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Phuket crowd mobs DEA for “Most Wanted’ souvenirs
PHUKET: Tourists and workers along Soi Bangla last night pushed and shoved to get their hands on the latest craze: DEA ‘Most Wanted’ souvenirs. The free handout was held from 10 to 11pm, with hundreds of people scrambling to get beer coolers, T-shirts, pens, match boxes and computer mouse pads emblazoned with images of the US Drug Enforcement Administration’s most…
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Phuket’s Tuptim survives marathon 18-hour surgery
PHUKET: Eight-month-old Tuptim Jadngooluem has been given a second chance at life after she successfully underwent surgery at Ramathibodi Hospital in Bangkok yesterday. Tuptim, who was diagnosed at three months with a terminal liver condition known as biliary obstruction, has spent over a month in hospital awaiting a parental donor liver transplant to save her life. To keep her baby…
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“Gruesome twosome’ arrested for Phuket security guard murder
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested two teenage gang members for the murder of a Phuket security guard at a municipal parking lot last month. Phitakpong Chaetaphai and Namchok Saetan, both 19, were taken by police this morning to re-enact the events that led to security guard Winai Buathongkham being killed by a single bullet to the head. Police said that Phitakpong…
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Phuket Reminder: QSI fun run on Saturday
PHUKET: The ninth annual QSI International School Phuket Fun Run will be held at Bang Wad Dam in Kathu on Saturday. Organizers expect more than 200 children and 50 adults to compete. Students from all schools in Phuket are welcome to take part and trophies will be awarded to the top three schools finishing on the highest points. All races…
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Phuket Airport director under investigation
PHUKET: The director of Phuket International Airport was transferred from his post yesterday amid a disciplinary investigation regarding a group of South American passengers who flew out of the airport without passports. Airports of Thailand (AoT) told the Phuket Gazette today that Prathuang Sornkham was been transferred during the investigation and will become a “Senior Specialist 10” AoT executive. AoT…
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Phuket market vendors outraged by fake cop shake down
PHUKET: Vendors at the Banzaan Market behind Jungceylon massed at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday afternoon to file a complaint over police handling of an extortion attempt.The vendors handed Vice-Governor Weerawat Janpen a letter saying that at about 5pm on Monday two men claiming to be police officers demanded cash from them. The men, both described as tall and dark skinned,…
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Phuket jam: Patong motorists stuck in first gear
PHUKET: The new one-way traffic flow in Patong has caused havoc for some Phuket motorists. Traffic jams have been reported at several junctions that were affected by the change. “[To] those who thought the old way was crazy just because it allowed two-way traffic on too many east-west cross roads, check out how smooth traffic now flows at the northern…
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Eight Phuket residential projects approved
PHUKET: Construction of eight new projects was approved at a meeting of a Phuket provincial committee on residential estate development yesterday. The meeting, held at the Phuket Land Office, was chaired by Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha. All of the eight projects considered by the committee were approved, namely: 1. Jomthong Thalang, by Jomthong Property Co Ltd 2. Promphun Paklok, by…
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Phuket marine center moves to save bleached coral
PHUKET: The Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) will today request that parts of the Similan and Surin national parks be closed to protect dying corals there. DMCR Director-General Kasemssan Jinnawaso announced yesterday that his department would file the request with the National Parks, Wildlife and Plants Conservation Department, which manages the national parks. “We will request closure of…
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FC Phuket scores Thai star as manager
PHUKET: Former Thai national team star Surachai Jirasirichote today stepped into his new role as manager of FC Phuket. Surachai, 40, is a former national team defensive stalwart with over 50 caps and two goals for his country. He takes over the reins of FC Phuket (also known as the “Southern Sea Kirin”) from former boss Arjharn Songngamsap, who stepped…
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New Patong one-way system now in place
PHUKET: Police launched the new one-way traffic system in Patong on Saturday, with one change from the original plan: Soi Ruamjai is now one-way heading toward the beach, not one-way away from the beach. Kathu Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakhao explained to the Phuket Gazette that having the road heading away from the beach caused traffic jams on Prachanukroh Rd at…
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Phuket to host Deep South food fair
PHUKET: Phuket Town will host the second-annual Five Southern Border Provinces’ Product Fair from January 31 to February 6 at the central stage area at Saphan Hin. Boonchoke Khanabkeaw, Assistant Director of the Ministry of Industry office in Songkhla, said the event will showcase food products from the five southern border provinces of Songkhla, Satun, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat. Hosted…
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POLL: Phuket readers in standoff over police checkpoints
PHUKET: Despite this year’s new year holiday road toll being only half that of last year, Phuket Gazette readers are not convinced that the extra police road checkpoints during the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign actually made Phuket roads safer. Readers were asked: “Four people died on Phuket roads during the recently-completed Seven Days of Danger road safety…
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Phuket hero lawyer in apparent suicide
PHUKET: A lawyer who specialized in defending poor villagers in land rights cases has been found dead in an apparent case of suicide.The body of Supachai Singjan, 54, was found hanging by the neck from a door in his apartment in Rassada sub-district yesterday.Mr Supachai apparently tied a bedsheet to his neck, looped it over the door and bent his…
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Phuket Opinion: Let’s get the sea gypsies off our list of tourist attractions
PHUKET: The ‘Sea Gypsy Summit’ recently held in Phuket sheds a great deal of light on the many issues currently facing the people of the Andaman Sea as they try to maintain the language, culture and traditions handed down to them by their ancestors. (See story, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full…
