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  • Laguna secures cricket victory over the Village | Thaiger

    Laguna secures cricket victory over the Village

    PHUKET: As Songkran approaches, the temperature rises in the Phuket Cricket Group’s (PCG) senior league. On March 8, Laguna beat the Village at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG). Laguna, who were coming off the back of a good win against Thalang in their previous match, were looking to consolidate their position in the race for the minor premiership. Meanwhile, the…

  • Officials act on rank Koh Racha canal

    Officials act on rank Koh Racha canal

    PHUKET: Following years of complaints by residents about the stagnant, polluted water that has built up in Koh Racha Yai’s Patok Canal, authorities began dredging work last Saturday. The dredging of the one-kilometer-long canal will take about 10 days to complete, explained Capt Borworn Promkaewngam of the Royal Thai Navy’s Third Area Command in Phuket and head of the Koh…

  • Charter-flight buses to resume parking near Phuket airport terminal

    Charter-flight buses to resume parking near Phuket airport terminal

    PHUKET: Buses will resume parking near the main Phuket International Airport terminal within two months, an Airports of Thailand (AoT) official confirmed to the Phuket Gazette yesterday. The announcement follows a change in policy earlier this month that forced incoming charter-flight passengers to hike to their buses, which now have to be parked far away from the terminal due to…

  • Gov vows to maintain Phuket beach rules, despite protests

    Gov vows to maintain Phuket beach rules, despite protests

    PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong vowed today to keep the Phuket beach-management system in place, despite beach vendors overstepping the provincial government and filing a complaint in Bangkok. About 150 beach vendors arrived at the Prime Minister’s Office in Bangkok on March 3 and submitted a letter of complaint to be given to Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, alleging that the…

  • Phuket Police volunteers strike in Patong

    Phuket Police volunteers strike in Patong

    PHUKET: Volunteer police officers working the beat in Phuket’s main party town have gone on strike until the Patong Police are able to address a series of issues. “We will have a meeting tomorrow at 10am to explain our frustrations, and also to discuss how the volunteers can continue working with police in assisting foreigners and tourists in need,” Wal…

  • Phuket Immigration extortion allegations denied

    Phuket Immigration extortion allegations denied

    PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration chief has asked foreigners who believe they have witnessed extortion at the hands of his officers, while applying for address verification letters and other free services, to report such incidents directly to him. “There is no fee for this service or for 90-day reporting. If any foreigner is asked to pay for these services by one…

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  • British expat found dead in Phuket home

    British expat found dead in Phuket home

    PHUKET: A 58-year-old British national was found dead at his home in Phuket yesterday. Police and rescue workers arrived on the scene in Srisoonthorn at about 3:30pm to find the body of Dennis Arthur New. “We believe Mr New had been dead for about 10 hours before we arrived. There was no sign of a struggle,” Lt Kraisorn Boonprasop of…

  • Phuket officials firm on beach wedding ban

    Phuket officials firm on beach wedding ban

    PHUKET: A resort in Cherng Talay received a warning this morning for holding a wedding ceremony on Pansea Beach on Friday. “I have only issued a warning, as this is the hotel’s first offence. If the hotel holds any more banned events, it will be fined up to 2,000 baht, under the Public Health Act,” Ma-ann Samran, president of the…

  • Migrant worker stabbed to death in Rawai | Thaiger

    Migrant worker stabbed to death in Rawai

    PHUKET: Police are hunting a Myanmar migrant laborer for the stabbing death of a co-worker at a Rawai workers’ camp yesterday. The suspect, who police declined to name, allegedly got into an argument with Min Thu, 43, who he was drinking with that night. “Witnesses said that the two had been drinking and got into an argument that led to…

  • Fire ravages two homes in Phuket Town

    Fire ravages two homes in Phuket Town

    PHUKET: Two men escaped injury after their houses caught fire in Phuket Town early this morning. Firefighters were called to the scene, inside the Sapan Ruam 1 Community, at about 6:30am and spent an hour battling the flames. The owners of the homes, Sombut Dechapan, 49, and Prakob Suwan, 62, were both asleep when the fire broke out, but managed…

