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Muslim drug war wins support
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi has given his backing to a move by Muslim leaders to solve the problem of illegal drugs through community action. His support was expressed when leaders of Phuket’s Muslim community met at the S.T. Hotel in Phuket Town on September 3. “I am absolutely sure that the drugs problem will be reduced if…
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Governor warns on festival fireworks
PHUKET TOWN: Tourists and locals have been warned to be cautious with fireworks during this year’s annual Vegetarian Festival. In festivals of the past, scores of people have required hospital treatment. The warning came from Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi in advance of this year’s festival, to be held from October 5-15. Vendors traditionally sell firecrackers – some of them oversized…
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DJ can’t stop the music
PHUKET TOWN: A disc jockey plans to sing non-stop for 24 hours in a project that he hopes will set a new world record. He will keep on singing, even in the toilet, with a microphone that picks up his voice but no other sounds. He will eat and sing at the same time, too. The singing DJ is Issarakul…
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Navy nets Burmese on suspect boat
THALANG: The Royal Thai Navy intercepted a fishing boat off Bang Tao Beach today and found 12 suspected illegal Burmese on board. The Burmese are being held for probable deportation once their status is clarified. The ship’s captain says most of the men were legal workers who had simply changed employers. Lt Cdr Anusorn Sasutham, on a Chao Praya-class warship,…
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Man held for murder, stabbings
KATHU: Tung Tong police arrested a 22-year-old construction worker early this morning after he allegedly stabbed his wife and two men, leaving one man dead. Pol Capt Kittipong Klaykaew of Tung Tong Police Station named the attacker as Sitipol “Ta” Kotawan, from Nakhon Phanom, who worked at a construction camp near the Patong-Kathu intersection. Capt Kittipong said police arrived at…
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300 welcome Chinese leader
AIRPORT: Some 300 people were on hand today to welcome the Chairman of China’s National Assembly, Li Peng, when he arrived at Phuket International Airport as part of an official visit to Thailand. The greeting party included Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, members of the Chinese community in Phuket and students waving Chinese flags as Mr Li stepped from his plane…
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Immigration chief appeals for help
PHUKET TOWN: Pol Col Apirak Hongtong, Superintendent of the Phuket Immigration Office, today appealed for people to report to him any misconduct by Immigration officials. Speaking at the Gazette’s offices, Col Apirak said, “I don’t want to see the behavior of a few bad officers destroy the image of all the other officers. “Anyone wanting to report any misconduct by…
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Headless body found on Kata beach
KATA: Authorities are at a loss so far to establish the identity of a headless, armless body that washed up on Kata Beach yesterday. “Uncle Farang,” a 60-year-old member of the cleaning staff at the Kata Beach Hotel, shouted to alert others when he came across the body on the beach about 8 am. Police believe the body had been…
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Pet roaches face ban
BANGKOK: Public Health Minister Sudarat Keyurapan has warned that cockroaches imported from Madagascar could face an import ban if research finds that they are dangerous to human beings. K. Sudarat’s warning follows the discovery that many vendors at the famed Chatuchak Market recently started selling the cockroches as pets. The imported cockroaches are unusually large, certainly bigger than any cockroaches…
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Caught dead to rights
SAMUT PRAKAN: A 51-year-old undertaker at Wat Thongkung was arrested recently after he confessed to having sex with a dead woman. Filled with remorse, Sakchai Thumaseeda wrote a letter to the dead woman’s mother, spilling the beans on his nocturnal necrophiliac exploits with “Bee”, a 31-year-old woman who had recently died of Aids. Mum was not impressed and called the…
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Governor adds “Rainmaker’ to his titles
PHUKET: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi revealed today that he has asked the Ministry of Agriculture to “seed” clouds passing over Phuket in order to induce rain. The Gazette understands that the rainmaking, which will be done by dropping chemicals on passing clouds from a helicopter, may start as early as tomorrow (Thursday). Gov Pongpayome explained, “Normally, we should have had…
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Girl, 17, steals B50,000 from Gov’s house
PHUKET TOWN: A 17-year-old girl being held on a charge of stealing 50,000 baht from the Governor’s Residence yesterday tried committing suicide by slitting her wrists with pieces of her broken plastic bracelet. Pol Capt Akkanit Danpitaksasna, of Phuket Town Police Station, today said the girl was being held at the station after confessing to stealing 50,000 baht belonging to…
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Chinese leader flying to Phuket
PHUKET: Li Peng, Chairman of China’s National Assembly, is flying to Phuket on Friday for a three-day official visit. With him on the special flight will be a delegation of senior Chinese officials. Mr Li holds the Communist Party’s No. 2 post. Observers attribute to him the 1989 crackdown on pro-democracy dissidents in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square. As a guest of…
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Falling cartons KO child in Big C
PHUKET TOWN: A five-year-old girl was knocked unconscious when three large cartons of milk tumbled off the shelves as her family shopped in the dairy section of Big C Supercenter. The girl, Napasawan “Fah” Aroonlimsawad, was knocked unconscious during the outing on Sunday and released from hospital today with a large lump on her head. A Big C staffer was…
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Dane drowns at Nai Harn
NAI HARN: A 62-year-old Dane who was pulled from the sea unconscious died as rescuers tried to resuscitate him on Nai Harn beach this morning. Police named him as Helge Andreasen, a retiree who lived in Happy Home Village. Mr Andreasen’s death was the latest in a series of drownings and narrow escapes this monsoon season, which has increased pressure…
