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Phuket storm rips open school roof, children evacuated
PHUKET: Children at Phuket’s Kajonkietsuksa School on Chao Fa West Road, Wichit, were evacuated from the school this afternoon after strong winds tore open a section of roof, allowing the driving rain inside.Rattana Ketkul, financial manager at the school, confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that no children were injured in the incident, but the students were moved to another building.“We…
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Phuket woman loses husband, then killed in hit-and-run
PHUKET: A Phuket woman was killed instantly while trying to cross Thepkrasattri Road in Srisoonthorn last night when she was struck by an unidentified car traveling at high speed.Thalang Police Duty Officer Somkid Khaosang received the accident report at about 9:45pm.Col Somkid and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers arrived at the scene to find the deceased woman lying on the northbound…
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Phuket lashed by storm, flash floods
PHUKET: Driving rain and strong winds continue to lash Phuket today as small flash floods blocked roads this morning, causing long traffic tailbacks across the island. In the 24 hours preceding 7am, the weather monitoring station in Phuket Town recorded 58.8mm of rainfall, while the monitoring station at Phuket International Airport recorded 56.0mm. The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has issued…
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Phuket mother questions mental health care after screwdriver attack on 7-year-old son
PHUKET: The 7-year-old victim of a screwdriver attack by a mentally ill man in Phuket Town has recovered from his physical injuries, but his mother fears that the psychological trauma caused may take much longer to heal. Krittamet “Best” Kingsaiyut’s mother, Chareerat Naksri, was told by doctors that the stab wound to her son’s head was only two centimeters deep.…
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Phuket bar operators fined for holiday trading
PATONG Police arrested and fined some 12 bar operators for selling alcohol on the Buddhist holiday, Visakha Bucha Day, on June 4. Comments from bar owners that no warning was given for bars to close for the holiday fell on deaf ears, although one bar owner pointed out that only months ago a senior police officer in Phuket was reported…
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Thais in Phuket confident in English skills, but foreigners disagree
PHUKET: The results of the latest Phuket Gazette online poll show that a strong majority of foreign and expat residents find English-language skills in the local tourism industry very poor – but the small fraction of Thais who took part tended to rate them quite highly. A total of 1,864 people took part in the two-week poll launched on May…
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Phuket Gazette: LinkedIn passwords released by hackers
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russian hackers release up to 6.5 million LinkedIn passwords Phuket Gazette / News Wires PHUKET: Russian hackers have obtained and released the passwords of up to 6.5 million accounts on the popular professional networking website LinkedIn, according to a web posting yesterday. LinkedIn director Vicente Silveira…
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Man makes doggy treat from neighbor’s ‘best friend’
PHUKET: A Lampang man is being prosecuted for theft after stealing a neighbor’s dog, killing it, filleting it and eating it as a beer snack. Sawat Ariyakhruea, 49, told police he stole and ate “Khero”, a Viking-breed dog belonging to Chamnian Srimuang, 45, because he “thought it was a stray”. He said he used Khero to make nuea daet diao,…
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Phuket Gazette: Archaeologists find ‘vampire’ skeletons
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bulgarian archaeologists find ”vampire” skeletons from Middle Ages Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: Archaeologists in eastern Bulgaria have discovered the remains of two people who locals in the Middle Ages believed were vampires, the head of the country’s national history museum said yesterday.The two skeletons, around 700…
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Wild monsoon weather interrupts Phuket power supply
PHUKET: The torrential rain and Force 7 winds gusting over 50kmh overnight and throughout this afternoon are causing power disruptions to many parts of Phuket, including the resort town of Patong.“We have been experiencing problems with power supply cables from Thalang to Patong since early this morning,” Somchai Krueapat of the Provincial Electricity Authority confirmed.Power supply to areas in parts…
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The Riddle of Phuket’s Black Sands
SPECIAL REPORT The Phuket Gazette investigates a reader’s inquiry into why much of the sand at Laem Panwa Beach is black – and why it sticks to anything metal. The Gazette‘s Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai, Stephen Fein and Chutharat Plerin report. PHUKET: The west coast beaches of Phuket attract millions of tourists annually, but there is only one beach on the island…
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Phuket elections set for June, July
PHUKET: The Phuket Election Commission (PEC) has confirmed the results of elections in Rawai Municipality last month, but has yet to set a date for the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) council election because restructuring of constituency boundaries is still underway. PEC Director Kittipong Thiengkunakrit updated the public on several electoral affairs during a ‘Government Meets the Media’ event at…
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Phuket alcohol ban for Viskha Bucha Day extends past midnight
PHUKET: The sale and purchase of alcohol is banned in Phuket and throughout the country today to show respect for Visakha Bucha Day. Anyone found breaking the law can receive a prison sentence of up to six months, a 10,000-baht fine, or both.Kathu Police Deputy Superintendent Kittipong Klaikaew today told the Phuket Gazette, “As today is Visakha Bucha Day, one…
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Phuket Games athlete released from hospital and heading home
PHUKET: The young athlete injured in a motorbike accident that claimed the life of his teammate passenger was released from the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) Hospital yesterday. Atthapong Noikhamsin, the 13-year-old boy who survived the accident in Rawai on Thursday morning was seen off from the hospital by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and OrBorJor President Paiboon Upatising. Young Atthapong’s…
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Krabi FC footballer denies rape of American student
PHUKET: A Krabi FC football player has denied allegations that he raped a 23-year-old American exchange student near Krabi Town, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket, last Thursday night.The man was arrested by Krabi City Police on Friday after they were notified of a woman being attacked at the tourist-popular Nopparat Thara Beach in Ao Nang.The woman was taken to…
