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Top 5 luxury villas in Phuket and Koh Samui for your next holiday
Ask people to name the most beautiful places in Thailand, and you'll often hear Phuket and Koh Samui being mentioned. Who would disagree? One is renowned for its bustling nightlife, vibrant culture, and lively beach scene, while the other is...
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Phuket “mad bomber’ bank robbery foiled by closing time
PHUKET: Police are hunting for a man who tried robbing a bank in Phuket Town late this afternoon reportedly with grenades strapped to his chest, but was foiled by the bank having been closed for business just five minutes earlier. The man, described as dark-skinned and about 30-35 years old, arrived at the Kasikorn Bank branch on the corner of…
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Phuket convention center plan gets bi-partisan backing
PHUKET: Government spokesman Prompong Nopparit was in Phuket over the weekend to assure that the Pheu Thai Party has no plan to cut central government funding for the international convention and exhibition center project planned for Phuket. Mr Prompong made the announcement in Mai Khao on Saturday after meeting villagers at the project site on the island’s northern tip. Mr…
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Phuket ‘Kidnap rapist’ freed from jail, Nepali community in fear
PHUKET: In response to media reports on the release of a man who confessed to multiple counts of kidnapping, imprisonment, and repeated rape and robbery of Nepali women, the Thai-Nepalese Club held a meeting yesterday to discuss the community’s fear of reprisals and options for legal action. Phuket’s Nepali community members are living in fear of the “powerful” Phakpoom Maneerat,…
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Phuket weather report: wet and windy all week
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has issued another weather advisory for Phuket, the second in as many days. Issued at 6am today by the Southern Meteorological Center at Phuket Airport, the advisory notes a “rather strong” southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea and coastline. People living in windward coastal areas should be especially prepared for “abundant and heavy” rain…
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Catamaran founders off Phuket, passengers saved
PHUKET: Heavy seas off Phuket over the weekend swamped a German man’s sailboat and prompted a dramatic rescue of his three Thai passengers off Mai Thon Island yesterday. German sailor Paul Zicman, 68, invited 34-year-old friend Thewarat Kongmuang and her two daughters aboard his catamaran Blue Lagoon for a trip to Koh Khai on Saturday afternoon. The four set sail…
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Asia’s first Urak Lawoi cultural center set for Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Office is pushing ahead with the construction of a 5.4-million-baht culture center for Urak Lawoi sea gypsies, with the facility set to become the first of its kind in Asia. The center, which is more than 70% complete, will aim to preserve the distinctive way of life and culture of the Urak Lawoi and to attract…
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Phuket in transport crisis: Taxis take tourism to the brink
PHUKET: Despite a great deal of press coverage and international diplomatic pressure, altercations between foreign tourists and tuk-tuk drivers are increasing, both in frequency and severity. In one of the latest attacks, a German tourist in Patong was beaten close to death by a pack of gangsters who remain at large. And a week ago today a Thai tour van…
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Man survives jump off Phuket’s Thepkasattri Bridge
PHUKET: A man is in hospital recovering today after being plucked from the fast-flowing waters under Phuket’s Thepkrasattri Bridge. Sen Sgt Maj Sayan Mesang, stationed at Tha Nun Police Box under the nearby Sarasin Bridge, told the Gazette that he received reports of a man attempting to jump off the bridge at about 10:45am yesterday. “I rushed to the scene,…
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FC Phuket ready for Bangkok Utd
PHUKET: FC Phuket will be back in action on the friendly turf of Surakul Stadium tonight, when they will be gunning to snatch all three points from division 1 rivals Bangkok United and revive their dimming hopes for promotion to the elite Thai Premier League. FC Phuket go into the match in ninth place in the Thai Division 1 table,…
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Phuket kids flock to Kathu street fair
PHUKET: Children of all ages are flocking to the Kathu Kids’ Street Fair, which is on through Sunday in Phuket’s Kathu subdistrict. The three days of fun activities include stage performances, contests, games and a wide variety of other entertainments put on by children from local schools. The event is being held on Wichit Songkram Road, near the entrance to…
