News
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Sponsored Chef Fabio Genghini takes over Portofino at Le Meridien Phuket for an Exclusive 2-week residency
Food lovers, prepare your taste buds for a gourmet Italian feast! From July 2 to 13, acclaimed Chef Fabio Genghini will take over Le Meridien Phuket’s beloved Italian restaurant, Portofino as a guest chef. It’s a chance for you to...
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Special panel to probe Chalong explosions
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Niran Kanlayanamit has appointed a special committee to investigate the November 28 bombing of three new homes on disputed land in Chalong.During a meeting of the Phuket Provincial Security Council, Gov Niran said he would like to see the police track down and arrest the people responsible for the blasts as soon as possible.The three improvised…
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Dead triathlete “suffered heart attack”
CHERNG TALAY: Laguna Phuket this morning confirmed that Briton William Scott Stewart, 43, died after suffering a heart attack during the swim leg of the Laguna Phuket Triathlon yesterday.Debbie Dionysius, Laguna Phuket’s Director of Destination Marketing, told the Gazette that Mr Stewart was unconscious when he was pulled from the water. He was then taken to Bangkok Hospital Phuket, where…
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Man dies during Laguna Phuket Triathlon
CHERNG TALAY: The Gazette has confirmed reports that a man died of a heart attack during the Laguna Phuket Triathlon this morning.Laguna has yet to release details of the incident as relatives of the deceased have yet to be notified of the man’s death.Some 1,400 athletes from 40 countries competed individually or in teams in the international event, which has…
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Bill Clinton commends Phuket sea gypsies
MAI KHAO: Former US President Bill Clinton today visited the small sea gypsy village Hin Look Diow as one of his last acts as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery.Clinton planted a mangrove tree and commended the villagers on their environmentally-friendly practices. The mangrove tree was planted as a part of a Mangroves for the Future initiative…
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Bloody day on Phuket’s roads
PHUKET: Four people, including three 11-year-old boys, were killed in two separate road accidents on Monday.The first accident occurred about 7:30 pm, when three boys on a motorcycle and a sedan collided head-on in front of Andavana Spa, on Thepprathan Rd, Koh Sireh.The driver, Channarong Sadimin, and one of his passengers, Suriyapong Premjaroen, died at the scene.The third boy, Piyapong…
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Clinton to tour sea gypsy village, plant mangroves
PHUKET: Former US President Bill Clinton will speak in Phuket tomorrow as the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery. Clinton will arrive tonight and speak at Hin Look Diow, a small sea gypsy village, tomorrow morning.After Clinton arrives at the village, near the airport, he will meet community leaders and make a short statement before taking a tour…
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Kathu woman brutally slain
KATHU: A 40-year-old woman died of multiple stab wounds to the body, head and throat, inflicted by an intruder who forced his way into her home near Tung Tong Market early Monday morning.Pol Lt Col Passakorn Sonthikul of Tung Tong Police Station said that the murder was reported about 8 am on Monday by Thavorn “Pae Lian” Kajkla, who identified…
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New Phuket Vice-Governors appointed
PHUKET CITY: Two new Vice-Governors will take up their posts on the island on December 4. On the same day, current Phuket Vice-Governor Pongsak Plaivaj will be transferred to Prachuap Khiri Khan Province, where he will serve as a Vice-Governor.The two new Vice-Governors will be Tri Augkaradacha, promoted from Roi-Et Provincial Chief Administrative Officer, and Smith Palawatvichai, currently serving as…
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Homemade bombs blast new development
CHALONG: Three houses were badly damaged by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that detonated about 2:30 am on Saturday. Police believe the blasts were motivated by a land dispute. No one was killed in the blasts, but two Burmese workmen were reported injured.The houses are located in a rural residential development on Soi Songkun, Moo 1, Nabon, Chao Fa East Rd.Chalong…
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B2m of ya bah seized in Thalang
