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On World Toilet Day, one billion people have nowhere to go
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community On World Toilet Day, one billion people have nowhere to go Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Some 2.4 billion people around the world don’t have access to decent sanitation and more than a billion are forced to defecate in the open, risking disease and other dangers,…
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A Decade Ago: Chasing the white dragon
PHUKET: Headlines about methamphetamine, kratom, marijuana and even a little cocaine find their way into the Phuket Gazette fairly regularly. But, heroin… that’s a beast that rarely surfaces on this paradise island. There was of course 22-year-old John Cawley, who was busted for running ‘birdie powder’ from Phuket to Koh Samui in 2013, but smack in general is either very…
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Opinion: Positive effects of alcohol zones
Pairuch Kulima, 54, has been the chief of the Phuket Excise Office (PEO) since 2011. He is a Phuket native and graduated with a master’s degree in public administration from The National Institute of Development Administration. Here he talks about the responsibilities of the PEO, the pros and cons of selling alcohol and the positive effects that the new alcohol…
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Phuket RevPAR takes hit with source market transition
PHUKET: Differences in source markets and government spending have forced Bali and Phuket to take dramatically different approaches to adjusting to the recent tourism climate with regards to balancing occupancy and rates. Hotels and resorts in Bali have taken a mostly unified approach by holding rates and allowing occupancy to dip. In Phuket, however, even within market segments, a number…
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Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya see glimmer of hope in Suu Kyi victory
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya see glimmer of hope in Suu Kyi victory Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Noor Bagum would have to have been able to vote for Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) but, like the majority of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority,…
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Illegal migrant workers, boat captain arrested
PHUKET: Three illegal migrant workers were arrested on a fishing boat during a random check by the Phuket Marine Police and the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command on Friday. “Myanmar nationals Jor Heng, 30; Nai, 25; and Mong Pu, 24, were arrested on Choksarawut 18 at Ao Makham port, along with the boat’s captain Kittisak Limwattanakpat, 37,” confirmed Phuket…
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Island View: Facebook an invaluable moving tool
PHUKET: Being a newcomer to the island, I can’t help but marvel at the relative ease with which the transition was made. I had visited Phuket a few years ago as a tourist and fallen in love with it. This year, I decided to move here to pursue certification for Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL). After a quick…
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First Aid Center opens on Koh Racha
PHUKET: A First Aid Center was officially opened on Koh Racha yesterday in an effort to provide medical facilities to sick or injured tourists. “The reason we started one on Koh Racha was that the island is quite far from the nearest hospital,” said Santi Pawai, director of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports Phuket Office. “We plan on eventually…
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Mobile units to tackle Phuket speed demons
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Government has asked that the Royal Highway Police step in to help bring the deadly chaos on Phuket’s roads to a potentially manageable level. “There are three types of factors that lead to the number of accidents on our roads: the driver, the vehicle and road conditions,” said Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat last week. “We are…
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France in shock after Islamist attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community France in shock after Islamist attacksPhuket Gazette / ReutersPHUKET: French prosecutors said on Saturday that three coordinated teams of gunmen and suicide bombers carried out a wave of attacks across Paris that killed 129 people in what President Francois Hollande called an “act of war” by Islamic…
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Over 600,000 riders registered for Bike for Dad
BANGKOK: More than 600,000 people throughout Thailand and overseas have registered for the upcoming Bike for Dad event – the historic cycling parade to mark the 88th birthday of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Krisda Boonraj, permanent secretary of the Interior Ministry, said about 100,000 of the registered participants were from Bangkok, with the majority of the rest being from the…
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Oil smuggler busted in Phuket waters
PHUKET: An oil smuggler was busted in Phuket yesterday after officials discovered 500 liters of illegal oil in a hold on a fishing vessel. “Acting on a tip-off, we tracked down Kor Sinsomboon 2 at about 11:30am. The captain was unable to produce his captain’s licence. However, the sea was too rough to search the vessel, so we escorted Manoon…
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University aids in Phuket safe-sex campaign
PHUKET: University students helped the Phuket Loves You Club (PLU) with a safe-sex campaign in which they distributed thousands of condoms to locations on Soi Paradise in Patong and Prince of Songkla University (PSU). About 200 PSU students packed 20,000 of the 100,000 condoms donated to PLU by Carex into individual packages with lubricant and a safe-sex message written in…
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Business Buzz: Learning from industry leaders
PHUKET: While recently I talked about focusing on your customer, not your competitor, it is also a very good idea to see what the leaders in your industry are doing and get creative ideas and inspiration from the best. If you are a small to medium enterprise, then there is a very high chance that you do not have a…
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Phuket moment of silence for Paris attack victims
PHUKET: The French Consulate in Phuket has invited the public to come together in a moment of silence at 6 tonight for the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris (story here). “It is requested from the French Embassy in Bangkok to call on all French nationals who live in the area to join in the moment of silence,” French…
