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‘White knight’ rescues Jungceylon
PATONG: A mystery white knight has ridden to the rescue of the stalled Jungceylon megamall project, buying 53% of the mall’s operating company from one of the two main partners, who have been at loggerheads for months.The identity of the white knight is being kept secret for the moment, but it is understood to be a major investment fund, which…
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Ticket scam accused skips bail
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Court has issued an arrest warrant for 24-year-old Briton Jonathan Duncan after he failed to appear in court on February 6 to face fraud charges.Duncan was arrested on August 30 last year, following complaints by people who had bought cheap air tickets from him.It is alleged that Duncan bought the air tickets by fraudulently using other…
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Thaksin should listen more, says TRT party-list MP
PHUKET CITY: In the wake of anti-Government protests in Bangkok last weekend, Thai Rak Thai party-list MP Dr Premsak Pearyura yesterday called for Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra to make changes to his leadership style.Visiting Phuket in his capacity as Vice-President of the Parliamentary Natural Resources and Environment Committee, the outspoken MP from Khon Kaen made a vague call for the…
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Miss Chicky gets herself fingered
PATONG: It is well-known that women, in general, spend more money than men in the effort to keep themselves attractive. But for men trying to pass themselves off as women, expenses are greater still. In the case of one Thai post-op ladyboy, the costs of ongoing upkeep proved so great that he turned to a life of crime. At 10…
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Girl, 16, charged over baby’s death
CHALONG: The 16-year-old mother of a newborn baby found dead in the women’s toilet at Wat Chalong surrendered to the police yesterday evening.The corpse, a 3-kilogram boy with the umbilical cord still attached, was discovered on February 1 in a water tank in the toilet, during Wat Chalong’s annual fair.Pol Maj Chana Sutthimas, an Inspector with the Chalong Police, told…
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Mediation ends Jungceylon deadlock
PHUKET: The deadlock that resulted in a complete halt to construction of the Jungceylon complex in Patong has finally been broken, and the complex is expected to be open for next high season, Samrarn Yothayai, Chief Judge of Phuket Provincial Court, has told the Gazette.Jungceylon, which occupies 55 rai of land off Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, was due to open…
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PTT, Shell, cut fuel prices by B0.40
THAILAND: Thai petroleum giants Shell and PTT today announced that they have both dropped fuel prices by 40 satang a liter.In a press release, Chaivat Churitti, Senior Executive Vice President of the Oil Business Group of PTT, explained that average prices of oil on world markets had fallen recently, and PTT had therefore decided to lower retail prices of all…
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OrBorJor to help resuscitate abandoned hospital
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) plans to join with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) to buy and renovate the abandoned Phya Thai Phuket Hospital on Soi Si Sena, just outside Phuket City. Under the plan, the 190-room facility – providing both inpatient and outpatient services – would be reopened under the name Vachira Phuket Hospital 2. The…
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Driver dies in third limo smash in 12 days
THALANG: The driver of an airport minibus was killed instantly when his vehicle smashed into a water truck on the airport road yesterday morning. This was the third fatal accident involving airport transport vehicles in just 12 days. Pol Lt Col Jamroon Plaiduang, an Inspector at Thalang Police Station, told the Gazette that the white minibus, bearing the logo of…
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Seven arrested with forged visas
THALANG: Phuket Immigration on Wednesday arrested seven Bangladeshi men who tried to enter Thailand through Phuket International Airport using forged visas.Pol Col Chirdchai Rattanametanon, the new Superintendent of the Phuket Immigration Office, told the Gazette that the men were arrested at Immigration at about 9 pm after arriving in Phuket on a flight from Singapore. Col Chirdchai explained, “They didn’t…
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Newborn baby found dead in toilet
CHALONG: The corpse of a newborn baby was discovered in a water tank in a toilet at Wat Chalong during the temple’s annual fair. The gruesome discovery occurred just after midnight on Wednesday morning.The baby, a 3-kilogram boy with the umbilical cord still attached, was found naked in an open tank in the woman’s restroom,.Pol Maj Chana Sutthimas, an Inspector…
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Austrian’s extradition sought after jet-ski death
KAMALA: Kathu Police are to seek the extradition of an Austrian in connection with the death of a Thai man, allegedly killed by a jet-ski while spearfishing near Laem Hin on January 25. Kathu Police Superintendent Pol Col Teeraphol Thipjaroen today told the Gazette that the Austrian, a 29-year-old tourist, was questioned after the incident but was released because of…
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Duncanson victorious on Phang Nga Bay
PHANG NGA BAY: Winds of 13 knots gusting to 18 turned today into a day of thrills in the 2006 QBE Phang Nga Bay Regatta, after three days of less exciting breezes.Despite being left behind by the fleet in the lee of Koh Phi Phi Don, Scott Duncanson and crew aboard G4S (also known as Somtam Express) recovered to win…
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Valentine’s Day goes to the dogs
THALANG: Valentine’s Day, traditionally reserved for displays of love between humans, will get a canine twist in the Year of the Dog. On February 14, the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO) will stage the official opening of the Mid Road Dog Shelter in a ceremony to be presided over by Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura.Dr Wirapab Termkiatpaisarn, head of the PPLO’s…
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Gambling trumps other arrests – again
PHUKET: Statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police show that gambling came out trumps, once again topping the arrests table between January 1 and 25, with 168 people nabbed for gambling-related offenses. Thirty-two cases involved the sale of illegal underground lottery tickets.Three murders were reported during the period, with two cases solved. There were five cases of attempted murder, and in…
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Rang Hill rogues terrorize tourists
