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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Day 3: Pryde pulls a fast one
PHUKET: Neil Pryde could be on course for another victory in the Racing Division after exchanging first places with Full Metal Jacket on day three of the 2009 King’s Cup Regatta.Hi-Fi finished the first race of the day in pole position while Full Metal Jacket with America’s Cup helmsman Chris Dickson in charge had to settle for second.Roles were reversed in the…
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New Phuket lifeguards next year
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) wants to improve the provincial lifeguard service and have a new contractor running it by the start of the new year.Lifeguard services ended on November 18 with the expiration of a five-month contract awarded to service provider LP Laikhum Company in mid-June.The PPAO is still waiting for the firm to return all…
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Phuket holds activities for the disabled
PHUKET CITY: Phuket yesterday held early activities to mark International Day of Persons with Disabilities, held annually on December 3.More than 200 disabled people attended the event, which began at 10am at Phuket Rajabhat University Convention Hall.Activities included an exhibition aimed at informing disabled people of their rights, a legal consulting service, job application assistance and even free haircuts.There was…
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Cafe del Mar’s José Padilla in Phuket sunset performance
PHUKET: Café del Mar’s José Padilla will be playing his signature sunset chill out tunes this Thursday at Anantara Phuket Resort & Spa for a night of ‘Silk Rhythms’. Party goers at the luxury resort’s vast pool-scape can sip sparkling wine in the water with a broad view of the sun setting over the sea while the ‘Godfather of Sunsets’…
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Phuket PTT attendant returns foreigner’s purse
WICHIT, PHUKET: Cynics take note: Like chivalry, honesty is not yet totally dead in Phuket. A gas station attendant returned a purse containing 10,000 baht (approx US$300) in cash and other valuables to a British woman who had accidentally dropped it while filling up on Sunday morning. English expat Kathleen (‘Katie’) Gooch-Firmin pulled into the PTT filling station on Chao…
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Phuket King’s Cup Day Two: Hi Fi takes lead
PHUKET: Neil Pryde’s Hi Fi is leading the way in the Premier Class after the second day of racing at the 2009 Phuket King’s Cup Regatta.Chris Meads on Full Metal Jacket came second and Pryde’s perennial Asian Yachting Grand Prix rival Ray Roberts settled for third on Evolution Racing.Matt Allen’s Ichi Ban looks set to run away with the IRC1…
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Dive boat sunk for Phuket artificial reef project
RAWAI, PHUKET: In the latest bid to create an artificial reef in Phuket waters, an old dive boat was sunk off Koh Racha Yai on Saturday morning. The aging vessel Harruby was donated to the Department of Marine Coastal Resources (DMCR) for the project by The Racha Resort. Following a religious ceremony and speeches by a number of officials, the…
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Body found off Karon identified as Australian
PHUKET CITY: Chalong Police have confirmed that the body of a man found floating off Karon Beach yesterday is that of 31-year-old Australian Ben Douglas Richard, who went missing from a villa hotel in the Surin Beach area over the weekend. Chalong Police investigator Boonlert Onklang told the Gazette Mr Richard had been staying at a villa owned by a…
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Phuket’s Amy Jacobs recovering from car crash
PHUKET CITY: The condition of television actress Ameria ‘Amy’ Jacobs continues to improve and she is conscious and breathing on her own. A mass-circulation Thai-language daily newspaper yesterday quoted staff at Bumrungrad Hospital in Bangkok as saying that Amy has been taken off a respirator and was responding to verbal commands. Her father Jan Jacobs confirmed this, telling the Gazette…
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Brits encouraged to sign up with tracking system
PHUKET CITY: British Ambassador to Thailand Quinton Quayle is encouraging all British subjects who live or travel to Phuket or other parts of Thailand to register their presence here using a new on-line service set up by the UK’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Click on this link! campaign encourages British Nationals to use LOCATE, an online system, to register…
