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World News: Face of Bashar al-Assad’s government flees – diplomat
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Syrian spokesman flees country: diplomat Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Syrian foreign ministry spokesman, who was the most public face of Bashar al-Assad’s government as it battled a 20-month-old uprising, has fled the country, a diplomat in the region said yesterday. Jihad al-Makdissi, who is in…
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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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Drug cases top crime league
PHUKET: Drug cases overtook gambling in the first three weeks of this month in the list of crimes reported. However, gamblers once again topped the league for the number of people arrested. The Phuket Provincial Office reported 64 cases or drug possession or trafficking between October 1 and 21, with 69 people arrested. Cases involving ya bah, which are counted…
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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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Lotus opening creates massive traffic jams
PHUKET: Lotus yesterday opened its new super store on the edge of Phuket Town, the company’s 17th in Thailand. The “soft” opening caused huge traffic jams in all direction as shoppers rushed to check the place out. Grinning widely, Gwyn Sundhagul, Senior Vice President of Operations, admitted that the company, which is majority-owned by British retailing giant Tesco, had underestimated…
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Taiwan team wins Phuket Soccer Cup
KO KAEW: The Kaohsiung 100 Pacers set a pace that proved too hot for the Lions Singapore in the finals of the 1999 Phuket International Football Cup at Dulwich International College last weekend. The Lions had no chance to respond to the Pacers’ 1-0 lead by half-time. And when the Pacers slammed home another in the last few minutes of…
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14 hurt as police turn dogs on tapioca protest
BANGKOK (AFP): Fourteen people were injured today when riot police turned dogs on thousands of tapioca farmers blockading Government House in Bangkok. Witnesses said police moved to break up the protest after demonstrators, who have been surrounding government offices for 24 hours, crossed a bridge leading to the entrance of the building. Dog handlers advanced on a line of women…
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Korean tourist drowns off Coral Island
RAWAI: A tourist from South Korea on a day trip to Koh Hei, (Coral Island), drowned yesterday afternoon. Police named the dead man as Hong Joonhan, 27, who was on holiday with his wife. Despite the heavy seas, the couple went swimming and Mr Hong disappeared. His body was not found until an hour later. An autopsy at Wachira Hospital…
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Last call for listings for local “yellow’ pages
PHUKET TOWN: The deadline for listings in the Year 2000 Gazette Guide is 5 pm, Friday, November 12. Local businesses are urged to enter (or check/update) their listings by going to https://thethaiger.com/guide/form.asp as soon as possible before that date. Listings, or alterations to listings, received after the deadline will not appear in the 2000 Gazette Guide, (although they will be…
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Phuket counts cost of storm damage
PHUKET: Provincial officials have today been counting the cost of repairing damage caused by the tropical depression which has buffeted Phuket over the past few days, and which has now moved away into the Andaman Sea. Electricity company staff spent the day working to repair downed power lines and blown transformers in parts of Phuket Town, Patong, Ao Makham, Kata-Karon…
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Weather blocks roads, cuts power and phones
PHUKET: The wet and windy weather of the past few days has caused flooding in several parts of the island, and knocked out power and telephones in a number of locations. Several roads have also been blocked by fallen trees or utility poles. The Bypass Road around Phuket Town was blocked this morning by a fallen tree, while another tree…
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Australian tourist drowns off Kata Noi
KATA: A 57-year-old Australian tourist named by police as Ian Branwell drowned in heavy waves off Kata Noi beach on Friday morning. Mr Branwell was staying with his wife at the Kata Thani Hotel. The couple went swimming mid-morning. Mrs Branwell, who last saw her husband floating on his back, noticed that he had disappeared and summoned help. A beach…
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20 dead, 709 hurt in traffic accidents
PHUKET: Twenty people died in traffic accidents in Phuket between August 20 and September 20, according to statistics from the province’s three government hospitals. Of these, 17 were on motorcycles and three were in cars. Ampaipan Pawawattananusorn, the Professional Nurse at the Phuket Provincial Health Office, reported that 709 people were injured on the roads during the same period. Of…
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Mayor slams environmentalists over trash
PHUKET TOWN: The Mayor of Phuket Town, Phumisak Hongyok, has responded angrily to criticism by environmentalists of the town’s garbage incinerator, which began operations just a couple of months ago. At a recent conference in Phuket Town, organized by such groups as Greenpeace and the Phuket Environmental Protection Group, Dr Paul Connett, chemistry professor from the University of St Lawrence…
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Man arrested for British tourist’s murder
BANGKOK (AFP): A 31-year-old man has been arrested in Bangkok on suspicion of murdering a British tourist and seriously wounding his travelling companion, police said today. Saichon Lomgun was arrested late on Thursday in a hotel in downtown Bangkok and charged with premeditated murder and carrying an unlicensed gun. “The suspect has cooperated with police and we expect to conclude…
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Chuan sacks driver after seizure of pirated CDs
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai has sacked his driver after police seized pirated compact discs which were about to be delivered to his official residence, police said this afternoon. Police guarding Chuan’s home said they made the bust as Malaysian national Liew Chee Kong, 41, arrived at the prime minister’s residence to allegedly hand over 80 illegal CDs…
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Investigator gives evidence in Tong trial
PHUKET TOWN: The prosecutor in the trial of five men accused of participation in the June 24, 1997 murder of American Danis Wayne Tong today called Pol Capt Thanet Poungmanee, investigation inspector of Chalong Police Station, to the witness stand. The trial was adjourned until November 5. On trail are Manit Panme, Pratin Praktong, Prajuab Sukkong, Pairat Raksawong, and Hugo…
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Tourist Police move to new offices
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket’s Tourist Police have moved their headquarters to new offices in the Srisuchart Grandview project on the Bypass Road, about one kilometer south of the Gems Gallery. The new address is 100/31-32 Bypass Rd, Tambon Rassada, Muang, Phuket. The office also has new telephone numbers: 355015 and 254693.
