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Phuket Opinion: This could be heaven or this could be”¦
PHUKET: A recent report about the problem of “homeless foreigners” from the West becoming a burden on the Thai state (see here) set off an unprecedented flurry of comments on popular online blogs. Like so many dimensions of modern life, the problem of “homelessness” has reached global proportions, as cases like the diaspora of the stateless Rohingya from Myanmar show.…
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Phuket Immigration on the lookout for stolen visa stickers
PHUKET: The theft of 300 visa stickers from Thailand’s embassy in Malaysia has put Phuket Immigration on high alert.Phuket Immigration was notified about four days ago to be on the lookout for stickers bearing the stolen numbers, Phuket Immigration officer Angkarn Yasanop said.A Foreign Ministry investigation revealed that 259 of the 300 stickers had been used and 55 visa holders…
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Phuket’s Outrigger T20 cricket: Round 7
PHUKET: On a sunny Sunday for round 7 of Phuket’s Outrigger T20 Cricket league, ICC took on the Youth side in the morning session, while the Village faced Patong in the afternoon session. In the morning match, ICC notched up a solid 162-7 batting first while the Youth could only manage 125-6 in reply. The much anticipated afternoon encounter between…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Manning wants to be a woman; Congo city shelled; Syria gas attack unprobed; New leaks at Fukushima; Nicely framed, says Bo
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Congo civilians amid city shelled Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The head of the U.N. mission in Congo on Thursday ordered peacekeeping troops to act to protect civilians after shelling hit the city of Goma in renewed fighting between the army and M23 rebels. The fighting…
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Decommissioned warship bursts into flames – again
PHUKET: The decommissioned warship RTMS Lanta burst into flames yesterday while workers were repairing damage caused by a previous fire that broke out at the tourist attraction on July 3 (story here). No injuries were reported. It took Krabi Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) firemen about an hour to squelch the flames on the warship, which is a tourist attraction in…
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Phuket’s Organized Crime Center keeps eye on the prize – illegal taxi industry
PHUKET: An officer at the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Organized Crime Center clarified today that the current goal of the center is solely to dismantle the illegal taxi operations in Phuket, which officers believe are at the core of tourist extortion and local money laundering issues. “The center (story here) at this point is designed to tackle all the…
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Bangkok big gun praises Phuket police work
PHUKET: Big gun from Bangkok Gen Wuthi Liptapallop of the Royal Thai Police reviewed Phuket police progress yesterday on the island-wide crackdown on crime from August 16 to September 31. The crackdown, aimed for sweeping results in preparation for the Asian Economic Community (AEC), is targeting everything from immigration issues to prostitution, said Gen Wuthi. Phuket Immigration Police presented their…
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Dokset trial: Phuket Forensic Police recount gruesome details of body
PHUKET: The senior officer in charge of collecting forensic evidence at the home of Norwegian national Stein Harvard Dokset recounted to the court today what his team encountered when they discovered the remains of Mr Dokset’s slain ex-girlfriend, Rungnapa Suktong. Mr Dokset, 50, stands accused of murdering Ms Rungnapa and leaving her remains to dissolve in an acid-filled trash bin…
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Officers seize Myanmar imports at bus terminal
PHUKET: Phuket City officers seized a large cache of apparently untaxed Myanmar goods yesterday at Phuket Bus Terminal 2. Officials led by Suthee Sirianant, Chief Administration Officer of Phuket City District Office, seized the seven large plastic bags containing the goods at about 7:30pm last night.The find was made during a search conducted as part of an anti-drug drive.“We found…
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Women on top: Triathalon Champ talks about empowering women
PHUKET: “If I miss my morning training, I have no energy throughout the day,” says Belinda Granger, 15 times Iron Distance Triathlon Champion. “But you don’t have to compete in Triathlons. Just notice something that keeps you energetic and lively and keep adding more of that element into your life,” she adds. The 10 women who attended the “Empowering Women…
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Despite rescue efforts, dolphin beached at Patong dies
PHUKET: A dolphin that washed ashore at Patong Beach yesterday afternoon died despite the best efforts of bystanders to keep her alive.The female striped dolphin was first spotted by a tourist, who informed a jet-ski operator, who in turn called the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC).“I was walking along the beach when a tourist came to tell me about the…
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Cebu pacific, Tiger Air tap into Manila-Phuket direct flight market
PHUKET: At about the same time that Tourism Malaysia announced the closing of its Phuket office (click here for story), another major Southeast Asian source-market is poised to link up with the “Pearl of the Andaman” – the Philippines. As of this month and next, two regional airlines will service direct flights between Manilia and Phuket International Airport. The Philippine’s…
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Same same, but different: Second crane collapses in Patong
PHUKET: For the second time in just over a month, a crane being used to install water pipes on Phang Muang Sai Kor Road in Patong toppled over yesterday afternoon, landing this time on a garden wall. No injuries were reported. The accident occurred at about 4:30pm near Patong Hospital (map here). The crane operator, Phol Phongsaen, 32, said the…
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Phuket jungle-trek camps raided in search for phantom elephants
PHUKET: The Phuket jungle-trekking tourism industry came under scrutiny again on Wednesday when officers from the Natural Resources and Environmental Crime Suppression Division (NREC) raided seven elephant camps in Phuket to try to determine whether or not seven elephants had been trafficked onto the island. The camps raided were: Sai Yuan Elephant Camp, Sea View Elephant Camp and Kinnaree Elephant…
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Sexagenarian on cycle tour of Thailand stops by Phuket
PHUKET: Retired teacher Manit Intarit, 66, stopped by Phuket Provincial Hall on his bicycle on Tuesday to meet Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut on the ninth day of his cycling trip around Thailand to honor HM The King and Queen.Pony-tailed Mr Manit, who hails from Pattani, said, “I want HM The King and Queen to know that residents of the Deep…
