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  • Police postpone charging owner of fatal Phuket bungy-jump tower

    Police postpone charging owner of fatal Phuket bungy-jump tower

    PHUKET: Police are expected to press charges on Thursday against the owner of World Bungy Jump, the site of the death of a 25-year-old tourist last month. Vinat Chanthornwiboonkul will be charged with reckless endangerment as police continue to investigate the case of Kuwaiti Abdullah Adel Kadhmbadman, who died after jumping from the 30-meter bungy tower (story here). “Even though…

  • Finance: Strong dollars for investors

    Finance: Strong dollars for investors

    PHUKET: One of the biggest and most unappreciated risks faced by global investors this year is the continued strength of the United States dollar holding back key investing asset classes. After all, a strong dollar tends to be a double-edged sword.BAD FOR LARGE CAP US STOCKS As foreign currencies weaken against the dollar, US stocks that are large cap multinational…

  • Phuket’s annual Goat Fair returns [video] | Thaiger

    Phuket’s annual Goat Fair returns [video]

    PHUKET: Local farmers are gearing up for the 18th annual Phuket Goat Fair, which will be held June 11 through 13 behind Tesco Lotus in Cherng Talay. The fair will provide an opportunity for farmers to exchange knowledge, learn from experts and showcase their animals and products. “The main goal of the event is to urge goat farmers to continue…

  • Human trafficking “caretaker’ turns himself in

    Human trafficking “caretaker’ turns himself in

    PHUKET: A human-trafficking ‘caretaker’ handed himself in to police north of Phuket on June 2. Alee Banjob, 35, from Ranong, was wanted for his connection to a human-trafficking network operating in his home province, explained Kanokpol Pimthong, Deputy Director of Internal Security Operations Command (Isoc) in Phang Nga Province. Mr Alee’s surrender follows the October 14 arrest of Songphol ‘Boss…

  • PRBC launches World Blood Donor Day event

    PRBC launches World Blood Donor Day event

    PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) has invited all qualified island residents to make blood donations in recognition of World Blood Donor Day this month. World Blood Donor Day, on June 14, falls on the birthday of Dr Karl Landsteiner, who is known for his discovery of the main blood groups and their classifications, PRBC Chief Pornthip Rattajak told…

  • Maimed sea turtle rescued in Phuket

    Maimed sea turtle rescued in Phuket

    PHUKET: A maimed sea turtle was rescued off Mai Khao Beach and taken to the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) in Cape Panwa yesterday afternoon. PMBC experts examined the turtle and concluded that it had mostly likely been caught in a fishing net for at least three days before it was rescued. “The turtle looked very weak. It might have…

  • Outrageously high water bill prompts official warning

    Outrageously high water bill prompts official warning

    PHUKET: Leaky water pipes landed a Rassada resident with a more than 16,000-baht water bill to pay, prompting Phuket authorities to issue a home maintenance advisory to all island dwellers. Pornsak Saengsri was stunned to receive a 16,829-baht water bill for the month of May after having become accustomed to paying a maximum of 200 baht to keep the water…

  • Body of foreigner found in Rawai yet to be identified | Thaiger

    Body of foreigner found in Rawai yet to be identified

    PHUKET: Police have yet to identify a male foreigner whose body was discovered near Baan Krating Phuket Resort in Rawai two weeks ago (story here). The body was found near an empty bottle of alcohol, and had a wound on one leg resembling an animal bite. “We have done our best so far. We have used social media to share…

  • Human remains found in Patong Hills

    Human remains found in Patong Hills

    PHUKET: The decaying remains of a human body were found by a field worker in the hills above Patong yesterday afternoon. “The bones were found by a man who was hired to clear grass in a local orchard about one kilometer from Soi Prabaramee 3,” explained Patong Police Superintendent Chaiwat Auikam. No identifying evidence was found at the site. “At…

  • Opinion: Stop national park plunder

    Opinion: Stop national park plunder

    PHUKET: The recent request by the Sirinath Marine National Park chief to invoke Article 44 of the interim Charter in order to speed up the investigation and prosecution of long-standing land encroachment cases raises important questions and concerns. Use of Article 44 would speed up the judicial process in encroachment cases already in the court system and hasten the Land…

