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Blazing opportunity: Four Twenty Thailand offers franchise programme
Did you know that Four Twenty, Thailand’s premier cannabis brand, has a franchise programme? That’s right, you can now join their efforts to bring high-quality cannabis products and a vibrant community experience to more locations across Thailand. Four Twenty has...
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35-year-old Phuket woman reported missing
PHUKET: Police are searching for a Phuket woman who has reportedly been missing for seven days. Relatives of 35-year-old Picha Nampadung filed a missing persons report with Chalong Police. Facebook user R’forey Rujirada (whose real name is Rujirada Ornkorat) shared a post on social media saying she was the missing woman’s niece. Ms Rujirada provided a picture of her aunt…
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Illegal migrant workers given 15 days to register
PHUKET: The Ministry of Labor has revamped its registration process for illegal migrant workers after a new law announcing heavy fines for their employers was revealed last month. Starting July 24, migrant workers will be given 15 days to submit their documents to the ministry in order to receive a work permit. Governor Norraphat Plodthong yesterday chaired a meeting at…
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Five houses burned down in two Phuket fires
PHUKET: More than 700,000 baht’s worth of damages were caused as five houses burned down in two separate incidents in Phuket. The first fire broke out at Baan Klang in Chalong yesterday. Chalong Police received reports of the fire and contacted the municipality for help. Firefighters spent 30 minutes battling the flames, but the whole house was burned to the…
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Angry mob protests against arrest of mentally disabled man
PHUKET: Baan Thasak locals on Wednesday gathered in front of Thalang District Office to demand justice for a mentally disabled man who was allegedly attacked by police officers during a drug arrest earlier that day. About 50 locals gathered at the scene and demanded that the arresting officers be held responsible for what they did. On Wednesday evening, civil defense…
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Phuket Gov chairs opening ceremony of tourism fair
PHUKET: The opening ceremony of the ‘Andaman Hotelier and Tourism Fair 2017’, the biggest hotel fair in the south, was held at Homeworks yesterday afternoon. “The tourism industry is vital for Phuket’s economy. This event aims to enhance our standard of service and make us more competitive with other countries,” said Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong, who chaired the ceremony. The…
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Alleged zoophile ‘warned’ as video of sexual abuse of dog goes viral
PHANG NGA: Residents of Phang Nga registered strong criticism and disgust over the actions of a man who allegedly abused a dog by having sex with it at a public park yesterday. Facebook user Paitoon Somritdisook posted a video of the incident, which occurred at Phang Nga OrBorJor park, on Facebook. He said he shot it while exercising at the…
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Injured dolphin stranded at Patong Beach
PHUKET: An injured spinner dolphin was stranded on the shore at Patong Beach yesterday. The dolphin was 1.2 meters long and weighed about 20kg. Tourists found him yesterday evening. He looked weak and was struggling to get back into the sea. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation used specialized equipment to lift the dolphin and transfer him to the Phuket…
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Angry mob burns effigy to protest falling palm oil prices
KRABI: An angry mob of more than 100 people gathered outside Krabi Provincial Hall this morning and burned an effigy of the Deputy Director General of the Department of Internal Trade to protest against the falling prices of palm oil. Members of the protest, who had gathered from Krabi and nearby provinces, including Trang, Phanag Nga, Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani…
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Slow loris released back into the wild
PHUKET: Officers from the Office of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) Phuket helped release a slow loris back into the wild on Monday. “A villager in the Baan Kuku area found the loris in the middle of the road, so he kindly brought it to us,” said NRE Director Kasem Sookwaree. The loris was delivered to Pongchat Chuehorm, head of…
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Zipline business under investigation for forest encroachment
PHUKET: A team of officials from the Royal Forestry Department (RFD) yesterday visited four ziplining facilities in Phuket and uncovered one allegedly guilty of forest encroachment. Nationwide raids of such facilities are being conducted after a tourist died in a ziplining accident in Chiang Mai late last year. Six operators in Chiang Mai and one in Rayong have been charged…
