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Thai sailors seek blessing from Phuket’s Heroines
PHUKET: The captain and crew of the Royal Thai Navy HTMS Thalang this morning performed a ceremony seeking the blessing of Phuket’s renowned heroines Thao Thepkrasattri and Thao Srisoonthorn. Presiding over the ceremony was Lt Cdr Apiruk Mangkorn, commander of the HTMS Thalang. Reinforced by members of the ship’s 75 crew, Lt Cdr Apiruk asked for Phuket’s ‘guardian angels’ to…
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Plans to build Phuket offshore diesel station on hold
PHUKET: A public hearing held yesterday has left in limbo plans to convert a water-refilling platform in Chalong Bay into an offshore petrol station. The meeting, held at the Al Wallan Hidayah Mosque in Rawai, was called after a letter of protest against the project was filed with the provincial government by Sommai Naoprai, the president of a group called…
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Phuket Roads: Motorcycle crash claims another life
PHUKET: A motorcycle accident early this morning claimed the life of a Phuket man as he drove between the Heroines’ Monument and Cherng Talay. Thalang Police responded to a call at about 2am reporting that an accident had occurred on Srisoonthorn Road in Baan Manik. A team from the Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation arrived at the scene to find a lone…
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Long trail leads police to Phuket auto theft gang
PHUKET: Patong Police have arrested six suspects accused of running a car and motorcycle theft racket in Phuket’s entertainment hub, Patong. The Thai and Burmese suspects were presented at Kathu Police Station yesterday along with eight stolen motorcycles, parts of a further four or five bikes, mechanic’s tools, spray painting equipment, one stolen pickup truck and six other cars that…
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Phuket Disgrace: Airport needs to double its Immigration officers
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport has only half the number of Immigration officers it needs to effectively handle the high volume of tourists using the facility, the leading senator of a fact-finding team was told today. The team, comprising the 26 senators who form the Standing Committees for Transport and for Natural Resources and the Environment, arrived in Phuket yesterday to…
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Yingluck’s official, but who will call the shots?
BANGKOK (The Nation): Officially, only Yingluck Shinawatra, confirmed as Thailand’s new Prime Minister today, and Yongyuth Vichaidit, her Pheu Thai party’s leader, have the final say on who is to be included in the Cabinet. Unofficially, nobody is quite sure who will call the shots. Most reports in the media seem to ignore the party’s official version. So far, every…
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FC Phuket seek away win and BBCU seek vengeance
PHUKET: FC Phuket face Big Bang Chulalongkorn United (BBCU) on Sunday in what may be termed a grudge match considering the cup defeat inflicted by Phuket on BBCU in June. Sunday’s match will be played at the 20,000 seat sporting arena, Army Stadium in Din Daeng, Bangkok. Kickoff is sceduled for 6pm. Coming into their 19th match, Phuket cling to…
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Yingluck becomes first female Thai prime minister
PHUKET: Yingluck Shinawatra today became Thailand’s first female prime minister, by winning 296 of 299 votes in Parliament, state-news agency MCOT has reported. Mrs Yingluck was confirmed as prime minister shortly before noon today after a campaign that saw her Pheu Thai party sweep to victory over the former ruling Democrat Party. There were 197 abstentions in the House of…
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Phuket residents cry foul over poisoned water
PHUKET: Parents and local residents are calling for action against repeated poisoning of a canal along a major Phuket Town school, killing hundreds of fish. About 5pm yesterday, residents entered a section of Klong Bang Yai that runs next to Satree Phuket School on Damrong Road and removed hundreds of dead fish. The water in the canal was black, thick…
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Young woman drowns after fall at Phuket’s Phromthep Cape
PHUKET: Police have confirmed the identity of a Thai woman who slipped off rocks and drowned at Phromthep Cape late yesterday afternoon as that of Yula Suwan, 20, from Chiang Rai. Miss Yula arrived at Phuket’s iconic peninsula with a friend to take photos at about 5pm, said Chalong Police Duty Officer Lt Attawat Suwannarat. “They walked down the cape…
