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Sponsored Promoting sustainable tourism at Blue Tree Phuket: Initiatives and impact
Blue Tree Phuket has been offering experiences that are both fun and environmentally conscious for many years. The comprehensive entertainment hub and waterpark has implemented numerous programs to enhance the sustainability of its practices, with its most recent endeavour being...
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Phuket Sports: FC Phuket in southern stalemate
FC Phuket played Southern regional rivals Phatthalung FC, which ended in a 1-1 draw, in a heated match last night in Phatthalung Town. Following a tense yet scoreless first half, Phatthalung’s leading scorer Siwapong Jarersin broke the deadlock three minutes into the second half, his sixth of the season. Phuket answered seven minutes later with a strike by Thawadech Aunthong…
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Phuket Police dragnet fails to recover B30mn in stolen jewelry
PHUKET: Police are searching vehicles leaving the island and passengers departing via Phuket International Airport are being subjected to more rigorous bag searches following the theft of 30 million baht of jewelry from a parked van near Phuket Town this morning. The theft was discovered at about 9:45am by Thongsak Chintakanroek, whose Toyota Alphard Hybrid had a window smashed and…
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Phuket Red Shirt Village rally just a “test’, says local leader
PHUKET: One of the men named responsible for organizing a red-shirt rally near Nai Yang Beach yesterday has denied any intent of establishing a “red-shirt village” in Phuket. The true aim was to determine how many people would protest against such a rally, said Surin Yotharak, a local village leader in Tambon Sakoo, the subdistrict immediately south of Phuket International…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket Police launch manhunt for three foreigners in B30mn jewelry heist
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has received confirmed reports that police have launched a manhunt for three foreign men who carried out a smash-and-grab robbery of about 30 million baht in jewelry this morning. The three men allegedly smashed the windows of a Toyota Avanza parked behind the Big C supercenter on the bypass road at 9:45am with an umbrella and…
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Poll: Will Bang Khu underpass project improve Phuket traffic?
PHUKET: The final design for the 450-million-baht underpass at the Bang Khu Intersection in Koh Kaew has been approved. Although Thepkrasattri Road will be widened to eight lanes in the area, southbound traffic will still have to wait at a stop light before accessing the bypass road. In our new poll, the Phuket Gazette asks readers how this project will…
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PHUKET OPINION: Few winners in war against the sea
PHUKET: Funding for projects to “combat” erosion along the Andaman coast through construction of seawalls, jetties and similar structures would be better deployed on environmentally-sound projects like sand-dune stabilization, mangrove reforestation and enforcement of laws that regulate shoreline construction. Trying to conquer the forces of time and tide is the quintessential exercise in futility. This is especially true along Phuket’s…
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Phuket joins Andaman fight against coastal erosion
PHUKET: Phuket has joined an Andaman-wide project spearheaded by the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Haad Yai Campus to combat coastal erosion throughout the region. At the recent sea gypsy Loy Reua ceremony at Laem Tukkae last weekend, newly-elected Rassada Mayor Phudit Raksaraj explained to the Phuket Gazette that Rassada Municipality was working with the PSU Haad Yai Campus and…
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Phuket Town power cables going underground
PHUKET: Phase two of the project to remove the unsightly cables that have been obscuring the classic Sino-Portuguese shopfronts along the streets of Old Phuket Town for decades continues today as workers pull down the power poles along Deebuk Road. The removal of the power poles on Deebuk Road today follows the removal of overhead power cables and the corresponding…
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“Minute man’ robber makes off with B19k at gunpoint
PHUKET: A man masked by a motorbike helmet robbed a Family Mart store in Chalong at gunpoint early this morning, making off with more than 19,000 baht in less than a minute. Phuket Police believe the man is responsible for at least two other gunpoint robberies of 24-hour convenience stores carried out in the past week, one in Patong and…
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Taiwanese airline captain drowns at national park north of Phuket
