning, when the mother could not make it to a hospital on time. Capt Prayong Pongsawang of the Khao Phanom Police and Lt Rawi Praekpan of the Krabi Provincial Forensic Police are being called heroes on social media for safely delivering the baby. The Krabi woman, who…
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Krabi officials frustrated by local beliefs
KRABI: Locals believe a serpent is the cause of a sinkhole at the Khao Phanom Temple, but officials disagree. Officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) Region 4 in Surat Thani arrived to inspect the sinkhole last week. Their findings concluded that the hole outside the temple – roughly five meters wide and four meters deep –…
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Australian in fatal fall photographing fireworks from Patong balcony
PHUKET: An Australian man fell to his death from the 19th floor of a high-rise hotel in Patong as he attempted to take photos of fireworks. Major Pattapee Srichai of the Patong Police was alerted at about 11:37pm on Thursday that Jamie William Brown, 30, had fallen from the balcony of his room at a high-rise hotel on Rat-U-Thit 200…
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Eyeing an Indiana victory, Trump says ‘It’s over’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Eyeing an Indiana victory, Trump says ‘It’s over’ Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Front-runner Donald Trump said on Sunday that he will have essentially sealed the Republican U.S. presidential nomination if he wins Tuesday’s contest in Indiana, where he holds a big lead over chief rival…
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V/Gov cracks down on ‘slovenly’ tour guides
PHUKET: What began as new regulations aimed at curbing cheating and poorly dressed taxi drivers has now turned into an additional island-wide action to imporve tour guides’ dress codes, officials announced last week. “From now on, all tour companies must provide staff uniforms for their employees with company logos and names,” said Santi Pawai, director of the Ministry of Tourism…
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Phuket tax-dodging nominees for foreigners to face charges
PHUKET: Police in Phuket expect to arrest soon a number of people in the province who are acting as nominees for foreigners doing business illegally in Thailand. The nominees for Phuket businesses operated by foreigners are among more than 1,000 Thais in the Kingdom set to face charges in a large-scale crackdown on people acting as such, including law firms…
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