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Jammin’ to reopen Friday
PHUKET CITY: The popular Jammin’ nightclub will reopen Friday, following a month of rebuilding after the club caught fire early on April 1, causing an estimated 2 million baht in damage. The fire is believed to have been started by an electrical fault in the DJ pit. (See earlier story here.) Co-owner Mel Perdue told the Gazette today, “It’s all…
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Second by-election for District 2 voters
PHUKET: Voters in Phuket’s District 2 face a second parliamentary by-election next Saturday (April 29) after Thai Rak Thai candidate Wisut Santikul, running unopposed, again failed to meet the requirement of getting the votes of 20% of the electorate.K. Wisut received 8,920 votes, equivalent to 8.56% of the electorate.The one opponent who did step up, Prayoon Poonchan of the Pattana…
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Controversial plan for dolphins to “treat’ disabled people
CAPE PANWA: The Phuket Marine Biological Office (PMBC) is considering building a 200-million-baht “Dolphin Center” near its aquarium as a way of treating people with disabilities and promoting tourism. The project, which has already been approved in principal by Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura, would be run jointly with Danish marine biologist and dolphin expert Judith Kongsted. PMBC Director Wannakiat Thapthimsang…
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“Mick the Pom” jumps bail
PHUKET: When British murder suspect Michael John Taylor failed to make a scheduled court appearance yesterday, Phuket Provincial Court issued a warrant for his arrest and seized the land title document he posted as bail.Taylor, aka “Mick the Pom”, is on trial for the August 17, 2005, stabbing murder of his 28-year-old live-in girlfriend Jantra Weangta. He was released on…
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Sriyada is Phuket’s first TRT MP
PHUKET: Dr Sriyada Palimapan yesterday became Phuket’s first Thai Rak Thai (TRT) member of parliament, despite amassing only 7,893 votes – equivalent to just 8.18% of the electorate in Phuket District 1.Her opponent, Thongchai Kaewthong of the Siam Party, received 2,456 votes.In District 2, TRT candidate Wisut Santikul failed to win a seat in Parliament because he ran unopposed and…
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PAD urges Phuket to vote “no vote’
SAPHAN HIN: People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) leaders Sondhi Limthongkul, Chamlong Srimuang, Sarocha Porn-udomsuk and Suriyasai Katasila last night joined local PAD members to exhort Phuket voters to “vote for no one” in the parliamentary by-election tomorrow. The protest, the second large PAD rally in the province, got underway at dusk and finished about 2 am, attracting about 10,000 people…
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Anchalee raps Gov over hospital deal
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) is ready to buy the abandoned Phya Thai Hospital but the deal is stalled because Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has not yet approved a request for 215 million baht in bank loans to seal the deal, says OrBorJor President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr.Speaking at a press conference at the OrBorJor offices, K. Anchalee said, “[The Governor]…
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Princess to open tsunami aid HQ
PHUKET: HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn will pay a Royal Visit to Phuket next week to preside over the official opening ceremony of her Special Task Unit (STU) building in Tambon Wichit on Tuesday morning.The STU is dedicated to supporting the long-term recovery of tsunami victims in all six Andaman coast provinces. Funded jointly by Her Royal Highness’s Fund and…
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“Live with it,’ TAT tells complaining Kamala hotels
KAMALA: The losses hotels have suffered from tourists canceling bookings after seeing the rebuilding work on Kamala Beach are just a sacrifice they have to make, Wanchai Ruang-udom, the landscaping coordinator hired to complete the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Kamala beautification project, told the Gazette yesterday.“This is a sacrifice they have to make. This project was approved by Kamala…
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Funeral firefight
An all-night funeral vigil ended in a hail of gunfire when a fight broke out because one of the guests was unable to speak Southern Thai – after being ordered to by a local drunk. The unfortunate incident took place at the funeral of Aree Khaemungkhalo, whose pals were up drinking through the night of April 2-3 in order to…
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Double your pleasure
Wichai Hengjarernsook is in the junk business, and so not a man to overlook a bargain when he sees it. The 24-year-old native of Samut Sakhon’s Baan Paew District, where women are far-famed for beauty, couldn’t decide which of two identical twin sisters in his village he wanted to wed. So, being an astute businessman, he popped the question to…
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His wife’s a real bitch
Disappointment famously prompts extreme measures in victims. Disappointed of proper stage effects for his fiddling, Nero burned Rome; of artistic ambitions, Van Gogh cut off his ear; and of the American colonies, George III went mad. In Lampang Province, a 39-year-old man disappointed with women fell in love with a real bitch, – a two-year-old poodle named Olé – and…
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Big Boy is back
PHANG NGA: A popular whale shark nicknamed “Big Boy” has been spotted off Koh Surin, and around Richelieu Rock, Hin Daeng and Hin Muang, Pakdee Khruthanang of the Phuket Eco-Tourism Association told the Gazette today.“Big Boy has been spotted off Koh Surin nearly daily since the beginning of last month,” she said.“He is about eight meters long and weighs more…
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Tough itinerary for UN poll-watchers
PATONG: A group of eight UN-affiliated election experts from around the world arrived this morning to observe tomorrow’s Senate election in Phuket.Their program is a full one. This afternoon, the group observed the distribution of ballot sheets and other election materials as well as preparation of polling booths and vote-counting areas in Phuket’s three districts. Tonight they are due to…
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Songkran road death toll totals five – or six
PHUKET: Road accidents claimed the lives of five people in the province during Songkran. Or six, depending on how one counts.Officially, five people died on the roads between April 7 and April 16, officers from the Phuket Office for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM) said at a press conference this morning. This was two higher than last year’s figure and…
