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Phuket Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET CITY: The annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival, complete with face-piercing spirit mediums, will be held October 22 to 30 at shrines in and around Phuket City. The traditional Chinese festival emphasizes merit making and ritual cleansing of the body. Participants are invited to wear white clothes and abstain from meat, sex, and foods with strong odors for the duration of…
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Funeral services for John Seebach
CHERNG TALAY: Funeral rights for John Seebach are being held daily until his cremation on Tuesday morning at Wat Cherng Talay, where his body is now resting. Although welcome to pay their respects at the wat anytime, friends and relatives are asked to attend a special memorial service on Monday night, starting at 7:20 pm. A wake in memory of…
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Dive operators fight crackdown in court
PHUKET: Dive operators opposing the new regulations that went into effect October 1 have taken their fight to the Administrative Court, where they are challenging the legality of the new regulations.Pragon Geatgun, Vice-President of the Thai Diving Association (TDA), told the Gazette on Tuesday that the TDA was representing about 60 dive operators in Phuket who have lodged a petition…
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Phuket IT icon John Seebach dead
CHERNG TALAY: Island Technology founder John Seebach died of heart failure yesterday evening at the age of 48.John, who also wrote a bi-monthly column on information technology issues for the Phuket Gazette, died after teaching his wife Autcharawan “Gay” Pratumwan how to swim at the Banyan Tree resort at Laguna Phuket.“He was teaching me how to swim like a professional,…
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Carrefour to open at Jungceylon
PATONG: French hypermarket chain Carrefour will open its first branch in Phuket as part of the December 1 soft opening of Jungceylon, putting to rest the speculation that the now-deposed Thaksin government’s efforts to rein in the expansion of large retailers would effect the project.The opening was confirmed during an October 6 press conference at Jungceylon by Prawit Janyasittikul, Deputy…
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Pattani police to bolster Phuket security
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police are to borrow more than 100 officers from strife-torn Pattani Province to reinforce their numbers in the coming high season. Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth, Commander of Phuket Provincial Police, yesterday said, “This high season we will have more tourists because we have new target markets in Russia, Israel and India. “At present we do not…
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Underwater tsunami memorial installed off Phi Phi Island
PHI PHI ISLANDS: Thailand’s first underwater tsunami memorial was laid down on the seabed in Tonsai Bay, off Koh Phi Phi Don, in a ceremony on September 30.The memorial, 1.4 kilometers offshore and at a depth of 20 meters, took about one month to install. The The monument comprises three large granite markers, each 150 centimeters tall and arranged to…
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Suriya’s wife talks to the Gazette
CHERNG TALAY: In an exclusive interview with the Phuket Gazette, Chanthana Chaowanich has explained the sequence of events the night her husband, well-known businessman Suriya Chaowanich, 49, was assassinated.K. Chanthana, 34, from Bangkok, was with K. Suriya at their home in Baan Bang Jo on the night of September 12.“I was not feeling well, and was lying down in our…
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Gambling top vice in September
PHUKET: Statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police again show gambling as the top crime category, with 164 people arrested for gambling-related offenses between September 1 and 30.The second-highest category was drug-related offenses, with 109 arrests.There were two cases of attempted murder, with arrests made in both cases. Two murders were reported during the period, with one case solved. There…
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Seminar on use of nominees in Thai companies
PHUKET CITY: A timely seminar aimed at helping individuals and the business community to understand the Foreign Business Act (FBA) will be held at the Royal Phuket City hotel on October 23. Organized by financial consultants Network Advisory Team and sponsored by the Phuket Gazette, the forum will be in English and moderated by Preecha Hantongtus, Senior Trade Officer at…
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Princess Sirindhorn to visit Phuket
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will visit Phuket on October 20 to preside over the official opening of three new centers on the island.In the morning, Princess Sirindhorn will chair the ceremony to lay the foundation stone for the new building of the Thai Red Cross Society, Phuket Chapter, on Rattanakosin 200 Pi Rd in Phuket City.After this, Princess…
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Tourist dead in suspected suicide
CHALONG: A South African man apparently took his own life on Wednesday, by putting a plastic bag over his head and breathing in LPG gas from a cooking fuel cylinder. The deceased was listed in the Chalong Police daily log as Joeachem Hendrik Smit, 46. His passport, recovered at the scene, showed that he had last entered Thailand on September…
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Nation party in Phuket again
PHUKET: Nation VI, billed as Asia’s largest gay and lesbian party, will be held at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa from October 20 to 22. Held since 2001, the annual event has grown from a one-night party in a disused theme park in Singapore to an international multi-day festival of gay and lesbian pride. Last year’s party, the…
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New Naval commander installed
AO MAKHAM: Rear-Admiral Supot Pruksa was promoted to Vice-Admiral and installed as Commanding Officer of the Third Naval Area Command this morning, replacing Tana Bunnag who has been promoted to “Deputy Chief of Staff Officer to Commander” in Bangkok.The ceremony took place at 10 am, when the officers and sailors under V/Adm Supot reported to their new commander, the 11th…
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Phuket Immigration moves to temporary offices
PHUKET CITY: From Monday, the Phuket Provincial Immigration Office (PPIO) will take up temporary residence in the old wooden Marine Police building across the road from its traditional site on Phuket Rd.PPIO Inspector Pol Lt Col Pipat Pongpan told the Gazette that the move is to allow the old PPIO main building, which was built 23 years ago, to be…