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Phuket toy boy murder suspect: ‘I acted alone’
PHUKET CITY: The 21-year-old man suspected of murdering elderly Japanese citizen Yukiho Yamada and burning his body in Phuket continues to insist he acted alone, but police remain skeptical. Suwit Maengsri told police his 50-year-old lover Tubtim Saehak – Mr Yamada’s wife – was not involved in either the killing or the disposal of the body. Mr Suwit said he…
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King’s Cup Regatta returns to its roots
PHUKET: Action at the 23rd King’s Cup Regatta got underway over the weekend with two days of competitive dinghy racing off Kata Beach.Now in it’s 22nd year, the event is Asia’s biggest and most popular regatta.Inaugurated in 1987 to celebrate the 60th birthday of His Majesty the King of Thailand, the event has been held every year since then during…
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HM The King’s birthday celebrations cut back
The Royal Household Bureau announced today that His Majesty the King has ordered the indefinite postponement of many functions relating to his birthday celebrations.The Trooping the Color, scheduled on December 2, and HM the King’s birthday speech on December 4 have been indefinitely postponed.HM the King will still grant an audience to royal family members, the cabinet and Members of…
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Readers’ Poll: Plastic initiative good for Phuket
PHUKET: Over half of Phuket Gazette voters think the new charge for plastic bags is a good idea. The results come in as Phuket prepares to implement a one- or two-baht charge for plastic bags at the island’s major retail stores beginning in February. Of the 580 voters who took part in the poll, 306 (or 52.8%) agreed that the…
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Court sentences killers of British sailor
PHUKET CITY: Two Burmese fishermen were sentenced to 25 years in prison for the March 2009 murder of British yachtsman Malcolm Robertson off the coast of Thailand’s Satun province, The Guardian has reported. At the time of the murder, the semi-retired couple were on their way from Phuket to Malaysia’s Langkawi Island, where they planned to leave their yacht and…
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OPINION: A tough time for Phuket police
PHUKET: The past week has seen a real change in the weather in Phuket, literally and figuratively. The monsoon season appears to finally be drawing to a close and with temperatures dropping in colder northern climes, high season is upon us. Hotel occupancy rates are rising and the island’s population continues to swell. By some estimates Phuket’s actual population is…
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Transport officials inspect Ao Por wave attenuator
PHUKET CITY: High-ranking Transport Ministry officials paid a visit to Ao Por Grand Marina on Thursday morning to inspect a newly-deployed floating wave attenuator installed on a trial basis at a cost of 20 million baht. Deputy Transport Minister Kuakul Danchaiwijit, Marine Department Director Chalor Kotcharat and other officials arrived at the marina at about 11am. Ao Por Grand Marina customer…
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Grass gets greener for Phuket sea cows
PHUKET CITY: The grass will be greener for sea cows (dugongs) visiting Phuket thanks to a seagrass fertilization project currently underway.Bangkok Hospital Phuket and the Mekawanich Foundation are teaming up to produce 20,000 ‘effective micro-organisms’ (EM) balls that will be introduced into the sea off Pa Khlok and into the fetid waters of Klong Pakbang in Patong.The project will be…
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Andaman Travel Trade show starts tomorrow
PHUKET CITY: The 4th Andaman Travel Trade (ATT) show starts tomorrow at the convention area on the first floor of Central Festival Phuket. With the tagline ‘Three Destinations – 1,000 Activities’, the fair aims to promote tourism-related business throughout the Andaman coastal region. Representatives from more than 120 organizations will take part, including 75 from Phuket, 15 from Phang Nga…
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Dutch crash victim’s remains to be repatriated
SAKHOO, PHUKET : The remains of Dutch national Klaas Verbeek, who was killed in a motorbike accident on Monday evening, will be repatriated to Holland over the weekend.Pol Maj Rassada Kleongwong of Tha Chat Chai Police, identified the driver of the vehicle that collided with Mr Verbeek’s motorbike as Pol Sgt Maj Thavorn Tongkham, who is assigned to the Tah…