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Phuket Beach Safety: Man missing after swimming in dangerous surf
PHUKET: A Thai man who entered the pounding surf at Patong Beach over the weekend is still missing and presumed dead, the latest in the ever-growing toll of monsoon-season drowning deaths in Phuket. Atthiwut Prommarat, 18, was visiting his mother who works as a beach vendor when the tragedy occurred, said Uten Singsom, head of the Phuket Lifeguard Club’s Kata-Karon…
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Phuket Gazette: Discouraging words in UN Forced labor report and US/EU employment trends
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket”s international community UN: More than 20 million forced laborers worldwide Phuket Gazette / News WiresPHUKET: More than 20 million people around the world are currently victims of forced labor, the United Nations (UN) said on Saturday, but progress has been made in a number of countries to establish or…
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Phuket’s Bussarin takes tennis gold
PHUKET: Phuket’s Bussarin Raktaengam won the final of the girls’ singles tennis event of the Phuket Games 2012 this morning with a 6-4, 6-3 straight-sets victory over Rongrong Linbanjong of Bangkok. The win made Bussarin the third Phuket athlete to snatch two golds in the games, which comes to their conclusion with a big celebration tomorrow evening at Surakul Stadium,…
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Phuket marks Visaka Bucha Day
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha this morning led more than 1,000 people in offering alms to 99 monks at a merit-making ceremony in Phuket Town to mark Visakha Bucha Day. Visakha Bucha Day is observed on the day of the full moon during the 6th lunar month, which usually falls in either May or early June. It is a day…
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Phuket police confirm identity of mutilated man
PHUKET: Phuket Police have identified the mutilated body that washed ashore at Nai Yang Beach yesterday. Tah Chat Chai Police identified the man as 36-year-old Santi Chandaeng, originally from Udon Thani but most recently living in Phuket’s Thalang District. The man’s wife, Roongruthai Phaha, 35, told police that her husband was last seen departing for a fishing trip on Saturday.…
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Phuket Crime: Mutilated body found on Nai Yang Beach
PHUKET: Police in Phuket are trying to identify a mutilated body that washed ashore at Nai Yang Beach yesterday morning as the first step in a murder investigation. Tah Chat Chai police were notified of the discovery in Sakoo Village 1 at about 11am. Arriving at the scene with Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation workers, Lt Col Prakob Boonkwan and fellow officers…
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Phuket business: Thailand-UK trade steady; London Olympics to give Thai food exports a boost
PHUKET: After a moving ceremony handing out IB diplomas to graduating students at the British International school, HE Ambassador Asif Ahmad took time to speak with the Phuket Gazette about the strong links between the two countries. HE Asif Ahmad was made Ambassador to Thailand in late 2010 but had traveled frequently to the Kingdom, first as Director- Asia for…
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Phuket business: Sports tourism “scores big’; Games to bring in B600mn
PHUKET: Defining and developing ‘Brand Phuket’ as a world class sports tourism destination was top of the agenda at a recent meeting of senior business people here. Organized in collaboration with the Phuket PR Network and the Greater Phuket Chapter of the American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM), the meeting was held at the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) on…
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Phuket Opinion: Romanticizing our history dishonors ancestors
PHUKET: Phuket has a long and somewhat checkered history of past industrial development dating back to its tin-mining era, which petered out over the final decades of the last century and finally ended for good in 1992 with the closure of the last mine on the island. [See ‘Riddle of the Sands’, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers…
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Phuket Democrats rally against reconciliation bills
PHUKET: Democrat Party members staged a protest in Phuket on Friday to denounce the reconciliation bills set to be discussed in Parliament. The gathering made Phuket the first province to rally against the bill, said Democrat MP Sathit Wongnongtoey.Over 2,000 joined the rally at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town, led by veteran MP Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr and MP Raywat…
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Phuket banks another gold in the games
PHUKET: Despite being one of the smallest provinces in Thailand, Phuket continues to make big waves at the 28th National Youth Games (Phuket Games 2012) now underway on the island. The island’s gold medal tally now stands at 13, following Somkiat Kraisrisombat’s win of the gold yesterday in the Boys’ Singles event at CS Bowl, Big C Supercenter.Steady-handed Somkiat won…
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Phuket volunteers join cleanup at Koh Racha
PHUKET: After being lambasted by environmentalists last week, Phuket’s conservation authorities were quick to promote the good work they are doing in repairing Koh Racha Yai’s environment with the coral reef rejuvenation project and beach cleanup being held this weekend. “This activity is part of a improvement project that we started last year. It aims to rejuvenate the coral reef……
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Phuket move up to 8th in Youth Games
PHUKET: Phuket now sits in 8th place in the standings of the 28th National Youth Games (Phuket Games 2012), after picking up a number of gold medals in recent days. Phuket has already grabbed medals in many events, including karate, taekwondo, bowling, and wushu. And today many more medals are to be contested. For those seeking to cheer on the…
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Phuket business: Smart phone sales soar in Q1
PHUKET: Thailand’s rapidly expanding smartphone market recorded nearly 70% growth in the first quarter of this year, according to GfK research group’s retail audit findings, which compare quarter on quarter revenue performances. Heightened consumer demand has brought about a surge in sales volume of over 80%, reaching 758,000 smartphones sold in the first three months of 2012 (Q1). Consumers in…
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Phuket kitesurfer not stung, didn’t drown, say lifeguards
PHUKET: Phuket lifeguards have dismissed the assertion that the American kitesurfer who died shortly after being pulled from the sea at Nai Harn Beach yesterday drowned or was stung by a jellyfish. Nai Harn lifeguard Charintorn Naripen told the Phuket Gazette, “Four of us tried for 20 minutes to revive the casualty before the ambulance arrived. We don’t believe he…
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