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Democrats slam PM at Saphan Hin rally
PHUKET CITY: More than 10,000 people attended a Democrat Party rally held at Saphan Hin on Sunday as part of the party’s “Southern Mobile Tour”.Many held up signs protesting against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s perceived heavy-handed political and financial tactics. “We don’t want to be Thaksin’s washing powder!” read one. Another stated, “We don’t want to be Thaksin’s shoes!” while…
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Campaigner calls for child-sex tourism crackdown
KATA: The leader of a workshop on countering child sex tourism, yesterday called for hotel and tourism industry workers, and even tourists themselves, to report any behavior they suspect might be leading up to child sex abuse.The workshop, at the Kata Beach Resort, was aimed at teaching those present – 64 government officers, hotel staff, souvenir vendors, tour company and…
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Japanese tourist dies while diving
KOH RACHA YAI: Japanese tourist Akira Egoshi, 24, died while diving in Siam Bay, off Koh Racha Yai, on Wednesday.Pol Lt Col Chana Sutthimas, an Inspector with the Chalong Police, told the Gazette that a party of 11 Japanese tourists led by four dive masters from Kata Diving Co Ltd left Chalong Pier aboard the dive boat Laddawan 5 at 8:20…
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Tsunami aid theft case totters on
PHUKET: More than a year after 2.05 million baht in tsunami aid funds went missing from Phuket Provincial Hall, the police investigation against the sole suspect is still far from complete. The most recent delays have resulted from the wrong forms being submitted, twice, to the Police Forensic Science Office in Bangkok. Meanwhile, the man charged with the alleged theft,…
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Blue Canyon Lakes Course to be redeveloped
MAI KHAO: Blue Canyon Country Club (BCCC) has announced that its Lakes Course will undergo upgrading from April 3 on, with the end of this year penciled in as the target date to reopen the course.The Canyon Course will remain open for play.The redevelopment of the Lakes Course follows the announcement in December last year of a “strategic partnership” between…
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Phuket’s tour guide shortage addressed at seminar
PHUKET CITY: A seminar on the shortage of tour guides in Phuket attracted some 150 tourism industry employees to the Royal Phuket City Hotel on February 23. The seminar was chaired by Thanitta Maneechote, Director-General of the Office of Tourism Development, part of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. “We have held this seminar three times before – in Bangkok,…
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Gambling again crowns Phuket’s arrests inventory
PHUKET: Statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police again show gambling as the crime category with the highest number of arrests.Between February 1 and 21, 249 people were busted for gambling-related offenses; 24 of these cases involved the sale of illegal lottery tickets.There were nine cases of attempted murder, with five arrests made. Two murders were reported during the period,…
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Worker in grave condition after electrocution
PATONG: In a dramatic accident that took place in full public view, a young man was electrocuted and severely injured on Monday afternoon while hanging off the side of the Thaweewong Rd Post Office, welding a new sign.A bolt of high-voltage electricity shot through Roong-atit Piboon, 18, from Surat Thani, after he swung his arc welder and accidentally touched an…
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Dirty water spurs Patong “seaweed’ surge
PATONG: Nipawan Bussarawit, a marine biologist at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), has confirmed that the rising level of “organic contaminants” in Patong Bay has been a contributing factor in the explosive growth of stinking brown seaweed that has been washing up on Patong Beach for the past month.K. Nipawan said that the water quality in Patong Bay was…
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Phuket gears up for April elections
PHUKET: Voters in Phuket and across the country will be busy in April with two national elections: the Parliamentary election slated for April 2 (though that date may be changed)and the Senatorial election on April 19.Dr Sriyada Palimapan will be the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party candidate for Phuket’s Parliamentary District 1 while Wisut Santikul will stand for District 2.Whether…
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“New’ reef bigger than any in the region
PHANG NGA: Marine scientists are still charting the extent of an uncharted reef off Tai Muang, Phang Nga, covering, they say, at least four square kilometers – far larger than any known reef in the region.The discovery of the reef, made in the first week of January, was documented by Songpol Tippayawong, Head of the Thailand Marine and Coastal Conservation…
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Employers threaten strike over labor crackdown
PHUKET CITY: Some 200 angry employers descended on Phuket Provincial Meeting Hall this morning, threatening to go on strike if their demands for an easing of rules on foreign laborers are not met.Key representatives of the Phuket Provincial Fisheries Association, the Phuket Provincial Construction Association and other Phuket businesses handed Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura a petition urging him to reduce…
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Mysterious seaweed invades Patong Beach
PATONG: Tourists strolling along Patong Beach now have an extra something to remember about their stay in Phuket – a slimy, brown seaweed with a stench to match its looks. This is not the first time seaweed has invaded the Patong shore. Two years ago bright green seaweed covered the sand (See story here). This year, however, the seaweed is…
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Supermodel kickboxers heading for Phuket
SAPHAN HIN: NS Sport and online flower delivery service Misslily.com will jointly host the “Miss Lily Super Model Muay Thai Championships 2006” featuring a bevy of female kickboxers from the United States. The event will be held at the Saphan Hin Sports Complex on March 10, starting at 5 pm.Organizers Surasak Mookpradap of NS Sport (Thailand) and Rawat Chindapol, Managing Director…
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Suwat pushes for fast action on Phi Phi
PHUKET: In an abrupt government about-face after more than a year of blocking rehabilitation of Koh Phi Phi Don following the tsunami, Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop has urged redevelopment of the island be pushed ahead to hasten the island’s return to its former status as a tourism hotspot.At a meeting held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel on Wednesday,…
