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Man arrested for British tourist’s murder
BANGKOK (AFP): A 31-year-old man has been arrested in Bangkok on suspicion of murdering a British tourist and seriously wounding his travelling companion, police said today. Saichon Lomgun was arrested late on Thursday in a hotel in downtown Bangkok and charged with premeditated murder and carrying an unlicensed gun. “The suspect has cooperated with police and we expect to conclude…
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Chuan sacks driver after seizure of pirated CDs
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai has sacked his driver after police seized pirated compact discs which were about to be delivered to his official residence, police said this afternoon. Police guarding Chuan’s home said they made the bust as Malaysian national Liew Chee Kong, 41, arrived at the prime minister’s residence to allegedly hand over 80 illegal CDs…
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Investigator gives evidence in Tong trial
PHUKET TOWN: The prosecutor in the trial of five men accused of participation in the June 24, 1997 murder of American Danis Wayne Tong today called Pol Capt Thanet Poungmanee, investigation inspector of Chalong Police Station, to the witness stand. The trial was adjourned until November 5. On trail are Manit Panme, Pratin Praktong, Prajuab Sukkong, Pairat Raksawong, and Hugo…
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British tourist shot dead in Pattaya
PATTAYA (AFP): A British tourist was shot dead and another seriously wounded during an attack in a Pattaya bar early yesterday, British embassy officials said today this morning. An embassy spokesman named the dead man as Terence Morley, 31, from Romford in Essex. Dean Brendan Sherrin, also from Romford, was seriously wounded. “We regret to confirm that Mr Morley died.…
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Thai team “favorite for pétanque victory’
PHUKET: The two Thai teams that will compete in the World Junior Pétanque Championships at the end of next week reckon they should be favorites to win the tournament, based on their performance in training and their experience in overseas competitions. Prarot Thongpratet, vice-secretary of the Thailand Pétanque Association, said, “Thailand has been runner-up three out of the five times…
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Lions Pearl raises B600k for Child Watch
KARON BEACH: The Lions Club of Phuket Pearl raised 600,000 baht for the Child-Watch Phuket charity during its “Ray of Hope” Gala Dinner on October 9 at the Phuket Arcadia Hotel. The money came from the sale of dinner tickets, raffle tickets, and auctions. Vilaiwan Dienel, President of Lions Pearl, said, “It is a worldwide Lions tradition to honor the…
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Two tourists survive, four missing in boat mishap
BANGKOK, (AFP): Two Singaporeans narrowly escaped with their lives today and four other tourists are missing after a sightseeing boat overturned on Bangkok’s Chao Phraya River, police and rescue officials said. Police said they were still searching for the missing passengers, whose nationalities were not immediately known, as well as the driver of the traditional Thai long-tail boat. Police said…
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Man arrested for stealing, cooking dog
PHUKET TOWN: A worker from Isaan was arrested on Saturday after he was caught cooking a dog he had stolen from a neighbor. Pol Capt Suwarit Prommul of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that police were called by the dog’s owner, a Khun Kanda. She told them that in the morning she had let her one-year-old dog out…
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Three murdered on road to Bangkok airport
BANGKOK, Oct 17 (AFP): Thai police have launched a major investigation into the murder of three men from Hong Kong early Saturday morning. Chen Jian-jun, 40, Chan Kam-yin, 41, and Hong Leong, 41, were killed shortly after midnight as they travelled on a main highway heading to the Bangkok airport, police said. They said the men had taken a taxi…
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Burmese fisherman murdered by gang
PHUKET TOWN: A Burmese fisherman was stabbed to death in the early hours of Thursday morning in a boat at the entrance to the fishing port on Soi Si Sena, near Phya Thai Hospital. He was the third person murdered in the fishing port in the past week. Pol Lt Passakorn Sonthikul of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette…
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Hotel guests robbed of 25,900 baht
PHUKET TOWN: An Italian tourist and his Thai girlfriend, who came to Phuket from Chiang Mai to see the Vegetarian Festival, were robbed of 25,900 baht and their credit cards on Thursday. Pol Maj Winai Kongkaew of Muang Station said that the couple, who were staying at the Suksabai Hotel in Phuket Town, admitted that when they went out to…
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German tourist drowns off Kata
KATA: A German tourist, named by Phuket Town police as Mr E. Utzke, aged 68, drowned off Kata Beach on Wednesday. Mr Utzke was staying at the Kata Beach Hotel with his wife. Police believe he may have suffered cramps while in the water. Alerted by people on the beach, members of the Kupai Foundation searched for him using a…
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Lauda begins scheduled flights to Phuket
PHUKET: Austrian airline Lauda Air on Tuesday began scheduled flights between Phuket and the Austrian capital, Vienna. On Tuesdays the airline flies Vienna-Phuket-Bangkok-Vienna. On Saturdays, from November to March only, it will fly Vienna-Bangkok-Phuket-Vienna.