THALANG: Provincial Drug Suppression Police seized 6,800 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and arrested two men in a sting operation on November 23.Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth said an investigation had revealed that Chatree ” Mee” Waiyawut, 26, was dealing ya bah in Phuket.“Undercover officers contacted Chatree, ordering 300 ya bah pills for 45,000 baht. Delivery was…
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Man caught with protected fish
CHALONG: Rawai sea gypsy Taweelert Harntalay, 39, was caught with a boat load of protected fish while fishing off Koh Bon on Saturday.He was arrested by Phuket Marine Police working with officers from the Phuket Marine Biological Center.Pol Col Chalit Kaewyarat, Superintendent of Chalong Police Station, told the Gazette, “In his boat were many protected fish, including lobsters, clown fish,…
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Aussie saved off Patong after three weeks adrift
PATONG: An Australian sailor who had been adrift for more than three weeks was rescued by Phuket Marine Police on Saturday.Rocky Bonow, 52, left the Cocos Islands on October 17 on his 13.2-meter boat Moonstar, bound for Phuket.As he was rounding Sumatra, the boat’s engine stopped, leaving Bonow adrift with limited supplies.Pol Lt Col Prathueng Srilamontree of Phuket Marine Police…
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The root of suffering
“Attachment is the origin, the root of suffering; hence it is the cause of suffering.” – The Dalai Lama at Harvard University, 1988 A devout monk in Phattalung’s Kongra District took the quest for non-attachment to an unprecedented level recently, when he cut off his erect penis, which was was distracting him during a meditation session. News of the story…
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Tuk-tuk driver stabs Welshman
PATONG: A Welsh tourist is expected to be discharged from Phuket International Hospital today after being stabbed in the chest following a dispute over a tuk-tuk fare early yesterday morning.Kathu Deputy Inspector for Crime Suppression, Pol Capt Leucha Polkarn, confirmed that Julien Bennett, 31, was stabbed on Nanai Rd about 3:30 am, following an altercation with Patong tuk-tuk driver Wisut…
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Former Kathu Land Office Chief found guilty
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Criminal Court in Bangkok on Monday sentenced former Kathu Land Office Chief Bunchoo Limraksasin to 20 years in prison after finding him guilty on 10 counts of demanding bribes for land titles between December 21, 2001 and March 8, 2003.The court also found a second defendant in the case, 34-year-old Meena Kalra, guilty on seven counts…
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Accidents and crime Phuket’s biggest tourism threats
PHUKET: Despite fears of terrorism, natural disasters and health pandemics, government officials rate everyday crime and road accidents as the greatest dangers to Phuket’s tourism industry, a Phuket Provincial Tourism Management Strategy (PPTRMS) workshop revealed on Tuesday.During the workshop, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, government officials were presented with the results of a survey from the previous workshop, held…
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70 Burmese arrested for having too much fun
KARON: Seventy Burmese workers celebrating a friend’s wedding were arrested and taken to Chalong Police Station after a neighbor complained that they were singing too loud.Chalong Police Inspector Pol Maj Peeranat Chatinkaew told the Gazette that his office received a complaint about 1:30 am on Tuesday, informing police that Burmese workers behind Wat Karon were disturbing the peace by singing…
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Full-House Fiasco
CHON BURI: Three unlucky vacationers from the Islamic Republic of Iran were taught a lesson on November 15, when they learned the hard way that pleasures of the flesh rarely come cheap – even in the steamy sois off south Pattya’s infamous Walking Street. The three men, Sedaghat Heiydari, 30, Saber Mobanazade, 31, and Nohsen Nadsill, 32, came to the…
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Turdiform terrorism
SURAT THANI: Monday mornings are usually tough enough to face, but imagine turning up for work and finding your desk covered in stinking excrement and swarming with flies. It was precisely that scenario that confronted workers at the Surat Thani Educational Service Area 2 on the morning of November 6. At the scene at about 11 am the same morning,…
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That’ll teach him
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: Mystery surrounds the murder of a who was found beaten and stabbed to death, his penis burnt to a crisp. The grisly murder was reported to Thung Yai District Police around dawn on November 2. Arriving at the scene, in a rubber-tapping community in Tambon Prik, police led by Duty Inspector Pol Lt Col Leuachai Thongsin found…