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Violence breaks out at Krabi Airport
KRABI: Violence broke out at Krabi International Airport yesterday between locals and squatters protesting their removal from a palm oil plantation earlier that day (story here). Dozens of locals were upset at the protesters, who had moved from the plantation to the airport after being forced off the land by Krabi police and related officials, stating that it gave Krabi…
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Umbrella zones pop up on Kata, Karon and Surin beaches
PHUKET: The 10 per cent beach management zone policy first established in Patong (see here) was expanded to Kata, Karon and Surin this week. “Each local government has already measured and decided where the zones will be,” Vice Governor Chokdee said, as he led a team that was establishing temporary landmarks for the zones. Two umbrella zones were set up…
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Saphan Hin curfew starts Monday
PHUKET: Phuket Municipality, in conjunction with the Phuket City Police, have announced new curfews for Sapan Hin in an effort to reduce teen violence in the area. The new policy follows orders from the Phuket Provincial Office to strengthen security at Saphan Hin after gang violence led to the shooting death of a 15-year-old bystander during the final hours of…
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Navy steps in to untangle fishing conflicts
PHUKET: The water around Phuket started to heat up when two groups with dramatically different commercial fishing practices clashed this week. To bring order to the situation, the Thailand Maritime Enforcement Coordinating Center Area 3 was forced to step in and establish a tentative plan to resolve the conflict between Satun and Phuket fishermen. “The first complaint I received was…
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At least 120 killed in Paris attacks
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least 120 people killed in Paris ‘terror’ attacks Phuket Gazette/The Nation PARIS: Police in the French capital are reporting that at least 80 people were killed in a mass hostage-taking at a Paris concert hall Friday evening, with many more feared dead after a series…
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Opinion: Phuket beach confusion never ceases to amaze
PHUKET: The establishment of Patong Beach as the first strand to implement the ’10 per cent’ rule on beach use brings yet another surprising development in the utterly confusing and unpredictable effort to restore some semblance of order and predictability to Phuket’s beaches. When the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) took power more than a year ago, the…
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Phuket King’s Cup Regatta to set sail
PHUKET: One of the standout international sporting events in the Asia region, the 29th annual Phuket King’s Cup Regatta Under Royal Patronage, prepares to set sail once again, swelling Phuket visitor numbers and making a large contribution to overall tourism performance. The Phuket King’s Cup Regatta 2015 will be held at Kata Beach Resort and Spa from December 5 to…
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Police slap Facebook ranter with Computer Crimes Act
KRABI: Police hit a Krabi woman with the Computer Crimes Act after she posted a Facebook video of herself verbally attacking the quality of police officers. Sukanya Laiban, 23, recorded the video clip after Sen Sgt Maj Pratum Srichana of the Krabi City Police forced her to move her car from a no parking zone. “In the video, she claims…
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Squatters flee plantation fearing forceful removal by government
KRABI: About 200 squatters fled a Krabi oil palm plantation in fear that excessive force would be used to remove them today. A letter signed by Krabi Governor Pinij Boonlert explained that previous negotiations that failed to move the protesters off the land had led to violent attacks by the squatters. He did not address claims of excessive force being…
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Captain severely burned in boat fire
PHUKET: A speedboat captain was severely burned after a fire broke out on a vessel in Pa Khlok yesterday. Rainbow Runner captain Narong Looklek, 42, was cleaning the back of the boat at Jandara Pier when the fire started. All passengers had already disembarked. The fire caused a small explosion, during which Mr Narong suffered burns to about 40 per…
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Bangkok bomb suspects set to be indicted
BANGKOK: The Military Court’s prosecutors are expected to indict the two suspects accused of involvement in the two bomb explosions in Bangkok in August, the lawyer for one of the suspects said yesterday. Kanchai Choochart, representing Bilal Muhammed, 24, said he would outline the defense plan once his client had been indicted. He was speaking at the Military Court after…
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Phuket teen dies in crash with parked truck
PHUKET: One teenager died and another was seriously injured when their motorbike crashed into a parked pick-up truck in Thalang early this morning. Natchanon Boonjan, 17, died at the scene while his 17-year-old passenger, Preechaporn Sae Eung, was rushed to Thalang Hospital with severe head injuries. “We received the report at about 3:30am,” confirmed Lt Col Sanit Nukong of the…
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Thailand returns rescued orangutans to Indonesia
BANGKOK: A group of smuggled orangutans were returned from Thailand to Indonesia yesterday following years of diplomatic wrangling over who will care for them after the majority were discovered abandoned on a roadside. Previous Thai governments sought compensation from Indonesia for the cost of housing and treating the 14 apes, but the junta government in Bangkok recently waived those demands…
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Phuket airport taxi driver fired for selling tour packages
PHUKET: The airport taxi driver who was under investigation after a social media post from a passenger went viral last week has been fired, confirmed Phuket Land and Transport (PLTO) Chief Policy Adviser Jaturong Kaewkasi. Montira Sakorn’s Facebook post alleged that the taxi she hired from the airport to Patong failed to bring her and her boyfriend to their destination.…
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Where are the world’s child brides?
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Where are the world’s child brides? Phuket Gazette / Reuters PHUKET: Guatemala has raised the minimum age for marriage, but worldwide one in fourgirls are married before the age of 18. A global push to end child marriage has seen the rates of child marriage slowly…
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