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Phuket a super-star for hotel performance
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: According to data compiled by STR Global Hotels and reported by Hotel News Now, the Asia/Pacific region, and most notably Phuket, experienced increases in all three key performance metrics for March 2010. “The Asia/Pacific region is still leading…
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Phuket lifeguards start on Monday
PHUKET: Lifeguards will be back on Phuket beaches from Monday, after the Phuket Lifeguard Club signed a 10-million baht contract with the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) to provide services earlier this week. Club president Prathaiyut Chuayuan inked the agreement on Wednesday, finally putting to rest fears island beaches would be unmanned during the upcoming monsoon season. The club aims…
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Phuket People Network to PM: stay the course
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket People Network is planning a large rally at Saphan Hin to show support for embattled PM Abhisit Vejjajiva. The PPN is a group of Phuket residents who claim to be neither ‘red’ nor ‘yellow’, but are deeply committed to democratic rule with the Thai Monarch as head of state. Members have been holding daily rallies at…
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Phuket hotels count costs of flight bans
PHUKET: Island hotels are counting the costs to the local hotel industry of the volcanic eruption in Iceland that forced airlines to delay and cancel flights between Europe and Phuket for a week. More than 600 tourists remain stranded on the island days after direct flights to Germany and Belgium were canceled, while many more travelers remain stuck here because…
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Mystery surrounds Phuket car fire
RASSADA, PHUKET: Police continue to investigate the mysterious explosion and fire that left a Honda Accord a charred wreck on the bypass road in front of Tesco Lotus at about 5:30pm yesterday. The driver, 35-year-old construction contractor Supachai Jongchanasetthakul, was rushed to nearby Bangkok Hospital Phuket, where he was treated for burns to the right side of his stomach. He…
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‘New’ motorcycle helmet law for Phuket
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Authorities in Phuket say they are about to bring to a halt the dangers of riding a motorcycle without a helmet after the region’s Police queued up new motorcycle safety laws set to come into force later this…
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Will Air Asia become Phuket’s favorite airline?
PHUKET: Given its penchant for quickly fleeing the scene by abandoning routes (such as Phuket-Perth and Phuket-Singapore) when business turns bad, and following notorious fare hikes on routes into Phuket earlier this month, THAI Airways has exposed itself to disenchantment across a wide swath of Phuket’s resident market. And now the island resort province has an increasingly credible suitor –…
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Phuket Governor lobbies AoT for lower airport taxi fees
PHUKET: In a bid to lower taxi fares on the island Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop is lobbying to reduce fees for taxis operating out of Phuket International Airport (PIA). Land Transport Department director Kanok Siripanichkorn told the Gazette today that Gov Wichai sent a letter to Airports of Thailand (AoT) management in Bangkok requesting a meeting by the end of…
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‘Phuket People Network’ shows support for PM Abhisit
PHUKET TOWN: Around 500 Phuket residents assembled at Provincial Hall yesterday afternoon to deliver a show of support for Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Manoon Kiowkram, leader of the newly-formed ‘Phuket People Network’, handed a formal letter to Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop around 4:15pm. The letter urged the embattled prime minister to resist red shirt demands to dissolve parliament. The group…
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Beached dolphin dies in Phuket
PATONG, PHUKET: Marine biologists were unable to save a wounded dolphin found clinging to life off Patong Beach yesterday. Veterinarian Patcharaporn Kaewmong of the Phuket Marine Biological Center’s endangered species unit responded to reports of a beached dolphin just before noon yesterday. Arriving at the scene off Loma Park, Ms Patcharaporn found the 60-kilogram, 2.2-meter spotted dolphin in weakened condition,…
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Foreigners in 25% of Phuket road accidents over Songkran
PHUKET TOWN: About one-quarter of the injuries recorded in Phuket during the recent Songkran ‘Seven Days of Danger’ holiday road safety campaign were foreigners, according to official statistics. Figures released by the Phuket Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office (DDPM-Phuket) show 60 reported accidents resulting in two deaths in the province from April 12 to 18. Of the total number of…
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“Ironman’ thief nabbed in Phuket
CHALONG, PHUKET: Chalong Police on Monday arrested a man with a motorbike sidecar full of pilfered iron, including drainage grates stolen from local roadways.Amnaj Suebsin, 33, was caught with two stolen iron drainage grates, three car ramps, two supports designed to hold exhaust pipes, an industrial pipe-cutter and various other large pieces of iron.Chalong Police became increasingly concerned about public…
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New Phuket market still on hold
PHUKET TOWN: With the opening of the new market on Ranong Road on hold more than a year after its completion, would-be tenants have filed a complaint charging the municipality with overcharging them on construction costs needed to build food stalls. Work on the project got underway in March 2007, after vendors agreed to move off the site of the…
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Man found dead in Phuket Town jungle
PHUKET TOWN: A 47-year-old man was found dead in a forested area just half a kilometer from the Phuket governor’s house. On April 15, police were searching for evidence in an unrelated case when they discovered the body of Khamkong Yodsaeng from Udon Thani. Duty Officer Chukiat Chaiwiset said it looked like Mr Khamkong had been dead for more than…
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PHUKET OPINION: Learn to live with the gridlock
PHUKET: A plan by Kathu Police to reverse the flow along one-way roads in Patong is a good first step toward reducing traffic chaos in the town, but much more needs to be done to provide the millions of people who visit Phuket annually with the safe and affordable transport they deserve.. Put in place early in 2007, the one-way…
