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Phuket Election Commission seeks to re-open candidate registration
PHUKET: The Phuket Election Commission (PEC) has sent a formal request to Bangkok asking for permission to re-open registration so more candidates can contest the February 2 national election. “It’s not fair to hold an election with only one candidate. There is no choice for the people,” Tassaneeya Srirattanaprapan, chief of the PEC’s Political Party Division, said at a news…
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Phuket Customs yet to enforce new rules for boat stays
PHUKET: Phuket Customs will hear the opinions of representatives from throughout Phuket’s marine industry before deciding whether or not to enforce new regulations that would reduce boat stays in Thailand to two months. The new rules were announced by Phuket Customs Chief Nanthita Sririkub in a meeting at Provincial Hall yesterday. “According to new regulations handed down from Bangkok on…
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Investigation against Phuket violent taxi station postponed
PHUKET: The investigation of a violent Phuket taxi rank whose behavior was exposed in a sting operation in November has been postponed. “We expected the investigation against the Merlin Beach Resort taxi station to get official sanction at our December 2 meeting,” said Somboon Sarasit, head of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Special Crime Unit 3. “However, there were…
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Phuket greenlights trial ban on buses over deadly Patong hill
PHUKET: Within two weeks, buses and trucks headed to Patong will be barred from using the Patong Hill road, government officials and bus operators agreed at a meeting yesterday. The one-month trial ban will force most heavy vehicles to choose alternate roads into Patong, but will permit them to use the hill road when they exit the resort town. Not…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Fidel Castro, 87, makes rare public appearance
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Fidel Castro, 87, makes rare public appearance Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Former Cuban President Fidel Castro made a surprise appearance on Wednesday evening at the opening of a Havana cultural centre sponsored by one of his favourite Cuban artists.State television on Thursday broadcast images of Castro arriving…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Security alert in southern Russia after at least five bodies found
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Security alert in southern Russia after at least five bodies found Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Russia has put security forces on combat alert in the southern Stavropol region after the discovery of at least five corpses with gunshot wounds and an explosive device there barely a month…
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Phuket Gazette World News: India diplomat indicted, asked to leave U.S.
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community India diplomat indicted, asked to leave U.S. Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Indian diplomat whose arrest and strip-searching in New York caused a major rift between India and the United States was indicted for visa fraud on Thursday, and the U.S. government immediately asked her to leave…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Protests may cost B40bn; Tourism fears rise; Army maintains no coup; OAG stirs elections wasteful
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Prolonged siege may cost Bt40 bn The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The Bangkok Shutdown is expected to whack Bt40 billion off the economy or 0.2 percentage point off its growth as consumers cut back on daily living and travel expenses, according to the University of the Thai…
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Aussie fraud, embezzlement trial to start in June
PHUKET: Rell Hayes, the Australian founder of the Stoney Monday Oasis Hotel in Phuket, has denied criminal charges of embezzlement and six counts of fraud involving more than 80 million baht. His defense will be heard in court when his trial begins on June 10. Rell Vivien Hayes, 51, was arrested in Krabi in November after Phuket Provincial Court issued…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket man gunned down in garden
PHUKET: A 49-year-old man was shot dead in his garden at about 1pm today near Koh Keaw Soi 10.Police are now hunting for the shooter, who reportedly fled the scene along with another man in a white Toyota Fortuner.The victim’s wife reported hearing a gun fire three times, before she ran to the garden to find her husband, Echa Yala,…
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Phuket Opinion: Victims of society have a friend in Phuket
Naovanit Intarasakul, 53, is the director of a government-run shelter for the needy, Ban Mit Maitri. A Yala native, Ms Naovanit has degrees in social development from Rajabhat University in Yala and in management from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open University. Here, she explains what her shelter can provide and suggests what ordinary people can do to help. PHUKET: Phuket is one…
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Lethal Phuket tour bus crash prompts B10mn budget to fix road
PHUKET: The Phuket Highways Office has secured 10 million baht to widen the road at the bottom of Patong Hill in the hope of preventing further fatal bus crashes caused by brake failure. The announcement follows a runaway tour bus slamming into five vehicles, including one motorcycle, killing two people and leaving 26 others injured on December 29 (story here).…
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Phuket Town sleeping python not left to lie
PHUKET: A python found taking a nap in a Phuket Town kitchen was escorted to more natural surroundings by rescue workers early this morning.When Anchalee Boonjit returned home from work at about 1am today, she realized that all was not right.“I heard a sound in my kitchen,” she said. “When I went into the room, I saw a snake on…
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Phuket Business: Boat Avenue, Villa Market opens in Cherng Talay
PHUKET: It’s been too long – residents of Laguna Phuket, Cherng Talay and Bang Tao, who had been travelling all the way to Tesco Thalang to do most of their shopping, were forced to undertake expeditions to the well-stocked markets in the south of the island to buy hard-to-find imported goods. But with the grand opening of the Boat Avenue…
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Makro’s Rawai branch open for business
PHUKET: Siam Makro PCL, the Thai subsidiary of Dutch “cash and carry” chain Makro, on December 20 opened its third store in Phuket, on Wiset Road in Rawai. The new branch is Makro’s second “Food Service” format store in Phuket, following the opening of its first branch in Patong earlier this year. Speaking at the grand opening ceremony, Jantima Goiphol,…
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Phuket Filipina in 5-month legal limbo
