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Phuket bag thief on cam in denial
PHUKET: A Rawai local was arrested at his residence on Tuesday, after CCTV footage showed him stealing a bag from a tour booth in Patong last Friday. A 34-year-old tour operator, named as Warrathaya Kamklin, filed a complaint with Patong Police alleging that the suspect, Tuanaroon Chokkua, 26, had stolen a bag from his booth’s counter. Police asked the court…
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Chinese holidaymaker drowns at Patong Beach
PHUKET: A 31-year-old Chinese man on holiday in Phuket with his wife drowned at Patong Beach yesterday afternoon. The deceased, Gang Liu, 31, was pulled from the surf at 4:30pm and rushed to Patong Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 4:45pm. Patong Police chief Lt Col Weerapong Rakhito said yesterday that after questioning Mr Liu’s wife, it was clear…
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Girl, 11, ripped from father’s arms in deadly surf
PHUKET: An 11-year old Korean girl was ripped from the arms of her father and swept out to sea by strong waves during a day trip to Koh Racha on Monday. Tour boat staff later found her unconscious body floating in the water some distance from the beach at Ao Patok on Racha Island, where she had been swimming with…
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Raging Russian tourist hurls bricks at cars in Karon
PHUKET: A Russian woman was arrested and charged this morning after flying into a rage and throwing bricks at vehicles outside a hotel in Karon around 4am. Ms Bravova, 45, (full name withheld), cracked the windscreen of a Honda Jazz and damaged the back of a minivan during her tirade, reportedly shouting about something she had lost in front of…
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Tuk-tuk drivers’ club leader murdered in Phuket
PHUKET: Police are hunting for an unknown number of suspects for the murder of the president of the Patong tuk-tuk drivers’ club earlier this morning. Sakol Srisompoch, 57, was found shot dead inside his tuk-tuk, which was parked in the middle of the road in front of King Kong Party Club, on Phra Phuket Kaew Road. Police were alerted to…
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Another drug bust nets B2mn worth of drugs
PHUKET: A Ranong man was arrested in Phuket last night with more than 11,000 amphetamine (ya bah) pills estimated to have a street value of two million baht. Region 8 Police led by Lt Col Prawit Engchuan of Ao Nang Police arrested Somchok Thanomjit, 36, when he showed up to receive the package at a private transportation company in Rassada.…
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Phuket police charge six with category 1 drug offenses
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police today announced the arrests of four men and two women for narcotics offences, in the latest illegal drug crackdown in the province. Yuttana Sulsabai, 48, was caught at his house in Tah Chat Chai in possession of 35 amphetamine (ya bah) pills last Tuesday. Police charged him with possession and intent to sell the illicit drugs.…
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Island View: Willing to go the distance for HM the King
PHUKET: The news of the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej on October 13 has brought immense sadness to all Thais. Facebook and other social media is filled with messages of love and condolences. Every time I see such messages, it brings tears to my eyes. People are commemorating his life and achievements by sharing his history, hard work…
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Laguna Phuket Triathlon to go ahead as planned
PHUKET: Organizers of the Laguna Phuket Triathlon 2016 today confirmed that the annual international race is to go ahead as planned on Sunday, November 20. The Laguna Phuket Triathlon Race Office tentatively announced on Thursday that the race would be cancelled due to the country being in a period of mourning. However, Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan and the Phuket Provincial…
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Crowds fill Sanam Luang for live recording of Royal Anthem
BANGKOK: Huge crowds of black-clad mourners from across the country poured into Sanam Luang this morning to join the mass singing of the Royal Anthem in the afternoon and express their love for His Majesty the King Bhumibol Adulyadej. People holding umbrellas in the scorching sun strolled on the huge ground, waiting for the mass singing to start at 1pm.…
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Married to the mob: wife implicated in van driver shooting
PHUKET: Police have arrested the wife of a van driver and three accomplices for allegedly arranging to have the driver killed in a drive-by shooting outside his house in Kathu. The victim, Chamnong Kaewprot, was shot in the back by a masked gunman as he entered his home after parking his van outside the house around 11pm on October 8.…
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Aussie extends visa to walk for King
SURAT THANI: Australian tourist David Hammill hopes to reach Bangkok on foot before his visa runs out, after setting off on Thursday from Surat Thani armed with a 28-day visa extension so he can make the 650km journey as a tribute to the His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Walking with a portrait of HM the King in hand, the 46-year-old…
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Mai Khao pedestrian killed in collision
PHUKET: A Mai Khao pedestrian was killed after being hit by a car on Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang this morning. “The body of 53-year-old Malee Chailek lay on the road in front of the Baan Mak Prok 7-Eleven. A slightly damaged Toyota sedan was also parked nearby,” said Lt Col Watcharin Jiratthikanwiwat of the Tah Chat Chai Police. Witnesses told…
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Demand for black clothes soars
PHUKET: The government and private sectors have joined hands to ensure that the demand for black-colored clothing is taken care of in Thailand, including in Phuket. The move came after the government announced that government officials must wear black clothing for an entire year during the official mourning period of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It is recommended, but clearly not…
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Foreign Consuls grieve for HM the King
PHUKET: Fourteen Consuls gathered at Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday to express their condolences for the passing of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej last week. The Consuls, including French, Austrian, Brazilian, English, Chilean, Chinese, Czech, Finnish, German, Irish, Dutch, Russian, Swiss and Danish, were dressed in black to express their sorrow for the passing of His Majesty. The gathering was hosted…
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French man jumps to his death from Patong hotel
