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Another Phuket drug bust: more than 6,000 pills seized
PHUKET: Phuket’s governor and top police brass held a press conference at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday to announce the arrest of a four-man drug ring and the seizure of over 6,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills. The arrest was the result of an investigation ordered by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop and spearheaded by Lt Col Sutthirat Thochampa, who heads the Provincial…
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Media menaced in Thailand
PHUKET: Press freedom in Thailand, especially for broadcast media such as community radio stations and Web boards, has “palpably deteriorated” over the past six years, says Roby Alampay, outgoing executive director of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa). “The Internet over the past six years has played a crucial role in allowing people to debate and air their views,” Alampay…
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Phuket newborn dead in a dump truck
PHUKET: A garbage truck driver came across the dead body of a newborn baby while separating trash in the back of his truck in Pa Khlok this morning. Thalang police were notified of the grim discovery by a Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization (TAO) officer around 8:30am. “The baby was wrapped in a T-shirt and pieces of newspaper and put…
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Phuket maid murder re-enactment sparks outrage
PHUKET: Emotions ran high in Thalang yesterday afternoon as local villagers and relatives of Sunee Premprasert, the maid whose throat was slashed by an intruder on July 22, reacted angrily to the re-enactment of her murder. Mrs Sunee, 43, was stabbed some 80 times before her throat was slit and she was left to die bleeding on the floor at…
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Phuket Police sting meth dealers
PHUKET: Chalong Police nabbed two alleged ya bah (methamphetamine) dealers in a sting operation in Phuket yesterday. Rawai resident Sanchai “Mack” Phetphlanurak, 21, and Kriangkrai “Krai” Sukprasert, 37, from Nonthaburi, are in police custody and are being charged with possession of a Class 1 narcotic with intent to supply. Chalong Police led by Superintendent Wichit Intorrasorn announced the arrests at…
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US Ambassador’s daughter dead in fall
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. The 17-year-old daughter of Eric John, the US Ambassador to Thailand, accidentally fell to her death from the window of an apartment block near the Empire State Building in New York. The Daily Telegraph reports this morning…
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Girlfriend helped Aldhouse escape from Phuket, Thailand
PHUKET: The girlfriend of fugitive murder suspect Lee Aldhouse played a key role in helping the Englishman escape Thailand, Phuket Police said earlier today. Chalong Police Inspector Jaran Bangprasert said the girl, a native of the northeastern province of Udon Thani, disappeared with Aldhouse from their shared room on Soi Khok Makham in Rawai soon after the murder of 23-year-old…
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Phuket tourism: UK growth in 2nd Q augurs well for Phuket
PHUKET: Despite the current woes of the pound, new economic statistics and forecasts for the UK lend credence to the Thai Tourism Authority’s recently stepped up efforts to market Phuket in that country. With growth hitting a nine-year high, The Mail Online reports this evening that Britain’s economy expanded at a faster pace than first thought in the second quarter…
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Phuket murder suspect Lee Aldhouse arrested at UK airport
PHUKET: Fugitive murder suspect Lee Aldhouse has been detained by airport authorities while trying to enter the UK, the Gazette has learned. Lt Col Anukul Nuket, investigating officer in the case, confirmed that Chalong Police received the news from British officials yesterday. Aldhouse is said to have departed Thailand from a small border crossing in Khlong Yai, Trat province, on…
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Bullish on Phuket; Pedophilia suspects nabbed
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. Bullish on Phuket Foreign investors find Phuket a lucrative spot in which to do business due to its international appeal as a beach destination, its eye-catching natural beauty and year-round tropical climate, says Allan Zeman, owner of…
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247kg woman rescued, may be bound for Phuket
PHUKET: Overjoyed that she got to leave her apartment for the first time in three years, 40-year-old Amnuayporn Thongprapai, who weighs 247 kilograms (544 pounds) said she was confident that doctors at Central General Hospital would help her to walk again. Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra, who was present while the woman was being helped out of her apartment yesterday, said…
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Phuket car crash fatality was Russian
PHUKET: The woman who died in a high-speed car crash collision on the bypass road in Phuket earlier today was a 30-year-old Russian, police have confirmed. For our previous report of the accident, which took place near Tesco-Lotus at 4:20am, click here. The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of kin.
