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Phuket Opinion: Has the Convention Center project become a farce?
PHUKET: The latest turn in the decades-old saga of Phuket’s fruitless efforts to build a world-class convention and exhibition center taxes the nation’s credibility. It recently came to the attention of the Department of Public Works and Town and Country Planning that the140 rai of coastal land slated for the project lies in a “tsunami risk” zone, necessitating the need…
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War of the Wires: Phuket cable TV providers suspect sabotage
PHUKET: Following a spate of cable-cutting incidents over the past few months, local cable providers around the island are fed up. Suspecting sabotage, Atsadakorn Sidokbuap of KPP Cable TV and Kampanat Thantiwat, managing director of PA Business Phuket, filed a formal request for action to Phuket Electricity Authority (PEA) chief Somchai Krueapat on Tuesday. Mr Kampanat said he was acting…
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Phuket coral gets its groove back
PHUKET: Recent shallow-water surveys conducted off Phuket have documented significant regrowth of coral, marine biologists say. Researchers headed by divers from the Marine and Coastal Biology and Ecology Unit of Phuket Marine Biology Center (PMBC) reveal the island’s coral reefs are starting to show signs of recovery from last year’s devastating coral bleaching episode. Initial post-bleaching damage assessments showed that…
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Phuket tourists, expats happier than locals: Poll
PHUKET: A clear majority of Phuket Gazette readers feel they are happy living in or visiting Phuket, results of a recent readers’ poll reveal. The Gazette asked online readers: “On a scale of 1-5 (1 = completely miserable; 5 = bliss), how would you rate your average emotional state living in, or when visiting, Phuket?” Overall, 56.2% answered that they…
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Phuket Crime: A special report on teen gang violence in paradise
PHUKET: Amid the scenic farms and hills of northern Phuket, beneath the ebb and flow of idyllic rural life, boils a rage – the rotten by-product of changing times. In Thalang, the body count continues to rise as neglected youth while away their days with a lethal cocktail of drugs and petty territorial disputes, while their parents work full-time just…
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Patong-Chalong shortcut bypassed in Phuket road upgrade
PHUKET: The shortcut between Chalong and Patong, directly across the Nakkerd Hills, was omitted from a 93.5-million-baht Department of Rural Roads project to upgrade unsealed roads throughout Phuket. The Thanon Rai Feun (“Dust-free Roads”) project recently concluded with 12 previously unpaved roads on the island now signed, sealed and delivered, said Department of Rural Roads Phuket Office Director Teeraporn Jirarattanakorn.…
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Phuket’s new incinerator hits halfway mark
PHUKET: Work on Phuket’s second solid waste incinerator is nearly half complete. When finished, the facility will house the highest capacity trash-to-electricity plant in the country, Phuket City officials say. The news follows a progress-update meeting on Tuesday of Tawarat Sutabutr, deputy director of the Department of Alternative Energy Development and Efficiency (DEDE); Phuket Mayor Somjai Suwansupapana; and Prachoom Suriya,…
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Burglar caught with keys to Phuket police HQ
PHUKET: Police this afternoon presented a man who has allegedly confessed to committing no less than seven break-ins in Phuket Town late last month. One of the houses robbed was the police accommodation home of the Capt Thapakorn Hanumard, who is the assistant to Phuket Police Commander Pekad Tantipong. Maj Gen Pekad is the chief of police for the entire…
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Phuket man plunges into water well, drowns
PHUKET: Phuket Police are treating as an apparent suicide the death of an elderly man whose body was found at the bottom of a water well in Thalang early this morning. Thalang Police were notified of the tragedy at 7am by residents of Ban Nai Khlam in Cherng Talay, many of whom were gathered around the well by the time…
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Japanese dive tourist “struck in face by propeller’: Police
PHUKET: Hitomi Shibata, the Japanese tourist who died while on a dive tour off Koh Racha yesterday, was struck in the face by the propeller of the dive boat she was with, police told the Phuket Gazette today. “From our initial investigation, Miss Hitomi was diving with her dive instructor and a friend when they saw her suddenly start to…
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Election Thailand: Raewat, Jirayus to run in Phuket polls
PHUKET: Phuket MP Raewat Areerob of the Democrat Party yesterday announced he will contest the “Phuket 2” constituency in the national elections. Speculation is rife that Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva will dissolve parliament tomorrow or Monday, paving the way for the Election Commission to announce the date of the elections. The Phuket 2 constituency covers more than half of the…
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Japanese tourist dies in Phuket boating accident
PHUKET: A Japanese woman on holiday in Phuket died this afternoon after she was struck by the propeller of the dive boat she was on tour with. Chalong Police Duty Officer Attawat Suwannarat told the Gazette the police were notified of the accident at about 4pm. The name of the woman, aged 22, is being withheld pending notification of next…
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MOU seen as solution to Phuket Deep Sea Port blockades
PHUKET: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Cape Panwa taxi drivers and tour operators who use the Phuket Deep Sea Port will be drawn up in an attempt to resolve the ongoing dispute over access to tourists disembarking there. Phuket Vice Governor Weerawat Janpen this morning chaired a discussion on the issue at Provincial Hall. The MoU, to be drafted…
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Phuket poll: Is police drug testing effective?
