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Rubik’s Cube challenge coming to Patong
PATONG, PHUKET: Fingers will be busy in Patong on the afternoon of April 5, when Jungceylon hosts Phuket’s first-ever Rubik’s Cube Speed Challenge as part of its International Toy Festival. Anyone capable of solving a 3×3 Rubik’s Cube in under three minutes is invited to register at the Toys “R” Us booth in the Port Zone at Jungceylon from March…
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Dead beggar still unidentified
PHUKET CITY: Police and local officials are still unsure of the identity of the homeless man found dead outside a lumber yard on Thepkrasattri Rd yesterday morning. The thin, dark-skinned man was found dead on a bench in front of the Sahamaithai Co Ltd on Thepkrasattri Rd at about 9am. Phuket Duty Officer Anek Mongkol estimated his age at “over 50”.…
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Isarn Colorful East OTOP Fair ends tonight
PHUKET CITY: Tonight is the last chance to attend the popular Isarn Colorful East One Tambon One Product (OTOP) Festival at Saphan Hin. Despite some unseasonably rainy weather, the fair has been a big hit with island residents for its nightly entertainment and wide variety of reasonably priced foods and drinks. Among the most popular fare has been traditional Isarn…
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Gov Wichai presents plans for Phuket
PHUKET CITY: New Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop presented his plans for Phuket to more than 200 government officers at the Royal Phuket City Hotel on Wednesday March 18. As Phuket is a tourist destination and a gateway to Thailand, Gov Wichai said he will focus on solving problems related to land, traffic, flooding, entertainment venues, business and drugs. “Phuket’s environment…
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EC hands PPAO President Paiboon a ‘yellow card’
PHUKET CITY: The Election Commission (EC) in Bangkok has “yellow-carded” Phuket Provincial Administration Organization President Paiboon Upatising and a fellow PPAO member for electoral fraud in Thalang and has recommended that new elections be held to fill both seats.According to a press release on the EC website, the ruling was decided during a March 19 meeting of the EC, in which rulings…
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Two trawlers seized, 15 crew arrested
KARON, PHUKET: Department of Marine and Coastal Resources officials yesterday morning seized two vessels and arrested 15 crew members caught trawling off Kata Beach. The seizures and arrests followed reports by members of a local conservation group that the vessels had for a week been seen operating in an area just 300 to 400 meters offshore, near the tiny Koh…
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Bt70m expected from room tax in 2009: PPAO
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) expects to collect about 70 million baht from its controversial hotel room tax, put in place in 2000 as a way of raising funds to improve public services and tourism infrastructure. PPAO President Paiboon Upatising said that 60 million baht was collected in 2008 from 217 hotels that agreed to pay the…
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It’s a snap! Busted boner puts owner in sick bay
PHUKET CITY: Vachira Phuket Hospital on Wednesday morning received a transfer patient in a lot of pain from a somewhat embarrassing illness – a broken penis. Being transferred from Patong Hospital as he was, one might assume that the patient had done the damage in an over-energetic nocturnal romp. However, the patient – a 28-year-old Phang Nga native who understandably…
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General Apirak to be transferred
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongtong has confirmed that he has been promoted to the position of Commander of General Staff – Division 8, effective April 1. Maj Gen Apirak said that the transfer to Region 8 headquarters in Surat Thani was ordered by Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban. General Apirak’s replacement as Phuket Provincial Police Commander is said…
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Annual English essay awards announced
BANGKOK: A student from Yothinburana School in Bangkok has been named the national winner of the 5th Annual Junior IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards for Thailand. Pawida Krachai of Phuket Wittayalai School is the Southern winner, as judged by the editorial staff of the Phuket Gazette. Paphawi Leksakundilok, 16, came top from about 900 entries in the nationwide contest under the theme “Once Upon…
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Family of accused boy speak out on child molestation charges
PATONG, PHUKET: A 17-year-old German boy arrested on March 9 on child molestation charges is himself a victim of abuse, his family and German diplomats claim. German Ambassador Dr Hanns H Schumacher on March 16 met Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongtong to discuss the case, which began with the arrest of British national Dax J Young on child molestation…
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Monkey kills owner with coconut
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: A coconut collector in Nop Phitam District was killed after his favorite monkey dropped a coconut onto his head on February 25.Leurit Chanchum, 48, from Village 4 Tambon Krung Ching, was hired by a neighbor to collect coconuts using his trained macaque. When the monkey was up the tree, it threw down some coconuts to its owner.…
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Kamala protest ends after 20-hour blockade
KAMALA, PHUKET: A 20-hour blockade of the Kamala-Patong Road ended at around 5:30pm yesterday after Phuket Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima spent most of the morning negotiating a settlement. The protest began at Kamala Police Station at around 7pm on Tuesday. By 9pm, a 500-strong mob had used vehicles to seal off the main road. The roadblock inconvenienced many people, including tourists…
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New box jellyfish found at Ao Nambor
CAPE PANWA, PHUKET: Marine biologists think they have discovered a tiny species of the venomous box jellyfish never seen before in the waters around Phuket. Dr Somchai Bussarawit, Chief of Museum and Aquarium at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) said on March 18 that the specimen was discovered at Ao Nambor, the same area where almost 40 specimens of…
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‘Random’ drug testing continues in Patong
PATONG, PHUKET: Drug testing taking place at popular nightlife entertainment venues in Patong has yet to result in any arrests of foreigners in connection with illegal drug use. Kathu Police are focusing mainly on Thai patrons and the bar staff in their mandatory urine testing, which gives on-the-spot results for three ‘recreational’ drugs: ya bah (methamphetamine), ya ice (crystal methamphetamine)…
