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Beautiful Christmas weather, but stay safe in the water, says lifeguard
PHUKET: On another stunning sunny day in Phuket, the head lifeguard at the island’s deadliest beach wishes all a happy holiday and a very safe New Year.“It is a beautiful day in Kata, Karon and across the island, and it will remain beautiful for the holiday season. There are no rip currents to worry about right now,” Kata-Karon head lifeguard…
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Phuket taxi drivers join forces for good, not evil
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday officiated the launch of a new consortium of taxi and tuk-tuk drivers at Kata Noi that may herald a new era for taxi services on the island. The Kata Noi Community Taxi Service was formed by the 63 drivers who serve four taxi and tuk-tuk ranks stationed along the length of Kata Noi Beach…
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Phuket cows freed to honor HM The King’s birthday
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut led a ceremony at Saphan Hin on Sunday to free 22 cows and over a million marine animals in honor of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 86th birthday on December 5th. “Making merit by releasing life is a wonderful activity, as it feels so good to give something so special,” Gov Maitri said. “It makes you…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Aleppo air strikes slay 300; AK-47 inventor dies; St Valentine beast jailed; UAE jails man for YouTube parody
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community More than 300 dead in week-long Aleppo air raids Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: More than 300 people have died in a week of air raids on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo and nearby towns by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, a monitoring group said on Monday.Many of…
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Phuket car bomb linked to dead man in Deep South
PHUKET: The pickup truck rigged with a bomb that was found parked at Phuket City Police Station over the weekend belonged to a man who was shot dead in Pattani on May 9, police have confirmed. The truck, found on Saturday (story here), was loaded with 180kg of explosive material. “The registered owner was Withan Yachumnan, 34, from Songkhla,” Phuket…
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Ghost riding Russian injured in Phuket motorbike crash
PHUKET: A ghost-riding Russian was injured in a crash just after midnight yesterday on Thepkasattri Road.Eyewitnesses told police that the man was driving as if he was drunk. He allegedly took a spill near the Thai Watsadu megastore, then got back on his bike and drove toward the Heroine’s Monument, where he continued heading south toward Phuket Town, but in…
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Chinese tourists rescued from sinking speedboat in Phuket’s Chalong Bay
PHUKET: A speed boat carrying Chinese tourists from Koh Lone to Chalong Pier took on water yesterday morning and sank about 500 meters from Chalong Pier.A passing longtail boat safely transferred the 16 passengers and three boat crew members from the speedboat to the pier.The speed boat Alisa 2 was nearing Chalong at about 8am when the boat crew noticed…
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Suspected Deep South bomb truck found in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Bomb disposal experts this morning are inspecting a pickup truck that was found parked in front of Phuket City Police Station with two gas cylinders in the back seat connected by electrical wires.Officers discovered the pickup truck on Saturday while clearing the police station car park for the annual police assembly held each year to launch the new year’s…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Bangkok seized by protest; Bomb blasts rock Sadao; THAI president resigns; Bankruptcies forecast
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bangkok overrun by huge protest The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Thailand’s vast urban-rural divide was never more obvious than the contrasting images from the two major events yesterday: Bangkok overrun by a massive anti-government protest and the caretaker prime minister greeting admirers on a tour of the…
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![Cement truck juggernaut demolishes small car, driver safe [Video] | Thaiger](https://thethaiger.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/phuketnews_2013122117285210_JIUiuuuVNkUBJeXFYVoloXhSCurRNytvKYAqGNZM_jpeg.jpg)
Cement truck juggernaut demolishes small car, driver safe [Video]
PHUKET: A cement truck jumped a median strip at an intersection near Phuket Town last night and rammed a small car coming towards it. The truck was headed south on Chao Fa East Road and had reached the intersection at the Dowroong Wittaya School (map here). In the dramatic police CCTV footage (click here), the juggernaut can be seen entering…
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Record drug bust in Krabi nets 48K meth pills, B17mn assets
PHUKET: Police in Krabi province, across the bay from Phuket, have arrested three suspects and seized more than 48,000 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) in what is being hailed as the largest drug bust in Southern Thailand.The arrests were announced at a press conference today, when Krabi Governor Prasit Osathanon presented Bancha Janchamroen, 36; Sompot Janchamroen, 30; and Pattara Dechaporn,…
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Facebook group aims to keep Phuket visa runners safe
PHUKET: A new Phuket Facebook group was born on Thursday night with the goal of protecting the lives of resident expats during visa runs. The group “Phuket Visa Run Ride Share Network” (click here) was started by long-term expat Joe Blazy to unite residents who travel to the popular visa destinations of Ranong and Penang, Malyasia. “Some friends and I…
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“Evil man of Krabi’ eligible for bail during appeal process
PHUKET: A tour guide was sentenced to 20 years in jail last week for the rape and assault of a Dutch tourist in Krabi last year. However, Chumpol Khanonuang, 27, can appeal the case in the Appeals Court, said Krabi Provincial Police Commander Nantadech Yoinuan. “Chumpol’s bail has been set at 700,000 baht,” he added. It was this bail that…
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Police raids uncover drug dens in Soi Ya Bah, Phuket Town
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested two men after separate raids on the same small street in Samkong, Phuket Town, resulted in the seizure of 1,818 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) and 4.99 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine). Acting on a tip-off, officers arrived at the house of Worasak Bamrung, 30, in Soi Prayoon 3/1 (map here) at 3am. A search…
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Merry Christmas Phuket! Governor to announce bypass road speed limit
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut on December 25 will announce the speed limit for motorists travelling along the bypass road, officially called Chalermprakiat Ror IX Road and unofficially one of Phuket’s deadliest motorways. The move will be the first of many measures taken in the hope of achieving zero fatalities over the new year holidays. “The usual ‘Seven Days of…