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Couple injured in acid attack
PHUKET CITY: A woman was seriously injured after having acid thrown in her face on Friday. The woman’s boyfriend was also injured in the attack.Pol Sub Lt Thada Sodarak, Duty Officer at Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette that the injured man, Pissanu Praduppet, told police that his wife had committed the attack after he had asked her for a…
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Prostitution rates second in latest crime figures
PHUKET: Statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police show that prostitution-related crime resulted in the second-highest number of arrests, 91, in October, knocking drug offenses from its usual number two position and trailing only the perennial leader, gambling.Of the 214 people arrests for gambling-related offenses, 23 cases involved the sale of illegal underground lottery tickets.Seventy-four people were arrested for drug-related offenses,…
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B50,000 reward for drive-by shooter
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Police officers have announced a 50,000-baht reward for information relating to a drive-by shooting last Sunday night. During the attack, on Chao Fa East Rd at 8:30 pm, gunmen in a black pickup pulled alongside a silver-colored sports utility vehicle and opened fire, hitting the car at least six times. The victim managed to drive away…
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Patong to try one-way traffic
PATONG: In the hope of bringing some order to Patong’s traffic chaos, on January 15 the town will adopt a one-way road system on a three-month trial.The one-way system will see Rat U-Thit 200 Pi Rd become one-way southbound and Thaweewong Rd (the beach road) one-way northbound from Prachanukhro Rd to Phra Barami Rd.Prachanukhro Rd will become one-way from Rat…
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Kathu roadworks to cause tailbacks
KATHU: Motorists traveling between Kathu and Phuket City can expect traffic delays over the next year, as the narrow, hilly stretch of Wichit Songkhram Rd west of Makro is now being widened into a four-lane divided highway with sidewalks on both sides.The work is underway by project contractor Noppawong Kosarng Company, which was awarded the contract after making a 45.9-million-baht…
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Fire engulfs stalls along Patong beachfront
PATONG: A fire broke out on Thaweewong Rd about 4 am yesterday, destroying eight vendors’ stalls and causing an estimated 10 million baht in damages.Firefighters took two hours to extinguish the blaze.The fire broke out in a row of shops near the Holiday Inn Resort. After being notified of the blaze by Kathu Police, 10 trucks from Patong Municipality Fire…
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Work begins on new Bang Tao stalls
BANG TAO: After January 1, 32 beach vendors currently encroaching on Bang Tao Beach will move into small new stalls now being built for them by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor).Thalang District Chief Administrative Officer Nikorn Torhirunyapreuk told the Gazette that work is now underway on the first 11 stalls being built for the vendors, allowing them to hawk…
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Tsunami early-warning buoys to deploy from Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Thailand’s tsunami early-warning system will take a big step forward this month, when a high-tech monitoring buoy able to directly detect tsunami waves will be deployed about 1,100 kilometers off the Andaman Coast, near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.The announcement came during a meeting on disaster preparedness in the six tsunami-affected provinces held at the Royal Phuket City…
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“Peanut gambling’ gang caught
KAMALA: Four men, including a retired police officer, have been arrested for their participation in a “peanut gambling” swindle after a woman, whose name is being withheld at her request, was conned out of 1 million baht before reporting the racket to the police.The woman reported the con to police on November 8 and cooperated in a sting operation, luring…
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Pencak Silat moved to Turkey
PHUKET: The 13th Pencak Silat Martial Arts World Championship, set to open in Phuket this Saturday, has been moved to Turkey due to the coup.The competition was originally scheduled to be held November 18 to 26, with more than 500 competitors from 25 countries registered for the event.Pencak Silat is a group of martial arts of Indo-Malaysian origin that can…
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