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Onslaught of waves forces Phuket sea gypsies to evacuate homes
PHUKET: Large waves brought on by the wet-season monsoon are damaging homes at a small sea gypsy community on Phuket’s east coast, forcing villagers to seek refuge with family members or even sleep outdoors. At least eight houses have suffered damage, altogether home to 53 people. John Pramongkij, 57, is scared to sleep in his house, with the walls cracking…
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Swedish murder case in Phuket sends reader interest off the charts
PHUKET: Not since the tsunami in December 2004 have readers around the world shown so much interest in a single event in Phuket. Yesterday, as on December 27, 2004, the day after the waves hit, the demand for news, fueled by the Phuket murder of Swedish national Maksim Schantz, swamped and knocked over the Gazette Online for a period of…
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Phuket Red Cross blood drive to honor HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday
PHUKET: In honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 79th birthday and Mother’s Day on August 12, the Phuket Regional Blood Center is hoping for an increase in donations this month. The center has set a higher target than usual for this drive, aiming to stock up in anticipation for an increased demand for blood in the coming months. “We received 1,568…
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Swedish slashers confess to Phuket police
PHUKET: Phuket City Police tonight charged two Swedish men they say confessed to the murder yesterday of 25-year-old Maksim Schantz. Police said they caught Tommy Viktor Soderlund, 26, and Johan Sebastian Ljung, 25, hiding out at Surin Sweet Hotel on Surin Beach where they had recently rented a room. The pair confessed that they tracked Mr Schantz down through Facebook…
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Sex Drugs: Will Phuket’s tourists be subjected to Night Fire?
PHUKET: Phuket is not the only town in Thailand selling fake Viagra or other illicit drugs to tourists. The nation’s capital is probably the leader. But in the most recent raids in Bangkok, at least, no tourists were arrested and none was invited to pee in a pink cup. Metropolitan police and other authorities in the City of Angels arrested…
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MET: Phuket haze ‘not a load of hot air’
PHUKET: The blanket of haze seen across Phuket today was only fog and not related to Indonesian wild fires, the top official at the Thai Meteorological Department weather center in Phuket said today. “The fog was caused by a decrease in air pressure and temperature and an increase in humidity coupled with intermittent rains, causing the air to sink,” said…
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BREAKING NEWS: Swedish duo arrested for Phuket stabbing murder
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that two Swedish men have been arrested in connection with the stabbing murder yesterday of Maksim Schantz. Tommy Viktor Soderlund, 26, and Johan Sebastian Ljung, 25, are both in custody, a police officer said on condition of anonymity. Police are due to hold a press conference this evening when more…
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Phuket police extend manhunt for accomplice in slaying of Swede
PHUKET: Police have stressed to the Phuket Gazette that they have not identified the alleged accomplice of Tommy Viktor Soderlund, the man being sought for the murder of Swedish national Maksim Schantz last night. Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Jumroon Playdoung told the Gazette that local media reports identifying a 36-year-old Swedish man as Soderlund’s accomplice in the brutal stabbing…
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Manhunt launched for Swedish suspect in slaying of fellow Swede
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have issued an arrest warrant and appealed to the public to keep an eye out for the prime suspect in last night’s murder of Russian-born Swedish national Maksim Schantz, 25. Police have launched a manhunt for 26-year-old Tommy Viktor Soderlund, also from Sweden, and another white male who are said to have recently rented a home…
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Swedish expat stabbed to death at luxury villa in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Police are investigating the stabbing murder of a Swedish man ambushed and stabbed to death as he returned to his luxury villa in Koh Kaew subdistrict last night. The murder took place in full view of neighbors. The police identified the deceased as a 25-year-old Swedish national. The name of the victim is known to the Phuket Gazette,…
