News
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Druggy driver caught stealing from media-trip tourists
PHUKET: A druggy tour bus driver confessed to regularly stealing from Chinese tourists after being arrested in Phuket by police yesterday. Kanoksak Promdang, 21, was caught after stealing five bags from members of a Chinese media group from Beijing. “Mr Kanoksak picked of the group of about 30 people from their hotel and took them to Rassada Pier, where they…
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Phuket police hunt ‘fake cops’ after possible extortion attempt
PHUKET: Police are hunting three men who are believed to have been impersonating police in an attempt to extort a French manager at a restaurant in Phuket today. CCTV footage shows the three men, who claimed to be Patong Police officers, entering La Boucherie in Patong at about 12:30am. “They came in and asked for our manager, who is French,…
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With taxis out, Patong Mayor outlines public transportation plan
PHUKET: Patong will soon have a network of public vehicles that will circulate at regular intervals, charging a reasonable fee for a ride, if the town’s new mayor has her way. In an exclusive interview with the Phuket Gazette today, Mayor Chalermluck Kebsab and an associate outlined the system that they would like to see replace taxi ranks in the…
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Investigation into police flaws in handling Aussie assassination attempt ongoing
PHUKET: The investigation into the failure of Patong Police to collect enough evidence to press attempted murder charges against two Australians who opened fire in a confessed assassination attempt will take longer than expected, said the Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC). The PACC is withholding the names of the two officers being investigated until the case is closed. “About five…
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New species of gecko in Phuket not so new
PHUKET: A new species of gecko was found in Phuket – two years ago, a specialist at the Khao Phra Thaew Wildlife Sanctuary in Thalang confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. “The lizard was found in Khao Phra Thaew in 2012,” said Awat Nitikul, chief of the Environmental Conservation Unit based at the reserve. However, the species didn’t make headlines until…
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After being freed in Phuket, Knudsen slashes pregnant girlfriend’s throat
PHUKET: Danish national Dennis Mark Knudsen, the intended target of a street shooting in Patong last year, has been arrested in Denmark for fatally slashing his 33-year-old pregnant girlfriend’s throat with a steak knife. Knudsen had previously been in custody in Thailand and released at least three times by Thai authorities. Knudsen was arrested on Saturday after police were alerted…
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Jubilant honorary consuls, hotel staff offer thanks for war on taxi mafia
PHUKET: Several of Phuket’s honorary consuls joined hotel staffers yesterday to give heartfelt thanks to the man they said made their dreams come true by disbanding illegal taxi groups at key west coast beach towns. “What General Panya has done is something we thought was impossible,” said French honorary consul Claude de Crissey. Noting that the illegal taxis had operated…
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Nadal on cloud nine after soaring new heights
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nadal on cloud nine after soaring new heights Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: One man’s despair was another man’s ecstasy as the most inopportune of double faults propelled a world-beating Rafa Nadal into a nine-times French Open champion on Sunday. Waiting to launch into a second…
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Thousands evacuated in Rayong over ‘toxic gas’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Thousands evacuated over ‘toxic gas’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes in Rayong’s Ban Chang district shortly past midnight and spend the night on a football pitch after smelling something like toxic gas. Children and the elderly…
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Pakistan militants attack Karachi airport, 23 dead
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Militants attack airport in Pakistan’s Karachi, 23 dead Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Gunmen attacked one of Pakistan’s biggest airports on Sunday and at least 23 people were killed, including all 10 of the attackers, media reported. The attack on Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, Pakistan’s…
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Police bust drug den in Phuket housing estate
PHUKET: Phuket Police arrested three drug dealers yesterday at their Koh Kaew drug house in possession of more than 2,000 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine) and 3.40 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine). Police moved in to make the arrests after a tip-off from an informant led them to a house in Chaofa Garden Home housing estate in Koh Kaew,…
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Curfew lifted on Phi Phi, Krabi and Phang Nga
PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has lifted the curfew on the tourist-popular Phi Phi Island and the rest of Krabi in its latest step to assist Thailand’s tourism industry. The NCPO issued the order yesterday, which also repealed the curfew in Phang Nga as well as in Cha-am district of Phetchaburi province and Hua Hin district…
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Kalim residents beg police to have mercy on taxi stands
PHUKET: More than 100 local villagers today begged officials to stop demolishing illegal taxi stands in Kalim.“We have been here for 18 years and got permission from former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin,” emotional tuk-tuk driver Adisorn Maneesri told the Phuket Gazette.“We understand why they are doing this, because of all the problems with taxis, but please understand that we are…
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Patong’s last illegal taxi stands torn down, raids move to Kalim
PHUKET: After tearing down 12 illegal taxi stands throughout Patong yesterday, officers moved to Kalim, at the northern end of Patong Beach, to tear down four illegal stands there. The raids in Kalim, carried out by more than 100 officers from Phuket Police and Royal Thai Police Region 8 division, began at 10am as part of the Royal Thai Army’s…
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Grateful German student gets bag of cash back
