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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Laughing gas crackdown; Ranong highway blockades; Inhumane attacks in South; Extortion cops on the run
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Laughing gas not so funny The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The widespread use of illegal balloons containing laughing gas among tourists at entertainment venues has prompted police in Bangkok’s Chanasongkram Police Station to crack down on vendors selling these balloons on Khao San Road.Sale of balloons filled…
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Police move to detain Rohingya at purpose-built regional shelters
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Police are lobbying Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra to build regional detention centers to house Rohingya refugees across Southern Thailand. The move aims to relieve the pressure on already-overflowing detention centers at immigration offices in Phuket, Phang Nga and Ranong. Maj Gen Kraibun Suadsong from the Royal Thai Police Office of Police Strategy, which oversees the Thai…
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Landslide warning device installed in Phuket hills
PHUKET: A landslide early-detection system costing 4-million-baht has been installed in the Patong Hills. The system was installed in Phuket because of the high risk of landslides in Patong, Kathu and Karon, Thawan Sukkho of the Bureau of Geotechnology, Department of Mineral Resources, explained to Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut during an inspection on Friday. “The system is comprised of steel…
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Deputy PM calls for “one-stop’ police counters for Phuket tourists, expats
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Pracha Promnok today called for every police station across Phuket to have a dedicated section to receive complaints from foreigners.The call came at a meeting at The Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town attended by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavalviwat and other top-ranking police officers from the Andaman provinces of Phang Nga and…
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Nigerian arrested in Phuket with visa stolen from Malaysia, cocaine
PHUKET: A Nigerian man arrested for possession of cocaine in Phuket yesterday was also found to be carrying a passport with a visa stolen from the Thai embassy in Malaysia.Karon Police on patrol were notified by an undercover officer of the location of the Nigerian, who was believed to be in possession of drugs.“We approached the man and asked to…
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Phuket Town Hungry Ghost festival underway
PHUKET: Phuket Town is honoring its strong Chinese cultural roots with the annual Por Tor Festival, which was launched yesterday in the town’s Queen Sirikit Public Park (map here). More commonly known as the Festival of the Hungry Ghosts across Asia’s Chinese communities, the festival comprises a variety of cultural displays and activities. “The Por Tor festival is an annual…
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Phuket Gazette World News: US moves Navy, ponders Syria strike; Tripoli mosque blasts; Yosemite’s Rim on fire; Child dies in Bolivia prison war
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.S. repositions naval forces, no decision on Syria strike Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The United States on Friday was repositioning naval forces in the Mediterranean to give President Barack Obama the option for an armed strike on Syria, although officials cautioned that Obama had made no decision…
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Phuket drug suspect found with ‘stolen’ visa
PHUKET: A Thai visa sticker believed stolen from the Thai Embassy in Malaysia has been found in the passport of a suspected drug smuggler in Phuket, according to an informed source.The suspect was arrested by Phuket Immigration police yesterday morning on charges of possessing an undisclosed amount of cocaine.“Further checks reveal that he entered Thailand with his passport containing one…
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Phuket man denies being multi-million-baht extortion artist, blames official
PHUKET: A Phuket businessman and adviser to the Thailand Trade Organization turned around allegations of being a Patong extortion artist today, pointing his finger at a government official. However, Chart Chindapol was unwilling to name the official, who he claimed raked in 50 million baht a month, pocketing 3 million for himself. A letter accusing Mr Chart of “distressing, threatening…
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Officials tackle Patong Beach’s “big brown’ water problem
PHUKET: An order was made to review operations at the Patong Wastewater Treatment Plant following tests of the seawater at Patong Beach this morning. The director of the Phuket-based Regional Environmental Office 15, Pornsri Suthanaruk, announced the news as Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut joined environment officials conducting the water-quality tests. Dr Pornsri explained that private and commercial premises in Patong…
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Phuket Opinion: Corruption-fighter says it’s time to cleanse the island of graft
Surin Bamrungphol, 53, is a founder and President of the Phuket Anti-Corruption Network. He is a Phuket native with a PhD in Development Strategies from Phuket Rajabhat University. Mr Surin is CEO of SureMed Corporation and vice-president of the Federation of Thai Industries, Phuket Chapter. He also serves on the board of a variety of companies. Here, he talks about…
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Spa speed splashes spills and spunk – F1
PHUKET: Well, F1 is back after the mid-season break. Before Hungary I asked if Lewis Hamilton could continue the trend of British global sporting dominance to win in Hungary. He could. I said Red Bull was looking very powerful, but Sebastian Vettel was not my favourite to win Hungary. As I predicted, Mercedes out-qualified him and Lotus outperformed him. But…
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Phuket land probe: officials receive protection of anonymity
PHUKET: The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) yesterday declined to name anyone under investigation for allegedly issuing land titles for plots within Phuket’s Sirinath National Park. The news came as Chief of the DSI’s Consumer and Environment Protection Office Prawuth Wongsinil, publicly announced that his office will investigate only two of the 11 resorts identified by former Department of National…
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Phuket Opinion: Not backing down in Phuket’s edgiest district
Veera Kerdsirimongkol, 57, originally from Nakhon Si Thammarat, has been District Chief of Kathu for four months. He was a district chief for 13 years before coming to Phuket, most recently in Palian, Trang. He has a master’s degree in Management Sciences from Prince of Songkla University. Here, he talks about what he has done to stop illegal activity in…
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Phuket Opinion: Waste not, and waste not wanted
PHUKET: I was recently contacted by a man named David, a graduate-level research assistant from a reputable University in Bangkok, who had come to Phuket for the first time – but not for the typical reasons. The destination luring David to our “paradise island” was not any particular beach, cove, resort, restaurant or bar, but was in fact the Waste…