PHUKET: A Taiwanese airline captain has drowned and his Thai boatman remains unconscious after an accident in Khao Sok National Park, Surat Thani, several hours drive north of Phuket. Col Jarun Uchuphap, Superintendent of Baan Takhun Police Station, told the Phuket Gazette today that the accident occurred yesterday afternoon on the Chiao Lan Reservoir, a popular tourist nature reserve also…
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Pheu Thai’s Prompong guarantees action in Phuket Freedom Beach land title probe
PHUKET: Government Spokesman Prompong Nopparit has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that the investigation into two land titles being illegally issued for 65 rai at Phuket’s pristine Freedom Beach has now been handed over to the Land Department and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for further action. Speaking to the Gazette yesterday, Mr Prompong also confirmed that the Parliamentary Committee…
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Weird World News: When punishment takes an unusual route
PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News roundup shatters the foundations laid out by many great nations that claim “cruel and unusual punishments [shall not be] inflicted”, as a hometown speedster has his car turned into a tree house, a horror film clown threatens your child (by request) and a suicide-kit saleswoman’s business gets smothered with a mere US$1,000 fine after…
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Protestors rally against red-shirt villages in Phuket
PHUKET: Hundreds of members of the “We Love Phuket Club” arrived at Provincial Hall this morning to submit a letter of complaint against a planned rally by red-shirt activists at Nai Yang Beach on Sunday.“We Love Phuket Club” President Boonsupaa Tanthai said that the red-shirt rally would be led by Surin Yotharak and Suchart Phetcharat, who are both locals of…
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Phuket Gazette media partner Nation Group inks deal to enter Myanmar market
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette‘s media partner organization Nation Multimedia Group (NMG) Plc has signed a comprehensive agreement of cooperation with Myanmar’s Eleven Media Group Co Ltd. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in Yangon last Friday by Nation Multimedia Group chairman Suthichai Yoon and Eleven Media Group chairman and CEO Dr Than Htut Aung, is a precursor to the formation…
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Brisk business at Phuket City Pawnshop as schools re-open
PHUKET: The Phuket City Municipality Pawnshop is reporting brisk business this week as parents pawn off gold to pay for back-to-school supplies for their children. Mr Boonsong Korecharoen, accountant and acting manager of the shop on Kamoraphat Road, told the Phuket Gazette that recently they had been dealing with a daily volume of about 400 people. About 99 per cent…
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Grounded dive boat back in Phuket
PHUKET: The dive boat forced to ground on Koh Gai island after its hull cracked in stormy weather last weekend was re-floated and towed back to Phuket yesterday. Though frightened, none of the 16 people on board the Parapis 7 during the grounding were reported as suffering any injuries, according to eye-witnesses who carried out the rescue. Narong Chaimo, general…
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Pile-driving tower crushes three homes in Krabi
PHUKET: Residents of a small community in Khlong Hin subdistrict, Krabi, got a rude awakening yesterday morning when a 15-meter-high pile-driving tower came crashing down onto their homes. Fortunately there were no injuries, but three homes were flattened and 10 motorbikes badly damaged. Ao Leuk District Police duty officer Prasan Khongkaew was notified of the accident at 8:30am. Racing to…
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Police suspect arson in Phuket government building blaze
PHUKET: Phuket Police are seeking a man seen running from the site of a pre-dawn arson attack at the Thalang District Office compound earlier today. Thalang Police, notified of the fire at 4am, raced to the scene with Thalang Municipality firefighters. It took firefighters just 15 minutes to extinguish the blaze, but not before it reduced to ashes a bamboo…
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Phuket offers new twist in War on Drugs
PHUKET: The Koh Kaew Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) has launched a project that may be a precursor to a shift in strategy in the War on Drugs in Phuket. The organization is inviting drug users who wish to turn their lives around to join a rehabilitation camp under the “One Local Administration Organization, One Drug Rehabilitation Camp” project. As part…
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Phuket beach tout turf war targets Cambodians
SPECIAL REPORT A FURIOUS beach brawl between rival groups of migrant Thai and Cambodian beach peddlers in February has led Karon Municipality to draft regulations to register all peddlers and rid the sands of illegal alien workers. Phuket Gazette senior reporter Atchaa Khamlo reports. PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak arrived at the Karon Municipality office in Kata on April…
