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Is cannabis really safe? Here’s what you need to know
Thai society’s views on cannabis continue to change for the better as the industry grows. More and more people are starting to embrace the plant for its medicinal and holistic wellness benefits. But despite growing acceptance, some stigma and perception...
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Asian invasion overwhelms airport immigration
PHUKET: The Phuket holidays of about 2,200 East Asian tourists got off to a slow start early this morning, when they were forced to wait hours to clear Immigration at Phuket International Airport (PIA).Twelve flights landed in little over an hour, overwhelming the Immigration officers on duty. It took officials until past 4 am, some three-and-a half hours after the…
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17 more bars caught in late-trading crackdown
PATONG: Seventeen more bar operators have been charged with trading outside permitted hours following the raids on late-night Valentine’s Day parties last week.The second round of raids came about 4:30 am February 16 on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, with the operators of the Jonas Tree Guest Bar, The Sunday Bar, Paris Bar, The Nineteen St Bar and a bar named…
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Free willy at the wat
CHALONG: A naked Slovenian man who ran short of medication for a nervous condition was found wandering around naked at Wat Lathiwanaram shortly after midday on Saturday. His stroll came to an abrupt end, however, when he was confronted by a white-robed temple nun. According to Lt Col Anek Mongkol of Chalong Police, the Slovenian, 38, rode his motorbike from…
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Couple attacked on bypass road
RASSADA: A Phuket man was beaten and blasted by a shotgun when he and his wife were attacked by a motorbike gang on the bypass road early on Monday morning. K. Chatchai Chuenjitsoonthorn, 26, was taken to Vachira Hospital where he is still recovering from his injuries. His condition is reported as not life threatening.Lt Theeradet Jiraksa, Duty Officer at Phuket City Police…
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Swiss swindler arrested after stabbing policeman
THALANG: Swiss national Carlos Minnig, 39, yesterday stabbed a Tourist Police officer while resisting arrest for extorting “protection money” from a fellow Swiss national.The arrest followed complaints from Swiss businessman Rene Langansand, 42, that Minnig claimed to be an Interpol agent and offered protection services for Mr Langansand’s Koh Lanta business – for a fee.According to a Tourist Police press…
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Koh Yao villagers stage pier protest
PHANG NGA: About 30 protestors have been camping out for over a month on Klong Son Beach on Koh Yao Yai, demanding the government scrap plans for a pier to be built there by a large land developer.The protesters comprise poor Muslim residents of Village 3 and representatives from non-governmental organizations supporting their cause. The villagers see the project, which…
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Valentine’s Day crackdown sees nine club owners charged
PATONG: The operators of nine clubs and bars in Patong, including Night Station Discotheque and Safari Pub, were arrested early Thursday morning for violating the mandatory closing time of 2 am.Officers from Phuket Provincial Police Special Task Force and Kathu District Police Station, led by Lt Col Sermphan Sirikong, raided the entertainment hotspots at 4 am February 15, kicking out…
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Masseuse set on fire on Patong Beach
PATONG: After yelling at a Patong Beach masseuse about her crying daughter, a man doused the woman with paint thinner and set her alight about midday on Tuesday.As the girl’s parents ran to their daughter’s aid, outraged witnesses pounced on the man and beat him.The mother is now in hospital, critically injured with first-degree burns. Her attacker, a drug addict,…
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A lovely day at the District Office
PHUKET: A total of 202 couples chose Valentine’s Day to officially tie the knot, with 134 couples registering their marriages yesterday at Muang District office alone.The number of couples wed at Muang District Office was somewhat lower than last year, when 142 couples took the plunge, but still far more than the office’s daily average of about 10.Phuket Chief Administrative…
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Two killed in head-on smash
SAMKONG: A Finnish man and a Thai tuk-tuk driver were killed in a head-on collision between a tuk-tuk and a pickup truck shortly after 1 pm yesterday. A Finnish woman and Thai man traveling in the tuk-tuk were also injured in the accident.The Finns were in the back of a tuk-tuk driving northbound past Steak Samkong restaurant on Yaowarat Rd…