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Phuket Opinion: This could be heaven or this could be”¦
PHUKET: A recent report about the problem of “homeless foreigners” from the West becoming a burden on the Thai state (see here) set off an unprecedented flurry of comments on popular online blogs. Like so many dimensions of modern life, the problem of “homelessness” has reached global proportions, as cases like the diaspora of the stateless Rohingya from Myanmar show.…
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Phuket’s Outrigger T20 cricket: Round 7
PHUKET: On a sunny Sunday for round 7 of Phuket’s Outrigger T20 Cricket league, ICC took on the Youth side in the morning session, while the Village faced Patong in the afternoon session. In the morning match, ICC notched up a solid 162-7 batting first while the Youth could only manage 125-6 in reply. The much anticipated afternoon encounter between…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Manning wants to be a woman; Congo city shelled; Syria gas attack unprobed; New leaks at Fukushima; Nicely framed, says Bo
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Congo civilians amid city shelled Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The head of the U.N. mission in Congo on Thursday ordered peacekeeping troops to act to protect civilians after shelling hit the city of Goma in renewed fighting between the army and M23 rebels. The fighting…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Iranians jailed over bomb plot; Thai visas stolen from KL embassy; DNA shows Nenkham fathered child with minor
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 300 visa stickers missing from Thai embassy in Malaysia The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Border checkpoints have been ordered to stay on high alert after 300 Thai visa stickers were stolen from the Kingdom’s embassy in Malaysia.The Foreign Ministry cancelled the missing visas and launched an investigation…
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Decommissioned warship bursts into flames – again
PHUKET: The decommissioned warship RTMS Lanta burst into flames yesterday while workers were repairing damage caused by a previous fire that broke out at the tourist attraction on July 3 (story here). No injuries were reported. It took Krabi Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) firemen about an hour to squelch the flames on the warship, which is a tourist attraction in…
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Bangkok big gun praises Phuket police work
PHUKET: Big gun from Bangkok Gen Wuthi Liptapallop of the Royal Thai Police reviewed Phuket police progress yesterday on the island-wide crackdown on crime from August 16 to September 31. The crackdown, aimed for sweeping results in preparation for the Asian Economic Community (AEC), is targeting everything from immigration issues to prostitution, said Gen Wuthi. Phuket Immigration Police presented their…
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Dokset trial: Phuket Forensic Police recount gruesome details of body
PHUKET: The senior officer in charge of collecting forensic evidence at the home of Norwegian national Stein Harvard Dokset recounted to the court today what his team encountered when they discovered the remains of Mr Dokset’s slain ex-girlfriend, Rungnapa Suktong. Mr Dokset, 50, stands accused of murdering Ms Rungnapa and leaving her remains to dissolve in an acid-filled trash bin…
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Phuket FC suffer 13th draw of season against Air Force
PHUKET: The Islanders once again allowed an early lead to slip away and be forced to settle with yet another draw – their 13th of the season – this time against 2nd placed, Air Force AVA FC (formerly known as Airforce United) in a high-stakes match last night at Phuket’s Surakul Stadium.A beautiful header by Luiz “Dudu” Purcino 10 minutes…
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Officers seize Myanmar imports at bus terminal
PHUKET: Phuket City officers seized a large cache of apparently untaxed Myanmar goods yesterday at Phuket Bus Terminal 2. Officials led by Suthee Sirianant, Chief Administration Officer of Phuket City District Office, seized the seven large plastic bags containing the goods at about 7:30pm last night.The find was made during a search conducted as part of an anti-drug drive.“We found…
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Despite rescue efforts, dolphin beached at Patong dies
PHUKET: A dolphin that washed ashore at Patong Beach yesterday afternoon died despite the best efforts of bystanders to keep her alive.The female striped dolphin was first spotted by a tourist, who informed a jet-ski operator, who in turn called the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC).“I was walking along the beach when a tourist came to tell me about the…
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Cebu pacific, Tiger Air tap into Manila-Phuket direct flight market
PHUKET: At about the same time that Tourism Malaysia announced the closing of its Phuket office (click here for story), another major Southeast Asian source-market is poised to link up with the “Pearl of the Andaman” – the Philippines. As of this month and next, two regional airlines will service direct flights between Manilia and Phuket International Airport. The Philippine’s…
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Cold case cracked: Phuket market vendor faces decade-old murder charge
PHUKET: A used-clothing seller in the Baan Lipon market was arrested yesterday afternoon on a Songkla murder charge dating back to 2002.Thalang police received word from police in Padang Besar that Jatejit Boonchai, a 36-year-old Trang native, was living in Thalang.“We found out that he was selling second-hand clothing in the market,” said Thalang Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri said.“So we…
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Same same, but different: Second crane collapses in Patong
PHUKET: For the second time in just over a month, a crane being used to install water pipes on Phang Muang Sai Kor Road in Patong toppled over yesterday afternoon, landing this time on a garden wall. No injuries were reported. The accident occurred at about 4:30pm near Patong Hospital (map here). The crane operator, Phol Phongsaen, 32, said the…
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Sexagenarian on cycle tour of Thailand stops by Phuket
PHUKET: Retired teacher Manit Intarit, 66, stopped by Phuket Provincial Hall on his bicycle on Tuesday to meet Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut on the ninth day of his cycling trip around Thailand to honor HM The King and Queen.Pony-tailed Mr Manit, who hails from Pattani, said, “I want HM The King and Queen to know that residents of the Deep…
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37 dead as Malaysian tour bus plunges into ravine
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 37 dead as Malaysian tour bus plunges into ravine News Wires / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A bus travelling from the Malaysian hilltop gambling resort of Genting Highlands to the capital Kuala Lumpur plunged 60 meters into a ravine on Wednesday, killing as many as 37 people, officials said.Rescue…
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