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Phuket tourist may be charged in jet-ski death
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: The young man whose jet ski allegedly crashed into 20-year-old Loh Ying Jie in Phuket has not been allowed to leave Thailand and will likely face criminal charges on Thursday, according to the New Straits Times. But the…
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Serial rapist arrested after day of mayhem in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: A serial rapist has been arrested in Phuket following a Songkran crime spree that left a man fighting for his life in the hospital. Phuket native Sathian ‘Sakai’ Reungjinda, 36, has confessed to raping or attempting to rape 11 women in Phuket in a spate of attacks that began in December last year. Police arrested him at his…
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Songkran 2010: Two teens dead on Phuket roads
PHUKET: This year’s Songkran celebrations were marred by the deaths of two teenage boys in road accidents, according to the Phuket Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Office (DDPM-Phuket). From April 12 to 15 there were 38 accidents resulting in the two deaths and 42 injuries, DDPM-Phuket said. On Monday around 11:30am a 14-year-old boy was killed when the motorbike he was…
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AFC Cup football match to be played in Phuket
PHUKET: Once again Phuket is set to benefit from political turmoil in Bangkok as an international football match is moved to the island. Bangkok’s Muang Thong United will face Hong Kong’s South China in an Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Cup group match which kicks off at 6:30pm on April 20 at Surakul Stadium. It is the second year in a…
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Phuket’s Soi Bangla declared “iguana free’ zone
PATONG, PHUKET: Following complaints from tourists and animal rights activists, Kathu Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakhao has declared Patong an ‘Iguana Free Zone’. “Many tourists complained about iguana handlers putting the reptiles on them without permission, especially on Soi Bangla. Some tourists got scratched when the handlers pulled them off. NGOs have also complained about the practice,” he told the Gazette.…
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Tout gunned down in Phuket
KATHU, PHUKET: Police are searching for suspects wanted in connection with a shooting murder in Kathu early this morning. Thung Thong Police were notified of the shooting at about 3:30am. At the scene, in front of a small rental home off Wichit Songkram Road, they found the victim’s body lying face up, riddled with 9mm bullets. The victim, a large…
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Phuket jet-ski accident fatal
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Eleven days after a friend crashed into him while they were on jet-skis in Phuket, 20-year-old Loh Ying Jie died at Singapore General Hospital from swelling of the brain. The New Straits Times reports that Loh, a former…
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Phuket incinerator project to begin in June
PHUKET TOWN: Work on a second solid waste incinerator at Saphan Hin should get underway in a few months’ time, according to Phuket City Municipality. Deputy Mayor Thaworn Jeeraphat said work on the waste-to-energy incinerator, originally scheduled for completion in October this year, should get underway in June. The incinerator, to be built by Malaysian firm PJT Technology Co Ltd,…
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Patong CCTV units on the blink
PHUKET: The majority of closed-circuit television (CCTV) security cameras in Patong don’t work, the Gazette has learned. There are more than 20 security cameras sited in key locations in Patong, but only eight are still functioning properly. Most of the ten CCTV units provided by Patong Municipality are still in operation, but most of the units provided by the Phuket…
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Phuket’s ‘Fun Run’ to return
PHUKET: The sound of pounding running shoes will once again echo around the island when the fifth annual Laguna Phuket International Marathon kicks off on June 13. Now Asia’s fastest-growing destination marathon, more than 5,000 entrants from 45 countries are expected to take part in the event, which is preceded by a two-day expo featuring sponsors’ booths and fun activities.…
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Songkran stabbing in Phuket
CHALONG, PHUKET: Chalong Police are searching for the man responsible for a stabbing attack that left a young man in critical condition yesterday. Police were notified of the attack at about 5:30pm. By the time they arrived at the scene, an unnamed curry shop and dry goods store on Soi Thanuthep in Chalong Village 8, the victim had already been…
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Phuket tuk-tuk driver to be charged with theft from tourist
PATONG, PHUKET: Kathu Police will charge a Patong tuk-tuk driver with theft after a Maltese tourist claimed the man purposely drove off with a bag containing his cash and valuables. The tourist, 44-year-old Charles Bonavia, appeared at Kathu Police Station accompanied by a friend and two Thai women on Monday afternoon. At around 2pm that day, he and five friends…
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Thai Foreign Minister on rampage
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PHUKET: Thailand’s foreign minister Kasit Piromya lashed out at the global community yesterday for failing to take action against fugitive premier Thaksin Shinawatra, whom he branded a terrorist and blamed for the country’s deadly political violence. AFP reports that…
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Heroic rescues prevent Phuket beach tragedy
RAWAI, PHUKET: A Thai man who helped save four children from drowning yesterday is being treated in hospital after being pulled unconscious from the water by an Italian kayaker. The near-tragedy occurred when four Phuket City youths were swept out to sea at the South end of Nai Harn Beach, the same area where 10-year-old Apichet ‘Nong Max’ Srinakarak drowned…
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Increase in flights to Phuket Intl Airport: AOT
PHUKET CITY: The effect of the political turmoil on passenger traffic at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport has thus far been limited, with increased traffic at Phuket International Airport making up for some of the shortfall, Airports of Thailand (AoT) has announced. Suvarnabhumi Airport Director Niran Theeranatsin said that before the protests 16 international and domestic carriers had requested an additional…
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