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Phuket daycare teacher charged over child beatings
PHUKET: The Phuket daycare teacher allegedly caught on video beating her students has been charged with child abuse, with the possibility of more charges to come. Meanwhile, Wichit Municipality has taken over the Wat Thepnimit daycare center, where parents and other teachers say the beatings took place regularly. The scandal unfolded on July 24 when teachers from the daycare center…
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New Phuket bridge opens to traffic
PHUKET: The new Thao Srisoonthorn Bridge, unofficially called “Sarasin Bridge 2”, opened to traffic heading northbound off Phuket this morning. The first vehicle to trundle onto the 300-million-baht span was a van carrying Phuket Provincial Highways Office Chief Arun Sanae and his immediate superior, Sakchai Suwanprasert, head of the regional Highways Office. However, Mr Arun warned motorists that the left…
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FC Phuket still waiting for away success
PHUKET: FC Phuket’s match on Sunday against Rajapracha FC in Nakhon Pathom ended in a scoreless draw, irritating Phuket’s winless wound in its eighth away game this season. There were about 1000 spectators that showed up to cheer the Rajpracha “Crowns” at Mahidol University Salaya campus stadium. As expected, Phuket fielded three of their new players: goalkeeper, Jonathan Matijas from…
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Missing Aussie tourist found alive and well in Phuket
PHUKET: Missing Australian tourist Geoffrey Hoffmann has been found alive and well. Mr Hoffmann disappeared while going for a morning walk at the lake at Karon Park on Saturday. His family raised the alarm after he failed to return four hours later. Their concern was heightened by the fact that Mr Hoffmann suffers from short-term memory loss. Mr Hoffmann’s brother-in-law…
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Buried alive in Phuket: How much longer do we need to suffer the landslides?
PHUKET: Another rainy season in Phuket, and yet another death from a landslide. The trench collapse on Monday that killed Burmese laborer Min Hla Thein came just nine days after new workplace ‘health and safety’ legislation came into effect. [See news feature, pages 4-5, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.] Among…
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Van crash kills two Phuket buffalo, tourists safe
PHUKET: Three people were injured early this morning when a Phuket passenger van slammed into two buffalo, killing both. Thalang Police were notified of the accident at 1:30am. At the scene they found a Toyota passenger van with its front smashed in and its three passengers slightly injured. The driver, identified as 43-year-old Suchart Kaow-ian, was taking two foreign tourists…
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Aussie on holiday in Phuket reported missing
PHUKET: A worried Australian family on holiday in Phuket is urging anyone who identifies Geoffrey Hoffmann, 77, to contact them immediately. Mr Hoffman was last seen walking near the lake at Karon Park this morning. Mrs Hoffmann told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon that she arrived with her husband, sister and brother-in-law on a family holiday to Phuket on Tuesday.…
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It’s Official: Phuket Town still the worst for drugs
PHUKET: Phuket Town has maintained its place as the top district in upper Southern Thailand for drug crime, an accolade the popular tourist town has held for the past three years, a Bangkok health official was told yesterday. The news was revealed at a meeting of the Phuket Provincial Anti-Drug Committee at Provincial Hall. Regular chiefs on the committee include…
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Weather warning for Phuket
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department has this morning issued a wet weather warning covering much of Thailand due to Tropical Storm “Nock Ten” in the South China Sea. At 5am today, Nock Ten was centered over the west coast of Hainan Island, in China, with sustained winds of about 50 knots, about 90kmh, said the warning. The storm was moving…
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Phuket tourism operators warned to prepare for AFTA
PHUKET: Phuket tourism operators were warned very plainly yesterday that they must become game-changers if they want to stay in business after 2015. The warning was fired at the Phuket Creative Tourism Forum held at Royal Phuket Marina. The forum was organized by the Phuket Tourism Association (PTA) in conjunction with Phuket Rajabhat University’s Faculty of Management Science. Somprasong Khomapat,…
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