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Phuket jet-skis now insured
PATONG, PHUKET: More than 200 people with a complement of 70 machines turned out for today’s ‘jet-ski jamboree’ on Patong Beach.The event, organized by the Phuket Jet-ski Rental Club, was held to mark the official launch of the compulsory insurance scheme that the government hopes will put an end to the infamous ‘jet-ski scam’ in which tourists are overcharged for…
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Alleged ladyboy killer nabbed in Phuket Town
PHUKET CITY: The suspected killer of a ladyboy found dead in Wichit on Saturday morning was caught early Wednesday morning at a short-time hotel near Saphan Hin. A Phuket City Police press release identified the suspect as 22-year-old Phichai ‘Muk’ Lakkor. Mr Phichai was initially arrested by Phuket City Police crime suppression officers for the illegal possession of a firearm.…
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Fear of girlfriend leads to death plunge
BANGKOK: A man fell to his death November 15 as he tried to lower himself onto the balcony of his fifth floor flat – rather than go in through the front door and meet his angry girlfriend. The body of 29-year-old Surasak Kasan was found lying on the ground under the balcony of his apartment in Din Daeng. He had…
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Phuket TV star in ICU following smash
PHUKET: A Thai soap star and former Miss Teen Thailand from Phuket is in serious condition following a car accident in Pathum Thani. Ameria ‘Amy’ Jacobs, 21, and 25-year-old Buphakorn Nilat are being treated in Krung Siam St Carlos Hospital in the central Thai province. Mr Buphakorn was driving Miss Jacobs home to Nonthaburi province when he lost control of…
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OPINION: A positive step at last for Phuket
PHUKET CITY: In a show of public-private sector co-operation, Phuket’s major retailers are working with the government to institute a nominal fee for shoppers who carry off their purchases in plastic bags. The first of its kind in Thailand, the initiative is a sensible and long overdue attempt to deal with Phuket’s waste management crisis. With each passing day, approximately…
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Dutch biker killed in Phuket collision
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Dutchman Klaas Verbeek was killed and his Thai passenger seriously injured when the motorbike they were riding collided with a pickup truck driven by a policeman in Tah Chat Chai early yesterday evening.Mr Verbeek, 53, was an annual visitor to Phuket for at least 15 years and was highly regarded in Phuket’s expat community.His body is being…
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Patong Carnival plans announced
PATONG, PHUKET: Plans for this year’s Patong Carnival are starting to take shape, with entertainment set to include shadow puppetry, Northern Thai drumming and a host of Thai musicians of various genres. The event sponsor, Beer Chang, is spending more than 40 million baht to ensure there are plenty of famous names on the bill for the festival, which takes…
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Reckless driver kills Phuket monk, merit-maker
PHUKET CITY: A man drove a pick-up at high speed into an elderly monk and a man donating alms on his 23rd birthday early this morning, killing both. Luangpor Samarn Narakea, 60, was accepting alms from Grissada Nootngiewngarm, 23, when they were hit by an Isuzu pick-up at around 6am. The pair were standing on Takuapa Road, across the canal…
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Jet-ski jamboree’ to restore Phuket’s image
PATONG, PHUKET: Phuket’s jet-ski operators are going all out to mend their industry’s grubby image on Thursday, when a ride on any of the island’s 200-plus jet-skis will be entirely free of charge. The message they hope to send out: Phuket’s jet-skis are no longer a rip-off. The Phuket jet-ski industry made headlines earlier in the year when foreign diplomats…
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Phuket Buddha image thief shot dead
PHUKET CITY: A suspected serial robber was shot dead in an intense shootout between police and alleged thieves earlier today in Rama IX Park.The deceased, identified as 32-year-old Phuket City resident Amnard Rodpradit, was wanted by police in connection with a recent spate of robberies of Buddhist images from stores and homes around Phuket.Police told the Gazette that Mr Amnard…
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