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Not enough “neighbor laborers’ – employers
PHUKET: A total of 31,473 Burmese, Laotian and Cambodian laborers were registered with the government before the August 1 deadline, but local employers say that many more are needed.Khitti Nuisri, the Deputy Chief of the Phuket Provincial Employment Service Office (ESO), explained today that 21,444 “neighbor laborers” were registered in Phuket City before the deadline, along with 5,399 in Kathu…
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Plans to tap Thaksin’s B100bn promise
PHUKET: The Phuket provincial government plans to ask Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for funding for projects to aid Phuket’s development during the PM’s visit to Phuket on August 26 and 27 as part of his tour of the South.At the beginning of last year, PM Thaksin promised more than 100 billion baht to develop Phuket into the country’s biggest economic…
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Turk insists he is an FBI agent
PATONG: Police say that Turkish citizen Tuncay Orser, who was arrested on Friday for possession of a fake ID card identifying him as an agent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), continues to insist that he is a genuine FBI operative on a mission to hunt down international terrorists.Orser, 31, was arrested after he showed what he said…
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“13 reasons to kill’ Phang Nga politician
PHANG NGA: Police investigating Friday’s assassination of Nithat Siribenjakul, chairman of the Phang Nga Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), told the Gazette today that Nithat was involved in no fewer than 13 conflicts, any of which might have triggered his murder.Nithat was gunned down by at least three men riding in the back of a black Isuzu pickup as he drove…
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Phang Nga politician assassinated
PHANG NGA: Nithat Siribenjakul, the chairman of the Phang Nga Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), was gunned down in a hail of bullets at the Takuapa bus terminus about 8 pm last night.Police officers investigating the murder told the Gazette that K. Nithat was heading home after visiting a fellow OrBorJor member.“K. Nithat drove his Jeep Cherokee into the parking lot…
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Bars urged to close for two days
PHUKET: Police have requested bar and nightclub owners, alcohol sellers and butchers to close for the next two days out of respect for Buddhist religious holidays.Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette this evening, “We have asked night venues and places selling alcohol to close on Asarnha Bucha Day [tomorrow] and on Buddhist Lent…
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FantaSea owner facing smuggling charge
BANGKOK (The Nation): The owner of Safari World and Phuket FantaSea will be charged with illegally importing orangutans, Forestry Police commander Maj Gen Sawek Pinsinchai said yesterday.Safari World and FantaSea managing director and owner Pin Kiewkacha is accused of violating provision 23 of the Wildlife Conservation Law by importing orangutans without permission, and provision 53 for concealing the wildlife. The two…
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Crackdown on peddlers and ladyboys
PATONG: Police yesterday evening arrested about 30 people in a crackdown aimed at reducing the number of street peddlers pestering tourists to buy trinkets, plastic flowers, garlands or, in some cases, sex.Pol Lt Col Boonlert Onklang, of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that Kathu police officers arrested about 30 vendors who annoyed tourists walking along the beach road by…
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High-tech cameras to boost security
PHUKET: Provided that the money is forthcoming, 100 security cameras using the latest-generation Internet communications protocol will be installed at 70 points across the island, including the tourist areas of Patong, Karon and Kata, to deter crime and monitor traffic flow.Manoo Ordeedolchest, President of the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa), told the Gazette, “The idea originally came from the former…
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Sipa targets B470m budget for 2005
PHUKET CITY: Dr Manoo Ordeedolchest, President of the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa), has announced that the agency will apply for 470 million baht to carry out projects in 2005 to develop the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in Thailand.Key projects slated for implementation next year include the development of software for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in…
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High-speed bedmakers put to the test
PHUKET CITY: This year’s Hotelex Exhibition Food and Beverage Show, which will be held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel from August 12 to 15, will open with a thrilling “speedy bed-making” contest. The novel competition, with 6,000 baht in prize money up for grabs, will get underway at 1 pm on August 12, marking the start of the four-day…
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New airport proposed for Phang Nga
PHANG NGA: The Deputy–Minister of the Transport Ministry, Vichet Kasemthongsri, has backed a proposal to upgrade a disused World War II airfield into a new airport to serve Phang Nga Province, at a projected cost of 900 million baht. K. Vichet gave his backing during a visit on Saturday to the disused airstrip on Koh Kho Khao, an island off…
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Downpours prompt flood and landslide warnings
PHUKET: Strong winds and heavy rain along the coasts of the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand have prompted the Meteorological Department to issue warnings of the possibility of flooding and landslides.Vichit Phuangsombat, Director of the Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), which is near Phuket International Airport, today told the Gazette, “The heaviest recorded rainfall in Thailand yesterday was…
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Incumbent wins Pa Khlok poll
PA KHLOK: Panya Sumphaorat from Pa Khlok Gao Na (Progress) Party yesterday won the Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) presidential election, polling 2,540 votes to beat his rival by just 186 votes.K. Panya, who was President of the OrBorTor in the term leading up to the election, beat Sa-ard Kongnam, from the Pa Khlok Pattana (Development) Party, who scored…
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Burmese sought over stabbing murder
KATHU: A Burmese worker is being sought by police after the corpse of a motorbike taxi driver was found last week by villagers near Talay Keeree village, in the foothills around Kathu.The body, with 15 stab wounds in it, was identified as that of 45-year-old Narongsak Bunyalertnimit from Phatthalung, a van driver with the Take-A-Trip travel agency, who worked as…
