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Corals allegedly damaged by seawalking company to take years to grow back
PHUKET: Corals allegedly damaged by a seawalking company off Khai Nai Island, east of Phuket, could take five to six years to grow back, explained officials as they inspected the decimated underwater habitat yesterday. Over 300 square meters of coral were damaged to create a pathway for tourists to walk on the sea floor, said the Phuket Department of Marine…
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Phuket one-stop yacht center steers course for 2015 launch
PHUKET: With the long-awaited “one-stop center” for all yachts arriving in Phuket one year overdue, officials have now announced the complex is on track to open in 2015. The 70-million-baht rotunda-style building stands proud in Chalong Bay (map here), but remains to be occupied by the relevant agencies for yacht arrivals to clear immigration, customs and the harbor master. In…
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Phuket raid uncovers illegal logging camp
PHUKET: A team of Phuket officers raided an illegal logging camp in Kathu yesterday evening, seizing hundreds of planks of wood cut from protected species of trees. Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol led officers into the hills behind Wat Kathu (map here) after local residents informed his office of illegal lumberjacks working in the area. “We rushed to the site,…
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Phuket FC sign MoU with famous Brazilian club Cruzeiro
PHUKET: Pamuk Achariyachai, president of Phuket FC, announced that the club will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with famous Brazilian club Cruzeiro Esporte Club, next week. The bilateral agreement means Phuket and Cruzerio will be able to exchange players. The Islanders currently have two Brazilians, Luiz “Dudu” Purcino and Junior “Juninho” Guimaro, in their squad. Pamuk is looking to…
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Swedish tourist caught in string of Phuket drug arrests
PHUKET: Karon Police arrested a Swedish tourist, along with three others, on drug charges last night. Karon Police led by Karon Police Deputy Superintendent Sophon Borirak arrested a Swedish man and his female companion at a hotel near Taina Road in Karon (map here) at 6pm. Police named the suspects as Jen Peter, 48, and Kwanpana “Tom” Thani, 29, from…
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Phuket monks defrocked after being caught with drugs
PHUKET: Four monks and a lay worker at the well-known Wat Kajornrungsan on Ranong Road in Phuket Town were arrested Tuesday night after a tip-off led police to catch them with drugs.“We went to Wat Kajornrungsan after local residents reported to us that they suspected some monks were using drugs,” Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Prawit Engchuan told the Phuket…
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Russian student in Phuket motorbike crash slowly improving
PHUKET: Russian student Sevastan Lukashov, in hospital since March 31 following a serious motorbike accident on the bypass road (story here), is showing signs of recovering from his coma. A source close to the case told the Phuket Gazette, “His school friends go to visit him from time to time.” “The British International School arranged the visa which allows Sevastan’s…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Red shirts call off protest, but the poor stay; Exam cheat teachers to be charged; Plan to close 14,000 schools
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Yellows stay as reds head to Parliament The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: After staging a sit-in demonstration for 17 days, the red shirts yesterday announced the end of their protest after a rally motorcade from the Constitutional Court to Parliament to call for the impeachment of five…
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Phuket Finance: Dumping your UK domicile
PHUKET: Many British expats are unaware that as long as they remain UK domiciled, their estates will be subject to inheritance tax. Even if you have been living outside of the country for 40 years, it doesn’t mean you automatically have lost your UK domicile. In fact it is a little tricky to shed and this means your estate could…
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Capturing Phuket through Google Glass
PHUKET: By the time the Christmas holidays roll around this year, I’ll have one of the first sets of Google Glass in Thailand. Imagine being able to walk our beautiful beaches here in Phuket and capture the sights, sounds and experiences hands-free. That’s what Google Glass will allow me to do and most people here won’t even realize that my…
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A glass of wheatgrass if you please
PHUKET: Vitality, curative, nutrient-rich, detoxifying, energy – these are some of the most common connotations associated with the plant, Triticum aestivum, more commonly known as ‘wheatgrass’. Another increasingly common association is cancer prevention. “That’s what I like about it. Maybe it’s to do with my age,” says 68 year-old Frank Gunn, an American expat who has lived in Phuket for…
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B26mn bid for lucky plates
PHUKET: A little more than 26 million baht (26,013,000) was earned at the 8th annual “Lucky License Plate Action” held recently at the Phuket Merlin Hotel in Phuket Town. This was five million baht short of the initial expectation of 31 million baht, and four million baht less than last year’s auction which raised 30 million baht. This year, a…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Red shirts to march on Bangkok; Smoking ban at airports; ICT Minister defends web censorship
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Concern as red shirts threaten mass protest The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Concern over the announced mass protest by red-shirt supporters – touted to attract some 100,000 supporters – has prompted Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra to instruct municipal police to tighten security at government compounds and landmarks…
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Phuket Italian restaurants make the grade
PHUKET: The Thai-Italian chamber of commerce brought their Ospitalita Italiana project to Phuket recently, awarding five Italian restaurants the ‘Q’ certificate of authenticity. The ‘Q’ for ‘quality’ award judges the restaurants genuinely Italian if they meet 10 criteria concerning the training of their chefs and their use of genuine recipes and Italian products, such as wine and olive oil. Not…
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Phuket to adopt new “4 Ms’ plan to boost tourism
PHUKET: The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has revived its efforts and moved its attention once again to help promote Phuket as a regional hub for corporate and organizational tourism. A new four-year destination promotion strategy was presented to local, regional and national officials at a seminar on April 26 at the Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town. Entitled “Developing…