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Immigration steps up controls
PHUKET TOWN: As part of Phuket Immigration’s plan to tighten immigration control, more than 100 hotel employees attended a workshop at the Phuket Immigration Office on Friday night. Speaking at the workshop, Pol Col Apirak Hongtong, Superintendent of Phuket Immigration Office, said, “The seminar is aimed at training hotel staff, especially front office staff, in what to do if they…
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Police get tough on traffic offenders
PHUKET TOWN: In a crackdown on traffic offenders, police on Saturday night arrested 38 people at a checkpoint set up at the intersection of Yaowarat Rd and Thalang Rd. Pol Lt Col Weerasin Kwanseng, Deputy Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, said today that officers set up the checkpoint after receiving many complaints about people dangerously ignoring traffic laws in…
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Trade boost for “One Tambon’ scheme
PHUKET: Phuket has become a driving force behind moves to expand the One Tambon One Product scheme through trade agreements with other provinces. Surapol Suwankul, Chief of Phuket Provincial Commercial Office, said today, “While we have no plans at the moment to increase the number of products we make, we are now selling products to other provinces to enlarge our…
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Major switch in Patong budget
PATONG: About 50 million baht is to be spent on community services such as education, public health and community activities in Patong’s budget plan for 2002/2003. The budget represents a major switch from heavy infrastructure spending to an emphasis on developing people and communities. After Patong Municipal Council approved the plan yesterday, Sakorn Cheua-yuan, Deputy Mayor of Patong, said, “We…
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Drug offenders keep prison full
PHUKET TOWN: More than 50% of the inmates at Phuket Provincial Prison are behind bars for drug-related offences, according to the latest statistics released by the prison. Of the 1,241 inmates, 503 men and 130 women are serving time for narcotics offenses. Of the remaining prisoners, 213 are being held for theft, 163 for murder or attempted murder, 46 for…
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Warning on wet-season power
PHUKET TOWN: The Manager of the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA), Sornchai Uparamai, has warned that wet and windy conditions during the monsoon season may cause electrical accidents. Anyone who sees broken power lines, poles, or other potentially dangerous situations is urged to call the PPEA on 076-210427/8.
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Convention center “benefits all’
KRABI: A regional improvement conference at Krabi has been told that an international convention and exhibition center (CEC) on Phuket would also benefit other provinces. Provincial Vice Governor Winai Buapradit told the conference on August 22 that the Thai Government was prepared to spend 800 million baht on the CEC and was in the process of choosing a site. Anupharp…
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26 arrested, but gambling boss escapes
PHUKET TOWN: Police raided a gambling den in a shack behind the Metropole Hotel early this morning, arresting 22 men and four women. Phuket Town Superintendent Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, who led the raid, said, “We acted on tips from our sources who said there were people gambling behind the hotel. We arrested 26 gamblers, who are all being held…
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Prostitution? Odds are against it
PHUKET: Latest police statistics reveal a big contrast between the crimes of prostitution and gambling in the period between August 1 and August 25. While 223 people were arrested for gambling in that period, up by 21 over the same period in July, there was not a single arrest for prostitution, compared with the 12 made between July 1 and…
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Hundreds of Burmese deported
PHUKET TOWN: Hundreds of illegal Burmese were sent home today in trucks, and Immigration officers are hunting for hundreds more they say are still in Phuket. Pol Col Apirak Hongtong, Superintendent of Phuket Immigration Office, said, “We are seeking more escaped Burmese who are hiding out in all kinds of places.” The colonel also said that the department was investigating…
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We do, we do, we do
PHUKET TOWN: Six couples were married in a mass wedding today at Satree Phuket School in Phuket Town, with grooms coming from as far afield as Australia and the US. Naowarat Wongkaew, 33, from Chumphon, first met Australian architect Trevor Draydon, 48, six years ago in Bangkok. “My husband likes Thai culture, especially the wedding ceremony,” she said. The Gazette…
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Green fuel gets green light
AO MAKHAM: Viset Choopiban, President of the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT), this morning announced that the PTT will continue to offer fuel free of excise tax and VAT to the operators of Thai fishing boats. The project, called “Green Fuel for Fishermen in the Andaman Sea” because the tax-free diesel is dyed green, was launched as an experiment six…
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Sea Gypsy village raid nets 500 fish
RAWAI: Phuket Marine Police on Sunday seized more than 500 fish of protected species in a raid at the Sea Gypsy village off Wiset Rd. Two men seen in possession of the fish managed to escape. Pol Lt Col Prathuang Srilamontri told the Gazette that officers, acting on a tip-off, arrived at the village at 9 pm and surprised two…
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New tourism targets for the South
PHUKET TOWN: A sweeping plan for tourism in the Phuket region will give each destination a clear identity and a target market. The project, covering all southern provinces, seeks to suggest appropriate government budgets, and focus on the image of each spot. The plan will be overseen by MP Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, as President of the Southern Thailand Tourism Improvement Planning…
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Marijuana arrests at full moon party
KAMALA: Police raided a full moon party at the Rhythm & Beach Cantina in Kamala and arrested three foreigners for allegedly smoking marijuana on the beach nearby. “There were 40-50 at the party, but only three foreigners who were smoking ganja on the beach,” said Pol Lt Col Narong Laksanawimol, of Kathu Police Station. Pilaiwan Maotaknoi, the manager of Rhythm…
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