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Death by aromatherapy
BANGKOK: A woman in Bang-wa District died of asphyxiation after turning her bathroom into a makeshift sauna and aromatherapy chamber in an attempt to shed unwanted flab. Tanakrit Kianthong, a grilled pork vendor, told police he returned home on July 3 to find his wife Pattaporn, 43, lying dead on the floor of the second-story bathroom of the couple’s three-story…
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Push to get tourists to shop till they drop
PHUKET CITY: As part of a drive to get tourists to do more shopping while in Phuket, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will stage an exhibition of Phuket batik designs on July 30 and 31 on the second floor of the Big C supercenter.Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of the local office of the TAT, said that Thailand currently receives income…
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15 minutes of fame evaporates
PHUKET: Bangkok-based film company Hub Ho Hin has canceled all roles offered to Phuket residents for the movie Jaew (Operation Maid), starring Pornchita “Benz” na Songkhla, because a decision has been made to film location shots in Chiang Mai instead of Phuket. Jarunee “Maew” Boonsake, second assistant director on the movie, explained, “The director, Yongyuth Thongkongtoon, has decided to shoot…
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Hotels president slams oil pipeline plan
NAI YANG: Vichit Na Ranong, a former senator and current President of the Thai Hotels Association, yesterday spoke out against the oil pipeline slated to be built in Phang Nga, saying, “It will ruin all tourism here and we will never get it back.”Speaking at the opening of the new convention facilities at his Pearl Village Hotel in Nai Yang,…
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Government plans marina at Chalong
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has announced that Phuket province plans to build a marina in Chalong Bay. The announcement was made during a seminar at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, attended by about 80 participants from both government and private sectors. Panjit Pissawong, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Commercial Office, told the Gazette that Chalong Bay is the most…
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TAT boss raps Phuket’s failings
BANGKOK: Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of the local office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said that the goal of Phuket becoming a truly ‘world-class’ destination is a pipe dream unless a variety of problems are dealt with.These, she said, include high-volume, low-paying tourists; poor service in all sectors of the hospitality industry; and a crumbling natural environment.Speaking with the…
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“Cyber Paradise’ training begins
PATONG: The Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) yesterday launched a two-week seminar with the aim of training software programmers in Thailand to develop open source software for Thai small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).Forty programmers from Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen assembled at the Patong Merlin Hotel, where software developer David Jones explained how to develop the commerce-focused open-source software OFBiz.Mr Jones is…
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Giant Buddha gets go-ahead
KARON: Construction of the controversial Mingmongkol Buddha image atop Nakkerd Hill will resume next month, now that the Royal Forest Department (RFD) has issued a paper authorizing work on the project to continue.The authorization stipulates that the project remain in compliance with the original plan and that steps be taken to minimize further erosion at the project site.Work on the…
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Kathu elections won uncontested
KATHU: Prasert Kaokijpaisarn and his 12-member Kathu Pattana (Development) Party won all seats for both Kathu municipality electorates, including the key position of Mayor. It would have been a surprise if they hadn’t – Kathu Pattana was the only party to stand for election. Of the 10,892 Kathu residents eligible to vote, 4,426 (40.64%) turned out for the poll on…
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Korean telecoms giant enters Phuket IT market
PHUKET: South Korea’s largest fixed-line telecommunications provider, KT Corp, has entered the Thai IT market with a 98-million-baht deal to install 5,000 ADSL ports, providing broadband Internet access, in Phuket. The contract is part of the TOT’s expansion of Internet services, a key component of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry’s push to make Phuket an “ICT City”. Speaking…
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Fishy business: two arrested
THA CHAT CHAI: Local police and fishery officials seized more than 1,000 protected tropical fish as they were about to be transported off the island by truck on Friday morning. Acting on a tip off, Tha Chat Chai Police and officials from the Phuket Provincial Fishery Office (PPFO) stopped a blue pick-up at the Tha Chat Chai checkpoint. The vehicle…
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American found dead in Patong hotel
PATONG: Police are investigating the death of 43-year-old American Chris John Beyer, who was found dead at the Expat Hotel on Thursday with his hands bound and a black garbage bag over his head. Housekeepers discovered the body about two days after noting a rank odor in room 120, where Mr Beyer had been staying since July 9. Expat Hotel…
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New bird ‘flu measures in place
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Livestock office (PPLO) has re-introduced strict measures to protect the island from avian influenza, following new outbreaks in the Northern and Central Thai provinces of Ayudhaya, Ang Thong, Pathum Thani, Sukhothai, Uttaradit, Nakhon Sawan, Suphan Buri and Chiang Rai. The regulations went into effect on Tuesday. Dr Weerapab Termkiatpaisarn, Deputy Chief of the PPLO, said that…
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Phummisak offers Chao Fa City as ICEC site
PHUKET: In what appears to be an attempt to break the deadlock over where to site the International Exhibition and Convention Center (ICEC), Phummisak Hongsyok has offered to earmark 200 rai of his recently announced Chao Fa City development for it.K. Phummisak, former Mayor of Phuket City and Managing Director of Anuphas & Sons, which owns the land where Chao…
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Pa Khlok candidates deny big party links
THALANG: Leaders of the two parties running in the Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) elections to be held on July 25 have denied links with major national parties. The upcoming elections will be the first time that Pa Khlok residents will have an opportunity to vote directly for who they want as President. There are 40 candidates contesting 18…
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