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Special Report: Phuket sea gypsies fight for their rights
PHUKET: More than 70 representatives from 30 sea gypsy communities across the six Andaman provinces met officials in Phuket earlier this week to voice grievances and defend their way of life. The meeting, at Phuket Community Hall followed the arrest and release of 17 sea gypsy fishermen of the Pramongkit clan arrested in late December for fishing inside Had Jao…
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Phuket yellow shirts in wild show of patriotism over Cambodia
PHUKET: About 30 local yellow-shirt activists yesterday put on a show in the center of Phuket Town mocking the Thai government’s handling of the recent arrest and trial of seven Thais by the Cambodian authorities. The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) members also denounced Cambodian premier Hun Sen, claiming the Thais were arrested on land that belongs to Thailand. The…
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Phuket Andaman Airshow dazzles the crowds at Phuket Airpark
PHUKET: The Phuket Andaman Airshow and Fly-In returned yesterday to Phuket Airpark, with a crowd of roughly 400 spectators and private aircraft from all over Southeast Asia. This year’s event, which celebrated the extension of the Airpark’s runway to 800 neters, had some special bonuses, including a heart-pounding show of aerobatics, an equally exciting appearance 14 bikini-clad competitors for the…
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Phuket pitches for Slovakia
PHUKET: Tourists on Patong Beach received a midday surprise yesterday when the 12 finalists in the Miss Slovakia beauty pageant arrived to try parasailing. The bevy of beauties are in Phuket to film a promotional video to be screened on TV in their home country during the final round of the Miss Slovakia contest. Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, director of the southern…
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Phuket’s Kamala Festival kicks off
PHUKET: The Kamala Festival 2011 began last night, marking the start of three days of free entertainment at Kamala Public Park. The event began with a sunset parade by Phuket FantaSea, from its showgrounds to Kamala Beach. Vice Governor Somkiat Sangkaosuttirat officiated at the opening of the event, before the live entertainment began on stage. First up was a show…
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Phuket surf claims two lives in one day
PHUKET: The drowning deaths of two tourists at Karon Beach earlier today has prompted another warning from Phuket lifeguards to foreigners about entering the surf when red warning flags are flying. On a day of unseasonably high tides on Phuket’s west coast, two men lost their lives while another man remains in serious condition at Phuket International Hospital. Erik Larsen,…
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Brit gang-rape report sparks Phuket police warning
PHUKET: Following reports of a 23-year-old British woman being gang raped near Patong, police are urging young women to exercise caution while on holiday in Phuket. Patong Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakhao today told the Phuket Gazette, “It is hard to prevent this kind of situation from happening. Sometimes tourists let their guard down to strangers. Tourists should be careful and…
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Raid in Rawai: Phuket bar crackdown continues
PHUKET: Five popular nightspots in Rawai had some unexpected guests early this morning when a provincial security task force arrived to enforce closing times. The crackdown is part of an island-wide effort ordered by the Interior Ministry. It follows the December 27 signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) by Deputy Interior Minister Thavorn Senniam and the operators of nightspots…
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Get ready for the weekend in Phuket
PHUKET: The latest edition of the Phuket Gazette is on sale now. Pick up a copy of Phuket’s most popular local newspaper for lots of interesting articles not available online, including: NEWS – Upcoming MICE event to be largest ever held on the island. – Efforts to secure UN World Heritage status for Phuket Town buildings. – Sea gypsies fight…
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Phuket Red Cross draw blesses the lucky
PHUKET: Atiphon “Tu” Wongmaha, the human resources manager at the Blue Marine Resort & Spa in Kalim, has won the top prize in the annual Phuket Red Cross Fair lucky draw: a townhouse valued at 2.5 million baht. The two-storey townhouse in the Phanason Villa housing estate at Bor Rae in Wichit covers 21 square wah. The 37-year-old Rayong native…
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Phuket Governor launches night venue crackdown
PHUKET: The Phuket Governor has warned entertainment venues to abide by the law – or suffer the consequences. The warning from Governor Tri Augkaradacha comes after officers from the Phuket Provincial Office and Muang District Office teamed up to raid popular nightspots across the district last week. Muang District covers Phuket Town and surrounding sub-districts, running all the way south…
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Phuket Blood Center calls for donations
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center run by the Thai Red Cross is calling for blood donations, especially of blood types A-, B- and AB-. “After the Seven Days of Danger [national road safety campaign] over the new year, we do not have enough to support the patients at Bangkok Hospital Phuket,” said Pornthip Rattajak, acting director of the center.…
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Phuket revelers gatecrash curry shop
PHUKET: The owners of a mom-and-pop store in Phuket got a rude awakening early this morning when a car crashed through the front of their home. Thalang Police received a report at 2:45am that a car had crashed into the shopfront of a home on the northbound side of Thepkrasattri Road, opposite the electrical substation in Baan Lipon, Thalang. Led…
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Phuket Punchline Comedy returns next month
PHUKET: Following the success of its sell-out shows last year, the Phuket Punchline Comedy Club returns for its first show of 2011 at the Holiday Inn Resort in Patong next month. Three of the sharpest comedic minds on the UK comedy circuit will take to the stage on February 23. Among the comedians lined up is Nick Doody, rated as…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket tour van crashes in Phang Nga
PHUKET: Seven people, including at least five Koreans, are receiving hospital treatment after their Phuket tour van slid off the road and into an embankment in Phang Nga earlier today. Lt Col Songwut Khunjun of the Takuatung District Police said the crash occurred on the Petchkasem Highway in Krasom subdistrict. The vehicle was on its way to Surakul Pier when…
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