  • South African tourist caught in Phuket insurance scam

    South African tourist caught in Phuket insurance scam

    PHUKET: A South African tourist was arrested after he was caught trying to scam his insurance company on Saturday. “On Saturday afternoon, Laurie Viljoen Botha, 33, filed a police complaint claiming that items in his hotel room at Sino Imperial Hotel in Phuket Town had been stolen. Additionally, he claimed that he had been robbed while walking on the street…

  • Three arrested for Patong stabbing death

    Three arrested for Patong stabbing death

    PHUKET: Police have arrested three suspects for the stabbing death of Somkit Jandawong, 27, which took place in Patong last Monday. When police questioned witnesses and checked CCTV in the area, they discovered that the stabber, whom police have named only as ‘Pat’, is 17 years old. “We contacted Mr Pat’s mother and urged her to convince him to surrender…

  • Rotary Club of Patong Beach wins top award for service

    Rotary Club of Patong Beach wins top award for service

    PHUKET: The Rotary Club of Patong Beach (RcoPB) has won Rotary Thailand’s highest service award, the HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn Trophy, for its involvement in three projects to help the children of Burmese migrant workers and sea gypsies. Youthlinc, the main project undertaken by RCoPB for which it received the award, focused on improving facilities at the Burmese Learning…

  • NACC names names in corruption investigations

    NACC names names in corruption investigations

    PHUKET: The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) named names as it started gunning for local officials tangled up in millions of baht worth of infrastructure and illegal land issuance scandals in Phuket. At the top of the list of 17 cases cited at a meeting led by Wicha Mahakun, spokesman for the NACC, on Saturday was that of former Phuket Governor…

  • Cake-box drug runner busted in Phuket

    Cake-box drug runner busted in Phuket

    PHUKET: A Trang drug runner was arrested at a Phuket bus stop in possession of about 1 million baht worth of methamphetamine stuffed into a cake box last week. Aorrathai Iadwong, 20, confessed to police that she had been paid to bring the drugs to Phuket by a drug dealer in Trang, whose name she has claimed not to know.…

  • Phuket underpass construction site floods

    Phuket underpass construction site floods

    PHUKET: Though heavy flooding at the Samkong Intersection caused traffic tailbacks this morning, it did not delay construction of the island’s second underpass, experts confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “Already the water level is lowering. It’s the sort of flooding we expected to happen, so it won’t really affect the construction timeline,” said Chalermpol Wongkiattikun, project manager from the Department…

  • Ghost riding motorist killed by pick-up in Phuket

    Ghost riding motorist killed by pick-up in Phuket

    PHUKET: A ghost-rider making a u-turn on Phuket’s busy Thepkrasattri Road was killed after being hit by a pick-up truck in Koh Kaew last night. Rescue workers arrived at the scent to find the body of Ittawa Promrang, 42, laying in the road, against the curb. The 34-year-old driver of the pick-up truck, Nuntawat Suwansang, was still at the scene,…

  • Man killed in Phuket Town over “bad’ dance moves

    Man killed in Phuket Town over “bad’ dance moves

    PHUKET: Five men were arrested yesterday evening for the stabbing death of a man in Phuket Town earlier that morning. The fatal argument that led to the death of Sayompoo Kuomsup, 21, and his friend Sompong Boonrak, 21, being seriously injured, stemmed from an issue with their dance moves at the ‘At Time’ pub. Police named the men arrested for…

  • Patong stabbing leaves ‘drinking mate’ dead

    Patong stabbing leaves ‘drinking mate’ dead

    PHUKET: A man was stabbed to death in Patong after getting into a drunken row with a fellow drinker early this morning. When police arrived at the scene at about 3:45am, they found a heavily tattooed man dead on the ground at a house on Soi Paradise. “We checked the body of Somkit Jandawong, 27, and found that he had…

  • Flash flood puts Phuket police station in deep water

    Flash flood puts Phuket police station in deep water

    PHUKET: Patong Police are scrambling to keep dry after their station was hit by flash floods this afternoon. “The flood happened just after lunch. This morning the weather was fine. However, this afternoon our office began filling up with water,” Lt Col Suttichai Tianpho of the Patong Police told the Phuket Gazette. “I don’t think there was much damage. Maybe…