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Motorbike smash victim recovering
PHUKET CITY: Bangkok Hospital Phuket has listed motorcycle crash victim Steve Donnelly of Britain as conscious and in stable condition, though he is still connected to breathing apparatus. On Tuesday the hospital issued an urgent appeal through the Gazette and other avenues for donations of rare A-negative blood for Mr Donnelly, who was involved in a road crash in which…
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Plan to relax license rules for yacht skippers
BANGKOK: The Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MoTS) is planning to put before Cabinet a proposal to allow people with foreign captain’s licenses to skipper Thai-registered sailing yachts.The proposal, intended to give a boost to the marine tourism industry, would do away with an existing regulation that requires foreign skippers wanting to sail boats in local waters to obtain Thai…
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12 tsunami towers to be tested tomorrow
PHUKET: Twelve of Phuket’s tsunami warning towers will be tested by the Nonthaburi-based National Disaster Warning Center tomorrow morning.Arun Keodsom, Chief of the Phuket Office for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), told the Gazette, “The 12 towers to be tested are those at Chalong, Laem Tukkae, Rawai, Saphan Hin, Cape Panwa, Kata, Karon, Kamala, Nai Yang, Bang Tao, Mai Khao…
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Sondhi addresses Phuket rally
PHUKET CITY: More than 20,000 people attended a rally at Saphan Hin last night, addressed by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s nemesis, Sondhi Limthongkul. K. Sondhi and Sarocha Porn-udomsak, his co-host on the weekly political talk show on the ASTV satellite channel, Muang Thai Rai Sapda (Thailand Weekly), were the main speakers at the rally, holding forth in front of a…
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Overstay charge hiked to B500 a day
PHUKET: The fine for remaining in Thailand past the expiry date of a permit to stay, currently 200 baht a day, will rise to 500 baht a day with effect from March 15.However, the maximum fine payable will remain the same, at 20,000 baht, Pol Lt Gen Suwat Thamrongsrisakul, Commander of the Immigration Bureau, stated in a document posted in…
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Real Estate Club to stage property show
PHUKET: The Phuket Real Estate Club (PREC) will stage an exhibition showcasing property in Phuket and on Koh Samui, at Central Festival Phuket from April 6 to 10.PREC President Phummisak Hongsyok said that the exhibition is partly to support Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s aim of having more activities staged in Phuket, now that the tsunami anniversary ceremonies are over.“This is the…
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Prem School feasibility study nearly complete
KATA: Architect and developer ML Tridhosyuth “Mom Tri” Devakul, says that a study into the feasibility of building a new private school in Phuket should be complete in about two months.Mom Tri, owner of Mom Tri’s Boathouse, the hotel in Kata, and developer of top-end projects such as the Trisara resort and the Baan Kata residential development, is also the…
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Frenchman found dead in Karon guesthouse
KARON: A Frenchman was found dead in a guesthouse in Karon on Sunday, the victim of an apparent suicide.Pol Maj Chana Suttimard, of Chalong Police Station, told the Gazette that he received a call from a maid at the Lucky Guesthouse at 11 am after she found the body of Bernard Roger Servel, 61, in one of the rooms.“The maid…
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Talbot murder trial to start next January.
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Court Judge Yupawan Pirisinsith was briefed this morning on defense and prosecution witness lists in the case of Briton Paul Chetwynd-Talbot, accused of murdering his girlfriend, fellow Briton Debra O’Hanlon.The judge scheduled the next hearing in the case for January 18 next year, to allow the prosecution time to question eight witnesses. Judge Yupawan, who will…
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Low-cost carriers keen on Krabi
KRABI: Low-cost carrier Thai AirAsia will launch daily direct flights from Bangkok to Krabi on March 1, while Singaporean low-cost carrier Tiger Airways has announced it will extend its Singapore-Krabi service to run throughout the low season. Thai AirAsia Public Relations Executive Jaqueline Mercader told the Gazette that the new service, designated FD 3165, will depart Bangkok daily at 5:05…
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Plan to legalize foreign guides under fire
PHUKET: Panomphol Thummachartniyom, President of the Phuket Professional Guide Association (PPGA), has blasted a proposal to legalize foreign tour guides, arguing that there are already enough qualified Thai guides, while slamming the authorities for not cracking down on foreigners working illegally as guides.“Phuket already has problems with foreigners working as tour guides, especially Koreans and Russians. Thais who have already…
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Gov proposes new Patong-airport road
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura yesterday ordered the Phuket Provincial Highways Office (PPHO) to conduct a study into the feasibility of building a road between Phuket International Airport and Patong.“Right now, a lot of properties are being developed along the main road from the airport [Route 402], and soon Phuket will have traffic congestion problems,” he said.“The same happened in…
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Poison warning to Nai Harn dog owners
NAI HARN: Dog owners who take their animals for exercise on Nai Harn Beach are advised to keep them on the leash – or walk them somewhere else – as poisoners are once again at work.David Couchman, a retiree who lives in the area and walks his dogs on the beach, told the Gazette this evening that he knows of…
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Jet-ski races get thumbs-up
PATONG: Despite the Governor’s announced policy to rid Phuket of jet-skis by 2011, Phuket Province has given the green light for Patong to host the first round of the 2006 Jet Ski Thailand Championship, on March 4 and 5.The go-ahead for the event was confirmed yesterday at a meeting between Vice-Governor Niran Kalayanamit and members of the Thai Jet Sports…
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Ranong 12 finally set free
RANONG: “The Ranong 12”, a group of 12 foreign tourists arrested on the morning of February 8 for overstaying their visas, were freed on Sunday. The most that any of the 12 had overstayed was six days. Others were just 24 hours over the limit. During their five-day ordeal they spent the first two nights on dirty police cell floors…
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