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37 dead as Malaysian tour bus plunges into ravine
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 37 dead as Malaysian tour bus plunges into ravine News Wires / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A bus travelling from the Malaysian hilltop gambling resort of Genting Highlands to the capital Kuala Lumpur plunged 60 meters into a ravine on Wednesday, killing as many as 37 people, officials said.Rescue…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Baht slides; House of shame; E-tags for inmates; DNA ID checks in Ranong
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Baht further slides against US$ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Falling to a one-year low yesterday at 31.82, the baht has suffered from depreciation against the US dollar along with most emerging-market currencies. Compared with this year’s peak of 28.62, registered on April 19, the…
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Phuket student drug flunkies heading for summer camp rehab
PHUKET: A group of 29 Phuket students – all of whom tested positive for drugs – are in for a summer camp they’d not expected. They are now signed up to spend nine days getting clean and learning about the dangers of substance abuse. From today, August 22, to 30, the students will join a stricter-than-normal summer camp at Phuket’s…
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VIDEO REPORT: Police set reward for Democrat Party Phuket office thief
PHUKET: A reward of 5,000 baht was offered this morning for any information leading to the arrest of a thief who is believed to have broken into the Democrat Party Phuket office not once, but twice this month.In addition to robbing the office of an undisclosed amount of money, the thief also vandalized the interior. The office is located on…
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Phuket teen swerves to avoid car making u-turn, dies in crash
PHUKET: A 16-year-old speeding south on Thepkrasattri Road last night died after he swerved to avoid a car and hit a metal pole instead.Witnesses told police that Sakarat Muaenparn was riding his motorbike at high speed in the motorbike lane when a car made a u-turn south of the PTT station, said Thalang Police officer Chatree Chuwichian.The car turned in…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Leak highly radioactive; Boston bomber had mulitple wounds; Iraq being dragged into war; Circus comes to Afghan kids
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Wrecked Fukushima storage tank leaking highly radioactive water Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Contaminated water with dangerously high levels of radiation is leaking from a storage tank at Japan’s crippled Fukushima nuclear plant, the most serious setback to the clean up of the worst nuclear accident…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Scuffles end meeting; Canadian picked up in penny scam; Teachers still targets; Mass Rohingya escape; Fertility rite
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Scuffles, boos bring chaos to constitution change meeting The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Parliament President Somsak Kiatsuranont, whose nickname is “Gavel Master”, lived up to his name and used his gavel vigorously for the first time yesterday during the House-Senate joint meeting deliberating constitutional amendments.…
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Officials baffled over dead Koh Racha Yai fish
PHUKET: Several dead reef fish collected from the dozens of dead fish found at the popular dive destination of Koh Racha Yai were brought to the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) earlier this month after local fishermen, villagers and divers voiced concern that they may have been poisoned, perhaps by cyanide.“In the last week to 10 days, there have been…
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VIDEO REPORT: HM the King’s historic visit may bolster Phuket sea gypsy land rights
PHUKET: As part of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) probe to establish how long Phuket sea gypsies have been living at Rawai Beach, officers have discovered movie footage of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej visiting the community in 1959. The footage may prove critical to the sea gypsies’ fight against court-ordered evictions based on land claims by private investors, the…
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Copper thief copped at Phuket checkpoint
PHUKET: Police arrested a man carrying 100,000 baht worth of stolen copper wire concealed in fertilizer sacks at a routine checkpoint in Thalang yesterday .Eakkapan Pinthong, 22, a construction worker at the Karn Keha public housing estate in Srisoonthorn, appeared nervous as he approached the checkpoint on Baan Don Road shortly after midnight yesterday, police said.“He was riding a motorbike…
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Phuket officials vow swift action on dirty Patong beach water
PHUKET: Patong officials are determined to discover the source of foul water being pumped into the sea at Patong Beach following a large section of dirty water surfacing at the beach yesterday. “Our municipality was not aware of the problem. However, now that we know, we will step in to solve the problem as soon as possible,” Panida Klinbbusa, an…
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Northbound lanes at Phuket underpass to re-open, relieve congestion
PHUKET: The northbound lanes entering the Darasamuth Intersection, in front of the Central Festival Festival shopping mall, will be re-opened this afternoon, relieving some of the heavy traffic congestion in the area. Excavating the road required workmen at the site to close all northbound lanes for several hours this morning and redirect traffic along the spur road to join Wichit…
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Rescue workers bag a pair of Phuket pythons
PHUKET: Rescue workers were called to recover large pythons in both Patong and Mai Khao last night after local Phuket residents raised the alarm due to the sheer size of the snakes. Rescue workers from Patong Hospital were summoned to capture a large python seen slithering across the road in front of the Patong Municipality offices (map here) at about…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: 600 Thais evacuated from Egypt; 7BN seized; Absolute control – MP Ongart Klampaiboon; Oil spill recovery plan
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 600 Thais flown back, 300 still in Egypt The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: More than 600 Thais have been evacuated from Egypt on flights arranged by the Thai government in the wake of the unrest which has so far claimed some 900 lives. Another 300…
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Tourism Malaysia closes Phuket office after 13 years
PHUKET: Tourism Malaysia announced today that it will close its Phuket office and all other offices outside of Bangkok by the end of this month.“There will only be one office in Thailand, and that will be in Bangkok,” Deputy Director General of Tourism Malaysia Chong Yoke Har said.Mrs Chong made the announcement at an appreciation dinner for Phuket’s media and…
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