  • Article 44 tabled to return ‘stolen’ Phuket park land

    Article 44 tabled to return ‘stolen’ Phuket park land

    PHUKET: Officials have requested the use of Article 44 of the interim Charter to reclaim national park land that was illegally commandeered by investors, the Sirinath National Park chief told the Phuket Gazette. The news follows a meeting on Thursday at the Sirinath National Park Office, during which both Phuket and national officials discussed the progress of an ongoing investigation…

  • Opinion: Think, then click

    Opinion: Think, then click

    PHUKET: If you live on Phuket long enough, or pay attention to the news coverage while you are here, it becomes quite apparent how fascinated islanders – both Thai and foreign – are by horrific road accidents. The sheer number of road deaths that occur on Phuket put into sharp focus how dangerous the roads are and exactly how fragile…

  • Business Buzz: Successfully harness social media power

    Business Buzz: Successfully harness social media power

    PHUKET: There is no doubting the power of social media marketing as a business tool. The question is, are you using it, and if so, are you doing so effectively? Social media can be very overwhelming as there are so many options it can be difficult to know where to start. It can also be a case of ‘you don’t…

  • Multilingual beach-safety cards redistributed by Phuket expat

    Multilingual beach-safety cards redistributed by Phuket expat

    PHUKET: The news that lifeguards have returned to Phuket’s beaches (story here) prompted Tourist Police volunteer Simon Luttrell to return to printing multilingual beach-safety advice cards and distributing them to lifeguards. “Now that all beaches have lifeguards again, I wanted to check that they all had my cards to help warn foreign tourists about the unseen dangers of rip currents,…

  • Busted at Phuket boarding gate for fake credit card shopping spree

    Busted at Phuket boarding gate for fake credit card shopping spree

    PHUKET: Police arrested a confessed credit card scammer as she waited to board a plane back to Malaysia at Phuket International Airport on Wednesday. Koo Ping Sze, 20, was taken into custody after police received a report from Kasikornbank (KBank) that she had used a fake credit card to make a purchase in Patong. “Kbank identified that the cardholder was…

  • Opinion: Ethics in today’s social media world

    Opinion: Ethics in today’s social media world

    PHUKET: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LINE and an assortment of other social media platforms and blogs have transformed the way news is managed worldwide, enabling news outlets to be more in tune with their readership, while also allowing them to offload their ethics and other responsibilities toward their communities. Social media tip-offs have become a foundation for community news, ranging from…

  • Phuket Airport possible base for US military support

    Phuket Airport possible base for US military support

    PHUKET: Thailand may allow the United States to use either Phuket Airport or U-Tapao in Rayong as a base for planes assigned to monitor the movement of migrants stranded in surrounding seas. “The Foreign Ministry is reviewing the request,” Supreme Commander General Worapong Sa-nganet said on Tuesday. Thailand is setting up the Operations Centre for Patrol and Humanitarian Assistance to…

  • Illegal Thai tour guides busted in Phuket

    Illegal Thai tour guides busted in Phuket

    PHUKET: Three illegal Thai tour guides were arrested in front of their tour groups in Phuket yesterday. Thanachai Sae-yang, 29, was the first of the three swept up in the raid as he lead a group of Chinese tourists through the Kathu Temple grounds. Though Mr Thanachai is a registered tour guide – he was working outside of Chachoengsao Province,…

  • Video Report: Navy flotilla floats humanitarian mission for Rohingya

    Video Report: Navy flotilla floats humanitarian mission for Rohingya

    PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy unveiled a patrolling navy fleet in the Andaman on Tuesday that was given the mission of ‘helping on’ Rohingya and Bengali migrants by providing medical services and translators, as well as food and water supplies. “More than 600 officers have been assigned to this mission, which will be running seven boats, two airplanes and two…

  • Finance: One size does not fit all

    Finance: One size does not fit all

    PHUKET: When it comes to financial advice, my first words of caution to everyone are “never, ever, do anything yourself that you don’t understand 100%”. If the markets seem too complex, there is no reason you can’t handle your financial affairs without using this tool. Every asset class at the end of the day is just that: a tool. There…