  • Arrested ATM skimmers thought to be part of larger network

    Arrested ATM skimmers thought to be part of larger network

    PHUKET: Police are investigating whether or not two Frenchmen who were arrested in Krabi for skimming ATMs in Krabi and Phang Nga are part of a network that includes five French nationals who were arrested for skimming in Phuket on February 28 (story here). Julien Patrick Alandis, 22, and Adrien Char Baptiste Hemour, 21, were arrested yesterday by Krabi City…

  • Bang Tao beach vendors fined for encroachment

    Bang Tao beach vendors fined for encroachment

    PHUKET: Nine beach vendors who had crept back onto Bang Tao Beach with sunloungers and makeshift stalls were fined 2,000 baht and had all of their items seized yesterday. “We went to inspect the beach and found that nine vendors had violated the new beach rules by setting up sunloungers, stalls, tables and other structures on the sand,” Ma-ann Samran,…

  • Marine Police sign MoU against human-trafficking with fishing business operators

    Marine Police sign MoU against human-trafficking with fishing business operators

    PHUKET: In an effort to stamp out human trafficking and the employment of illegal migrants, Phuket Marine Police are approaching businesses in the fishing industry to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). “Fighting against human trafficking, especially that of children, women and illegal migrant laborers, is of the highest priority,” said Lt Col Panya Chaichana of the Phuket Marine Police.…

  • Police hunt alleged leader of Russian ATM skimming gang

    Police hunt alleged leader of Russian ATM skimming gang

    PHUKET: Police are hunting a Russian national allegedly behind an ATM-skimming operation in Phuket, following the arrest of three suspected skimmers yesterday. Russian nationals Stanislav Komarob, 34; Vitalii Korobkov, 39; and Panteley Akbash, 36, who also holds a Moldovan passport under the name Panteli Acbas, were arrested at a shop in Kata in possession of 33 counterfeit ATM cards, a…

  • Video Report: PGTV wins “Best Local TV – News’ at Phuket Reporters Club Awards

    Video Report: PGTV wins “Best Local TV – News’ at Phuket Reporters Club Awards

    PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette‘s own PGTV won the “Best Local TV – News” award last night at the first ever Phuket Reporters Awards ceremony, held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. PGTV won for a segment on the ‘Phuket Today’ show called ‘The Rubber Tapper’s Lament’, in which Karl Vandenhole investigates the plight of Krabi rubber cropper Sangwien. PGTV won…

  • Dry-season fire warning issued for Phuket

    Dry-season fire warning issued for Phuket

    PHUKET: Phuket firefighters issued a fire warning yesterday, following a field blaze south of the Heroines’ Monument on Thepkrasattri Road. “This time of year, during the drought season, the grass fields get very dry and become fire hazards. People must be very aware of this and not throw away anything that could start a fire, such as cigarette butts,” Amnach…

  • Finance: Demystifying the ever-ending UK pension reforms

    Finance: Demystifying the ever-ending UK pension reforms

    PHUKET: Since radical UK pension reforms were announced last year, the changes just keep on coming. For those retiring in Phuket with pension rights that they have accumulated over the course of their career, the situation can be very confusing. Indeed, even for a professional in the industry, keeping pace and getting your head around what all the changes means…

  • Slot machine stash discovered in Phuket Town

    Slot machine stash discovered in Phuket Town

    PHUKET: Police are hunting for the owner of 40 illegal slot machines, worth about 2 million baht, which were discovered in Phuket yesterday. The gambling devices were found packed into a small rental house on Yaowarat Road by the owner of the rental property, who police declined to name. “The owner of the property said that a Myanmar woman had…

  • Luxury lifestyle makes Phuket heavy hitter in Asia yachting scene [video] | Thaiger

    Luxury lifestyle makes Phuket heavy hitter in Asia yachting scene [video]

    PHUKET: Phuket’s marine industry is tapping global growth in the lucrative superyacht segment thanks to the unique luxury lifestyle the island offers and a sharp rise in the number of such vessels coming to Asia. Thailand’s largest island is already well established on the regional and global sailing circuits. However, industry players say increased investment in specialist facilities could see…