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Phuket Software Park announces “Tech Talk” schedule
PHUKET: Software Park Phuket has announced the schedule for its “Tech Talk” seminars for September as follows: September 2: “Blogspot: An easy way to create a website,” by Phuket Innovation Incubation Center, Software Park Phuket. Thai-language presentation. September 23: “Creating a blog with WordPress,” by Kudos Technovation. Thai-language presentation with English-language slides. September 30: “Business on Facebook / Fan Page,”…
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Woman dies in Phuket car crash
PHUKET: A young woman died of injuries sustained in a high-speed car crash on the bypass road near Tesco Lotus early this morning. Phuket City Police were informed of the crash at 4:20am. The accident occurred in the southbound lane, in front of the Tesco shopping complex. Arriving at the scene they the found a red Toyota Vios overturned on…
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50 foreigners dead in Phuket this year
PHUKET: More than 50 foreign tourists have died in Phuket so far this year, according to statistics released by the island’s top police officer at this week’s consuls’ meeting. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong said 52 foreigners died between January 1 and August 17 this year. By contrast, just 28 deaths of foreigners were recorded in all of 2009.…
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Phuket firm wins national award
PHUKET: The Phuket Software Factory has won a Ticta Award for its iPP health-information software. Ticta is a national software competition jointly organized by Thailand’s Information and Communications Technology Ministry and the Association of Thai ICT Industries. The Phuket-developed iPP is used as a clinical tool to generate information ranging from personal health data to overall medical data. The data…
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Chinese interested in Phuket light rail project
PHUKET: The island’s dream of having a reasonably-priced, efficient public transport system took a small step forward on Monday, when representatives of a Chinese construction conglomerate confirmed their desire to build a light rail network for Phuket. Phuket MP Raywat Areerob on Monday brought representatives of the Ershisanye Construction Group for a second meeting with Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngob. It…
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Phuket Police identify body of suicide jumper
PHUKET: Police have identified the woman who committed suicide yesterday by jumping from a Phuket condominium block. The woman was Thai, not Korean as initially speculated. Phuket City Police Duty Officer Yongyuth Krongmalai identified the deceased as Nantanut Meenoy, 25-year-old owner of the Image Design clothing store on Phun Pol Road Soi 7 in Phuket Town. A native of Petchaburi…
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Phuket Airport expansion on track: AoT
PHUKET: The 5.8-billion-baht expansion of Phuket International Airport will increase annual passenger traffic capacity to 12.5 million by 2013, Airports of Thailand (AOT) officials confirmed at a meeting on Monday. AOT President Serirat Prasutanond said the expansion is needed to cope with steadily increasing air traffic and to cement Thailand’s status as a regional air hub. Mr Serirat was speaking…
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Phuket Tourism: Thailand Fan Club launched
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand is setting up the Thailand Fan Club in Europe to help draw tourists to Phuket and other key destinations in the Kingdom, including Bangkok. “The TAT feels confident the club will encourage tourists from Europe to return to Thailand this peak season,” TAT governor Suraphon Svetasreni said yesterday. More than 5,000 tourists from major…
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South African military chief vacations in Phuket
PHUKET: South Africa’s top military commander arrived in Phuket today on an unofficial visit. Gen Godfrey Nhlanhla Ngwenya, Chief of the South African National Defense Force, was welcomed upon arrival at the Naval Section runway at Phuket International Airport by Vice-Admiral Chumnum Ajwong, Commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area. General Godfrey, 60, and his wife Busisiwe Portia arrived…
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Death plunge victim probably Korean: Phuket Police
PHUKET: Police suspect that a woman who apparently fell to her death from a condo block in Wichit earlier today was Korean. The body of the woman crashed through the corrugated zinc roof of a Burmese construction worker’s camp at the base of the seven-story Pornsawan Condotel, located on Chao Fa East Road in Wichit. The death was reported to…
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Dengue fever now at 230 new cases a day
PHUKET: Seven people died from dengue fever last week, two of them from Phuket’s neighboring province Krabi. The other five fatalities came one each from Chiangrai, Phetchabun, Lop buri, Chachoengsao and Nakhon Si Thammarat. The new fatalities bring to 70 the number of dengue fever deaths recorded across Thailand to date this year, it was announced by Public Health Minister…
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Phuket Poll: Current “low” season – good or bad?
PHUKET: The island is about half-way through the “low season” for tourism and approaching its statistically rainiest month, September. With that in mind, now seems an appropriate time to take stock by asking our readers the simple question: How well is the Phuket economy doing in the current low season? To have your say in the latest Phuket Gazette readers’…
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Heavy rain causes Phuket-bound flight to divert to Krabi
PHUKET: Due to heavy rain and strong winds this morning, a Thai Airways flight was unable to land safely at Phuket International Airport and had to be diverted to Krabi. The conditions also caused delays in the arrival of a number of domestic inbound flights, although no international arrivals were affected. An officer at the airport control tower said several…
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Phuket resorts lax in warning tourists of surf dangers: poll
PHUKET: Almost 75% of Phuket Gazette readers polled feel that resorts on the island are not doing enough to warn their guests of the potential dangers at beaches during the monsoon season. The poll was prompted by a recent spate of tourist drownings and a call by exasperated members of the Phuket Lifeguard Club for more cooperation from resorts. Overall,…
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Blackouts in Phuket this week
PHUKET: The Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced scheduled blackouts in Phuket this week to carry out maintenance on high voltage power lines. Affected areas and times are as follows: August 24, Kathu: Wichit Songkram Road from Soi Bang Thong junction to the Kathu District Administration Office, covering Bang Thong Village, Bang Thong Hill Side and Baan Pho Thong Village.…
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Charity golf tournament in Phuket
PHUKET: Golfers get your gear out for the Charity Golf Tournament and Ball to be held on August 29 at Laguna Phuket. Both events are organized by The Rotary Club of Patong and will be to support disadvantaged children. Tee off for the Charity Golf Tournament will be at 11:30am at Laguna Phuket Golf Club (LPGC). The golf format is…
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Phuket Opinion: Where bureaucrats fear to tread
PHUKET: A key question asked in the pop parable Who Moved My Cheese? by Spencer Johnson is, “What would I do if I weren’t afraid?” The story deals with the inhabitants of a fictional Maze who one day find quite unaccountably that their store of cheese has vanished. The message of the piece is that change is inevitable; those who…
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World Expo 2020: Phuket fails to make the cut
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. PHUKET: Ayutthaya, Chon Buri and Chiang Mai have been short-listed in a six-month-long effort to name a Thai candidate city to host World Expo 2020. The three possible venues, which have emerged after a six-month study by…
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