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80-80 rugby to return to Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Adisak Hemyoo, honorary secretary of Thai Rugby Union (TRU), today confirmed that 80-80 rugby will return to Phuket with an international tournament on the island from November 16 to 23.Teams from Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei and Sri Lanka, as well as from big guns Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, have all confirmed to take part, along with…
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US donates bomb blanket to Phuket police
PATONG: A US Embassy official yesterday morning presented a “bomb blanket” to Kathu Police Station in a ceremony attended by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Decha Budnampetch.Scott Bernat, Chief of the Naval Security Force Protection Detachment at the US Embassy in Bangkok, told the Gazette that the blanket – technically known as a “bomb suppression blanket” – is made…
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Fears rise over potential dengue outbreak
PHUKET CITY: A nine-year-old boy is suspected of becoming the latest victim of dengue fever in Phuket. If the disease is confirmed, he will be the third person in Phuket killed by the disease this year.The boy, Aniwat Madtai, lived in Koh Kaew and died at Vachira Phuket Hospital August 4.The tests to determine if dengue hemorrhagic fever was the…
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Juvenile Court cases jump 11%
PHUKET: Figures released by the Phuket Juvenile Observation and Protection Center show that delinquents committed 364 crimes from January 1 to July 31 this year – an increase of 11% on the overall juvenile crime rate for 2006.Eighty-two of the cases involved inhalant abuse, such as huffing rubber cement or glue. Most inhalant-abuse cases involved boys aged 15 to 18.Of…
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OrBorJor launches express van service at Phuket airport
PHUKET (Nation): The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) today launched a shuttle van service between Phuket International Airport and downtown Phuket City.Phuket Vice-Governor Tri Augkaradacha chaired the launch ceremony of the service, operated by the Phuket Vehicle Service Cooperative.V/Gov Tri said the van service was launched following tourists’ complaints that existing bus services were slow and often delayed as bus…
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Korean tour operators shy away from action on illegal guides
PHUKET CITY: Only eight of 57 Korean tour operators invited by the local office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to discuss the hotly-debated topic of illegal Korean tour guides in Phuket were represented at a meeting on Tuesday organized by Phuket Governor Niran Kanlayanamit’s office.Being a tour guide is a profession reserved for Thais, yet many Koreans continue to…
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Police raid tea shop, hookahs seized
PHUKET CITY: During a raid of the Khiew-Tong cafe on Thalang Rd yesterday evening, police found 16 minors smoking flavored tobacco through a hookah.The 10 males and six females, all under 18, were arrested and later released to their parents. The shop owner, Phuket native Veerasak Abdulla, 49, was charged with aiding or abetting a minor to engage in wrongful…
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Man hangs self in “Burmese cemetery’
RASSADA: Volunteer rescue workers early yesterday evening recovered the body of an unidentified man, believed to be Burmese, hanging by the neck from a tree in a mangrove forest off Soi Honsaitong, near the fishing port.The body was discovered by a man looking for shellfish in the area, about 100 meters off Soi Kobkulnusorn, Lt Maj Keerati Triwai of Phuket…
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Man charged with strangling mother-in-law
CHERNG TALAY: A man has confessed to strangling his mother-in-law after she chastised him for being lazy.Neighbors of Srila Kanchorn, 52, a native of Phayao, found her body lying face-up in a coconut plantation in Baan Pasak about 9 am yesterday. She was dressed in a yellow shirt and light blue sports pants.Cherng Talay Police Investigation Inspector Lt Col Jetsada…
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Welcome Gate to officially open
TAH CHAT CHAI: More than three years after it was initially conceived, the Phuket Welcome Gate will have its grand opening ceremony on the auspicious date of September 9. The gate, proposed and championed by Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutra, will welcome tourists onto the island with a history of the province and a rest stop area.The…
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Call for more organ donors
PHUKET: Senior figures of the Phuket chapter of the Thai Red Cross Society and Patong Hospital on August 3 called for more people to sign up as organ donors. The announcement was made at the “Organ and Blood Donations Devote Life to Mother and Nations” blood donation drive at Jungceylon, where in five hours 94 people donated blood that will…
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Drug crimes still high
PHUKET: There were 46 ya bah (methamphetamine) arrests in July with a total of 1,119 pills seized. Drug-related crimes accounted for 107 arrests over the month, almost double the number recorded in July 2006, according to figures released by Phuket Provincial Police.Twenty-five people were arrested for the use of cannabis, with 106 kilograms confiscated. There were 18 arrests for inhalant…
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TDA teaches sea gypsies to dive
RAWAI: Twenty villagers from Rawai’s sea gypsy community are taking part in a five-day dive course that kicked off with a ceremony Thursday morning presided over by Minister of Tourism and Sports Dr Suwit Yodmanee.The training, being held jointly by the Thai Diving Association (TDA) and the Phuket Office of Sports and Recreation Development, is intended to give the sea…
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Tourism Minister sets ICEC decision deadline
PHUKET CITY: Tourism and Sports Minister Dr Suwit Yodmanee yesterday announced that August 24 will be the deadline for Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit to decide on a location for the long-awaited International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC). Dr Suwit set the deadline at a meeting at the Phuket Merlin Hotel – one of several meetings being held by the minister…
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Taiwanese businessman shot
WICHIT: The Taiwanese owner of a fish export business is fighting for his life at Phuket International Hospital after being shot by unknown assailants on Chao Fa West Rd yesterday morning.Phuket City Police Duty Inspector Pol Lt Sathid Noorid identified the victim as 48-year-old Hsueh Hsu Sheng, a resident of Baan Suan Thai housing estate off Chao Fa West Rd.Mr…
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Fisheries Office extends po trap amnesty