PHUKET CITY: Two rogue monkeys are wreaking havoc atop Rang Hill, where they have been terrorizing tourists, stealing food from diners in a hillside restaurant – and even biting people.News of the primate pests was reported to the Kusoldharm Foundation volunteer rescue service by staff at the Tunk-ka Cafe on January 26, months after the monkeys first appeared. Sukontip Kitsubun,…
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Phi Phi locals “don’t need Bangkok’s help’
PHI PHI: At a meeting today to discuss the future of the Phi Phi Islands – following the inconclusive talks on January 21 with Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop – local people made it clear that they regard the participation of the Organization for Specific Areas Administration for Sustainable Tourism Promotion (OSAASTP) in future plans and actions as superfluous.After listening…
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THAI adamant on axing Aussie flights
PHUKET: Despite an appeal from Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura, Thai Airways International (THAI) says it will stick to its decision to suspend direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Phuket, effective February 1.Kalayapha Panich, the airline’s Phuket-based District Sales Manager for Upper-Southern Thailand, said that the direct flights from Sydney and Melbourne to Phuket will be rerouted to Bangkok.She added, “The…
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Top artists working on tsunami sculptures
PHUKET: The Office of Contemporary Art and Culture in Bangkok and the Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi Provincial Cultural Offices have commissioned artists to create tsunami memorial sculptures to be erected at Kamala Beach, Bang Niang Beach in Phang Nga Province, and on Phi Phi Don.The Director of the Phuket Provincial Cultural Office, Thawichat Intararit, told the Gazette, “Award-winning Thai…
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Princess to attend prayers at Big Buddha site
PHUKET: HRH Princess Ubol Ratana Rajakanya will attend a prayer ceremony at the Mingmongkol Buddha project site, in the Nakkerd Hills between Karon and Chalong, at 5 pm on February 11. Suporn Vanichkul, President of the Mingmongkol Faith 45 project committee that is raising funds for the project, told the Gazette that work on the group’s mammoth Phra Puttamingmongkol Akenakkiri…
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B1.4bn sports complex proposed for Mai Khao
MAI KHAO: The province will seek private-sector funding for a proposed 1.4-billion-baht sports complex and exhibition center to be sited on 617 rai of government land at the northern tip of the island.Promchote Traivate, Head of the Phuket Office of Sports and Recreation Development, told the Gazette that a committee formed to study the feasibility of such a project presented…
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Fever kills 138 water buffaloes in Phang Nga
PHUKET: More than 138 water buffaloes in the Thai Muang and Takuapa Districts of Phang Nga Province have died from hemorrhagic septicemia, known locally as “swollen neck fever”. Health officials in the province have declared an epidemic and all cattle and buffalo slaughterhouses in the two districts have been closed for at least 30 days.The disease, which normally occurs at…
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Trial of Brit’s killer to begin in December
KRABI: The Krabi Provincial Court will begin hearing testimony in the murder trial of motorcycle taxi driver Uthane Douangnoi in December. Uthane is accused of murdering Briton Richard Mark Collins on March 8 last year (see earlier story here). A clerk at the Krabi Provincial Court told the Gazette today that the hearing would likely carry on well into 2007.…
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PYC avoids closure
AO YON: An extraordinary meeting of Phuket Yacht Club (PYC) members on January 22 has staved off the threat of the club’s closure due to financial woes.PYC Commodore David Ratcliffe told the Gazette, “The PYC will continue to operate at its current premises for at least another three years.”He explained that the club had suffered a fall in revenue following…
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Mystery over “mass dog poisonings’ in Patong
PATONG: Residents here are insisting that “up to 100 local dogs” have been poisoned in the middle of the night by people driving around in a Patong Municipality garbage truck.But Patong Deputy Mayor Chairat Sukbal vehemently denies that the cull has anything to do with the municipality.Prasert Moonlad, a resident of Nanai Rd in Patong, told the Gazette, “My three…
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Cheating alleged in OrBorJor exams
PHUKET: Seven people are under investigation for allegedly using high technology to cheat in an examination to select officials to work for the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor). The OrBorJor announced last October that it was seeking to fill eight clerical posts. Some 2,000 people applied, and examinations took place on Saturday at Phuket Wittayalai School in two sessions –…
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Air traffic down sharply in 2005
PHUKET: Reflecting the sharp downturn in tourism following the tsunami, international passenger traffic through Phuket International Airport fell 54.4% in 2005.The latest statistics from Phuket International Airport show that the number of international passengers using the airport, both for arriving and departing flights, dropped from 2,024,879 in 2004 to 923,440 last year.Domestic passenger traffic through the airport fell 20.5%, from…
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Irishman dies in motorcycle crash
NAKALAY: Paul Dooley from County Cork in the Republic of Ireland died of head injuries at around 2 am on Wednesday, January 18, after a motorcycle crash on the Kalim-Kamala road, near the Thavorn Beach Village & Spa. He was 27.Hélène Fallon-Wood, the Irish Honorary Consul in Phuket, told the Gazette that Mr Dooley had been living in Kamala for…
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Missing catamaran found in Andamans
ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS: It has been a week for stray yachts being found. First the Wado Ryu, which disappeared from Koh Racha, was found yesterday drifting off the south of Phuket. Today, the missing catamaran Kilo was recovered in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, some 725 kilometers from home. The 46-foot catamaran disappeared from its mooring off Kata Beach…
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Strange double death in Thalang
THALANG: Arun Sukbunpan, 43, a former manager of the Yacht Haven marina, was found dead on Wednesday night, having apparently taken his own life with a shotgun blast to the head.K. Arun’s 78-year-old landlady and close neighbor, Wouba Saharak, died upon learning of the suicide. The exact cause of her death has not yet been ascertained.Pol Capt Seksan Kamsakorn told…
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