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Phuket loan shark, henchmen netted in raid
PHUKET: Crime Suppression Division officers arrested a Phuket loan shark and his six henchmen in a raid on a house in Thalang district late yesterday afternoon. Led by Maj Roongsak Maichandee and armed with a search warrant, the officers entered a house in Ban Muang Mai, off Thepkrasattri Road, and arrested Yutthana “Tum” Dorkjan, 31, for running a loan shark…
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Reaching out for that helping hand
Suicide rates have increased 60 per cent worldwide over the past 45 years, according to the World Health Organization. Phuket is not immune, but there is help available for those in need. The Phuket Gazette’s Leslie Porterfield reports. PHUKET: KHEMMANIT Jantharaapa was 38 years old when she walked onto Thao Thepkrasattri Bridge in tears on April 24. She took off…
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Phuket beach party ends with shotgun blast
PHUKET: A man enjoying a laid-back beach party with friends at Kalim, north of Patong Beach, last night managed to push away a shotgun that was pointed at his head just before it went off. Khatawut Sangngam, 23, was with friends on Kalim Beach (map here) when three men rode by them on motorbikes, looked them over, and rode on.…
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No fear of floods or landslides yet, says Phuket MET
PHUKET: Despite heavy rains flooding parts of Ao Nang and Krabi Town yesterday, officers at the Southern Meteorological Center (MET) in Phuket say today that there is no need to fear floods or landslides in Phuket just yet. Deluges in Krabi, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket, damaged an estimated 20 houses and caused minor flooding up to 60 centimeters…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: B350bn water project hits corruption dam; Khon Kaen killer cop; Cheating teacher investigated
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Water projects may break corruption law The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The government might run into another serious legal problem; barely escaping the Administrative Court’s injunction last week, the Bt350-billion water-management project could be found to violate the Counter Corruption Act BE2542 (1999).A source at the Comptroller…
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Tourism Minister: International licenses a must for Phuket car, bike rentals
PHUKET: Tourists will need to have a valid international driver’s license to rent cars and motorbikes, the Minister of Tourism and Sports announced on Saturday. The news came as Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak sifted through a slew of issues facing the state of tourism in the Andaman provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi at a meeting at…
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Phuket Tourist Police arrest illegal Chinese guides
PHUKET: Tourist Police arrested two Chinese nationals in Phuket Town yesterday for working illegally as tour guides catering to Chinese tour groups. Phuket Tourist Police Inspector Urumporn Khundejsumrit named the two men as Hung Jin Tia, also known as “Mr Tawan”, 34, and Cao Jiandong, 40. Accompanying Tourist Police in the raid on the men’s tour kiosk on Phun Pol…
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Police await fingerprint results over Phuket yacht thieves’ knife attack
PHUKET: Police are waiting for fingerprint test results to determine whether the two yacht thieves arrested last weekend also carried out a knife attack on a Frenchman who disturbed the duo while they were trying to rob his yacht just two days earlier. Niwat Duangmanee and Theeraphol Malasan, both 21, were charged with using knives to commit armed robbery, using…
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Phuket football: Islanders unable to tame Port Lions
PHUKET: The Islanders drew 1-1 with the Port Authority of Thailand’s pro soccer team, Singhtarua FC on Saturday night at Phuket’s Surakul Stadium, and the home team will feel unlucky not to have claimed all three points. Playing their 9th fixture away, in their first season ever in the Thai Division 1 (Yamaha League One or YL1), the Singhtarua FC…
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New Phuket court to deliver tourists justice
PHUKET: A new series of courts will be established in Phuket and other key vacation destinations in Thailand, including Bangkok, Pattaya, Chiang Mai, Phang Nga and Krabi, to assist foreign visitors.“Tourists who are the victims of thefts and robberies may have to face a lengthy trial and experience inconvenience because they only stay in the country for a short time,”…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Corruption hits new high; Brit mum campaigns for road safety; Abhisit to face more 2010 murder charges
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thais becoming inured to corruption, TDRI says The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: With bribes hitting 30-50 per cent of project prices, and the public showing signs of becoming inured to the practice, corruption has reached a critical point, the Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) says.…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Israel bombs Syria, war touted; Razak wins Malaysia election; Neo-Nazi trial stuns Germany
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Israel strikes Syria, says targeting Hezbollah arms Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Israeli jets bombed Syria on Sunday, rocking Damascus for hours and sending pillars of flame into the night sky in what a Western source called a new strike on Iranian missiles bound for Lebanon’s Hezbollah.Local people…
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More trekking elephants suspected illegal in Phang Nga raids
PHUKET: Officers from the regional Natural Resources and Environment Crime Suppression Division have identified 26 more elephants they suspect were illegally acquired. The news follows raids on elephant trekking companies in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, earlier this week, during which officers identified 40 elephants they suspect are illegal (story here). The trekking camps are well known for providing popular…
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Man arrested for selling corals at Phuket market
PHUKET: Police last night arrested a market trader for selling pieces of dead coral as ornaments fitted to leather bands at the popular Saphan Hin Park in Phuket Town. Officers moved in and arrested Suphachok Worramatamart, 37, after they received a tip-off that dead specimens of coral were being sold at the market. Marine Police Region 8 Deputy Superintendent Lt…
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Phuket to host joint full-scale tsunami drill
PHUKET: Rescue services from three provinces will join Phuket emergency first-responders for three days of intensive training and to conduct a full-scale tsunami response drill on May 29. The fellow rescue teams to join the exercise will be from the Andaman provinces of Krabi, Phang Nga and Trang. The rescue crews will explore response plans on May 27-28 and stage…
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