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Woman arrested after stashing ya bah pills near Phuket school
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested a woman who stashed close to 2,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills on top of a phone booth in front of a primary school in Phuket Town. At a press conference at Phuket City Police Station today, officers asked the press not to release the identity of the woman as doing so could compromise the ongoing investigation…
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Phuket Crime: Swede arrested for major mobile phone theft
PHUKET: A Swedish tourist is in police custody in Phuket for the alleged theft of 85 Nokia mobile phones from a delivery vehicle in Patong. Patong Police duty officer Weerapong Rakkittoo identified the suspect as John Redling, age 38. The devices were reported stolen from a delivery vehicle in the basement parking lot of the Jungceylon shopping complex on March…
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Phuket travelers heading for Japan advised to continue to Bangkok
PHUKET: Following the devastating series of earthquakes and the tsunami that struck Japan’s main island of Honshu earlier today, travelers heading from Phuket to Japan are advised to at least continue their journey to Bangkok, an officer at Phuket International Airport told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon. “All flights [from Phuket] to Bangkok are continuing as scheduled. There are no…
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Phuket caveman to speak at IBAP meeting tonight
PHUKET: Eco-tourism advocate John Gray will be the keynote speaker at tonight’s meeting of the International Business Association of Phuket (IBAP). Known as “The Caveman” for his pioneer kayak explorations into the unique karst formations of Phang Nga Bay, Mr Gray has spent 22 years in Phuket, most of it as owner of John Gray Sea Canoe. The Californian is…
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Royal Paradise chosen as Phuket “landmark’ for Earth Hour
PHUKET: THE Royal Paradise Hotel and surrounding businesses in Patong will be plunged into darkness for one hour from 8:30pm on March 26 to mark Earth Hour 2011. About 500 people in Patong will hand out pamphlets promoting Earth Hour on March 24 to raise awareness of the event, said Meena Panun, who is coordinating the public campaign for Patong…
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Phuket Live Wire: To 3BB or not to 3BB?
PHUKET: I’m tired of paying so much for ADSL. I have ADSL lines in three of the four Sandwich Shoppes (CAT EV-DO in Villa Market), plus one in the bakery and two in my home office. That’s six ADSL lines. For years I’ve been using the TT&T, then 3BB, MaxNet Premiere 4 Mbps service. For years, I’ve been paying almost…
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Man dies in Phuket high-speed collision
PHUKET: A 31-year-old man died instantly in a high-speed collision north of Phuket Town early this morning as he rode his motorbike across Thepkrasattri Road but into the path of an oncoming car. Lt Patiwat Yodkhuan of Thalang Police reported that Meknoi Seekaew, originally from Phrae province, was riding northbound along Thepkrasattri Road about 2:20am when the accident occurred. However,…
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Blackouts: Phuket to enjoy obligatory Earth Hours
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced scheduled blackouts to carry out maintenance on high-voltage power lines, install new lines and move power poles. The dates and locations of the operations, which will be carried out from 9am to 5pm, are: March 15 – Chalong Along Luang Por Chuang Road, from the TOT office on Chao Fa West…
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Air Bagan launches direct flights to Burma from Phuket
PHUKET: Burmese airline Air Bagan will launch twice-a-week, direct fights between Phuket and Yangon on April 11. “The round-trip tickets for the flights, operating Mondays and Fridays, will cost around 10,900 baht and include in-flight food and drink,” said PB Travel Agency Center Managing Director Suranat Taweesap. Air Bagan will open an office in Phuket Town this month, but the…
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Korean owner of Phuket snake farm busted with drugs
PHUKET: The Korean owner of a Phuket snake farm was arrested at the Thai border with Cambodia this morning when he tried to smuggle ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and marijuana into the Kingdom. The Korean, identified as 51-year-old Eun Sooyong, was passing through a security checkpoint at the Phrom Daen border crossing in the Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaew Province,…
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Phuket special needs center facing crisis
PHUKET: The Center for Special Education in Phuket is facing a budgetary and staffing crisis because the number of disabled children on the island is going up every year, its director says. Wanida Suraban said the center, in Kathu, now looks looked after 191 children with problems including blindness, learning disabilities, communication problems, deafness, autism and other conditions. The center…
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Confessed Phuket murderer Fanelli on the inside
PHUKET: Murder suspect Ronald Fanelli has yet to enter a plea with the Phuket Provincial Court and the American says his detention at Phuket Provincial Prison is making him physically ill. Speaking through a telephone in the visitors’ center on March 1, Mr Fanelli said a court appearance scheduled for February 24 had to be postponed after “a timing mix-up”…
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Phuket land grab sparks full investigation
PHUKET: The hasty construction of a handful of shelters and houses on an undeveloped plot north of Phuket Town has sparked a full investigation by the Phuket Land Office into who legally owns the land. The issue came to a flash-point on February 22 when Pasinpon Sabtamrongkan arrived at the site to find about 40 local residents – and a…
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Teen dead, another injured in Phuket drive-by shooting
PHUKET: One teenager is dead and another man injured from gunshot wounds following a drive-by shooting in Phuket last night. Thalang Police duty officer Sarit Bootnongsaeng identified the deceased as 19-year-old Khomsun Srirat. Mr Khomsun was riding a motorbike with a passenger along the road from Pa Khlok to Muang Mai at about 8pm when two assailants rode up alongside…
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Extradition of Phuket “kickbox killer’ suspect “may take years’
PHUKET: The City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London has told the Gazette that the extradition hearing of British national Lee Aldhouse “can take months or years”. Aldhouse remains wanted in Thailand for the stabbing murder of American Dashawn Longfellow in Rawai in August last year. However, court official Russel Sykes said the former kickboxer remains remanded in custody at…