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Thai team “favorite for pétanque victory’
PHUKET: The two Thai teams that will compete in the World Junior Pétanque Championships at the end of next week reckon they should be favorites to win the tournament, based on their performance in training and their experience in overseas competitions. Prarot Thongpratet, vice-secretary of the Thailand Pétanque Association, said, “Thailand has been runner-up three out of the five times…
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Lions Pearl raises B600k for Child Watch
KARON BEACH: The Lions Club of Phuket Pearl raised 600,000 baht for the Child-Watch Phuket charity during its “Ray of Hope” Gala Dinner on October 9 at the Phuket Arcadia Hotel. The money came from the sale of dinner tickets, raffle tickets, and auctions. Vilaiwan Dienel, President of Lions Pearl, said, “It is a worldwide Lions tradition to honor the…
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Two tourists survive, four missing in boat mishap
BANGKOK, (AFP): Two Singaporeans narrowly escaped with their lives today and four other tourists are missing after a sightseeing boat overturned on Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River, police and rescue officials said. Police said they were still searching for the missing passengers, whose nationalities were not immediately known, as well as the driver of the traditional Thai long-tail boat. Police said…
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67 treated for Vegetarian Festival injuries
PHUKET: A total of 67 people needed hospital treatment for injuries arising from the annual Vegetarian Festival, which ended yesterday. Hospitals reported that 39 of the victims were hurt by firecrackers, while 25 required treatment for injuries sustained in ceremonial face-piercing. One was burned with hot oil which he deliberately splashed on himself during a ceremony; one was hit by…
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Three murdered on road to Bangkok airport
BANGKOK, Oct 17 (AFP): Thai police have launched a major investigation into the murder of three men from Hong Kong early Saturday morning. Chen Jian-jun, 40, Chan Kam-yin, 41, and Hong Leong, 41, were killed shortly after midnight as they travelled on a main highway heading to the Bangkok airport, police said. They said the men had taken a taxi…
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Burmese fisherman murdered by gang
PHUKET TOWN: A Burmese fisherman was stabbed to death in the early hours of Thursday morning in a boat at the entrance to the fishing port on Soi Si Sena, near Phya Thai Hospital. He was the third person murdered in the fishing port in the past week. Pol Lt Passakorn Sonthikul of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette…
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Hotel guests robbed of 25,900 baht
PHUKET TOWN: An Italian tourist and his Thai girlfriend, who came to Phuket from Chiang Mai to see the Vegetarian Festival, were robbed of 25,900 baht and their credit cards on Thursday. Pol Maj Winai Kongkaew of Muang Station said that the couple, who were staying at the Suksabai Hotel in Phuket Town, admitted that when they went out to…
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Two badly injured in steel bar assaults
PHUKET TOWN: A Swedish resident of Phuket, 38-year-old Borje Karlsson, spent five days in the intensive care unit in Wachira Hospital after being hit in the face and legs with a steel bar. He was the second person to be assaulted in this way on Sunday. The first was Jongjit Tanchuvong, 40, a motorcycle taxi driver. Pol Lt Kanung Pitakkulthon…
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Lauda begins scheduled flights to Phuket
PHUKET: Austrian airline Lauda Air on Tuesday began scheduled flights between Phuket and the Austrian capital, Vienna. On Tuesdays the airline flies Vienna-Phuket-Bangkok-Vienna. On Saturdays, from November to March only, it will fly Vienna-Bangkok-Phuket-Vienna.
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