  • Opinion: Jessie Vard Fighting for fairy-tale ending

    Opinion: Jessie Vard Fighting for fairy-tale ending

    PHUKET: Reaction on social media to pleas for justice from Jessie Vard through a series of recent Facebook videos that went viral, should serve as an interesting case in observing the extent to which social media can impact the Thai criminal justice system. It goes without saying that there are two sides to every story and that what is known…

  • “Missing’ Austrian tourist in Phi Phi surfaces in Bangkok

    “Missing’ Austrian tourist in Phi Phi surfaces in Bangkok

    PHUKET: An Austrian tourist reported missing on Phi Phi island has surfaced safe and sound in Bangkok. Mario Schatz, 23, was reported missing to Krabi Tourist Police yesterday. “He came to Ton Sai with three friends on Wednesday. His friends told us that at about 2pm he went to do some laundry and never came back,” a Krabi Tourist Police…

  • Felling of century-old banyan tree outrages local conservation group

    Felling of century-old banyan tree outrages local conservation group

    PHUKET: The felling of a more than 100-year-old banyan tree has outraged a local Phuket conservation group, with members vowing to find the culprits behind the act. Members of the Big Tree Club – a group of local engineers and architects who fight against the felling of old trees in Phuket – contacted the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) and…

  • Phuket governor remains calm despite beach protest in Bangkok

    Phuket governor remains calm despite beach protest in Bangkok

    PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong has asked that all information about the beach vendor protests in Bangkok be sent to him in Germany. “Governor Nisit has not made any comment or instructed us to take any direct action at this point. I believe we will discuss this problem together after he flies back to Phuket,” Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak told the…

  • Phi Phi police hunt gibbon tout after Instagram post

    Phi Phi police hunt gibbon tout after Instagram post

    PHUKET: Phi Phi Island Police are investigating the exploitation of animals on the island following former Miss Universe Natalie Glebova posting a photograph of her posing with a gibbon in Ton Sai on Instagram on Monday. The photograph posted on the popular photo-sharing site showed Mr Glebova smiling and holding the baby gibbon, which had been dressed up in a…

  • Aussie tourist attempts suicide in Patong hotel room

    Aussie tourist attempts suicide in Patong hotel room

    PHUKET: An Australian tourist remains in hospital today after he attempted to commit suicide in his Patong hotel room yesterday morning. A hotel staffer found the 42-year-old man in his room with a knife wound to his neck. “The man had made an appointment for a taxi to take him to the airport yesterday morning. When it came time to…

  • Phuket public urged to donate blood this month

    Phuket public urged to donate blood this month

    PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) has invited all qualified members of the public to donate blood this month in honor of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s 60th birthday on April 2. “While we have enough blood stocks in Phuket, supplies are needed in Bangkok,” said acting PRBC chief Pornthip Rattajak. The Thai Red Cross Society posted a message…

  • Phuket runner goes the distance – aiming for 100km race

    Phuket runner goes the distance – aiming for 100km race

    PHUKET: What were your plans last weekend? Did you see a girl running the 61-kilometer road distance from Rawai to Sarasin Bridge? Rest assured her upcoming plans are fixed as well – she’s preparing for her next long-distance run. Meet Kiranee Narabal, possibly Phuket’s most passionate long-distance runner, whose love for her chosen sport has taken her for a 100km…

  • Unidentified body found with kratom leaves in Chalong

    Unidentified body found with kratom leaves in Chalong

    PHUKET: A man believed to be collecting kratom leaves in the wild was found dead with burn wounds in Phuket this morning, said Lt Chollada Chokdeesrijun of the Chalong Police. “We have been unable to identify the man, who appears to have been in his 20s, or to determine the cause of death,” Lt Chollada told the Phuket Gazette. “There…

  • Eight Thais, one illegal alien caught in Phuket gambling raid

    Eight Thais, one illegal alien caught in Phuket gambling raid

    PHUKET: Eight Thai nationals and one illegal Laotian were arrested for gambling in Patong on Tuesday. Police raided a rented room on Phra Metta Road after having been tipped off by locals about a group of people who were gathered there to gamble, Lt Col Sutthichai Thianpho of the Patong Police told the Phuket Gazette yesterday. “There were nine people…