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Blackout in Rawai, Kata on Thursday
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced a scheduled blackout in parts of Rawai and Kata on Thursday in order to continue its work on high-voltage power lines. The affected areas are on the south side of Patak Rd, starting at Chalong Circle and continuing all the way to the old Plup Pla Resort site in Kata.…
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EGCO scraps plan to build incinerator
PHUKET: The Electricity Generating Public Company Limited (EGCO Group) has scrapped its plans for a power plant fueled by garbage in Phuket as a result of the difficulty in collecting and separating rubbish. Construction of the power plant was scheduled to begin early this year. An agreement to conduct a feasibility study on the project as a pilot for other…
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Temple shooting mars Makha Bucha Day
CHALONG, PHUKET: The owner of a tour company is unconscious but in stable condition after being shot in the neck at a well-known temple where he and his family had just finished offering alms to make merit on Makha Bucha Day. Just before noon yesterday, Chalong Police were informed of a shooting in the parking lot of Wat Luangpoo Supha,…
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Police nab two for licence plate fraud
PHUKET CITY: Checks of vehicle registration data by police have revealed that some cars on Phuket’s roads are stolen vehicles with fake license plates. At a press conference at Phuket City Police Station on February 4, Governor Preecha Ruangjan and Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongtong presented two suspects caught with stolen vehicles. The first vehicle, a black Honda Civic…
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Dengue Fever Alert, South Thailand hard hit
BANGKOK / PHUKET: The Public Health Ministry has set up a national war room to control the spread of dengue fever across the country after learning the situation will be far worse than last year. The ministry has assigned all provincial public health offices, local administration organisations and health volunteers to strictly control and monitor the transmission of dengue fever…
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Lions gone, smiles back in at Laguna resort complex
PHUKET: Laguna Resorts & Hotels Plc has confirmed to the Gazette that as of 2:00am today the “illegal assembly” blockading the roads into its Laguna Phuket resort complex dispersed and that all resort entrance roads are now fully open. The six Laguna Phuket hotels are rapidly returning to normal operations. In an official statement, a spokesperson wrote: “During the afternoon…
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Laguna protesters dig in for the long haul
PHUKET, CHERNG TALAY: The workers’ protest at Laguna Phuket resort is now in its third day and all seven entrances into the core of the resort remain blocked by the protesters and vehicles. However, Laguna residents are still able to access their homes, but some can only do so on foot or by motorbike. Some of the protest leaders last…
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A bad week for dwindling dugong population
CAPE PANWA, PHUKET: A top marine mammal researcher is drawing up a national action plan for conserving the country’s dwindling population of dugong, three of which were found dead this week. “We have a national action plan for dugong and seagrass in Thailand to conserve the seagrass habitat, reduce mortality, continue monitoring numbers and study behavior,” said Kanjana Adulyanukosol of the…
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Protestors blockade Laguna Phuket
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: Disgruntled staff members at the up-market Laguna Phuket resort complex have abandoned their duties and blockaded the road entrances to the resort, causing disruption to operations and preventing access. Protesters said they were angry they had received a bonus of two weeks’ pay for 2008, rather than the usual four weeks, and had been denied pay increases.…
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Brit charged with drug dealing
KAMALA, PHUKET: A British man faces the prospect of a lifetime in jail after being caught at a Kamala Police checkpoint with cocaine, ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and marijuana on Wednesday. David Kevin Griffin, 49, was driving toward Patong when he was stopped by Kamala Police officers at around 1:45 am at the checkpoint in Nanok Village. Police say they…
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Destination Air services suspended pending buyout
PHUKET: The Destination Air seaplane shuttle service, the license for which was revoked by the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) last year, has confirmed that all of its services will remain suspended until the company is bought out. Destination Air Managing Director Pat James told the Gazette that the owners currently have four parties interested in buying the charter carrier.…
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Apirak orders gun crackdown
PHUKET CITY: Owners of unregistered firearms will soon feel the full force of the law as part of an island-wide crackdown recently announced by Phuket Provincial Police Superintendent Apirak Hongtong. In a statement released on January 31, Maj Gen Apirak said that due to the current economic downturn, Phuket is faced with the risk of rising crime rates. To combat this…
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Fishing vessel salvaged after nine-day effort
RAWAI: It took a week of strenuous effort, but the fishing boat Sa-nguansin, which sank off the coast of Racha Yai island on the evening of January 25, was finally raised and towed ashore to Cape Panwa on February 2. All 14 members of the crew survived the accident unharmed, though boat owner Sanor Phopipat now faces a bill for…
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Dutch Artist Simon Cohen dies of accident injuries
PHUKET: Well-known Dutch artist Simon Cohen, 72, died on February 1, probably of internal injuries suffered during a traffic accident on January 28. Mr Cohen did not respond when his Thai wife tried to waken him early Saturday. Chalong police said he had been dead about three hours when they arrived at the couple’s home in Rawai Moo 7, not…
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B37m to tackle traffic near Heroines’ Monument
SRISOONTHORN, PHUKET: Srisoonthorn Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) has received a budget of 37 million baht to expand the Heroines’ Monument roundabout and improve roads in the area. Work is expected to start in late April. Srisoonthorn OrBorTor President Thamrong Tantiwiwachakul said, “With the Heroines’ Monument located on the main road in and out of Phuket City, there are a large…
