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Phuket father, daughter die in paraquat murder-suicide
PHUKET: A man killed his two-year-old daughter and took his own life with lethal doses of the herbicide paraquat last week, Phuket City Police have confirmed. A witness to the tragedy, 25-year-old Aekkachai “Champ” Suksai from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, told the Phuket Gazette he was making coconut milk at a shop near Koh Sireh Circle last Thursday when he saw…
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Phuket Lomas game for UK tour
PHUKET: TEN YOUNG rugby players left Phuket on June 18 for the trip of a lifetime. Pupils from Baan Sai Nam Yen School in association with the Asia Center Foundation and the Phuket Lomas rugby team are in the UK to play in the Manchester Touraid Rugby Festival (Lomas tour blog). An eight-team tournament will be played, and include the…
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Tourist Police launch beach safety campaign
PHUKET: In an effort to minimize the number of drowning deaths in Phuket this monsoon season, the Tourist Police today began distribution of some 10,000 handbills warning beachgoers about the dangers of rip currents — and what to do if caught in one. Garry Halpin, a Tourist Police volunteer from New Zealand, told the Phuket Gazette that the handbills will…
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Phuket Live Wire: True 3G dongles all the way
PHUKET: I dropped by the True office in Phuket Town and discovered a number of changes. If you want “3G” HSPA service in Phuket, here’s what you need to know. In Phuket, 3G service (more accurately, HSPA service) is only available from True. True is in the process of extending 3G service on the island. In spite of what you…
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Phuket sleepwalker fights for life after two-storey fall
PHUKET: A mechanic is in hospital with severe head injuries after falling from the balcony of his second-storey apartment in Rassada last night. Police believe the man was walking in his sleep at the time. Lt Col Sien Keawthong of the Phuket City Police identified the man as Worrawut Chaleewan. Thought to be in his mid-30s, Mr Worrawut fell from…
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Phuket bluebottle scare: the coast is clear
PHUKET: The invasion of Portuguese man o’ war “jellyfish” at Phuket beaches over the weekend appears to have ended, but lifeguards are keeping a watchful eye on the situation in order to ensure the safety of swimmers and beachcombers. Vitanya Chuayuan, publicity officer of the Phuket Lifeguard Club, confirmed this morning that there have been no reports of the pseudo-jellies…
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Two dead, many injured in Phuket school van crash
PHUKET: A three-vehicle collision near the Heroines’ Monument in Phuket left two dead and many injured this morning. The two dead were staff members at the well-known Muslim Witthaya School in Koh Kaew. Police identified one the deceased as 54-year-old Phang Nga resident San Thasai, driver of a school van transporting young school students from their homes in Baan Bang…
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Stranded Phuket tourists get strategic in face of flight delays
PHUKET: Passengers grounded by ongoing delays and cancellations by Strategic Airlines are upbeat despite little information from the airline. Following a forced landing in Kuala Lumpur last week, the airline canceled their immediate Brisbane-Phuket services and today delayed their Melbourne-Phuket flights. “About 300 [passengers] all up. They did fly one lot of people out to Melbourne, people with children or…
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Russian found hanged in Phuket police cell
PHUKET: Phuket Police are investigating the apparent suicide of a Russian tourist while in a detention cell at Patong Police Station on Saturday night. Patong Police duty officer Pattapee Srichay confirmed the identity of the deceased as Evgeny Otrubyannikov, a 26-year-old Russian national. Mr Evgeny apparently took his life at about 10pm by using his shirt to hang himself by…
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FC Phuket score first away win against Thanayburi
PHUKET: Three wins in seven days has given new FC Phuket coach Sompong Wattana some breathing room after setting his stall out to not lose three on the trot when he joined the club just three weeks ago. A 1-0 win over Thanyaburi Rose Asia United FC in Saturday’s Toyota League Cup first round gave Phuket their first away victory…
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Portrait FC take round eight of Phuket’s AFL
PHUKET: Three absorbing matches dominated interest in round eight of the current Adult Futsal League (AFL), played on Thursday. Top of the table Portrait FC faced an improving Island Boys side with an in-form goalkeeper as the evening’s opening bout. The first half ended goalless as a result of some inspirational shot-stopping and the second half began with Portrait’s attack…
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Westwood a bitter bridesmaid
PHUKET: “It’s amazing he’s only ever won three tournaments the amount of time he gets into contention.” Former world number one Lee Westwood offering a bitter swipe at the eternal efforts of Rory McIlroy’s to win a Major. For the record Rory is 22-years-old and now has a Major to his name. The magnanamous Mr Westwood is 38-years of age…
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Portuguese Man o’ War invade Phuket
PHUKET: As if monsoon-season rip currents weren’t bad enough, the head of the island’s lifeguard association is warning the public of a new threat lurking in the Phuket surf: the dreaded bluebottle “jellyfish”. Vitanya Chuayuan, publicity officer of the Phuket Lifeguard Club, said two of the pseudo-jellies were spotted at Nai Thon Beach on Wednesday. Over the weekend there were…
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US Open a father’s day gift from McIlroy
PHUKET: NORTHERN Irish golfer Rory McIlroy won the US Open in stunning fashion early this morning, breaking 12 records in the process. The 22-year-old from the small town of Hollywood, County Down, entered the record books as the youngest player to win the title since Bobby Jones in 1923. But McIlroy etched his name in history in more ways than…
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Heartbroken Estonian dies in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Police are investigating the death of an Estonian business owner found dead in his Phuket Town shophouse last night. Phuket City Police duty officer Yingnucharee Longkaew identified the deceased as 45-year-old Artur Mansurov, who was found dead on the third floor of his shophouse at the Phuket@Town commercial housing estate on Surin Road. According to one local media report,…
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Mystery donor gives B1mn for Phuket’s first cricket ground