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Uzbek tourist arrested with fake US dollars in Phuket
PHUKET: A tourist from Uzbekistan was arrested for trying to exchange fake US dollars at a money exchange in Rawai yesterday. “Karnika Patkong, 59, the owner of M&P money exchange on Patak Rd, informed us that a tourist asked for Thai baht and Malaysian ringitt in return for US$1,700. He suspected the US dollars were forged, so he called us…
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Three-meter python found in Phuket apartment building
PHUKET: Rescue workers in Phuket helped capture a large snake at an apartment building in Kathu yesterday. The Kusoldharm Foundation received reports from residents of the Ratchaporn Apartment about a python found inside a drain there. The rescue team arrived at the scene with specialized equipment to capture the reptile. They removed the grill covering the drain and then used…
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New labor laws see hundreds of migrant workers fired, sent home
PHUKET: At least 400 Burmese migrant workers in Phuket were sent back home yesterday morning after their employers terminated them as a consequence of draconian new labor laws. Phuket Governor Norrphat Plodthong and other relevant officers oversaw the exodus. The workers gathered at the Tha Rua shrine near the Heroines Monument in Si Sunthon. They were then transported to Ranong…
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Dead whale washes up at Phuket beach
PHUKET: Another dead marine creature, this time a bryde whale rarely seen in these parts, washed ashore at a Phuket beach yesterday. The 10-meter-long animal was missing its tail. It was stinking and its skin was falling apart. Officials from the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), National Park Preservation Unit 4 and Cherng Talay Police arrived at the scene at…
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Opinion: The role of sugar in Thailand’s worsening obesity epidemic
PHUKET: One of the biggest changes to Phuket’s rapidly urbanizing roadside landscape over the years has been the proliferation of shops selling liquid confections such as chaa manao (lime tea) and a wide range of other colorful drinks, all laced with as many as 25 tablespoons of pure sugar. It would be interesting to do a statistical analysis on this…
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Phang Nga airport plans shrouded in controversy
PHANG NGA: The proposal for a full-scale commercial airport in Phang Nga, first revealed by the Phuket Gazette a year ago, has a long way to travel before it can hand a prospectus to more potential investors. Enthusiasm from its lead drivers, however, Bangkok Airways and the Phang Nga provincial governor, continues unabated. Governor Pakkapong Tawiphat told the Phuket Gazette…
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Man survives road crash by jumping out of moving truck
PHUKET:A truck driver survived an early morning crash after he jumped out of his truck before it ran into a roadside barrier and trees on the Bypass Road yesterday morning. The incident took place in front of the Premium Outlet. “The driver, 24-year-old Bunlung Issara, told us that he was on his way back to Surat Thani after making a…
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One killed, several Chinese tourists injured in bus crash on Patong Hill
PHUKET: A motorbike driver died instantly last night when her head was crushed by a ‘broken down’ tour bus. The incident, which also sent more than 30 “shocked and moaning” Chinese passengers aboard the bus to hospital, occurred as the two vehicles descended Patong Hill westbound. The fatality, Ms Rattana Sukpisal, 44, had a passenger with her on the bike.…
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Chinese tourists, mahout injured in falls from elephants
PHUKET: Two Elephants went wild over a barking dog in Phuket yesterday, injuring three Chinese tourists and a mahout (elephant tender). Vachira Hospital received a report of the incident at about 9:30am, then asked rescue workers to send three ambulances to the elephant camp in Chalong. A total of five people were hurt, four tourists and the mahout leading the…
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Phuket hosts tropical fruit festival
PHUKET: Central Festival Phuket yesterday hosted the launch of ‘Thailand Amazing Durian & Fruit Festival’ which is to be held in Phuket till July 4. Phuket Vice Governor Siwaporn Chuasawad presided over the opening ceremony. “Following successful feedback in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, we launched the festival in Phuket to support Thailand as a choice destination for tropical fruits, and…
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Deputy PM kicks off tourist safety drill in Phuket
PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy (RTN) Third Area Command held its annual rescue and safety drill for tourists at the Marine National Park Operations Center yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister Gen Thanasak Patimaprakorn and Vice Admiral Surapol Koobtapun from RTN 3 presided over the ceremony. The drill was held in coordination with the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation…
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American tourist badly injured in rock climbing fall
KRABI: Another tourist, this time an American, has been seriously injured while rock climbing in Phuket’s neighboring Krabi province. At about 2pm, a rescue team and the Krabi Tourist Police received a report from the ‘Railay Rock Climbing Club’ that American tourist Eduardo Keane had fallen off a viewpoint from the near-vertical cliff face at Railay Bay. “Mr Keane is…
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ATM skimming: Two more Chinese tourists arrested
PHUKET: Two Chinese ATM skimmers were arrested in the act of installing their equipment at an ATM in Thalang yesterday afternoon. “The suspects, Chaopeng Zhou, 30, and Qihong Zhou, 24, were nabbed in front of a 7/11 in Baan Lipon on Thepkrasattri Road northbound,” says Lt Col Natthaphop Phongsapan of Thalang Police. Officers seized two pieces of skimming equipment, four…
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Masked robbers with a shotgun and an M16 foiled by a single man in Phang-nga
PHANG NGA: Police are hunting for two men who used an M16 machine gun in a failed attempt to rob a snooker hall in Phang-nga on Monday night. The 35-year-old owner, who refuses to be named, filed a complaint about the attempted robbery with the police in Phang-nga Town yesterday morning, along with evidence from CCTV footage. The footage shows…
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Army soldiers and Phuket police raid 16 massage parlors at Poonpol Night Plaza
PHUKET: Following an order by Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong, a ‘task force’ of 100 police and soldiers raided 16 massage venues in and near Poonpol Night Plaza last night. The raids were led by Capt Bhavorn Promkeawngam. The purpose of the operation was to suppress illicit behavior, including possession of drugs, working without a permit and human trafficking. Police say…
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Phuket International airport under fire for filthy, stinking toilets
PHUKET: Well known Thai actor Krirkphol Masayavanich has taken to Facebook to tell airport management that he’s not happy their toilets. Translated from Thai, the complaint reads: “The toilets [at the airport] are in serious need of attention. So dirty and stink terribly. I can’t even take a [xxit]!” Many comments under the post agree with him. Recently appointed Airport…
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Rape escape: Phone call aborts rape of Phuket woman two months pregnant
PHUKET: A chance incoming phone call saved a two-month pregnant woman from being raped yesterday afternoon in her rental room in Phuket. The loud ring panicked the rapist who then fled. “After receiving a report from the victim’s boyfriend, we arrived at the scene at about 4pm. It was a rental room in Soi Pracha in Wichit district. The girl,…
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Motorbike in Phuket worker’s kitchen explodes, reaps big damage in Thalang
PHUKET: A motorbike explosion caused a worker’s quarters in Phuket to catch fire last night, resulting in more than 100,000 baht in damages. Police have yet to learn why the bike exploded. Thalang police station received a report of the incident at about 10:30pm from the quarters in Baan Manik and dispatched fire fighters from the Phuket Disaster Prevention and…
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Forestry and Wildlife officers on Koh Lanta seize 100 rai of violated land
KRABI: Department of Forestry and allied officials yesterday seized about 100 rai of Koh Lanta land that had been encroached upon by parties they characterized as ‘too powerful, unfazed by law and willing to threaten authorities with death’. More than 30 officials from several departments participated in the take-back, led by Wildlife Conservation Department head Sawat Suksiri. “Locals reported to…
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Good Thai-Myanmar relations highlighted at border management meeting in Phuket
PHUKET: The 31st meeting of the Thai Myanmar Regional Border Committee (RBC) was held at Patong Resort & Spa this morning to solve border problems and strengthen relationships. “In the past, Thailand and Myanmar have always helped each other to deal with border problems, and the purpose of this meeting today was to ensure continued cooperation for stability. Most importantly,…
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