PHUKET: Every member of the Phuket Provincial Police force was due to be tested for ya bah (methamphetamine) use in April, the provincial police commander recently announced. Thus far, there have been no reports of any officers testing positive for the powerful stimulant. The latest Phuket Gazette readers’ poll asks whether the testing is an effective measure to ensure that…
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King cobra eggs raise Phuket snake alarm
PHUKET: A man worried that a clutch of king cobra snake eggs beside his house were about to hatch today called in the egg-citing find to rescue workers to have them removed immediately. Ruamjai Rescue Foundation workers received a call from the owner of the house, in Soi Ban Klang off Chao Fa West Road, at about 2pm. Eleven eggs,…
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Disaster office issues thunderstorm, landslide warning for Phuket
PHUKET: The Director-General of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), Viboon Sanguanpong, today issued a warning for 18 provinces ahead of expected heavy thunderstorms. The warning urged people to exercise extra caution tomorrow as heavy rains could cause flash flooding, strong winds, and landslides. The warning was likely issued ahead of a low-pressure system from the South China…
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Tsunami fears prompt Phuket convention center redesign
PHUKET: Concerns over whether the Phuket International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) would be able to withstand a tsunami have sparked a full review of the project design plans. Wongsakorn Nunchukhan, from the Department of Public Works And Town & Country Planning office in Phuket yesterday told a progess-update meeting at Provincial Hall that the141-rai coastal site in Mai Khao,…
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FC Phuket vying for first road win on Sunday
PHUKET: Fresh from a 6-1 drubbing of Thai Honda, FC Phuket will try and claim their first road victory at Samut Prakan on Sunday. Samut Prakan, sponsored by the Customs Department, go into the match in 14th place, with three wins, seven losses and one draw. They go into the match coming off a 1-0 road loss at Suphanburi. Meanwhile,…
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Phuket Live Wire; Behind the 3G wrangle
PHUKET: As explained in last week’s Live Wire, the 3G situation in Thailand is incredibly convoluted, from what exactly is 3G compared to what is being called 3G, to who has rights to provide “real” 3G and why is it taking so long for Thailand to roll out what the rest of the world seemingly already has. Last week I…
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Phuket lifeguards warn over dangerous rip tides
PHUKET: Although no drownings were recorded at Phuket beaches over the past month, the president of the Phuket lifeguard organization today warned tourists to beware of strong rip tides. “Over the past few days, there have been big waves with strong underwater currents,” said Prathaiyuth Chuayuan, president of the Phuket Lifeguard Service (PLS), which is contracted to provide lifeguard patrols…
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Red Cross blood drive in Phuket
PHUKET: To mark World Red Cross Day this Sunday, a nationwide “Discover the Volunteer Within You” blood drive is calling out for blood donors in Phuket and the Andaman region. World Red Cross Day was designated May 8 by the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in memory of Red…
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Osama bin Laden is dead
PHUKET: The people of Phuket woke this morning to an announcement by US President Barack Obama that the world’s most-wanted terrorist, Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is dead. He was killed by US forces on Sunday at a compound deep inside Pakistan, President Obama announced during a live nationwide television address at the White House last night (early this…
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FC Phuket trounce Thai Honda, Thawin breaks leg
PHUKET: FC Phuket played their best performance of the year last night, delighting the faithful at Surakul Stadium with a 6-1 rout of Thai Honda. The Southern Sea Kirin opened the flood-gates early with Nene Bi Tra Sylvestre netting a header from close range at just three minutes. Thawin Butsombat scored just before halftime to put FC Phuket up 2-0,…
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USS Ronald Reagan strike group anchors off Phuket
PHUKET: The nuclear-powered US Navy aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan dropped anchor in Ao Makham today ahead of about 7,000 US Navy servicemen who will be taking shore leave in Phuket. Accompanying the 332-meter supercarrier are the guided-missile cruiser USS Chancellorsville and the destroyer USS Preble, altogether designated as the ‘USS Ronald Reagan strike group’. The convoy recently completed its…
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Phuket Opinion: Captive dolphins pitied, even in the Land of Smiles
PHUKET: The recent announcement that a Canadian investor has sought provincial support for his plan to develop a 900-million-baht aquarium, resort and retail facility in Rawai has generated much debate over the ethics of keeping dolphins in captivity. Soon after the announcement that dolphin performances were slated to be among the attractions at the aquarium, forum comments and letters arguing…
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US dad nabbed in Phuket gets 10 years for passport fraud
PHUKET: An American father arrested in Phuket in June last year has been sentenced by a US federal court to 10 years in prison for forging documents needed to illegally bring his daughter to Thailand, according to a US media report. Samuel Lee Horton, 38, was arrested by FBI agents in Phuket in June 2010 for violation of an outstanding…
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Phuket police nab meth ‘delivery man’ at Tesco
PHUKET: Phuket City Police yesterday arrested a drug mule with 2,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and 197.14 grams of ya ice (crystal meth), with a street value of about 1.1 million baht. The arrest followed the initial arrest of Jamnong Chumplub, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, who was found in possession with 10 ya bah pills in an earlier raid. During…
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Pacific navies in Phuket discuss disaster relief, nuclear meltdown
PHUKET: The third and final symposium of major human aid agencies and 16 navies covering half the world drew to a close in Phuket yesterday, with representatives focusing on naval involvement in providing relief to disaster-struck areas, including nuclear meltdowns. The symposium, titled the third Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) of the Western Pacific Naval Symposium (WPNS), was held…
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US Forces “love Phuket’
PHUKET: The first of four US Navy warships arrived yesterday, signalling the imminent landing of more than 5,000 US servicemen and women on recreational leave in Phuket this weekend. Douglas Robinson, Assistant Attache, Force Protection Detachment at the US Embassy in Thailand, met Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha at Provincial Hall yesterday to formally inform him of the convoy’s arrival. The…
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Phuket to host “half-Thai’ beauty contest
PHUKET: A bevy of half-Thai, half-foreign beauties will descend on Phuket in October for the inaugural Miss Euro Asia 2011 beauty contest. Kritphanat Patwarasit, Managing Director of ND Productions, floated the idea to Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha yesterday. The governor gave his vote of approval. “We can put this event on Phuket’s tourism-activity calender. It will attract people to visit…
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