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AIS sets up shop at Phuket Prison
PHUKET: GSM mobile phone operator Advance Info Service (AIS) has set up a temporary sales booth giving away free SIM cards at the entrance to the visiting area at Phuket Prison. A sales hostess stationed at the booth said the prison was a good place to promote AIS services as there were always large crowds of people facing long waits…
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Phuket estate manager denies gun charges
PHUKET: Police have confiscated the gun of a Phuket housing estate manager who is accused of using it to intimidate a construction team into stopping their noisy work. The estate manager felt the work was “too noisy”. Phuket Police are now investigating whether the gun license he produced is genuine. Seree Duangsuwan arrived at Phuket City Police Station for questioning…
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Phuket machete attack puts Burmese workers in ICU
PHUKET: Two Burmese workers on their way home from a Phuket karaoke bar were critically injured after they were attacked by knife-wielding youths yesterday. Thalang Police received an anonymous report at 1:10am from a local resident in Srisoonthorn reporting that two heavily bleeding men were lying in an alley near the Baan Manik boxing camp on Srisoonthron Road. Arriving at…
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Phuket Police yet to question tour driver attackers
PHUKET: Kamala Police have been issued a court summons to bring in two drivers for questioning over the savage beating of a Phuket tour company driver last Sunday. “I will give them a week to come and see me. If it’s more than a week, a second summons will be issued. If they still don’t come, I will apply to…
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Phuket officials “reprimand’ The Village
PHUKET: During a day-trip inspection tour to Koh Maphrao off Phuket’s east coast on Tuesday, Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkhaosutthirak reprimanded The Village resort for environmental and licensing law infractions. Accompanied by an entourage of no fewer than 30 officials and members of the press, V/Gov Somkiet inspected the upscale resort in response to a complaint filed at the Damrongtham…
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Phuket taxi bullying continues
PHUKET: Police today were called in to resolve yet another taxi dispute, this time reports of drivers using their vehicles to block the entrance to the renowned Evason Phuket & Bon Island resort. About 20 “black plate” drivers massed at the entrance to the Evason – one of the very first resorts on the island – at about 10am, reported…
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Patong Hospital to fight Phuket floods
PHUKET: Patong Hospital faces a chronic flooding problem so bad that its administrators plan to construct an emergency dike and pedestrian footbridge to keep out flood water and allow patients to access the facility during periods of heavy rainfall. Phuket Public Health Office Director Sak Tanchaikul reported on short-term solutions to the hospital’s growing flood problem, which caused a shutdown…
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Top Cop: Phuket is car-theft capital of the South
PHUKET: Thailand’s top traffic cop was in Phuket yesterday to brief top-ranking officers on the need to crack down on vehicle theft and the smuggling of luxury cars. Assistant national police chief Rapeepat Palawong chaired a high-level meeting on the issue at Phuket Provincial Police Headquarters yesterday morning. Lt Gen Rapeepat, who also serves as director of the National Traffic…
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Complaints mount against British fraud suspect in Phuket
PHUKET: Fugitive British fraud suspect Paul Ridden has been charged with a three-month immigration overstay and faces additional charges for working without a work permit, Phuket Police told the Phuket Gazette this morning. Mr Ridden, 58, was arrested without incident in front of Chalong Police Station yesterday. Chalong Police duty officer Boonlert Onklang said a check of the Briton’s travel…
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Brit fraud fugitive nabbed in Phuket
PHUKET: A British expat arrested in Phuket today was on a list of fugitives wanted by an international division of the UK’s Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA), the Phuket Gazette has learned. Paul Ridden, 58, was arrested today after being fooled into meeting a friend in front of Chalong Police Station. When he drove into the police station car park,…
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Phuket fishermen win right to use local beach
