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Alleged ya bah dealer slain
KAMALA: A man police say they believe was a drug dealer was ambushed and shot dead soon after dropping his daughter at school in Kamala today. The killing took place soon after 8 am as Natee Yayee, 35, rode his motorcycle across the bridge at Klong Pakbang, after dropping his daughter at Baan Kamala School. Pol Maj Pisit Cheanpetch, Inspector…
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Dozens of sea turtles hatch
MAI KHAO: A nest of leatherback turtles hatched at the weekend on Mai Khao beach, the fourth hatching since January 17. The mother turtle arrived on the beach to lay the eggs in December. Thanu Naep-nien, spokesperson for the environmentalist group Wildlife Fund Thailand, said, “There were 105 eggs in the nest. Around 80 have hatched. They started hatching Saturday…
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Jammin latest victim of crackdown
PHUKET TOWN: Jammin Music Club on Bangkok Rd became the latest victim of the crackdown on the entertainment industry when it was raided by police early this morning and ordered closed for 30 days because one customer was found to be underage. Officers led by Phuket Town Police Station Superintendent Paween Pongsirin went to the club at around 12:30 am,…
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611 in jail over drugs
PHUKET: More than half of the people incarcerated in Phuket’s overcrowded provincial prison have either been convicted of narcotics offenses or are awaiting trial on drug-related charges. According to the latest statistics released by the prison, 611 of the 1,204 inmates are locked up on narcotics-related convictions or charges. Of these, 506 are men and 105 are women. In addition,…
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Patong tap water declared safe
PATONG: The tap water in the Patong municipal area has been declared safe for drinking. Deputy Interior Minister Sora-at Klinpratoom made the announcement this morning at Loma Public Park on Thaweewong Rd, shortly before taking a drink from one of the three fountains set up to provide free water to thirsty residents and tourists in the area. “I think this…
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Shark staff petition in vain
PHUKET TOWN: 131 staff members of Patong’s Shark Club, ordered closed yesterday by Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, assembled at the Provincial Hall this afternoon to demand that he reopen the club. They were unable to meet with the governor, who was in Bangkok today, and instead presented their petition to Vice Governor Manit Wattanasen. Three representatives – Pathamapan Rattanapan,…
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Governor shuts the Shark
PHUKET: The biggest disco in Phuket, Patong’s Shark Club & Discotheque, was today ordered closed permanently on instructions from the Minister of Interior, Purachai Piemsomboon. The closure order, announced by Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, came after it was discovered that the operating license for the disco – which can hold more than 1,500 revelers at a time – contained irregularities…
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B13m lost in warehouse blaze
PHUKET TOWN: Firefighters from all over the island took seven hours yesterday morning to put out a blaze in a warehouse. Damage in the fire was estimated at about 13 million baht. No one was hurt. Police answered a call about 3 am, by which time six fire engines from Phuket Town were already at the warehouse in Songkhla Rd,…
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Sailor killed, dumped at sea
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a man who had been stabbed 15 times was found in the fishing port of Soi Si Sena at the weekend. Police received a phone call from a local fisherman at about 1:30 pm on Saturday and found the body of the unidentified man floating in the water, said Pol Lt Parichat Jaturonpun of Phuket…
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Couples set to get wet and wed
TRANG: A record number of couples are expected to marry in the annual mass underwater wedding ceremony off Trang on Valentine’s Day. Partly because there’s no need to bring something blue – they will be floating in it – Trang’s watery wedding on February 14 is expected to win a place in the Guinness Book of Records. So far, 36…
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Appeal for action against megastores
PHUKET TOWN: A crisis meeting of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce (PCC) today pushed for government support for small Thai retailers in the face of overwhelming competition from large foreign supermarkets and discount stores. The meeting was told that as many as 250,000 small retail outlets around Thailand had already been forced to close because they could no longer compete.…
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Sheraton to run new resort in Krabi
AO NANG: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc and Thai company MBK Properties and Development have announced an agreement whereby Starwood will manage a new resort, now being constructed north of Ao Nang, under its Sheraton brand. The 246-room Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort is to open in December on a 48-rai site on Khlong Muang Beach, which is north of…
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Police raid Asia Island Homes office
CHERNG TALAY: A squad of some 10 officers from the Bangkok-based Economic Crimes Unit (ECU) yesterday raided one of Phuket’s biggest property development companies, Asia Island Homes (AIH), and arrested two people for work permit violations. Sources who asked not to be named told the Gazette that the investigators arrived at about midday, armed with a search warrant issued by…
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Bonanza for crash helmet shops
PHUKET: Thanks to the police crackdown on the wearing of crash helmets on motorcycles, helmets have been moving off shop shelves almost as fast as passing motorbikes. But businesses surveyed by the Gazette today said that the popular buys have been cheap, low-quality models that provide little if any protection in a crash. The shops also said that, after an…
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Seized yacht finally auctioned off
PHUKET TOWN: The sailing yacht “Bin Cha Cha” was finally sold at auction this morning at the Phuket Customs Region 5 office, after two previous attempts to sell it last year failed. Niwat Triemsantipap, the assistant general manager of the Maiton Resort, acquired the 7.9-meter yacht with a bid of 200,000 baht, just one third of its original reserve price…