PHUKET: A French man jumped to his death from the 16th floor of a hotel in Patong around 6:30 this morning. A horrified electrician working on the same floor of the hotel spotted the man as he prepared to jump and unsuccessfully tried to talk him out of it. Police confirmed that the 47-year-old man was a French national and…
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Resort employees file complaint after notice to “stop working’
PHUKET: A group of 63 employees of the Aspasia Phuket resort in Karon registered a complaint with the Dhamrongdhama Center at Phuket Provincial Hall on Wednesday, after the hotel’s management company ‘The Breakers Resort & Development Co Ltd’ issued a verbal notice to them to stop working on Tuesday. Representatives of the management company said that the resort was unable…
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Finance: Listen to price rather than opinions
PHUKET: It’s clear that the entire world is focused on the coming US elections as several of my non-US clients have asked me recently what the impact on their investments will be if Donald Trump actually is elected. One worried client even sent me an article from the New Yorker, highlighting the following lines: “The Economist Intelligence Unit, an economic-and-geopolitical-analysis…
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Opinion: Mourning a much loved Monarch
PHUKET: It is with great sorrow that the Phuket Gazette joins the province and the rest of the nation in mourning the passing of a much loved Monarch. The sad news of the death of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej last Thursday, after the previous issue of the Gazette had gone to print, was surreal and profound, as the loss…
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Ten baht minimum wage increase to be proposed for Phuket
PHUKET: A proposal to raise the minimum wage in Phuket by 10 baht a day is to be presented to the Cabinet by the Central Wage Committee of the Ministry of Labor. During a committee meeting held yesterday, an overall increase of 5-10 baht was proposed for 69 of the country’s 76 provinces, whereas the remaining provinces, including Nakhon Sri…
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Trade Department to investigate Patong restaurants overcharging Chinese tourists
PHUKET: The governor of Phuket has promised to crack down on restaurants in Patong allegedly overcharging Chinese tourists. Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamorthan vowed to have the Department of Internal Trade investigate restaurants in the tourist hotspot at a meeting with the Vice Consul General and Head of The Phuket Consular Office, Wang Huijuan, in Songkhla yesterday. “Ms Wang brought up…
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Mosque donation box thief still at large
PHUKET: Police are searching for a thief who broke into a mosque’s donation box in Koh Kaew and stole about 10,000 baht on Tuesday night. Capt Udom Petcharat of Phuket City Police arrived at the scene after he received the complaint at about 8:30am yesterday. “People were gathered around a broken donation box – a tyre iron lay nearby,” said…
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Free black dyeing service offered to mourners
PHUKET: The Phuket Office of Non-Formal and Informal Education (NFE) is providing a free clothes-dyeing service to turn colored garments black so they can be used as mourning attire following the passing of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Using tubs of dye heated over charcoal burners, NFE staff began offering the free service yesterday from 9am to 3pm daily, for 30…
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Phuket Buddhists hold prayer vigils for 100-day mourning period
PHUKET: Hundreds of Phuketians stepped out early this morning to take part in a merit-making ceremony with 89 Buddhist monks at Phuket Provincial Hall, to mark the 7th day of mourning since the passing away of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej on October 13. Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan led provincial officials and the public in making alms offerings to the…
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Mother of slain German gets help from Thai tourism industry
KOH SAMUI: More than two years after the murder of Düsseldorf man Volker Schwartges, his alleged killers are finally set to appear in court, after official letters of complaint from Germany have put pressure on Thailand’s government. The 46-year-old Mr Schwartges was attacked by at least four young Samui locals at about 6am on August 20, 2014. Mr Schwartges was…
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89 monks to make merit for departed king
PHUKET: An early morning Buddhist merit-making ceremony led by 89 monks in honor of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej has been scheduled to take place at Phuket Provincial Hall tomorrow morning. “The ceremony is scheduled to start at 6:30am. All are invited to join. There will be an alms collection for the monks for which people can contribute fresh and…
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Patong mayor, locals pray for King
PHUKET: The Baan Morn community of Patong, along with the mayor and several monks, prayed to bless His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej and mourn his passing in a ceremony held Monday evening. Patong Police Superintendent Chaiwat Auikam also joined the mourners. “Our King visited Pisit Koranee Road in Patong several times in the past; his first visit was on March…
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Man hits wife, gets stabbed
PHUKET: Kathu Police found the body of a man stabbed to death in a sand lot on Saturday afternoon. Nares Komkam, 42, was a truck driver at Phuket Sirintorn Co Ltd who had reportedly argued with his wife that morning. “We found the body on the ground, wearing a black shirt and jeans,” said Kathu Police Capt Nipon Bumroongtin. “He…
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Krabi man murdered in M16 shooting
KRABI: Police are hunting for unknown suspects who murdered a man and injured his wife in a drive-by shooting on Phet Kasem Road in Krabi this morning. The suspects pulled up next to the driver’s side of a pick-up truck driven by 50-year-old Thana Pisan. He and his wife, Sirikul Sirikunyawattana, 46, were travelling back from a Krabi Town fresh…
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Phuket Muslims mourn the loss of His Majesty
PHUKET: The Sheikhul Islam Office of Thailand released guidelines on Friday detailing how the Buddhist nation’s Muslims should pay their respects following the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej. The office’s letter comes as the nation of 67 million mourns the passing of the world’s longest reigning monarch (story here). “Since we are Muslims, we cannot dress in black…
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