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Wondering if you can drink the tap water in Thailand? From brushing your teeth to filling up a bottle, it’s helpful to understand a few basics. Tap water safety in Thailand varies by location, and while some people use it...
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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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Homeless man found dead in Phuket City
PHUKET CITY: A homeless man who has lived on the streets of Phuket City for years was found dead in front of a lumber yard on Thepkrasattri Road this morning. Police have yet to identify the man, even though he was well known to local residents as an itinerant beggar. The man’s body was found in a siting position with…
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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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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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Briton gets 18 years, nine months for ATM fraud
PHUKET CITY: Despite confessing to charges against him, a British man has been sentenced to 18 years and 9 months in prison for ATM fraud. Mark Hubert Veerasawmy, 45, received the sentence at Phuket Provincial Court several weeks ago, British Honorary Consul Martin Carpenter said. Mr Veerasawmy was arrested in February last year together with his son Sonny, 20. Phuket…
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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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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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British expat killed in head-on collision
KARON, PHUKET: A British man was killed after his SUV slammed into a six-wheel truck in the early hours of Wednesday, March 18. Colin Richmond, 51, is thought to have died instantly in the crash, which happened at 1.30am at the Koktanode Junction on Patak Road in Kata. When he tried to overtake another car, his Toyota Sport Rider moved…
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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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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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Kamala roads blocked by protesters
PHUKET, KAMALA: Roads in Kamala have been blocked by protesters since yesterday evening. About 400-500 Kamala residents gathered at an intersection near Phuket Fantasea at 8pm on Tuesday evening to protest the local police station’s handling of crime in the area. The protests began at 7pm when a crowd gathered outside the station. The protesters later set up tents and loud speakers…
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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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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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PAD to hold huge rally in Phuket
PHUKET: The People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) will stage a large rally at Saphan Hin in Phuket on April 18. All five core PAD leaders – Sondhi Limthongkul, Chamlong Srimuang, Pipop Thongchai, Somsak Kosaisuk and Somkiat Pongpaiboon – are set to attend. Mr Sondhi’s Asian Satellite Television (ASTV) is organizing the rally, which will start at 4 pm and go…
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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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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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Danish man found dead in Kata hotel
KARON, PHUKET: In what police are treating as a case of death by natural causes, a Danish tourist was found dead in his hotel room at Kata Beach on Wednesday morning. Chalong Police Duty Officer Parichat Jaturonphan identified the deceased as 60-year-old Svarre Mortensen, a guest at the Tropical Garden Resort in Kata. Mr Svarre’s body was discovered lying face…
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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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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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Billionaires Lead Phuket’s Top 5 Rich and Famous Villa List
PHUKET: Thailand’s resort island of Phuket is fast becoming the place for the rich and famous in search of tropical island living coupled with great investment. According to the recently-launched Phuket Insider blog, two of Forbes magazine’s leading billionaires have uber-luxury villas in Phuket. Phuket’s “Top 5” are reported as: 1. New Zealand’s wealthiest brothers, Richard and Christopher Chandler (one…
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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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Slight drop in demand for residential properties
PHUKET CITY: Demand for residential projects in Phuket has dropped slightly due to the global economic downturn, the Government Housing Bank’s Real Estate Information Center (REIC) confirmed recently. According to an REIC survey, residential projects ready for sale in Phuket now numbered 139, or 12,334 units, said REIC Director-General Samma Kitsin at a recent seminar at the Royal Phuket City…
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Four bodies found in sunken dive boat
PHUKET: The Phuket branch of the Department of Disaster Prevention & Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) confirmed this afternoon that the bodies of four more victims from the dive boat Choke Somboon 19 have been discovered inside the sunken vessel.Deep sea divers have been working with Marine Police since first light this morning to reach the sunken vessel, which lies 70 meters below…
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