News
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Policeman commits suicide
KATHU: A nephew of an assistant commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, himself a police officer, committed suicide yesterday morning in Tung Tong, three days before he was due to be married, because he was depressed that he did not have enough money to pay for the wedding. Pol Maj Gen Kongpol Suwannaraks, Commander of the Phuket Provincial Police, told…
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Three witnesses testify in Jennings murder trial
PHUKET: Three witnesses appeared on the stand this morning in the trial of Nongnut Tungkaburi and Kraisorn Kamnoun for their alleged involvement in the December 15, 1997 murder of Roger Jennings, Nongnut’s common-law husband. The first witness, Weeranat Kammanochart, 22, a cashier at the Alice Bar, owned by Jennings and Nongnut, testified that Mr Jennings and Nongnut were nice people.…
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Pirates arrested with hijacked vessel
PHUKET: Authorities in Bombay have arrested the pirates who seized a Japanese freighter off the coast of Indonesia on October 22, Phuket Marine Police said today. The pirates set the crew of the vessel, the Alondra Rainbow, adrift on a raft on October 29. They were found 11 days later by Thai fishermen who brought them to Phuket. Pol Col…
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Reward for information on gas smugglers
PHUKET: The Ministry of Finance is offering rewards for anyone giving information that leads to the arrest of gasoline smugglers, it was announced today. The announcement came as Marine Police said they had stopped two vessels on Friday, arrested nine people, and confiscated more than 100,000 liters of fuel. Pol Lt Gen Luan Panrotthip, Commissioner of the Illegal Gasoline Suppression…
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Mother has son arrested
PHUKET TOWN: A frantic mother reported her own son to the police on Friday in a desperate bid to stop him taking ya bah. Pol Lt Parichat Jaturonpan of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that he had received an anonymous phone call urging him to arrest a man at a bicycle shop on Patiphat Rd. The caller said…
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Robbers beat shop owner, steal 600,000 baht
PHUKET TOWN: Two armed thieves held up a woman in her shop on Ong Sim Phai Rd late Saturday night and stole 600,000 baht, a gold chain worth about 6,000 baht, and a mobile phone. They then pistol-whipped the woman and her niece, who arrived on the scene just as the robbers were completing their work. Pol Lt Parichat Jaturonpan…
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Aussie soldiers massacre Gazettes 45-0
PHUKET TOWN: Despite concerted efforts to reduce their opponents’ fitness by feeding them copious amounts of amber liquid the night before, the Phuket Gazettes rugby team were unable to withstand an Australian Army onslaught on Saturday, and were massacred 45-0. After the 15-a-side match at the Saphan Hin stadium, Gazettes skipper Patrick Cotter was gracious in defeat. “It was a…
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University lecturer charged with murder
BANGKOK (AFP): A Japanese-American university lecturer has been arrested on charges of murdering his Thai girlfriend and dumping her body into a river, police in Bangkok said yesterday. The man, identified by police as Michael Yoshinaka, 34, a teacher at a university in California, was arrested in a hotel on Friday night. They said a gold ring belonging to his…
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Police launch raids in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Police last night launched a series of raids aimed at catching illegal Burmese workers and cracking down on drug offenses and other crimes in Phuket Town. The raids, ordered by Pol Maj Gen Kongpol Suwannaraks, commander of the Phuket Provincial Police, began at 9 pm with 60 officers swooping on construction camps, the fishing port, rubber plantations, and shops.…
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Father and son arrested for selling ya bah
PHUKET: A father and son were arrested in Phuket Town yesterday for selling ya bah. Pol Capt Anukul Nuekate of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that his officers had received a report that people in a house on Phuket Road had been using ya bah and selling it for a long time. They raided the house. In it…
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Hospital director appeals for funds
PATONG: Dr Taweesak Netwong, the director of Patong Hospital, has appealed to the public to donate funds to help him in his plans to create Thailand’s first state-owned “international” hospital. Dr Taweesak told the Gazette that since Patong is in a unique location which requires it to deal with more tourists than any other hospital in Phuket, it needs upgrading.…
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Patong parking plan postponed
PATONG: Patong Municipality will be unable to collect parking fees until at least December 1 because it has been unable to find enough people to do the collecting. The chief of the Patong Treasury Department, Poom Tapnarong, told the Gazette this afternoon that there have been only 11 applicants for the 25 vacancies for parking fee collectors. The big problem,…
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Taiwanese tourist dies after night on the town
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a Taiwanese tourist who died early on Sunday in his room at the Royal Phuket City Hotel was collected today by family members. Pol Maj Winai Kongkaew said the tourist, whom he named as Huang Tao-min, 36, arrived on Saturday with a tour group from Taiwan. That evening he went out drinking with friends, returning…
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Car rental owner gives evidence in murder trial
PHUKET: Prayoon Trongpeng, owner of a car and motorbike rental business, appeared in court yesterday morning as a witness in the ongoing trial of two people accused of participation in the murder of Briton Roger Jennings. Mr Jennings died after being stabbed 19 times in his Patong home on December 15, 1997. On trial are his common-law wife, Nongnut Tungkaburi,…
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Immigration Police crack the whip on foreigners
PHUKET: In a move reminiscent of the darker passages of a Kafka novel, Immigration Police in the province are visiting foreigners’ homes and demanding to see passports and visas. They say they plan to check up on every foreigner’s residential and work address every 90 days. The visits, which have raised the specter of a police state, have outraged a…