PHUKET: An anonymous benefactor has stepped up to donate one million baht to the development of the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG), Phuket’s first dedicated cricket ground and clubhouse. Construction of the eagerly anticipated ACG was finally given a green light on May 31. The main financier of the project, Alan Cooke MBE, bought a parcel of land in Thalang specifically…
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FC Phuket through to round two of Toyota Football League Cup
PHUKET: A single goal advanced FC Phuket to the Toyota League Cup second round, defeating their lower league opponents Thanyaburi FC in Pathum Thani on Saturday. Having posted two wins in three games and accruing 12 goals in the process, Phuket’s coach Sompong Watana portrayed confidence in his pre-match comments. “Our first [Toyota League Cup] match with Thanyaburi United is…
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Chinese tourist airlifted after Phuket boat tour
PHUKET: Royal Thai Navy medevac officers scrambled this afternoon after receiving a call to airlift a Chinese tourist from Koh Racha Yai back to Phuket. Cdr Jongjaroen Jangjun, Duty Officer at the Third Naval Area Command Operations Center, told the Phuket Gazette that 53-year-old Xiao Ming Hao was on a boat trip to Koh Racha Yai, about 25 kilometers south…
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Top cops focused on Phuket gold heist
PHUKET: The region’s top police officer came to Phuket on Thursday to follow up on the investigation into the gold heist reported by the Phuket Gazette earlier this month. The man robbed the family-owned Thong Thanet gold shop near the Slaughterhouse Intersection in Phuket Town. Gold items stolen were valued at over six million baht. Shop owners Jirasak and Chantana…
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Phuket enjoys a fruity affair
PHUKET: Fruit lovers may want to make a trip to Phuket Town over the weekend, as a fair featuring the best produce from Eastern Thailand’s Chanthaburi province is now underway. Seven different types of fruit from the famed fruit-producing region are now on sale at the central stage area at Saphan Hin. The event, which began yesterday, is open daily…
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The team in front is FC Phuket
PHUKET: FC Phuket begin their Toyota League Cup campaign this afternoon playing an away fixture to Thanyaburi FC in Pathum Thani. Sixty four teams are entered in the first round with 21 games being played today. A further nine matches are scheduled for tomorrow, June 19 and the remaining two games will be played on Sunday, June 26. Thanyaburi FC…
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Phuket Poll: What is your favorite chain of convenience stores on Phuket?
PHUKET: It seems that you can’t turn a corner on Phuket without bumping into yet another new convenience store opening its doors on Phuket. Supercheap and Tops Daily convenience stores are now adding to the ever increasing number of 7-Eleven, Family Mart, Tesco Express and “mum and pop” stores on the island. Some stores sit side by side. But with…
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Phuket’s honorary consuls top reason tourists call police
PHUKET: Tourists seeking contact details of Phuket’s honorary consuls is the number one reason why they call the Tourist Police hotline 1155. From January 2010 to May 2011, the 1155 hotline received 8,512 calls, with 1,860 of those calls asking for directions to and the location of honorary consuls’ offices, an officer at the Tourist Police hotline center told the…
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Mystery surrounds death of Swiss woman found floating off Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket City Police traveled to Koh Maphrao today to investigate the discovery of a Swiss woman’s body found yesterday in waters off the island’s east coast. The body was identified as 61-year-old Ursula Balzan by her relatives who lived nearby on Koh Maphrao. Her neck was broken and there were bruises around her body and mouth. Officers told the…
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Phuket gets cooking for halal food expo
PHUKET: Representatives from 70 halal organizations from 35 countries have been invited to join the ‘Phuket Halal International Forum and Andaman Muslim Expo 2011’, which gets underway at Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa in Patong on June 22. The two-day international forum will focus on halal certification in each respective country, seeking to reach consensus on a standard in order…
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Keeping dolphins in captivity is inhumane: Poll
PHUKET: A strong majority of Phuket Gazette readers who voted in a recent online readers’ poll say that keeping dolphins in captivity is inhumane. Readers were asked: “Do you think it is humane to keep dolphins in captivity?” Four answers were available: 1) Yes; 2) No; 3) It depends on how they are acquired and treated; and 4) I don’t…
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US Open for McIlroy
PHUKET: “I took the experience from Augusta, and I learned a lot from it. I just need to keep it going. I played really good out there, didn’t make any mistakes, which in a US Open is huge.” Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy leads the US Open at Congressional with a 6-under-par first round score. The 22-year-old is 3 shots ahead…
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Taxis, tour agencies ink MoU to end blockades at Phuket Deep Sea Port
PHUKET: An hour of intense negotiations today finally ended with taxi drivers and tour agencies signing an agreement to end blockades at Phuket’s Deep Sea Port. Most, but not all, parties present at the meeting at Provincial Hall today signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which was outlined by verbal agreement following the blockade of tourists attempting to disembark the…
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Russian honeymoon tourist in Phuket dies after dangerous surf rescue
PHUKET: A young Russian tourist on honeymoon in Phuket died earlier today after she was pulled unconscious from dangerous surf at Nai Thon Beach late yesterday afternoon. Irina Tsyz, 24, was swimming with her husband Alexander Ovsov, 25, when she started to flounder in the large waves, Tah Chat Chai police told the Phuket Gazette. “It was windy and she…
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Phuket PEA issues blackout notice
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority, Thalang office, has announced a scheduled blackout to carry out maintenance work on high-voltage power lines. The work will be carried out on Tuesday, June 21, from 9am to 5pm. Affected areas include the road from Baan Mai Khao to Baan Suan Maprao, including Mai Khao Soi 8, Mai Khao Soi 9, Soi Suan…
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