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Thailand News: Haad Yai blasts wound 10; Yingluck’s fate decided today; Aftershocks continue; AMLO busts Bt1bn smuggling ring
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Two blasts rock Haad Yai, wounding 10 people The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Two large bomb attacks were carried out yesterday in Haad Yai business district of Songkhla province, wounding 10 people and causing large fires and heavy property damage. Initially it was reported that…
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Nigeria gunmen abduct 8 more girls
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Gunmen abduct 8 more girls in northeast Nigeria Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Suspected Boko Haram gunmen kidnapped eight girls from a village near one of the Islamists’ strongholds in northeastern Nigeria overnight, police and residents said on Tuesday. The abduction of the girls, aged 12…
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Phuket runway maintenance affects Chinese flights
PHUKET: Sichuan Airlines will relocate its Phuket operations to Krabi from May 15 through August 12 while runway maintenance is carried out during overnight hours at Phuket International Airport. The affected flights will be the Chengdu to Phuket and Chongqing to Phuket services. Sichuan Airlines offers two flights per week from both Chengdu and Chongqing direct to Phuket. Shanghai Airlines…
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Bomb blasts rock Haad Yai
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bomb blasts rock Haad Yai The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Four separate bomb blasts hit Haad Yai district of Songkhla this afternoon, injuring five people. A fifth bomb found near the entrance to apartments inside Prince of Songkhla Hospital was safely defused. The first bombs…
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Police face corruption probe for letting Aussie gunmen free
PHUKET: The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) will investigate the Patong Police officers who failed to provide enough evidence to charge two Australians with attempted murder after the pair opened fire on a busy street in Patong last year. The Australians, tattoo parlor owners John Cohen, 32, and Adam Shea, 26, injured two German tourists while trying to gun down…
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Russian escapes serious injury in drunken motorbike crash
PHUKET: A Russian woman escaped serious injury yesterday morning when she crashed a motorbike into a power pole while not wearing a helmet and under the influence of alcohol. Rescue workers were called to the scene, on Thepkrasattri Road, at about 9am. “Rescue workers administered first aid at the scene before transporting the woman to Wachira Phuket Hospital,” said Lt…
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Fight night at Ta-ied Stadium
PHUKET: Tonight, Ta-ied Stadium will host seven Muay Thai fights, including two semifinal fights and a Super Fight. The stadium is located on Soi Ta-ied in Chalong with the fights starting at 9pm. The fighters include Tukkatatong from Tiger Muay Thai, Nakornsri from Rawai Muay Thai, Mongkornpet from Dragon Muay Thai and Sangmoreragot from Phuket TopTeam. The Super Fight card…
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Nigeria’s Boko Haram threatens to sell kidnapped schoolgirls
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nigeria’s Boko Haram threatens to sell kidnapped schoolgirls Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The leader of Boko Haram on Monday threatened to sell more than 200 schoolgirls his Islamist militant group kidnapped in northeastern Nigeria last month. Boko Haram militants stormed an all-girl secondary school in…
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Video Report: Phuket police extortion charges true, PACC says
PHUKET: The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) has proposed that two Chalong Police officers be charged for the extortion of members of the dive community following the conclusion of their investigation in Phuket (story here). “We have collected enough evidence to prove that the allegations of extortion filed by 41 members of the Phuket dive industry are true,” said PACC…
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Phuket police recover 100,000 baht of sea fan jewelry
PHUKET: A man smuggling sea fan jewelry into Phuket was arrested at Phuket’s main bus station yesterday afternoon. Acting on a tip-off, police apprehended Sarayut Maneerat, 39, at about 1pm, when he got off a bus from Krabi. Officers found 111 pieces of jewelry made from sea fans, a protected marine animal, in his backpack. The items included 102 bracelets,…
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Visa crackdown risks stranding Phuket expats in Myanmar
PHUKET: Officials at Ranong Immigration today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that they are turning away any foreigners attempting to enter Thailand after using three consecutive “walk-in” visas. The news follows reports of immigration officers allegedly stopping Phuket expats on visa runs to Ranong from exiting the country. Ranong, nearly 400km north of Phuket, has for decades been a prime…
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Wanted Phuket woman arrested for stealing 52 cars
PHUKET: A woman wanted for car theft since 2012, with outstanding arrest warrants in every district of Phuket, was arrested yesterday in Cherng Talay after being recognized by police. “Sukanya Chanthanarak, 40, had five arrest warrants in Cherng Talay alone. Her face was familiar to area police,” said Lt Col Sommai Onkham of the Cherng Talay Police. Ms Sukanya rented…
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Surf’s up in Khao Lak
PHUKET: After crossing the bridge off the island, the sense of immediacy, impatience and the hustle and bustle of Phuket fades quickly. The pace of life slows to what is expected of a tropical island. Dozens of people experienced this as they made their way to Khao Lak for the first annual Khao Lak Surf Competition last weekend. They drove…
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Thailand News: EC prepares for July 20 poll; Village chiefs free Defence HQ; Huge turtle haul at Bangkok airport
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community EC to push ahead with plan for poll The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Election Commission is pushing ahead with plans for a national election on July 20 and is set to draft a Royal Decree to begin the process, after a proposal by opposition…
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Pro-Russians storm Odessa police station, free activists
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Pro-Russians storm Odessa police station, free activists Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Pro-Russian militants stormed a Ukrainian police station in Odessa on Sunday and freed 30 fellow activists as the prime minister blamed police corruption there for dozens of deaths in rioting on Friday. “Russians won’t…