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National high-speed info network; Phuket already in the loop
BANGKOK (The Nation): All of Thailand’s government agencies will be able to integrate their information on to a superhighway network within four years in order to increase their efficiency and provide services on a high-speed infrastructure. Development of the 12-billion baht Government Information Network (GIN) project, which began in 2006, aims to help make the country more competitive. The executive…
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Sword attack nets cellphone, 200 baht
RASSADA, PHUKET: A man is recovering in hospital after surviving a vicious sword attack by two robbers near the entrance to the Fish Marketing Organization pier last night. Phuket City Police Duty Officer Warit Jado identified the victim as 39-year-old Somsak Krongyuti, a resident of Kantang district in Trang. A crew member of the fishing boat Hong 7, Mr Somsak…
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Colleges in bid to halt student online flesh trade
BANGKOK / PHUKET: Colleges and universities need to act against students engaging in “direct-sale” prostitution via social-network websites like Hi5, according to a well-known academic. Assoc Prof Sukhum Chaloeysap of Suan Dusit Rajabhat University, which has a campus in Phuket, said all institutes of higher learning should admit that the problem exists and join forces to combat it. Some students…
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Thai man arrested in US on child porn charge
BANGKOK / PHUKET: A Thai man was arrested in the United States yesterday on charges of possessing and distributing child pornography. After a five-week undercover investigation in Joplin, Missouri, conducted by the Cyber Crimes Unit of the Barry County Sheriff’s Department and the Cassville Police Department, 36 year-old Sira Noitip was arrested at his Joplin residence. According to a Crime…
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Urgent need for O-negative blood for expat resident
PHUKET: Long-term Phuket resident Paul James, owner of the Expat Hotel, is in urgent need of O-negative blood. Mr James is at Bangkok Hospital Phuket, but donations of his blood type can only be made at Vachira Phuket Hospital. Vachira Phuket is located less than two kilometers from Bangkok Hospital Phuket, both being on Yaowarat Road in Phuket City. Donations…
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10th Phuket Chinese New Year Festival starts tonight
PHUKET CITY: Chinese New Year will be celebrated with flair in Phuket tonight with a little help from the Chinese cities of Yantai and Hainan. Chinese opera, demonstrations of kung fu, cultural performances from China and Thailand, as well as a host of Chinese snacks and delicacies will all be served up at the 10th Phuket Chinese New Year’s Day…
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Paiboon leads fight against bogus banknotes
PHUKET CITY: Believing the problem of counterfeit banknotes to be serious, Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising has spent his own money to buy 1,000 UV flashlights, which he distributed to vendors at two wet markets in Phuket City on January 23. Mr Paiboon gave the devices away free to traders at Kaset Market, the fresh market near…
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Phuket remembers Rex Allen
PHUKET: A cremation service will be held tomorrow for Australian Rex Allen, who died Tuesday in a motorcycle accident in Kalim. He was just 37 years old. A former professional golfer, Mr Allen leaves behind a wife and four children, including two young boys by his Thai wife Root. Rex was on his way home from celebrating Australia Day in…
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Three Chiang Rai men arrested for murder, assault
PHUKET CITY: Police yesterday held a press conference to announce the arrest of three young men charged with the bludgeoning murder of a teenage boy in Tambon Wichit on Tuesday night. The press conference was conducted by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongtong, Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit, and Deputy Superintendent Chaiwat Auykham. They identified the victim as 16-year…
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Another boatload of Rohingyas arrives in Thailand
BANGKOK / PHUKET : A boat with 78 Rohingyas arrived in Ranong on the southern Andaman coast yesterday amid mounting pressure on the government over ill-treatment of the ethnic minority from Burma. The latest boat people are aged 14 to 55. Some of those found in a rickety boat with a broken engine off the coast of Ranong near the…
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The Year of the Ox is here
PHUKET CITY: Yesterday marked the first day of the first month in the Chinese lunar calender, the beginning of the Year of the Ox. Chinese New Year is celebrated with gusto by Phuket’s ethnic Chinese community and by the many Chinese tourists who travel here during the holiday. Legend has it that Chinese New Year began with a fight against…
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Murder suspect arrested in Koh Kaew
PHUKET, KOH KAEW: An employee of Bangkok Hospital Phuket was hacked and bludgeoned to death behind the deserted Phuket Country Lodge hotel on January 25.Police didn’t need to look far for a suspect – noodle shop employee Winai Kullata, 43, was found asleep, spattered with blood, next to the body of the victim, 33-year-old Somchai Suren.Details of the crime were…
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Football fans furious over FA Cup blunder
PHUKET CITY: The Kingdom’s legions of football fans who tuned in hoping to catch live coverage of matches in the fourth round of the English FA Cup last weekend were left disappointed. Coverage of English football in Thailand is generally excellent, but this weekend’s games – which included mouthwatering match-ups of Manchester United vs Tottenham, and Liverpool vs Everton –…
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Ukranian arrested in Phuket on child porn charges
PHUKET: Police on Saturday announced the arrest of a Ukrainian man allegedly involved in the international distribution of child pornography over the Internet. The suspect, 31-year-old Maxsim Shynkarenko, was arrested by Tourist Police on Friday at a luxury rented house on Saiyaun Road in Chalong. He has denied the charges.Announcing the arrest were Tourist Police Commander Attakrit Thaneechat, Phuket Provincial Police…
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Eclipse today
PHUKET: The paths of the moon and sun will cross above Thailand later today, causing a solar eclipse that will be visible throughout several provinces, including Phuket. The eclipse, which falls on the first day of the Lunar New Year, is set to begin at 4.05pm and last until 5.53pm.
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