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Phuket very tolerant of gay lifestyles: Gazette poll
PHUKET: Phuket society is very tolerant of people with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) lifestyles, according to the results of the latest Phuket Gazette readers’ poll. The poll, run to coincide with the Phuket Pride Festival held in Patong late last month, asked readers: “Overall, how tolerant is Phuket society of LGBT lifestyles compared to other places you have…
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Cop killer caught in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket City Police yesterday arrested an alleged hit-man and cop killer wanted in connection with two murders last year, one in Phuket and one in Trang. Samut “Moot” Keukgong, 44, was arrested by Phuket City Police at about 3:30pm at a snooker hall in Rassada, said the Phuket City Police report. Mr Samut signed a statement denying a charge…
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Weird World News. The unsinkable, unthinkable and unshrinkable
PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News roundup is a tribute to the titanic accomplishments of vehicles as a big boat is redesigned to handle icebergs, a new motorized toilet speed record is set and BMW gets a stiff lawsuit for its motorbike allegedly causing a two-year long erection. Unsinkable – isn’t that what they said the first time? An Australian…
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Phuket sports: Saraburi ‘Warlords’ pound FC Phuket, Thai FA Cup commences
PHUKET: FC Phuket suffered their third loss of the season, losing 1-0 to the Saraburi FC “Warlords” on Saturday afternoon at Surakul Stadium. The loss was a disappointment for the Southern Sea Kirin, who hit the road to kick off their Thai FA Cup campaign this week. An early goal by Saraburi’s Panuwat Promyen was all that was needed to…
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Expert in earthquake-proof building design helps ease Phuket fears
PHUKET: One of Thailand’s leading experts in earthquake-proof building design has offered to conduct computer simulation tests to ensure that major buildings in Phuket do not succumb to the recurring tremors the island has been experiencing since April 16. The news was delivered directly to Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha by Assoc Prof Dr Paiboon Panyakapo, who heads the Engineering Institute…
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Switzerland appoints Honorary Consul for Phuket
PHUKET: The Swiss Embassy in Bangkok has appointed long-time Swiss resident Andrea Kotas Tammathin as its first honorary consul for Phuket. Mrs Tammathin was formally presented to Phuket officialdom on Friday afternoon, when Swiss Ambassador Christine Schraner Burgener and Head of Chancery Bernhard Bienz met Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa at Provincial Hall. “The consulate is the first contact point…
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Samson Kiplagat Tennai celebrates Phuket Trail Masters win
PHUKET: The second edition of the Columbia Trail Masters event was held at the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) on Sunday morning with far larger than expected crowds and participants making it a huge success. There were more than 350 runners of all ages competing in a 3km fun run, a 10 km trail run, and a 21.5km half…
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Greater Phuket: Cyclists join Krabi Town 140-year celebrations
PHUKET: A cycling enthusiast impressed crowds at the 140th anniversary of Krabi Town over the weekend, managing to pedal all the way from Greater Bangkok with his disabled father riding in tow in a three-wheeler. Kittipong Kongkaew, who runs a coffee shop in Tibet, was among members of the Thai Cycling For Health Association that set off from Samut Prakan…
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Phuket sports: F1 rumors, rules and rumblings
PHUKET: The three week gap between grand prix events is to accommodate FIA approved testing of upgrades at Mugello, near Florence. It is also time the “rumor and disinformation mills” upgrade. Mugello is not an F1 circuit, and according to hearsay teams are ambivalent about testing on an unknown track. McLaren scheduled test drivers only, although Lewis Hamilton suggested he…
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“Gold Den’ bandit back in Phuket for re-enactment
PHUKET: Phuket City Police yesterday led a recently-arrested gold shop bandit “Den” through a re-enactment of his June 2011 heist of a Phuket Town gold shop. The suspect, Krittasak “Den” Heetkaew, was arrested at his Bangkok apartment on Thursday and confessed to the Phuket heist and several others using the same modus operandi. Yesterday afternoon’s re-enactment was led by Phuket…
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