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Island CCTV up and running
PHUKET: The next time you are having a night out on the town in Patong, Kata-Karon or Phuket City be sure to keep a smile on your face: you might be on TV.Pol Col Peerayuth Karachedi, Superintendent for Administrative Affairs at Phuket Provincial Police Station, told the Gazette that a closed-circuit television (CCTV) system has been fully tested and is…
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Thai sailor murdered in Phang Nga mutiny
PHANG NGA: The captain of Thai fishing boat Muang Dam 2 was seriously injured and his First Mate killed on February 9, when nine Burmese crew members mutinied during a fishing expedition about 40 miles off the coast of Phang Nga Province.A tour boat found the captain of the boat, Chalermporn Phosung, floating adrift with serious stab wounds.After the incident…
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Grand Tropicana declared clear of Legionnaires’ disease
PHUKET: Breaking the silence regarding the reported outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease at the hotel in January, Phuket Grand Tropicana General Manager Apichart Asa announced that the hotel has been declared free from the bacteria and that all water fixtures in the hotel have been cleaned from top to bottom.Dr Wiwat Sritamanod, Civil Service Level C-9 of the Phuket Provincial Health…
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Phuket student wins national IMPAC award
BANGKOK (Nation): Waranya Nawaluck has taken her personal experience from the 2004 tsunami and turned it into opportunity. The 17-year-old Kathu Wittaya School student yesterday was awarded the National 3rd Annual Junior IMPAC Dublin Literary Award for Thailand. The theme for the essay was “A Tale of Thai Grace and Compassion”.K. Waranya’s essay revolves around the impact that the disaster…
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SIPA to launch online payments portal
PHUKET: The Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) will launch its “One Click Finish All: One Stop Services” initiative through the www.thaionestop.org website on Saturday.The website, for now in Thai only, will accept online payments for water, electricity and telephone bills, but users must have an account with Bank of Ayudhya.The portal initially will be able to make payments to the…
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Fire destroys shops on Phi Phi
PHI PHI DON (Nation, Kom Chad Luek, Gazette): A fire raged through beachfront shops at the eastern end of Ton Sai Bay on Koh Phi Phi Don on Sunday, causing estimated damages of more than 2 million baht. No one was hurt in the blaze.The fire began at a beer bar around 11:30 am and swiftly raged through 10 other…
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Centipede on steroids
RAWAI: Villagers in Rawai were dumbfounded when a huge centipede, reportedly half a meter in length, was spotted near a public waterhole in Village 2. At 1 pm on February 6, villagers in the area of Baan Thai Mai (New Thais Village, or “Sea Gypsy” village) on Wiset Rd were seen crowding around a 20-meter-tall sugar palm tree. All were…
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Local aid raised for Southern temples
PHUKET CITY: The Seu See Khao (White Media for Peace) Club and Kanlayanamitr Club have been soliciting donations of food and money for Buddhist monks in the Deep South who are unable to collect food alms themselves due to fear of attacks by extremists.Food offerings were collected by 109 monks from Phuket who walked a path through Saphan Hin yesterday…
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Call for safety during Chinese New Year
PHUKET: Don’t sell or play with dangerous fireworks – and be careful with lit joss sticks during Chinese New Year, government officials have warned.Fire safety and other issues regarding the festivities that begin February 18 prompted a press conference led by Phuket Governor Vorapoj Rattasima. Also addressing the press were Aroon Kerdsom, head of the Phuket Provincial Office of Disaster…
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Sea gypsies protest over fishing rights
PHUKET CITY: Some 100 sea gypsies from Rawai on Wednesday petitioned Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit to help settle an ongoing, violent dispute over fishing rights near resorts.The complaint follows sea gypsy Pratan Charncheow suffering decompression sickness after having his oxygen supply hose cut while diving off Nui Beach on December 31.Pratan was fishing with five other sea gypsies, including Alim…
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Newspaper Circulation Soars
