News
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Sponsored Infinito helps hotels in Thailand with revenue management
Maximising revenue and profit–isn’t that the ultimate goal for every business in the hospitality industry? If you run a hotel, you might have heard that revenue management is an effective way to boost your top-line revenue. It involves using data...
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Koh Tao Murders: Taxi driver accuses police of intimidation, bribe for false testimony
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police promised cash reward to buy false testimony: taxi driver The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A taxi driver on Koh Tao, off the Surat Thani coast, yesterday went public with his accusation that police investigating the murders of two British tourists had tried to intimidate…
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Phuket freedive floats Wierenga to third in US rankings
PHUKET: American Katie Wierenga was ranked third among the USA female Dynamic No Fins (DNF) athletes after an outstanding performance at the We Freedive Suunto Series in Phuket on Sunday. Wierenga covered 105m underwater in what many believe is the most technically difficult of the eight Association Internationale pour le Développement de l’Apée (AIDA) freediving disciplines. “She had performed in…
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Phuket Navy base swaps top brass
PHUKET: After three years at the helm, Royal Thai Navy Vice Admiral Taratorn Kajitsuwan has been transferred from his post as the commanding officer at Phuket’s Third Area Command, the leading naval base for the entire Andaman coast. An assembly of sailors welcomed his replacement, Rear Admiral Sayan Prasongsamrej, at a handover parade at the base at Cape Panwa yesterday.…
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Australian seriously injured in Phuket balcony fall
PHUKET: An Australian tourist has suffered serious head trauma after falling from a second-floor balcony at the Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa in Patong last night. “Paul Hanson, Anthony Jones and Jean Cover, all 24 years old, were drinking on the balcony at about 9:10pm,” said Lt Col Pratuang Polmana of the Patong Police. “Then something happened, and they all…
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Krabi tourism officials accuse EGAT of being “dishonest’
PHUKET: The Koh Lanta Tourism Association has lashed out against a coal-fired power plant slated for Krabi province, east of Phuket, claiming that the authority initiating the project has been dishonest with locals. “The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) held a third public hearing at Ban Klong Ruo, Nua Klong district, on Sunday. We believe it was insincere, as…
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Car licence plate sells for record Bt25m
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Car licence plate sells for record Bt25m The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Car licence plate number 1 Kor Kor 1111 was yesterday passed to a 19-year-old student, who bid Bt25 million for it, making it the most expensive number sold at an auction organised by…
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Policeman gets 57 years for drunken gun rampage
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Policeman gets 57 years for drunken gun rampage The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Criminal Court yesterday gave a former crowd control policeman a total of 57 years and 10 months in prison for six cases in which he reportedly shot at motorists in Bangkok.…
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Media, police forensic experts leave Koh Tao
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Media, police forensic experts leave Koh Tao The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Forensic police yesterday pulled out of Koh Tao after completing their task collecting DNA samples from a large number of men, both Thai and migrant workers, in their hunt for the killers of…
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Siriraj comes up with an antibody for Ebola
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Siriraj comes up with an antibody for Ebola The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Thai medical school has successfully produced an antibody for the treatment of the deadly Ebola haemorrhagic fever. Mahidol University’s Faculty of Medicine Siriraj Hospital is preparing to announce its success at…
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Phuket police chief says “no regrets’, names replacement
PHUKET: The outgoing commander of the Phuket Provincial Police told the Phuket Gazette today that he had no regrets about his time in Phuket and had complete faith in his replacement. “I did my best,” said Gen Krajang Suwannarat, who left Phuket yesterday to return to his post as one of the seven deputy commanders heading Region 8 Police. “The…
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Video Report: Krabi Police hunt gibbon tout east of Phuket
PHUKET: Krabi Police are looking to pull gibbon touts out from their hiding places after a video surfaced on Facebook showing a man photographing the protected species with tourists. “We haven’t received a complaint about gibbons being used this way in the Ao Nang area yet. However, I’ll put together a task force and deal with it immediately,” Col Witaya…
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Suicide victim’s mum reveals letter calling for return of Phuket beaches to vendors
PHUKET: A letter presented at a ceremony commemorating a financially distressed Phuket beach vendor found dead last week implored Thailand’s leaders to return the beachfront to those who used it to make a living. At the memorial service on Patong Beach on Saturday, Jirasak Sae-Koo’s mother, Pranee Piromrit, revealed the letter, and explained that her son had written it before…
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Railway staffer child rapist-murderer sentenced to death
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Railway child rapist-murderer sentenced to death The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Criminal Court today sentenced to death State Railway of Thailand employee Wanchai Saengkhao, 22, for raping and strangling a 13-year-old girl before dumping her body from a moving train in July. He was…
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Myanmar worker saved after Phuket retaining wall collapses
PHUKET: A Myanmar worker escaped serious injury last night when a retaining wall at a Phuket construction site collapsed, pinning him in a hole and covering him with earth. The accident occurred at a housing estate under construction in Baan Ao Por, near Ao Por pier, at about 9:30pm, Lt Suporn Muangkhai told the Phuket Gazette. “Mr Htat, 22, as…
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Phuket provides easy access to tech-diving world with PADI Tec Xplor Day