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Ozzies take three of four Laguna Triathlon titles
BANGTAO: Australian Marc Lees returned to reinforce his dominance of the Thai Airways Laguna Phuket Triathlon with another triumph in the event this year. His win of 2:29:45 h over nearest rivals New Zealander John Newsom (2:30:26 h) and Canadian Peter Reid (2:31:00 h) was not unexpected. But the 27-year-old pro confessed he was not cruising. “It was a hard…
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Thailand shrugs off Y2K fears
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand shrugged off fears it has acted too late to combat the millennium computer bug Friday, but advised citizens to stockpile food ‘just in case.’ Deputy Prime Minister Trirong Suwankiri hit out at claims that the United States and other nations do not trust Thailand’s effort to beat the Y2K bug. “Nobody trusts each other; we also do…
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Bank loses B350,000 to theft in car park
PHUKET: Nearly 350,000 baht was stolen from a vehicle in the Lotus superstore parking lot on Wednesday afternoon. The vehicle belonged to a senior bank employee. Pol Maj Amnaun Kraiwutthinan of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that Vinai Wongkampoo, assistant manager at the Phuket Branch of Bank Thai (formerly the Saha Bank), and Urai Taweekul, a co-worker, had…
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Norwegian tourist killed in bike crash
PHUKET TOWN: A Norwegian tourist died in a motorbike crash on Tuesday, the day he arrived to begin his holiday in Phuket. The dead man, named by police as Aunrik Hakon, 40, was involved in an accident just before 11 pm in front of the Prasat Witthaya School on Wichit Rd. Police believe that Mr Hakon, who was staying at…
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Wachira renews appeal for Type A+ blood
PHUKET: Type A+ blood is still urgently needed at Wachira Hospital for a young man undergoing a series of operations after a horrific motorbike accident. Pillion rider Chanthit Suthitantayaporn, 22, was thrown from the bike when the driver braked violently for a red light. The rider received minor cuts on his head and chin, but Chanthit suffered severe head and…
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Hospital appeals for type A+ blood
PHUKET TOWN: Wachira Hospital has issued an appeal for type A+ blood after a young man was severely injured in an accident today. The hospital currently has just two bottles of A+ in its blood bank, and expects to use more during operations to be performed on the youth tomorrow (Wednesday). Anyone wishing to donate A+ blood is asked to…
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France wins Junior Pétanque Championships
SAPHAN HIN: France on Sunday recaptured the Seventh World Junior Pétanque Championship title after a lapse of six years, with a convincing 15-6 win over Switzerland. The French team – Ludovic Labrue, 17, Alexandre Ruffo, 17, Romaine Scultore, 15, and Nicolas Taviand, 17 – used a variety of strategic moves in “pointing” and “shooting” that experts agreed showed maturity beyond…
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City’s water to be suspended on Thursday
PHUKET TOWN: The town’s water supply will be suspended for 15 hours on Thursday (4 November) so that tanks at the waterworks can be cleaned, the Municipality announced yesterday. Mayor Phumisak Hongyok said that supply will be suspended from 9 am to midnight. He advised anyone using mains water to ensure that they keep an adequate supply in their homes…
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Hot competition in Junior X-Games
PATONG: Today’s ESPN/Junior X-Games semi-finals saw tough competition, especially in the sport climbing – bouldering category. Pipoy Cosculluesia and Tagoy Ledesma from the Philippines, Kim Dae Yaob from South Korea and Michael Foo from Malaysia topped the event, each clearing the two routes on their first try. In the female category of the same event, Shaina Gu from Taiwan and…
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Four crushed to death in truck accident
CHALONG: Four construction workers from Phuket were crushed to death and two others were seriously hurt when a 10-wheel truck crashed on Patak Rd in Karon on Saturday. Pol Capt Sanae Panmee of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that the truck was carrying a 3½-ton excavator as well as 10 construction workers, four in the cab with the driver…
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Raids net two ya bah dealers in one day
PHUKET TOWN: Police nabbed two ya bah dealers on Thursday in two separate raids. The first arrest came after Pol Maj Searmpan Sirikong, inspector of the Special Team at Phuket Town Police Station, received information that a house on Soi Suknirun, off Chao Fa Nai Rd, was being used by drug dealers to sell ya bah. Police raided the house…
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Lotus road chaos “could last a month’ – police
SAM KONG: With traffic backed up in all four directions at the ‘Lotus intersection’ again last night, Phuketians are getting a good taste of motoring Bangkok-style. The narrow Phra Phuket Rd, running east from the notorious junction with the Bypass Rd, was blocked all the way to the traffic lights at Yaowarat Rd, a distance of close to two kilometers.…
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Home-owners catch burglary suspect
CHALONG: Police have asked foreigners who have lost safes, cash, jewelry and other property in burglaries over the past 18 months to contact them. The call came after the arrest of a man they believe was responsible for raiding at least four foreigners’ homes in the Nai Harn area, and who appears to be connected also to a spate of…
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Airport much busier than last year
PHUKET: If figures just issued by the Phuket International Airport are anything to go by, this year’s high season could be another big one. The numbers for September show that 210, 343 passengers arrived or departed through the airport, an increase of more than 7% on the same month last year. Although passengers on domestic flights totaled 131,443, a decrease…
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Tourist couple wake to burglary nightmare
CHALONG: A Swedish couple on holiday in Karon woke up in the early hours yesterday to a nightmare: a burglar in their room holding their three-year-old daughter with his hand over her mouth. The Winnheds, in their 30s, were woken by a noise in their room and sat up to see the burglar with their daughter in his arms. Mrs…
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