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Krabi Kayaking competition underway
PHUKET: The Krabi-Enlive Sea Kayak Thailand Championship and the 3rd Sea Kayak Asian Cup are under way. The two events were organized to enable canoeing and water enthusiasts to showcase their skills, to raise awareness of ecotourism, and to help cultivate a culture of sustainable tourism in Krabi, said TAT Governor Thawatchai Arunyik. “These fun events are being held to…
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Time for a resolution checkup
PHUKET: The Thai New Year has come and gone, and I can’t help but think about the resolutions I made for my own new year in January. For Westerners like me, the half-year point is quickly approaching and thoughts of resolutions made in good faith on January 1 are probably a distant memory. As I stared into the face of…
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Public transport and closing legal loopholes critical, says Phuket’s new Senator
Phuket Senator Chaiyot Punyawai, 47, officially became Senator of Phuket on April 10. A graduate in law from Ramkhamhaeng University and now studying for his master’s in law, Senator Chaiyot works in a local law firm and is the president of the Phuket branch of the Lawyers Council of Thailand. Here, Mr Chaiyot talks about the role of senators and…
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Governor orders probe into alleged Phuket beach land swindle
PHUKET: The Phuket Governor has ordered a direct investigation into how a man claiming to be a real estate agent allegedly conned villagers near Layan Beach into signing a document that empowered him to mortgage their land for 20 million baht. The incident came to light on Thursday when the villagers, led by Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) President…
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Italian man found hanged in Patong
PHUKET: The body of an Italian man was found hanged from a rooftop steel bar at the Happy Apartment building in Baan Nanai Patong yesterday. Roberto Becchetti, 46, was last seen in the building carrying a coil of nylon rope about two hours before his body was discovered in a narrow gap between the apartment building and the building next…
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Phuket Employment office to hold seminar on dive professionals’ work permits
PHUKET: The Phuket Employment Office (PPEO) will be holding an eight-hour seminar on May 22 at the Royal Phuket City Hotel in Phuket Town to clarify regulations and work permits for dive professionals. The seminar comes as a Public-sector Anti Corruption Commission (PACC) team continues its investigation into allegations that Chalong Police used legal loopholes in work permits to extort…
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Taiwanese tourist drowns at Koh Yao Yai, off Phuket
PHUKET: A Taiwanese tourist drowned at Koh Yao Yai yesterday after waves pulled him out to sea. Chung-Hsin Lu, 64, was swimming with a friend at about 2pm when the pair started struggling in deep water. Bystanders were able to rescue Mr Lu’s friend, but Mr Lu disappeared below the surface and could not be found, says a Kusoldharm rescue…
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Let there be light: Phuket mangrove forest villagers may get PEA electricity, clean water
PHUKET: Officials have been tasked with determining if the law can be bent in order to provide an illegally established mangrove forest community with much-needed electricity. The move follows a March 20 protest during which 200 villagers from the Klong Mudong community rallied outside the Chalong Municipality and asked Mayor Samran Jindapol to provide their homes with a steady supply…
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Five in ATM skimming network arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: Five foreigners believed to be part of a skimming network stretching across Thailand were arrested in possession of multiple credit cards under different names and 700,000 baht in cash yesterday. Three were caught in the process of skimming an ATM in Karon. The other two were apprehended as they were allegedly attempting to evade officers. The men were named…
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Black market coral trade takes hit as police seize more than 600 live samples in Phuket
PHUKET: Chalong Police are hunting coral poachers who abandoned a long-tail boat containing more than 600 illegally cut pieces of coral that were destined for the black market. Officers rushed to the scene yesterday morning after being tipped off by locals who had watched the suspects carry the coral ashore. Locals told officers that the suspects were waiting to meet…
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Win a free flight with the Gazette Reader Survey 2014
PHUKET: In the 20 years since our launch on May 4, 1994, the Phuket Gazette has evolved from a 12-page monthly, hand delivered by its founder to Phuket’s then tiny expat community, into the 80-page weekly that it is today as part of the island’s leading multimedia news organization. We’ve been here for our readers through natural disasters, coups, booming…
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Seoul subway trains crash, 170 people hurt
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Subway trains crash in South Korean capital, 170 people hurt Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A subway train in the South Korean capital Seoul crashed into another one at a station on Friday, injuring about 170 people, news reports and the emergency services said, although no…
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Ukraine attacks rebel city, helicopter shot down
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ukraine attacks rebel city, helicopter shot down Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Ukrainian forces attacked the rebel-held city of Slaviansk before dawn on Friday and pro-Russia separatists shot down at least one attack helicopter, killing a pilot, in a sharp escalation of the conflict. Describing the…
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Video Report: Phuket farmers gearing up for National Goat Fair
PHUKET: Local farmers are gearing up for the 11th annual National Goat Fair, which will be held in Cherng Talay from May 23-25. The fair will provide an opportunity for farmers to exchange knowledge, learn from experts and showcase their products. “The main goal of the event is to urge goat farmers to continue developing better breeding techniques to maximize…
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Former Phuket art teacher, turned alcoholic, found dead at public park
PHUKET: A former art teacher at Phuket Rajabhat University was found dead near the new indoor sports stadium in Saphan Hin yesterday. The body of Prasit Songkramma, 57, was found at about 2pm by Ngaojai Kusuya, a 50-year-old cleaner at the stadium. “At this stage we believed he died from heatstroke and, from what we have learned, he was an…
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