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Construction worker killed at Mai Khao
MAI KHAO: Police are investigating the death of a construction worker whose body was discovered yesterday at a construction workers’ camp on the grounds of the JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa. Tah Chat Chai Police Inspector Pol Maj Seksan Komsakorn identified the dead man as 51-year-old Biang Romkhaw, a native of Phitsanoulok province. Biang was employed as a carpenter…
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Soi Dog Foundation relocates
PHUKET CITY: The Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) closed its center in Phuket City September 29 and relocated to the Mid Road Dog Shelter in Thalang, where it will continue its work in conjunction with the Phuket Provincial Livestock Association.The SDF center, which was intended originally to be a clinic but soon became a shelter and adoption center for abandoned and…
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Beach chair rates to double
PHUKET: A day at the beach just got a bit less friendly, as beach chair operators in Kata-Karon and Nai Yang have announced they will double their rental rates to 100 baht per chair from tomorrow. A similar price hike in Patong appears inevitable.Ampien Thueathin, head of the Patong Beach Chair Operators’ Association, said he had been in contact with…
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Body of woman found near Burmese workers’ camp
RASADA: The body of an apparent murder victim was found yesterday in a patch of grass near the Thaksin Concrete company building on Thepkrasattri Rd. The victim, a young woman, had head wounds indicating that she had been beaten with a blunt instrument. Police estimate that she died about three days before her body was discovered.Phuket City Police Crime Suppression…
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Governor leaves Phuket – quietly
PHUKET CITY: About 70 people gathered in front of the Governor’s House on Narisorn Rd this morning to wish Udomsak Uswarangkura a fond farewell on his last day as Governor of Phuket.Governor Udomsak, who today brought to a close some 38 years of government service, left his home at 8:45 am, bound for his native Bangkok.Before departing, he received flowers…
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Transgender trauma
While some tourists jet in from around the globe specifically to enjoy the androgynous charms of Patong’s legion of ladyboy prostitutes, there are still cases cases where off-guard male tourists end up with a ladyboy under the misunderstanding that he is a real woman. Such misunderstandings can – and often do – result in disaster, as two recent reports in…
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Bugging out
Public Health officials in Saraphi District, Chiang Mai Province, issued a public warning for villagers to stop eating malaeng laay (“striped bugs”, scientific classification not provided), after a middle-aged man died after downing three of the insects during a whiskey drinking session. News of the death was reported by Taan Jongkham, headman of Tambon Chompoo Mu 9, on August 25.…
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Home security of the second kind
PATTAYA: A group of five ladyboys took home security into their own hands in the early hours of August 25, beating senseless a drunken teenage punk who broke into their apartment and stole 2,000 baht from their communal piggy bank. The story, reported by Banglamung Police Inspector Pol Lt Col Sutham Chaosrithong, made national news the next morning. The five…
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Mini biker gang
Three boys are now safely back at home after a four-day bicycle adventure across Roi-Et Province. The mini-biker gang set off from the home of gang leader Tawee Senputtawong, 13, in the Kasetwisai District of the province with the aim of visiting his sister who is incarcerated on theft charges in a Juvenile Observation and Protection Center in Roi-Et Town.…
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Two more stormy days
PHUKET: Phuket can expect about two more days of strong winds and heavy rain as the slow-moving tropical depression responsible for the unusually surly weather moves slowly westward from central Thailand into Burma.Arun Kerdsob, Chief of the Phuket Office for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), told the Gazette that last night’s winds knocked over some trees at Saphan Hin and…
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Adultery the suspected motive in latest Burmese murder
PHUKET CITY: A Burmese man died after having his throat cut yesterday afternoon at the grocery store where he worked near Rassada Port. Police suspect adultery may have been the motive for the killing.Pol Lt Sathit Noorit, Duty Officer at Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette, “I received a report of a stabbing about 2:30 pm yesterday. I and…
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Saudi Prince inks B4.3bn resort deal
PHANG NGA: Kingdom Hotel Investments (KHI), which is chaired by Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdul Aziz Al-Saud, has signed a deal to acquire land on which it proposes to build a US$115 million (about 4.3 billion baht) “Raffles Phang Nga Resort and Residences”, comprising 150 rooms and 25 luxury villas.The deal was made through a joint-venture company…
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Fire tailors two shops
KATA BEACH, PHUKET: A fire broke out in two tailor shops opposite Mom Tri’s Boathouse at about 1 am on September 24. A rapid response from the Tambon Karon Fire Department, however, ensured that the blaze was put out before it could spread to the resort complex and other nearby businesses.The tailor shops, Phuket Boston Tailor and Royal Thai Tailor,…
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Phuket tax revenues continue to soar
PHUKET CITY: Taxes collected for fiscal year 2006 are predicted to total 5.2 billion baht, a 30% increase from last year, the Phuket Area Revenue Office (PARO) reported yesterday at Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s monthly meeting with Provincial Office Chiefs.PARO Chief Pensri Passakul said that the taxes collected from October 2005 to the end of August 2006 totaled 4.8 billion baht,…
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Army security inspection this Friday
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura, speaking at the monthly Provincial Security and Safety Committee meeting at the Thavorn Grand hotel today, said that every province must prepare a security and safety emergency plan ahead of a scheduled military inspection this Friday.At the 9 am meeting, he ordered Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Nivit Aroonrat to set a meeting…
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