PHUKET: A Philippine national charged with working in Patong illegally was forced to wait in legal limbo for five months before her case was put in front of a Phuket judge.In the meantime, she remained stuck in Thailand without a work permit, or legal way to support herself.Melanie Beleno, 35, was arrested on July 4 when Immigration Police went to…
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Phuket Gazette World News: U.N. wants inquiry into strikers’ deaths in Cambodia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.N. wants inquiry into strikers’ deaths in Cambodia Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The U.N. human rights agency urged Cambodia to launch an investigation into the “disproportionate” use of force by security forces last week against garment factory workers striking over pay.Military police opened fire on workers protesting…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Bangkok shutdown prompts tourism alert, embassy fears; Gaur deaths amid park fight; Hospital warns of beauty treatments
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Tourist help centres to be set up across the city ahead of shutdown The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The tourism sector is going on high alert and setting up “Tourist Friends Centres” in key locations across Bangkok ahead of |possible chaos on Monday as anti-government…
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Phuket Gazette World News: EU proposes sending military force to Central African Republic
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community EU proposes sending military force to Central African Republic Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: European Union officials proposed on Wednesday that the EU move quickly send troops to Central African Republic, either to the capital Bangui or the west of the country, diplomatic sources said.The proposals for an…
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Cruise high over Phuket with the PIMEX lucky draws
PHUKET: Jump into a gorgeous new airplane and get high above Phuket with this year’s PIMEX (Phuket International Boat Show), which opens tomorrow at the Royal Phuket Marina (map here). The Phuket Gazette in conjunction with Phuket Airpark is offering all registered visitors the chance to win a scenic flight over the island. Each daily drawing, from January 9 to…
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Chinese-speaking guides protest Phuket Town travel company
PHUKET: About 100 Chinese-speaking Phuket tour guides protested in front of a travel company yesterday, alleging that the company was hiring illegal Chinese guides. Chaifu Saelee, 43, led the protesters to Tranlee Travel Co Ltd in Phuket Town, where they met with Kritchakorn Roongmongkolnam, the Managing Director of the company. The protest follows the arrest of three Thai guides for…
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Phuket police consider sacking cop over killing
PHUKET: Phuket Police are considering discharging a police officer who shot dead a Soi Bangla bar worker on December 26. The 35-year-old Patong Police officer, Sgt Pongsakorn Treeyuth, was off duty and allegedly drunk when he held an 11mm handgun to the head of Sawitree Kaewin, 27 (story here). “We received an order from the Royal Thai Police in Bangkok…
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Baby elephant illegally imported to Phuket returned to Phang Nga
PHUKET: An elephant camp owner charged in October with illegally bringing an elephant into the province has been fined and the elephant returned to its home in Phang Nga. Prasob Jerkae, 37, paid a 5,000-baht fine for bringing an elephant into the province without a permit, Kathu Livestock Acting Chief Jirayu Nirunwiroj told the Phuket Gazette. A tip-off had led…
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Thanyapura Phuket appoints new Sports Marketing Director
PHUKET: Continuing to gain momentum under new leadership (see story here), the island’s premier sports and wellness destination Thanyapura Phuket has made another key appointment in its quest to export its “active healthy lifestyle” concept globally. Debbie Dionysius, the key figure in transforming the Phuket Triathlon into Southeast Asia’s premier multi-sport event, has joined Thanyapura Phuket as its Director of…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Obama to consult intelligence leaders, Congress on NSA review
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Obama to consult intelligence leaders, Congress on NSA review Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: President Barack Obama will hear from intelligence officials and congressional leaders as he nears the final stages of a review over how much to rein in U.S. surveillance practices in the wake of the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: North Korea assembly vote set for March, to consolidate Kim’s power
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community North Korea assembly vote set for March, to consolidate Kim’s power Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: North Koreans will hold elections for the country’s rubber stamp parliament in March, the first such polls under Kim Jong Un’s leadership, which are set to further consolidate his power after the…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Record freeze extends to eastern United States, at least nine dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Record freeze extends to eastern United States, at least nine dead Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A deadly blast of arctic air shattered decades-old temperature records as it enveloped the eastern United States on Tuesday, snarling air, road and rail travel, driving energy prices higher and overwhelming shelters…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Bangkok readies for shutdown; Yingluck denies coup call; Corruption costs B300bn a year; DNA confirms another Nui victim
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Retailers gear for shutdown The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Wholesalers and retailers have scrambled to adjust their inventory and logistics strategies to ensure that they have adequate supplies of consumer goods and foods and don’t need to raise prices during the “Bangkok shutdown” planned by anti-government forces…
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Chinese tour guide war in Phuket turns violent
PHUKET: Scuffles broke out in front of Wichit Police Station yesterday as tensions boiled over between Chinese-speaking Thai tour guides and Chinese nationals who they accuse of taking their jobs. More than 100 Thai guides gathered at the station in support of Suraphol Saelub, 24; Somchai Saetung, 39; and Ja Saema, also 39, who all face charges of attacking Chinese…
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Phuket Aviation: Jetstar Asia CEO talks regional markets
PHUKET: Well-positioned to meet swelling demand for one of Phuket’s top three tourism source markets in the post-GFC era, leading low-cost carrier Jetstar celebrated its first direct flight from Melbourne to Phuket on December 14; As reported earlier this month by the Phuket Gazette, story here. The airline also recently announced that it will deploy one of its flagship Dreamliner…
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