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Teen killer arrested after return from Ranong
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have arrested a man wanted for the January 2 shooting of 17-year-old Anukul Boonwong. Phuket City Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit identified the suspect as Sulaimarn “Chuk” Wetkla, who was presented with an arrest warrant and taken into custody in front of his home in Rassada Village 7 at 11 pm yesterday. Details of the arrest were announced…
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Anchalee denies involvement in governor’s transfer
PHUKET CITY: One of Phuket’s leading Democrat Party figures has denied any involvement in the transfer of former governor Preecha Ruangjan and revealed that Dr Preecha requested the transfer. Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr, Deputy Secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office in Bangkok and wife of Phuket MP Tossaporn Thepabutr, said media reports that she had something to do with the transfer…
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Youth stabbed to death in Suan Luang Park
PHUKET CITY: In the latest fatality from teenage gang violence, a 17-year-old boy was found stabbed to death inside Suan Luang Park in the early hours of Sunday, March 15. Phuket City Police received a report of a murder in the park on the emergency hotline (‘191’) at about 1:45 am. Arriving at the scene with rescue workers from the…
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Cherng Talay teen charged with attempted murder
CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: Police on Thursday morning held a press conference to announce the arrest of a local youth wanted for shooting a rival gang member in late January. Cherng Talay Police Inspector for Investigation Tongchai Matitum identified the suspect as 19-year-old Pharuhat Choochit, a resident of Cherng Talay Village 5. According to the press release, the shooting took place…
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First day in office for Governor Wichai
PHUKET CITY: Today marks the first day in office of Phuket’s new governor, Wichai Phraisa-ngop.Mr Wichai was greeted at the Governor’s Mansion yesterday morning by numerous officials and well-wishers, some traveling from as far away as Phang Nga and Surat Thani to attend the ceremony.Transferred to Phuket from his previous posting as governor of Sing Buri province in the Central…
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Siam Indigo damaged in Sunday morning fire
PHUKET CITY: The popular Siam Indigo Exotique Bar and Restaurant on Phang Nga Road was partially damaged in a fire that broke out at about 10:20 am yesterday. Taweesak Suwit, an officer at the local Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) office, told the Gazette that two Phuket City fire trucks managed to get the blaze under control, though…
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Suspects held for stealing 1.7 million baht from a Briton
BANGKOK: A Thai graduate student and two female accomplices were arrested for allegedly stealing 1.7 million baht from a Briton via e-banking facilities and ATMs, police said yesterday. Tourist Police Division Chief Maj-General Adis Ngamjitsuksri yesterday presented three suspects at a press conference along with 10 items of evidence that included five mobile phones, a notebook computer and a PC.…
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Battered body found in rubber plantation
CHALONG, PHUKET: Police have yet to identify the body of a man found beaten to death in a rubber plantation off Soi Nakok early Friday morning. Chalong Police Duty Officer Anukul Nuket was notified of the body’s discovery at 9:30 am and went to the scene, about half a kilometer from Chao Fa West Rd on Soi Nakok in Chalong…
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Komkai killing: second suspect surrenders
PHUKET CITY: The second of five suspects wanted for conspiracy to commit murder in the high-profile contract killing of Jintana Plaza heiress Komkai Kositkoon turned himself in to police on Thursday afternoon. The suspect, 46-year-old Sopol Latrana, surrendered himself to Region 8 Police Commander Santarn Chayanon and Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongtong at Phuket City Police Station at 5…
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Body found at sea presumed to be missing cook
PHUKET: Earlier today, Marine police found what they suspect is the body of the last victim from the Choke Somboon 19 dive boat accident in which seven people went missing on March 8 when the vessel capsized during a storm about 12 miles off the coast of Phuket. Having found and identified the bodies of six missing tourists who were…
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Car crash cash cow
SRISOONTHORN, PHUKET: Road accidents can be costly for insurers, so when a dead ox was the cause of a two-car collision on Wednesday local police came up with a pragmatic way to ease one insurance company’s financial burden. Thalang Police Duty Officer Prakorb Boonkwan, notified of the unusual accident on Wednesday morning, was the first to arrive at the scene.…
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Thai Obama sings to a different tune
SARABURI: While your average Southeast Asian would struggle to make his way in the world as a Gerorge W Bush lookalike, America’s dashing new president is providing some exciting new career prospects for some men across the region. One Indonesian has already found fame in the Philippines owing to his uncanny resemblance to President Barack Obama. He was well compensated…
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Irishman fights off crazed attacker
RAWAI, PHUKET: An Irish guesthouse operator is lucky to be alive after fending off a brutal nighttime assault by a crazed, gun-wielding intruder on Tuesday, March 3.Roger Corrigan, 48-year-old proprietor of the Majestic Villas resort on Saiyuan Rd, was awoken at about 4:30 am by a man who jumped on him as he slept in his bed and began beating…
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Dive boat disaster: Japanese victim recovered
PHUKET CITY: The body of missing Japanese dive tourist Hirotsuga Yuba was recovered by divers this morning, leaving only the Thai cook of the ill-fated Choke Somboon 19 unaccounted for after the vessel sunk during a storm on Sunday night. The bodies of four European tourists who were trapped in their cabins when the vessel capsized were recovered by divers…
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Pattaya, not Phuket, to host ASEAN meetings in April
BANGKOK (TNA): Citing a lack of facilities in Phuket, the government has chosen Pattaya as the venue for two meetings for Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) leaders and their dialogue partners next month, according to Minister of Foreign Affairs Kasit Piromya. Thailand earlier said that it had planned to host the Asean+3 and Asean+6 in Phuket, but Mr Kasit…
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