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One man dead in Phuket bus tragedy
PHUKET: One man has been confirmed dead as a result of a tour-bus accident on Patong Hill this morning. Patong motorcycle taxi driver Warin Yongyut, 51, died from chest injuries caused when the Patong Municipality bus overturned on Phra Barami road at about 8:30am, a Patong Hospital official said. Mr Warin was among 53 Patong Municipality volunteers on board the…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket bus overturns on Patong Hill, many injured
PHUKET: Many people were injured and one man is feared dead after a Patong Municipality bus returning from a funeral overturned on Patong Hill this morning. Rescue foundation volunteers, municipality officers and rescue workers from various agencies continue to pull people from the wreckage of the bus, which came to rest about 10 meters off the road near the Sea…
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Cops to be drug tested: Phuket Police chief
PHUKET: The new Phuket City Police chief today announced plans to introduce drug testing for police nationwide to ensure that the force remains completely drug free. “Police are the last line of defense in society’s war on illegal drugs, so if they themselves are involved, then its ‘game over’,” Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chitchai told a press conference today.…
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Phuket music fans: Mango House Festival kicks off in Koh Lanta, Krabi
PHUKET: Lovers of house music in Phuket may want to take a trip to Krabi this week, as the Lanta Lanta Festival in Lanta Old Town will feature five great nights of music, all free of charge. The Mango House Festival sessions run from 9pm to 1am nightly, starting tonight. The highlight will be sessions on Thursday and Friday by…
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Phuket blood center seeks Songkran stocks
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center run by the Thai Red Cross has announced the dates and locations of its mobile blood donation clinics in Phuket and the Andaman Coast region this month. Center director Pornthip Rattajak thanked those who responded to an emergency call for negative blood types last month. There are currently no shortages, but the center wants…
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Phuket Promise: The beach guards ‘will be back’
PHUKET: Lifeguards will soon be back on the beaches in greater numbers and with more new lifesaving equipment, Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. The news follows the February 26 expiration of the contract for the Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) to guard the beaches, leaving no organization officially responsible for saving swimmers.…
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PHUKET OPINION: Some notes on the value of spam
PHUKET: Following a salvo of gratuitous email last week from a local hospitality service company announcing the launch of a new business – which has now itself begun to indulge in daily bulk mailings – we at the Phuket Gazette have re-evaluated our long-standing policy against the use of spam for any purpose. And we’ve decided to change nothing. We’re…
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British man, 37, dies in Phuket suicide plunge
PHUKET: A 37-year-old British man died in Phuket yesterday after falling from a five-storey apartment block in what police believe was an intentional suicide leap. Thung Thong Police duty inspector Sakchai Chuyong received a report of the apparent suicide at 7:30am. The name of the deceased was widely reported in the Thai media, but is being held by the Phuket…
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Phuket Police target ladyboy meth users
PHUKET: Almost 50 per cent of the ladyboys rounded up in a sweep of Phuket’s Soi Bangla area last night tested positive for methamphetamines, Patong Police say. The random testing, led by drug suppression division inspector Akanit Danphithuksdart, targeted transsexuals along Soi Bangla and surrounding areas, including the beach road and Soi Joreoernsup. Of 40 tested for drug use, 17…
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Phuket road rape victim still in ICU
PHUKET: Police are still searching for the two suspects wanted for the brutal roadside assault of a Phuket woman last week. The victim, 58, was set upon by two men just before dawn Thursday morning as she rode her motorbike to a local market. She was left unconscious by the roadside with blood running from a wound to her head,…
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Phuket Live Wire: Internet speeds up; TOT down; iPad2 launches
PHUKET: Tales of woe about TOT lines to new housing developments in Phuket continued this week. In at least two cases, major new developments have reached exclusive agreements with TOT to deliver voice and data lines to the developments. As you might have guessed, the results have been, uh, less than stellar. The lesson: for best service, count on competition.…
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What’s in this week’s Phuket Gazette?
PHUKET: This week’s Andaman Edition of the Phuket Gazette went on sale yesterday and 20,000 copies of our Nationwide Edition were delivered early this morning to all Star Alliance airlines for placement aboard all of their flights serving Thailand. Both editions contain extensive content not available here in the Gazette Online. However, digital subscribers may click here to download their…
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Phuket roads claim more lives
PHUKET: High-season mayhem continues on Phuket roadways, with one man dead and two others in ICU in separate road accidents in recent days. Yesterday morning, 31-year-old Apiwan Wongcheu sustained severe head trauma, a broken wrist and other injuries when the motorbike she was riding along Chao Fa West Road northbound in Chalong was struck by a southbound truck turning across…
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Phuket gears up for Heroines’ Festival 2011
PHUKET: This year’s Phuket Heroines’ Festival will feature the acting debut of Phuket governor Tri Augkaradacha, who will take center stage in the role of King Rama I in a historical drama based on the history of Thalang. The 2011 installment of the annual event will take place March 13 to 15 at Thalang Victory Memorial Field in Thepkrasattri subdistrict.…
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Canine-crazy couple have gone to the dogs
NAKHON PATHOM: Champa Tangsombun is crazy about dogs – so much so that it’s ruining his wife’s retirement. Mr Champa, 74, has been taking stray and injured dogs into his home in Village 9 in Bangchang subdistrict for 15 years. The retired bus station master now has 61 canines to take care of and he has spent his entire life…
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