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Hazardous waste separation drive to launch in Phuket
PHUKET: A project aimed at separating used electrical equipment from the solid waste stream will kick off with special activities on Saturday, which is National Children’s Day in Thailand. The force behind the project is the Phuket chapter of the Business and Professional Women’s Association of Thailand (BPW-Phuket). Chapter president Pornpinit P. Suwan met with Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngpop at…
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Sea turtles fitted with GPS in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Researchers from the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) have fastened GPS electronic tracking devices to the backs of eight young green turtles, which were released off the coast in Phang Nga. The small GPS transmitters will transfer important research data back to the PMBC at Cape Panwa. These turtles will provide much needed information about the behavior patterns…
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Readers’ Poll: CCTV expansion in Phuket Town
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) is installing 53 more CCTV cameras in and around Phuket Town at a cost of 17 million baht. The stated aim is to improve security for residents and tourists alike. The PPAO says it plans to extend coverage to other parts of the island, including Chalong, in the future. Do you think this…
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The Sam Van Treeck case: five years on
PHUKET CITY: Thailand’s five-year effort to extradite fugitive murder suspect Sam Van Treeck to stand trial for the stabbing murder of Chompoonut ‘Jeab’ Kobram in Pattaya in 2004 appeared to take a step backwards on December 31 when a Belgian court granted his release from prison on a conditional basis. Van Treeck, a former tour guide in Thailand, was charged…
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Phuket holiday road deaths at provincial average – so far
PHUKET: New Year’s Day in Thailand saw 686 road accidents kill 70 people and injure another 737, bringing the cumulative casualty count for the long holiday to 238 deaths and 2,725 injuries from 2,510 accidents. Of the 238 deaths, 3 have been recorded in Phuket, in line with the average for the country’s 78 provinces. But Phuket’s serious injury count,…
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‘Seven Days of Danger’: 3 dead, 56 injured in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Three people died and 56 more suffered injuries requiring hospital admittance in Phuket during the first four days of the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign that began December 29. Sun Chuntarawong, who heads the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket (DDPM-Phuket), said the first fatality was six-year-old Kitikwan Srichai of Phang…
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Boy, age 10, Phuket’s first drowning victim of 2010
RAWAI, PHUKET: A ten-year-old boy celebrating New Year’s Day with his family at Nai Harn Beach is the first drowning victim of the year in Phuket. Duty Officer Chingchai Duangsuwan of the Chalong Police identified the victim as 10-year-old Apichet ‘Nong Max’ Srinakarak, a student at Wat Thep Nimit School in Wichit. Notified of the drowning at 5pm, Chalong Police…
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Friendly frogs draw tourists to temple
AYUDHAYA: Tourists have been flocking to a temple in the old capital district to get close to a group of tame frogs that have taken up residence in a lotus pond. The frogs sit happily on lotus leaves, allowing tourists to stroke and play with them. They even allow photos to be taken, free-of-charge. Phrakhrupradit Kijjarak, 46, the abbot of…
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53 more CCTV cameras for Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) has provided 17 million baht in funding for the installation of 53 more closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in and around Phuket Town. PPAO President Paiboon Upatising met with Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Thantipong and other high ranking police officers on Wednesday morning at the CCTV monitoring center in Phuket City Police Station.…
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Phuket Gov pushes for ‘ring road’
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s Governor continues to push for new road projects on the island, the latest a ‘ring road’ though the east side of Phuket Town connecting Wichit and Rasada. Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop told a meeting of provincial department heads on Tuesday that he is hoping the controversial Klong Koh Pee (‘Ghost Canal’) Road project will get the green light…
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Phuket divided over concerts on Karon Beach
PHUKET: The results of the Phuket Gazette Readers’ Poll closed yesterday show that opinion is divided over whether Karon Beach is an an appropriate venue for mass-audience, outdoor concerts like the ‘Roy Fest’ held in September. Readers were asked which of four responses best match their views on the following question: “With the ‘Roy Fest Phuket Music Festival’ in September…
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Phuket jet-ski woes continue
PATONG, PHUKET: Despite the mandatory insurance scheme for rental jet-skis that went into effect last month, problems between jet-ski operators and tourists persist and scores of unregistered jet-skis continue to operate in Patong Bay. Marine Transport Department officer Songchai Na Nakorn told the Gazette forty-one jet skis in Patong are currently out of service because their insurance applications are still…
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Phuket minimum wage increased 7 baht
PHUKET CITY: Minimum wage workers will get a very modest wage rise on New Year’s Day, when an increase in the minimum pay rate in Phuket increases from 197 baht to 204 baht. Phuket Provincial Labor Office chief Suttipong Saisakares confirmed the pay hike, saying it was just two baht lower than the requested rise of nine baht. Phuket was…
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Student dies of electrocution in Phuket
CHALONG, PHUKET: A 17-year-old student of the British International School died from an accidental electrocution on Christmas Day. Chalong Police Investigator Boonlert Onklang identified the deceased as Anurak Gottschalk, son of a German photographer and his Thai companion who works as a cook aboard a tour boat. At about 5:30pm, the boy’s German uncle and a housemaid found Anurak dead…
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Cooking contests at Phuket Red Cross Fair
PHUKET CITY: A contest to find the best cooks of local Phuket dishes will be one of the many highlights of the annual Red Cross Festival that begins at Saphan Hin today. Somsak Songnui, chief of the Phuket Provincial Development Office, said his office has organized the competition as part of this year’s Local Food Festival, which runs concurrently with…
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Phuket gets THB 10 billion for development projects