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Phang Nga tsunami victims “have all been helped’
KHAO LAK: All Phang Nga residents who were in need of financial aid after the tsunami have received it, either through government assistance or in the form of private-sector donations, a senior provincial official has told the Gazette.“We can say that 100% of the people who lost homes and fishing boats have had them replaced,” Vice-Governor Opas Svetamani told the…
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“Lost’ boat finally heading home
ANDAMAN & NICOBAR ISLANDS: Four months ago, Kilo, a 46-foot catamaran drifted off its anchorage in Phuket and ended up in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.Today, after three months of wrangling with officials, the yacht’s owners, Chris Sieber and his wife Surapa Srijutanat, finally set sail from Port Blair in the Andamans, bringing Kilo back to Phuket.The yacht went missing…
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Gazette offices closed for Songkran
PHUKET: The offices of the Phuket Gazette will be closed over the Songkran holidays, from Thursday April 13 to Sunday April 16 inclusive.As a result, there will be no hard-copy issue of the Phuket Gazette on April 22. The next issue will hit the newsstands on April 29.For those addicted to news, stories will still be posted in the Gazette…
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Islandia sold for B1.05bn
PHUKET: Central Hotels & Resorts and an unnamed investor have created a joint venture company named Karon Phuket Hotel Co and have bought the 316-room Islandia Park Resort in Karon. It will become the third Central property in the Karon area. The amount paid was not revealed by the partners, but hotel industry publications said that they paid a total…
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Property expo hits the mark
PHUKET CITY: Properties with a total value of more than 300 million baht were reserved at the Property Investment Exhibition 2006 (PIE), which drew to a close at Central Festival Phuket yesterday, said the organizer.Thanet Traiwut, Managing Director of exhibition organizer Delice Thai, said, “The exhibition was a success. About 80% of visitors were looking for a house and 20%…
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Songkran toll so far: 3 dead, 43 injured
PHUKET (Gazette, Nation): As of this morning, the death toll in Phuket for the government’s Songkran holiday road carnage accounting period stood at three dead and 43 injured. Officials with the Phuket Office for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM) Road Safety Center, who are keeping the statistics over the 10-day period from April 7 to 16, said there were 43…
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Rougher seas ahead for Phuket’s dive industry
PHUKET CITY: A newly formed committee met at Phuket Provincial Hall on April 5 to discuss recent developments in the dive industry, particularly accusations leveled at the industry that some dive operators have been evading tax and employing staff without work permits.Phuket’s Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Nivit Aroonrat, claimed after the meeting that Phuket’s dive industry is “concealing” facts and…
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1,000 incentives delegates at Sheraton generate B150m
CHERNG TALAY: A thousand Australians descended on the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket on April 8 for the biggest incentive program yet hosted in the Laguna complex.The organizers, Hagemeyer Electrical of Australia, a subsidiary of Dutch trading giant Hagemeyer, estimate that the three-day program, which brought 850 of the company’s top customers to Thailand, injected some 150 million baht into the…
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Six apply to run in April 23 by-election
PHUKET: Six people have applied to run in the April 23 parliamentary by-elections in Phuket, four of them in District 1, which covers Phuket City and the immediate area, and two in District 2, covering the rest of the island. The Phuket Election Commission (PEC) will take just a few days to determine which of the candidates will qualify to…
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Sriyada signs up for election replay
PHUKET CITY: Dr Sriyada Palimapan this morning registered her candidacy for Phuket District 1 in the April 23 parliamentary by-election, after failing in the April 2 general election to garner the minimum 20% of all eligible voters required for an unopposed candidate to secure a seat.Dr Sriyada, the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party leader in Phuket, ran unopposed in the…
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Easing of 80-meter rule back on the agenda
PHUKET: The Provincial Natural Resources and Environment Office (PNREO) has proposed changes to the current law limiting the height of construction in Phuket to no higher than 80 meters above sea level.A five-year ban on building above 80 meters was enforced in 1997 as a way of preventing landslides. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) extended the ban…
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French tourist dies in fall from rocks
NAI HARN: A French tourist died on Wednesday morning after he apparently slipped while climbing rocks at Nai Harn Beach, plunging onto submerged rocks below.Chalong Police Inspector Pol Lt Col Chockchai Sutthimek identified the victim as Gregory Eric Muguet, 34. The accident occurred after the victim went out for a morning walk and swim with his mother, Col Chockchai said.…
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Songkran aim: no more than 4 road deaths
PHUKET: As in previous years, the province will set up police checkpoints around the island during the Songkran Holiday period in a bid to keep road deaths and injuries to a minimum. At a conference at Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday, members of the media were each handed a 24-page stack of documents prepared by the Phuket Office for Disaster…
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New poll called for April 23
PHUKET: Voters are to go to the polls once more on April 23 after Phuket’s two Thai Rak Thai Party (TRT) candidates, running unopposed, failed to get elected to Parliament on April 2.Dr Sriyada Palimapan, running for office in District 1, which covers Phuket City and the surrounding area, garnered a total of 11,910 votes, far outweighed by the 41,903…
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All bets are off as gambling tops arrests stats again
PHUKET: Gambling, with 162 arrests made between March 1 and 25, has again topped the monthly arrests statistics, the Phuket Provincial Police announced today. Of these, 25 people were arrested for being involved in the sale of illegal lottery tickets.There were three cases of murder – including that of Preecha “Ko Noi” Kraitas (see also page 1). Three arrests made,…
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