PHUKET: Local fishermen at Palai Beach, on Phuket’s east coast, today won the right to use a section of the beach for landing and repairing their longtail boats. Led by Jirapat Phum, about 20 local fisherman arrived at the beach this afternoon to meet Phuket Marine Office Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut and officers from other relevant organizations in order to inspect…
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Raided, a Phuket drugstore coughs up colorful comments from officialdom
PHUKET: A police raid on an out-of-town pharmacy last Friday coughed up more than the Phuket authorities were looking for. Acting on a tip-off, health officials and Thalang police entered the S.C. Phesat pharmacy on Srisoonthorn Road, right beside Phuket’s famed Heroines’ Monument in Thalang. Inside the drug store, officers found 138 Alprazolam (Xanax) pills for sale – and more…
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Phuket Police anti-drugs campaign targets kids
PHUKET: About 300 students yesterday began their first day of an “anti-drugs camp” as part of a new campaign by Phuket City police targeting youngsters. The children, from schools throughout Phuket Town, gathered at Srinagarindra The Princess Mother School Phuket (or “Chalermprakiat School“) in Saphan Hin for the four-day camp, which ends on Thursday. “Drug addiction is still a big…
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Phuket Live Wire: What to expect from your ISP
PHUKET: LAST week, with Khun Roger’s help, I published an updated ‘bang for the baht’ chart that shows you what kinds of international download speeds various Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are actually providing, and at what price. These aren’t the 9 Mbps or 100 Mbps advertised speeds; they’re real international download speeds, measured by real customers, like you and me,…
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Patong Hill closed to traffic today
PHUKET: The road over Patong Hill, the only direct route from Phuket Town to Patong, will be closed today (Tuesday) from 9am to midday. The road closure is to allow electrical workers to cut down trees interfering with power lines, Surasak Jantharuek of Patong Municipality’s Engineering Division told the Phuket Gazette. “We need to cut down branches and reset power…
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Phuket convention center impasse triggers political concerns
ANALYSIS PHUKET: The latest political obstacle to the construction of an international convention and exhibition center on the island is a staggering blow to the Phuket tourism industry. Over the past five years, the nation’s domestic political infighting has crippled efforts to develop a sustainable plan for tourism in Thailand. As Asia led the world in a post-2008 economic surge,…
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Phuket taxi mob beats driver in broad daylight
PHUKET: A gang of taxi drivers encamped outside an upscale resort on Phuket’s west coast today beat a local driver with an iron bar before causing a reported 50,000 baht in damage to his car. His tourist passengers were reportedly inside the vehicle at the time of the attack. Preecha Choowong, 38, filed a complaint at Kamala Police Station this…
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Sunday Opinion: Meth, mobiles and keeping the peace in Phuket
PHUKET: The fact that persons unknown recently enjoyed success smuggling ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and mobile phones into Phuket Prison by concealing the items inside dead rodents may have a comic aspect to it, but the revelation reflects a serious problem with the security situation – if not the hygiene – at that facility. The problem of smuggling at an…
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Phuket Corruption: Senate probes alleged police protection racket
PHUKET: A senate subcommittee on police graft and corruption is in Phuket investigating allegations of an alleged police protection racket targeting tailor shops in Phuket’s Kata-Karon area. Subcommittee chairman Pol Gen Jongrak Juthanon said the investigation follows complaints made by people in Kata-Karon that tailor shops and other retail businesses that employ ethnic Nepalis are forced to hand over 2,000…
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Phuket Square plans Bangkok mall
PHUKET: Phuket Square, managers of Jungceylon in Phuket, will launch a 300-million-baht “lifestyle community mall” on Sukhumvit Soi 20 in Bangkok during the first quarter of next year. The venture follows the company’s success with the Patong-based Jungceylon, it’s first and only other mall project. But the tail is not wagging the dog. Phuket Square has been headquartered in Bangkok…
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