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The lick of love
PHUKET: To commemorate Valentine’s Day on February 14, the Communication Authority of Thailand (CAT) will be selling one million rose-scented postage stamps. Suwanna Suwanpetch, CAT public relations officer for Region 8, told the Gazette, “Thailand is the first country in the world to produce a scented stamp. Measuring one-inch across, the stamp will also be Thailand’s first square stamp.” The…
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Residents back Thalang Rd walk zone
PHUKET TOWN: A survey of residents in Thalang Rd has shown that more than 80% agree with a proposal that their street should become a pedestrians-only zone on Sundays. Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok now hopes the road will be closed to traffic every Sunday between 1 pm and 11 pm, starting in April at the latest. He is also…
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Fury at proposal to close Phi Phi
KRABI (Gazette, Nation, AFP): Local businesspeople and officials have branded as “a big joke” a proposal that Phi Phi Don Island should be closed for two years to allow pollution in the tourism hotspot to be cleaned up. The proposal was put forward by Tourist Police Commander Pol Col Sanit Miphan, who told The Nation newspaper recently that the tiny…
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New-born jumbo a first for Phuket
CHALONG: Phuket finally has a baby elephant to call its own – Plai Phuket. Plai Phuket (“Plai” is the traditional honorific for a male elephant), became the first pachyderm born in Phuket, according to the experts, when he weighed in at 60 kilos in the early hours of yesterday. The youngster was healthy but shy, standing on wobbly legs beneath…
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Man stabbed to death in bar brawl
KATA: One man was stabbed to death and another was badly injured in a brawl in front of the Easy Rider pub on Taina Rd in the early hours of Sunday morning. Pol Capt Teerawat Liamsuwan of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that he received a call at about 2 am, telling him about the brawl. Arriving at the…
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Submarine firm woos authorities
PHUKET: The promoters of planned submarine trips for tourists last night made a bid to convince authorities that their machine is safe – and to persuade them to issue the necessary permits. The presentation by Phuket Submarine Ltd, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, featured slides of the DS-48 sub that the promoters hope will be operating in the waters…
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Corpse found on garbage pile
KOH SIREH: The partially decomposed body of a naked man was found in a pile of garbage among mangroves near Plermsuk Beach yesterday afternoon. Police were notified after local villagers found the body, dumped face down in a pile of garbage 200 meters from the main road. At the scene, officers discovered that the man had been shot in the…
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German dies in bike crash
CHALONG: A popular German dive instructor died after his motorbike collided head-on with a pickup truck not far from the Green Man Pub & Restaurant on Patak Rd early Wednesday. Sascha Schleicher, 36, was declared dead on arrival at Phuket International Hospital. Police believe he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, about 7:30 am. Pol…
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Students “use toilets as ya bah factories’
BANGKOK: Thai students have been turning school toilets into makeshift drug factories, churning out cut-price ya bah (methamphetamine) pills that are then sold to other youngsters. One of the trademark stamps on their pills depicts a wizard riding a broomstick, intended to attract fans of the fictional schoolboy wizard Harry Potter, said a Buddhist monk involved in a drugs eradication…
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633 netted in motorbike crackdown
PHUKET: Despite wide publicity before the event, police caught 633 motorcyclists without helmets during a crackdown last night, at the start of an ongoing roadblock blitz. Bare-headed bikers had their driving licenses checked and their names taken, after which they were obliged to listen to a road-safety lecture. After listening, they were allowed to go on their way without a…
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Airport narcotics checks tightened
PHUKET: A food and drug checkpoint will open at Phuket airport tomorrow to try to prevent travelers bringing in illegal drugs or suspiciously large quantities of legal medication. Bangkok and Chiang Mai already have food and drug checkpoints; the one in Phuket will be the first in Southern Thailand. It will be at the international arrivals entrance, and will be…
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Alternative Bike Week hits roadblocks
PATONG: A second “Bike Week” planned for Patong seems to be running into roadblocks after groups listed by the organizer as “supporters” either denied all knowledge of the event, or expressed their opposition to it. The Phuket Bike Rally, organized by Harald Vesterheim, proprietor of the Pink Panther A-go-go and Panther Travel, is planned to take place from February 22…
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Late lamented delivers a bit of a shock
MUKDAHAN: Seventy-two-year-old Wan Sukhampa had been ill with lung problems for five years. On December 8, she felt particularly unwell, so her family took her to the hospital. The following morning her condition deteriorated and she was moved to the intensive care unit. The doctors were unable to help her, however, and within hours she was declared dead. Later that…
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Dog’s death was the last straw
SURAT THANI: On December 2, Preecha Nachom, 47, was found dead on the bathroom floor of the home he shared with his wife. He had been shot in the head, an apparent suicide. His wife, Rungtitha, told police that Preecha, a temporary worker at the power plant, was a heavy drinker and had come home that evening complaining about his…
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A few days of stolen joy
KHON KAEN: Bualong Intarasena, 35, had a problem: after being widowed, she had a new husband, Amnart, and he wanted a child by her as soon as possible. What she didn’t dare tell him was that, after bearing her first husband two children, she had undergone sterilization. So Bualong told him she was pregnant, and as the months of her…
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