PHUKET: All divers in Phuket and the surrounding regions are invited to get a taste of the technical diving world with the PADI “Tec Xplor Day” on October 9. Kiwidiver, Blue Label Diving, Aquamaster and Dive Supply will have rebreathers, sidemounts and twin tank setups available for participants interested in “tech rec”. The technical diving community has a reputation around…
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Judge kills his wife, himself
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Judge kills his wife, himself The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Phitsanulok Court judge Chalermpol Butrdee shot dead his wife before turning the gun on himself early yesterday morning at their home in Nakhon Sawan’s Muang district. Following the report of the incident at about 2am,…
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Breaking News: Violent Phuket taxi drivers return to work
PHUKET: Expect to see taxi drivers who have been convicted for their role in Phuket’s taxi mafia back behind the wheel without delay, the Phuket Provincial Land Transportation Office (PLTO) confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. “Anybody who was sentenced for his or her role in the taxi mafia – even individuals who ripped people off, were violent or intimidated…
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Officials catch fishing trawler working in restricted zone east of Phuket
PHUKET: The crews of two fishing boats were arrested for trawling in a restricted fishing area near Koh Sriboya, east of Phuket, yesterday morning. The boats, Chaitakarn 17 and Chaitakarn 15, had already netted 200 kilograms of fish by the time officials arrived. “We received a report from local fisherman that the boats were fishing in waters where trawling is…
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Giant crab nips at Krabi villagers’ emotions
PHUKET: A huge mud crab caught by accident in a canal has stirred a veritable pot of emotions among local villagers in the mangrove-rich Klong Prasong area south of Krabi Town. Sompong Klongrouw, a 33-year-old local fisherman, landed the giant crab last week and brought it home so he could show his neighbors. By Friday, some locals were in a…
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Body of woman with hands bound washes onto Phuket beach
PHUKET: Police are trying to identify a woman whose naked body was found washed onto a Phuket beach with her hands bound behind her back this morning. Local resident Lumyong Kunpai made the gruesome discovery on Surin Beach and quickly called the police. “We believe that the woman was killed about a week ago and that her body was dumped…
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Man denies rape of Phuket Russian tourist
PHUKET: A man* has confessed to tying up a Russian tourist before having sex with her, but has denied charges of rape and assault. Police arrested Somdet Srisai, 33, at his apartment on Patak Road on Saturday, hours after the 29-year-old woman lodged a complaint with the Karon Police. “The man was arrested and charged with sexual assault and rape.…
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Adrenaline takes the win at Sunday’s ACYC race
PHUKET: Light winds that built to around 10 knots over the course and a picture postcard sunny day yesterday saw sailors in the Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) race series finish within seconds of each other on corrected times. In the multihull division, a 30º wind shift at the start favored Hurricane and Adrenaline, while disadvantaging back-runners Nina and Galeforce,…
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Man kills daughter, wife, burns bodies
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Man kills daughter, wife, burns bodies The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police have arrested a man with a history of drug use and mental illness after he allegedly stabbed to death his wife and daughter and then burned their bodies in his pickup truck on…
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Australian tourist stabbed in Patong street fight with Thai teens
PHUKET: Police are looking to press charges against an Australian tourist and a Thai teenager after both used broken bottles as weapons in an early-morning fight on the Patong beach road yesterday. Capt Thawatchai Srimai of the Patong Police arrived at the scene at 2am with other officers to find Dwayne House, 23, on the ground in agony. He had…
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Bulgarians busted for ATM skimming in Phuket
PHUKET: Three Bulgarian men were arrested in Phuket early this morning for skimming ATM cards and making withdrawals from hacked accounts totalling more than 170,000 baht. Tsvetozar Georgiev Slavchev, 44, was arrested while withdrawing money from an ATM in front of a Super Cheap convenience store at Karon Beach at 1am. “We have CCTV recordings of Mr Slavchev making seven…
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Hotels silent on helping out-of-work Patong beach staffers
PHUKET: Patong hotels have failed to reply to government appeals to provide assistance to the beach business staffers who were made redundant through the Phuket clean-up campaign, say officials. “We have sent letters to many big hotels asking for their co-operation by providing space on their properties where unemployed vendors may work, but we have yet to receive any reply,”…
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German ‘beggar’ to be deported
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community German ‘beggar’ to be deported The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Immigration Bureau will begin the process of deporting a German who was found enjoying the nightlife in Pattaya after begging for money on Bangkok streets. Benjamin Holse, 29, claimed his passport and cash were…
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Battle against Phuket land grabbers moves to the hills
PHUKET: The entire island should give its full support to the ongoing efforts by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to rid public beaches of encroachment in all its forms. The results, which so far have been nothing less than stunning, are sure to go a long way to restoring the island’s attractiveness to tourists, both foreign and…
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Demolition efforts rock 21 buildings on Phuket’s west coast
PHUKET: Armed Navy officers blocked traffic on the Nai Yang beachfront road today as demolition started on two restaurants along the pristine Phuket west coast beach. The removal of the buildings was led by Cdr Pornprom Sakultem of the Royal Thai Navy, which has its eyes on seven buildings in the area. However, five are still going through the legal…
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Festival looters raid two Phuket restaurants on same day
PHUKET: Unidentified looters capitalized on the holiday closure of two Phuket restaurants yesterday, breaking in to steal electronics. Capt Wattana Bumrungthin of the Thung Thong Police received a call at about 3pm to investigate a robbery at the Fiesta Cafe in Kathu. “We closed the restaurant after all of the staff left to join the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket Town,”…
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