PHUKET CITY: Cabinet has approved a 2010 budget that includes ten billion baht (approx US$ 295 million) in funding for Phuket under the Finance Ministry’s ‘Thai Khem Khaeng’ (Strong Thailand) stimulus package. The new budget green lights projects intended to solidify Phuket’s position as one of Southeast Asia’s leading tourist destinations. Highlights of the plan include a major airport expansion,…
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Phuket Red Cross Fair starts tomorrow
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Governor and his wife this morning took part in a ceremony praying for good luck during the annual Red Cross Fair that starts at Saphan Hin tomorrow. The ceremony was led by Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngob and his wife Thaisika, who as the governor’s wife, is president of the Phuket chapter of the Thai Red Cross Society.…
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Malacca Strait security meeting in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Royal Thai Navy officers and their counterparts from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are taking part in the four-day ‘Intelligence Exchange Group Meetings’ aimed at boosting security in the Malacca Strait.Leading the Thai contingent is Commander Suchart Thammapitak, Director of the Naval Civil Affairs Department at the Royal Thai Navy Third Naval Area Command Base at Cape Panwa.The talks,…
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French tourists attacked for parking in ‘wrong place’
PHUKET: Chalong Police are on the hunt for a man presumed to be a ‘tuk-tuk / taxi driver’ who allegedly set upon a French family with a beach umbrella in the Kata area of Phuket on Saturday evening. The family, an elderly couple on holiday with their 44-year old son, his wife and their three children, aged 14 months, seven…
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Phuket Gov calls evacuation drill a success
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Five years after the tsunami that devastated parts of the Phuket coastline, authorities set out to prove that the island is ready to cope if a similar tragedy occurred today. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop pronounced the Christmas Day simulation a success. “Everybody took it seriously,” he said. The exercise came as part of activities organized to mark…
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Tsunami Memorial Day in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Patong held tsunami memorial activities on Saturday December 26, the fifth anniversary of the disaster and now National Disaster Prevention Day in Thailand. After an early morning alms-giving ceremony, activities began as planned with Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop reading out a letter from Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. Many elected officials and high-ranking government officers attended, including Patong Mayor…
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New Phuket flyover under consideration
PHUKET CITY: The Highways Department is studying the possibility of building a flyover or tunnel to relieve traffic congestion at the Darasamuth School Intersection near Central Festival Phuket.The first in a series of five planned public hearings on the issue took place at The Metropole Hotel on Thursday morning.The Highways Department has included the project in its 10-year development plan…
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Phang Nga remembers the tsunami dead
PHUKET CITY: It was a somber time in Phang Nga on Saturday, when residents gathered to take part in ceremonies remembering those who died in the 2004 tsunami disaster that shocked the world five years ago. Early in the morning, 1,000 Buddhist monks took part in a mass alms giving ceremony in front of the Takuapa Police Station. At the…
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OPINION: Phuket looking ahead to 2010
PHUKET: As 2009 draws to a close, it would be easy – very easy – to highlight issues which remain thorns in the sides of Phuket’s expatriates. Negatives almost always trump the positives in the world of news. However, it is encouraging to see that Phuket has made progress toward the island’s continued development not only as an international tourist…
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Patong’s “Neighborhood Watch’ to boost security
PATONG, PHUKET: Kathu Police are calling on the help of local residents to help in the never-ending war against crime in Patong. Kathu Police Superintendent Grissak Songmoonnark told the Gazette today that Kathu Police are now holding monthly meetings with community leaders participating in a ‘Neighborhood Watch’ program. “We have set security measures for Patong, not only for high season…
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Phuket’s ‘Seven Days of Danger’ announced
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Police are gearing up for the annual ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety period that will this year run from December 29 to January 4. Nine main police checkpoints on major roads and 18 more on local roads will be manned around the clock to ensure public safety, according to the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation…
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Government support for Phuket investments
PHUKET: Phuket OEM Co plans to build a 76-million-baht surgical-mesh factory on the island following a grant of tax incentives from Thailand’s Board of Investment (BOI). Surgical mesh is used to help surgical wounds heal better and more quickly. BOI senior executive investment adviser Hirunya Suchinai said the company had been successful in turning a Swedish company’s research on synthetic…
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Santa to remain in Phuket for high season
PHUKET: In an exclusive, impromptu interview with the Phuket Gazette earlier this morning, Santa Clause – spotted arriving at a Phuket beach by long-tail boat on the last of his deliveries to the island’s good boys and girls – said he plans to take some time out here. Mr Clause said he had been thrown off his sleigh and dumped…
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Thailand to raise excise tax on booze
PHUKET CITY (The Nation): An executive decree will be issued shortly to raise the excise tax ceiling on alcoholic beverages in preparation for the implementation of the Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) agreement on January 1, a Finance Ministry source said yesterday. The Cabinet is expected to consider the measure on Tuesday, just before the arrival of 2010, when the…
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TOT rolls out fiber optic Internet service in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: TOT has launched a new fiber optic internet service in Phuket. Starting at 8,600 baht per month, the long-awaited ‘Fiber To You’ service offers internet speeds of 10-20 megabits per second. TOT President Varut Suvakorn said the state-owned company invested 200 million baht to install its ‘fiber to the x’ (FTTx) network in selected parts in each of…
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