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Bad egg arrested at Phuket Prison
PHUKET: A woman delivering an omelet to an inmate at Phuket Prison was arrested yesterday when guards discovered that the food concealed anti-anxiety pills.When Thitiporn Janerop, 20, was in the prison visiting room, officers conducted a routine search of the food that she had brought. Inside the omelet they found 40 pills of Alprazolam – popularly known as Xanax –…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Suthep for cash; Baht falls; Temperatures plummet; Feb 2 polls to go ahead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community People show support by handing over cash to Suthep The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Apart from addressing social issues, the People’s Democratic Reform Committee led by former Democrat MP Suthep Thaugsuban has now started focusing on collecting donations.During the march down Bangkok yesterday, Suthep was seen waving…
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Colorful New Year coming to Phuket
PHUKET: “Colorful Countdown Phuket 2014” is set to usher in the new year with light shows and live concerts at Sanam Chai Park (map here) from December 29 to 31. This year’s theme for the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) event is “The Charm Wonderland of Light”, explained PPAO President Paiboon Upatising, also known as “the pink panther” for his…
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More human remains found believed to be those of missing Phuket 7-year-old
PHUKET: More human remains were found today in the pine woods where family members of missing 7-year-old Nong Dear and villagers yesterday discovered fragments of a human skull, along with shorts and a pair of slippers that matched those the girl was wearing at the time of her disappearance. It was a spirit medium who led the family to the…
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Phuket truck tumbles off Kata Hill
PHUKET: An empty holiday home narrowly avoided heavy damage yesterday afternoon when a truck loaded with pallets of cement bags plunged down Kata Hill. The six-wheeled truck rolled down the steep slope, spilling its load of cement bags as it tumbled. It came to rest after bumping into the front of the vacant house. “We arrived at about 1:45pm to…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: EC calls to reconsider election date; Yingluck accused of using state funds; DSI to press sedition charges against PDRC
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Reconsider poll date: EC The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Election Commission yesterday appealed for cooling-off period out of fears that the wrangling over when the snap election should be held could lead to an escalation in unrest and a dispute over the poll results.“The Election Commission…
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Skull fragment found in Phuket believed to be of missing 7-year-old
PHUKET: Fragments of a human skull have been found in Chalong along with clothing and slippers that match those of missing 7-year-old Natthapa “Nong Dear” Papkaew (story here). The relatives of the missing girl uncovered fragments of bone while searching the forested area near Palai Beach yesterday. Chalong Police were notified of the discovery at about 3pm. “While our forensic…
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Four injured in Phuket Graceland Resort & Spa fire
PHUKET: Three staffers and a carpenter were injured in a fire that broke out yesterday afternoon in the laundry facilities at the Phuket Graceland Resort & Spa in Patong. “When I realized there was a fire, I order hotel staffers to notify guests to evacuate the hotel. We were at about 70 to 80 per cent occupancy, but got all…
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Phuket Opinion: When democracy requires protest
Thitinan Pongsudhirak is a political science professor and Director of the Institute of Security and International Studies at Chulalongkorn University. He holds a PhD from the London School of Economics and an MA from Johns Hopkins University, and from 1998 to 2005, worked at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Here, he explains the recent Thai protests as a battle between those…
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Phuket Opinion: Hold the icy judgments of police volunteers
PHUKET: The arrest of well-known former Tourist Police Volunteer Gary Halpin, and the very serious charge of selling the illegal narcotic ya ice (crystal methamphetamine), rocked the Phuket expat community this week (story here). For many people in the local English-language media, the New Zealander was relied on as a valuable and trusted source of information on numerous high-profile cases…
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Firefighters battle blaze at Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa
PHUKET: Hotel staff have evacuated the Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa in Patong as firefighters battle the blaze that started at the hotel’s laundry facilities.The standalone building, part of one of Patong’s best-known resorts, caught fire at about 1:30pm, Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan told the Phuket Gazette.Firefighters have now contained the fire, which continues to burn.On site are five…
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Moonlighting Phuket electrician falls asleep at wheel, kills motorbike driver
PHUKET: A moonlighting electrician fell asleep at the wheel on his way home from work early this morning, striking and dragging a motorbike taxi driver to his death on Thepkrasattri – Nai Yang Road. Police called to the scene at 6:30am found a pickup truck with a badly damaged hood in a ditch alongside the road. The taxi driver vest…
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German tourist collapses, dies at Phuket beach
PHUKET: A German man collapsed and died in knee-deep water only meters from the shore at Patong Beach just before sunset yesterday. Patong Police officers were called to the scene, in front the police box at the end of Soi Bangla (map here), at 6pm. “When we arrived, lifeguards were administering CPR [cardiopulmonary resuscitation]. They continued for about 10 minutes,…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Putin gambles on Ukraine bailout; White House curbs NSA; South Sudan strife spreads; Tokyo Governor resigns amid money scandal
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community White House review panel proposes curbs on some NSA programs Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A White House-appointed panel on Wednesday proposed curbs on some key National Security Agency surveillance operations, recommending limits on a program to collect records of billions of telephone calls and new tests before…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: More Nui victims found; Chiang Mai freezes over; DSI targets PDRC assets; Suthep vows Bangkok jam
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bone discovery linked to serial killer Nui The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Police have found several bones at an uninhabited spot in Loei where a confessed serial rapist and murderer allegedly attacked and strangled a girl earlier this year.DNA tests will be conducted to determine if the…
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