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Fisheries Office (PPFO) has given fishermen until August 28 to apply to continue using po traps, shallow-water fish traps made by stringing a net between stakes stuck in the seabed, although the traps have been outlawed since 1996. The announcement follows the passing of the July 29 deadline set by the PPFO for all total ban…
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“Nong Red’ slowly recovering
AO MAKHAM: The spinner dolphin that washed ashore at Karon Beach on July 1 is recovering slowly after a full month at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), where she was taken for treatment of a severe respiratory infection and other ailments.PMBC Biologist Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong told the Gazette this afternoon that the dolphin, nicknamed Nong Red, has faced numerous health…
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Dog shelter begging for attention
THALANG: Phuket’s uncared-for canines are last in line for handouts as funding dries up and food supplies dwindle at the Mid Road Dog Shelter in Baan Kanoon, Thalang.The shelter – managed by the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO) and where registered animal welfare charity Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) have operated from since January – is currently home to more than…
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Experts fear Jatukham fever may endanger dugongs
PHUKET (Gazette/Kom Chad Luek): Conservation experts fear that fierce competition in the promotion of Jatukham Ramathep amulets may have sparked renewed interesting in the hunting of dugong, whose teardrops are believed by some to have magical powers. Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) biologist Kanjana Adulyankosol told the Gazette that fears stemmed from promotional material used by one Jatukham seller coupled…
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Phuket businesses scoop top awards
PHUKET: Phuket’s hospitality industry received a major boost last week with the announcement that three prestigious awards had been won by local companies.Mom Tri’s Boathouse & Villa Royale in Kata was awarded Wine Spectator magazine’s Best of Award of Excellence for the second consecutive year, maintaining its status as the only establishment in Thailand to receive the coveted award.Wine Spectator‘s…
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Tsunami false alarm in Krabi
KRABI (Nation): Seven disaster-warning towers in Krabi unexpectedly sounded an alarm simultaneously on Saturday evening, prompting frightened residents and tourists to run for higher ground in fear of a tsunami.Krabi disaster-prevention and mitigation officer Thalerngsak Phuwayanapong said he had been informed that the warning towers at Koh Phi Phi pier, Saladan, Koh Lanta, Koh Jam, Haad Yao, Laem Sak Bay…
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Chuan opens Halal Food Hilal Town festival
THALANG: The third annual Halal Food Hilal Town festival began Friday night, with former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai heading the opening ceremony.Before declaring the event open, K. Chuan, Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Democrat Party, walked through the festival accompanied by Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit, Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutra and other guests.The event is…
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Bars asked for “no-alcohol’ weekend
PHUKET: Bars and retail outlets are being asked to refrain from selling alcohol on Sunday and Monday to honor Asarnha Bucha Day and Buddhist Lent Day, respectively.Natanit Phromthawee, an administrative officer of Kathu District Office, told the Gazette that her office had issued a formal request to that effect.“We can’t force anyone not to sell alcohol over the two holidays…
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Phuket ready for referendum
SAPHAN HIN: More than 1,000 people gathered at Saphan Hin this morning to promote Phuket’s participation in the forthcoming national referendum on the newly-drafted constitution, which will take place August 19.Phuket officials were joined by members of the public and representatives from each Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) wearing yellow T-shirts and carrying banners and flags in support of the referendum.…
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Call for Phuket tourism businesses to go “green’
PHUKET: A Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) seminar held at The Metropole hotel on Tuesday brought together academics and members of the tourism sector to discuss global warming effects in Phuket, where an estimated 344 million tonnes of greenhouse gases are produced every year, said Nisanat Sathirakul, deputy secretary general at the Office of Natural Resources and Environment Policy and…
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Local crew heads for Platu world championships
PHUKET: Local sailor Australian Scott Duncanson, better known in Phuket as owner and skipper of Somtam Express, which won Phuket Raceweek regatta last month, has compiled a crew to defend the title of National Platu champion at the national finals in Pattaya on August 13 and 14.The crew are using the national Platu finals as a springboard for training for…
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Registered population keeps rising
PHUKET: The island’s official population climbed by 2,146 to 323,660 from June 21 to July 20, but the figure still under-represents the number of Thais calling Phuket home – not including the number of expats and low-wage laborers from abroad who have migrated here in recent years.The rise is slightly lower than during the previous reporting period, when a gain…
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Tsunami evacuation drill “hit and miss’
PHUKET: Andaman Wave 007, the first regional testing of the 79 National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) tsunami warning towers along the Andaman Coast, was conducted at 9:45 this morning, with mixed results in Phuket.While impressive mock evacuation and emergency response drills were being staged for the media on the beach at the foot of Soi Bangla in Patong, residents in…
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Tsunami evacuation drills tomorrow
PHUKET: All residents of coastal areas should be reminded that the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) tomorrow morning will conduct the first full-scale regional testing of its 79 tsunami warning sirens along the Andaman Coast, including 19 towers in Phuket. Evacuation drills in tsunami-risk areas will be conducted by local administrative bodies working together with district offices and members of…
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New bus station planned near Supercheap
RASSADA: The Phuket Provincial Transport Office (PPTO) has agreed to buy 10 rai of land near Supercheap on Thepkrasattri Rd to build a new inter-provincial bus station.The existing bus station, on Phang Nga Rd in Phuket City, will be used for only local buses, vans and songtaew, most of which now leave from Ranong Rd.PPTO chief Chatchawarn Ngarmtup told the Gazette…
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