BANGKOK (The Nation): Worldwide newspaper circulation soared nearly 10 percent in the five years to 2005, according to a study released in Paris yesterday. The study’s findings sharply challenge the widespread notion that the print media is moribund.The World Association of Newspapers [WNA] said the number of paid-circulation daily papers reached a record 10,104 in 2005, an increase of 13 percent…
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OrBorJor sets sights on education
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) will spend 160 million baht of its 340-million-baht budget for fiscal 2007 on education, OrBorJor President Anchlee Vanich-Thepabutr has announced.The dedication of nearly half the OrBorJor‘s annual budget follows seven schools transferring their administration organization from the central government to the OrBorJor by signing memorandums of understanding (MOUs).Improvements in educational standards in the…
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Ya bah addict gunned down after 4-hour standoff
PHUKET CITY: A four-hour standoff between police and a drug-crazed pork vendor ended violently yesterday, with a Phuket City policeman sustaining two bullet wounds before returning fire and hitting the gunman three times.After being felled, the man tried to take his own life by shooting himself in the head – but his gun failed to fire.Phuket City Police Inspector Lt…
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Eight disaster-alert stations plundered
PHUKET: Thieves have stolen copper cable from lightning rods at eight of the island’s 11 emergency radio network repeater stations, forcing the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) to spend some 2.7 million baht on replacement and repairs.News of the vandalism was reported by OrBorJor Vice-President Suthin Uthaithamrong at the January 30 meeting of provincial office chiefs at the Thavorn Grand…
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Foreign teacher crackdown to continue
PHUKET: Foreign teachers will continue to be the target of Immigration crackdowns, Thai Immigration Chief Pol Lt Gen Suwat Tumrongsiskul confirmed during his recent visit to Phuket on Monday.His agency, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education (MoE), will continue to conduct strict background checks on all foreigners applying for teaching jobs in the Kingdom.Gen Suwat said Immigration agreed with…
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Nine youths in glue-fueled stabbing frenzy
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Police have arrested five of nine youths wanted for the savage murder of Keittirat Longnawa, a 31-year-old transsexual and glue addict who was beaten and had his throat slashed in Rassada on January 31.Police are still searching for four more suspects in the case. All nine suspects, including two girls, ranged in age from 14 to…
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Thai youth: Clever, constructive… copulating
PHUKET CITY: Valentine’s Day is traditionally a time when love is in the air, but according to officials at Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), young love is too often finding its way under the sheets.PPHO Chief Dr Wanchai Satthayawuthipong said that as Valentine’s Day is a time of high risk for youths losing their virginity and contracting STDs, his office…
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Men cleared of gold shop robbery
PHUKET CITY: The two suspects wanted for the January 27 robbery of the Thongroj gold shop in Dowroong Villa, on Chao Fa East Rd, have been cleared by police after they turned themselves in to proclaim their innocence.Police on January 30 released sketches of the two men as they had visited the gold shop earlier in the week.Pol Maj Sompong…
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Public surveyed on B70bn Ao Phuket project
PHUKET CITY: Public opinions of the 70-billion-baht convention center and hotel project proposed to be built on reclaimed land off Saphan Hin have been surveyed, but the survey results have yet to be analyzed, Vice-Governor Worapot Ratthasima and officials from Phuket Governor’s Office were told on Friday.Researchers Dr Aree Tirasatayapitak and Kamontorn Prompitak, from the Faculty of Service Industries at…
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Call for security boost at Johnnie Walker Classic
PHUKET CITY: Ministry of Tourism and Sports Permanent Secretary Sakthip Krairiksh has called for increased security at the Johnnie Walker Golf Classic, to be played at Blue Canyon Golf Club March 1 to 4.The call was made at a meeting with representatives of major sponsor Diageo Moet Hennessy (Thailand) on February 2 and senior provincial government figures, including Phuket Vice-Governor…
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