PHUKET: A grateful German student had his bag of cash returned to him last night thanks to a helpful Phuket van driver who spotted it at Rassada Pier on Thursday afternoon and handed it in to police. The bag, containing nearly 30,000 baht in combined currencies, was left behind at Rassada Pier by 22-year-old student Sebastian* and turned in by…
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Police told to get better results; target quality, not quantity
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police told to get better results; target quality, not quantity The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has given 30 days for drug-suppression units to deliver tangible, better results. Quality – not quantity – should be the focus, it…
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Ukraine crisis; Putin, Poroshenko break ice at D-Day event
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ukraine crisis; Putin, Poroshenko break ice at D-Day event Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The leaders of Russia and Ukraine held their first talks on Friday since Moscow annexed Crimea, discussing ways to end their four-month conflict in a brief encounter during commemorations in France of…
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Taxi driver found with over B100mn in bank spurs money laundering investigation
PHUKET: The discovery of a taxi driver’s bank book that showed assets of more than 100 million baht has initiated investigations into possible money laundering. Officers discovered the bank book this morning while searching the home of the driver, who has not yet been named. “A number of drivers had unexpectedly high bank balances, and we intend to check each…
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Taxi driver turns in 30,000 baht in cash
PHUKET: A bag containing baht and euros totaling almost 30,000 baht left behind at Rassada Pier by a forgetful German student was turned in by a helpful van driver yesterday. Mongkol Khampanta, 43, the driver, found the bag sitting on a chair in front of his company’s kiosk at the pier, he told police. He immediately asked around and called…
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Phuket students return gold, bring tears of joy to Filipino’s eyes
PHUKET: Local students at Phuket Rajabhat University brought a Filipino to tears earlier this week after turning in a gold bracelet that he had lost. The item is said to be worth about 135,000 baht. One of the students found the treasured piece of jewellery and immediately turned it in to a teacher at the school. “I went home to…
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Video Report: Get sweaty with a clean conscience: Phuket’s Clean the Beach Boot Camp tomorrow
PHUKET: After their one-year anniversary celebration to Phi Phi, Krix Luther and the Clean The Beach Boot Camp gang will be back on their home turf at Nai Harn Beach in southern Phuket tomorrow. Last month, over 50 eager boot camp participants, veterans and first-timers, piled onto Blue World Safaris’ speedy catamaran for the anniversary event, banking on a day…
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Breaking News: Phuket taxi driver arrested with B100mn
PHUKET: Police today arrested a Phuket taxi driver who had more than 100 million baht in his bank account. Officers are now investigating the origins of the funds and whether the suspect was involved in money laundering. — Woranut Pechdee
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Classic British Grumpy Old Man with passion for Phuket passes away
PHUKET: The Phuket expat community suffered another tragic loss to its ranks this week with the death of John Devenport, an avid classic car enthusiast and founding member of Phuket’s Grumpy Old Men Society (GOMS). Mr Devenport’s passing was announced to his Facebook friends in a post yesterday which read, “to all his Facebook friends we regret that John Devenport…
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Police arrest suspect over slaying of Canadian in Patong
PHUKET: After nearly five years on the run, Nukul Sae-heng, 28, from Phetchaburi has been arrested for his role in the contract slaying of Canadian national Francis Alex Degioanni in Patong in 2009. Nukul was arrested in Ayutthaya on a Phuket arrest warrant on Tuesday, Patong Police told the Phuket Gazette. He is now in custody at Patong Police Station.…
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Beach club blues
PHUKET: I’ve heard it many times from long-term Phuket expats – over the years the island has changed for the worse. But it doesn’t take decades to notice the decline. For me it took just one year. Take what used to be my favorite Phuket beach – Layan. A half-moon of sand on the border of a national park, edged…
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Turning others’ bad reputations into profit
Manop Pukpaya, 46, has been working as a Phuket taxi driver since 1997. He has a certificate in sales marketing from Dusit Commercial College Bangkok and for the past three years has run his own taxi service.Here, he talks about how the bad reputation of taxi drivers in Phuket and a good online review helped him expand his business, and…
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South American saviors
PHUKET: Tourism officials are seeking to tap into the Brazilian travel market to help Thai tourism reach its revenue goal for the year despite the coup. Some 21 Brazilian travel agents recently concluded a tour of Phuket and the surrounding area and said they felt completely safe and did not fear the political situation after they arrived, said Anoma Wongyai,…
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Crying out for a fair shakedown
PHUKET: Few Phuket Gazette news reports have generated more comment and debate in the social media than our recent article about vendors of pirated goods in Patong banding together to stage a protest against alleged extortion by government officials (story here). Scores of officers from a variety of government agencies, the protesters claimed, had been demanding too much in bribes…
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Memorial event to honor Phuket expat Graham Doven
PHUKET: Long-term Phuket expat Graham Doven, who passed away in Bangkok earlier this week (story here), will be honored with a ceremony on June 15 to scatter his ashes in Phang Nga Bay. The ceremony on the bay, where floating wreaths will be laid upon the water, will be followed by a memorial lunch at BB’s Restaurant at Tinlay Place…
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Indian PM ally says rape ‘sometimes right, sometimes wrong’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ally of India’s Modi says rape ‘sometimes right, sometimes wrong’ Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A lawmaker from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party has described rape as a social crime, saying “sometimes it’s right, sometimes it’s wrong”, in the latest controversial remarks by an…
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