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Thai banks slash interest rates for foreigners
PHUKET: Thai banks here and across the country have quietly followed the legions of tuk-tuk drivers and street vendors who practice “two-tier” pricing – one for Thais and another for foreigners. In this case, the pricing relates to interest paid on savings accounts and fixed deposits. While the rates paid to foreigners vary from bank to bank, almost all are…
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Standard and Poor’s doubtful about bank recoveries
BANGKOK (AFP) – Thai banks need a further injection of 863.5 billion baht (23.3 billion dollars) to restore solvency, global ratings agency Standard and Poor’s said in a report issued today. The report was critical of the high levels of bad loans as well as capital quality, and expressed doubts whether restructuring efforts are sustainable. “Thailand’s banking sector still requires…
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Tong trial postponed because defendant has flu
PHUKET TOWN: The trial of five men charged with participation in the murder of businessman Danis Wayne Tong was adjourned today until October 21. Lawyers for the accused told Judge Pachara Panichwara that one of their clients, Pratin Praktong, was suffering from influenza and therefore unable to attend the court. They argued that it would not be fair to continue…
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Two arrested for “black money’ scam
PATONG: A German restaurant owner last week had a lucky escape from West African con artists who nearly tricked him out of 300,000 baht. Instead of getting away with the money, the two confidence tricksters ended up in the police cells, awaiting a date with the judge. Pol Col Kokiat Wongvorachart, superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that…
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Depositors sue bank over embezzled deposits
PHUKET TOWN: Twelve people holding time deposit and savings accounts in Bangkok Bank’s Thepkrassatri Rd branch are suing to recover a total of more than five million baht allegedly embezzled by bank employees. One of the victims was Chamnong Tiansub. “On September 1, my daughter was called to the bank by [one of the accused] who told her to bring…
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Tobacco excise tax goes up tonight
BANGKOK (AFP): Tobacco taxes are to be raised from midnight tonight in an effort to offset government revenues lost by diesel tax cuts last week. The cabinet endorsed a Ministry of Finance proposal to increase the excise tax on tobacco products, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai said. “Cigarettes are the main target for this tax adjustment,” he said, following a weekly…
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Residents in fear after second murder in two days
PHUKET TOWN: People living in the area of the Fishing Port have asked police to step up patrols after two murders in as many days. Both victims were stabbed to death. The first body was found on Friday, as reported in the Gazette’s online news the following day. On Saturday, police were again called to the port area where another…
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Man found beaten and stabbed to death
PHUKET TOWN: A man thought to be a fisherman was found dead at the entrance to the fishing port on Soi Si Sena, near Phya Thai Hospital, yesterday morning. Pol Maj Pissanu Pullwonk of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that the man, who has yet to be identified, was wearing a gray T-shirt and blue slacks. “His head…
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Provincial Councillor killed in road crash
PHANG NGA: Arkom Ackasinthawangkool, 39, a businessman and member of the Phuket Provincial Council, was killed instantly on Thursday night when his Range Rover car was hit by a bus on a tight bend near Baan Bangwan, Kuraburi District. Khun Arkom, known in Phuket as “Kom Sapam”, was the owner of the Khon Thai 1 bar in Phuket Town and…
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40 businesses sign up for Millennium party
PATONG: Some 40 companies in Patong have signed up to support a TAT project to count down to the Millennium with a beach party that will include the launching of thousands of miniature hot-air balloons and a massive fireworks display. Anuparp Thirarath, director of the TAT, told the Gazette this morning that he had “sent my proposal to about 150…
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Bangkok Bank ATMs to close tonight
PHUKET: All Bangkok Bank ATMs across Thailand will be closed from 6 pm this evening until 4 pm tomorrow (October 9), so that the bank can test the readiness of its cash point system for Y2K. The only exceptions will be in Bangkok, where the ATMs will close at 10 pm, reopening at 4 pm tomorrow. Mongkol Thongprasarn, assistant manager…
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Hermaphrodite poses problem for prison
BANGKOK (AFP): Prison authorities in Thailand are debating where to house a suspected drugs offender found to possess both male and female sex organs, officers said this afternoon. Police initially sent the 22-year-old to the women’s wing of the jail in the central province of Lop Buri to be held pending trial, but officers there soon began to suspect she…
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Festival flag “may be one for the Guinness Book’
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization plans to contact the publishers of the Guinness Book of World Records to see whether a massive yellow flag, made specially for this year’s Vegetarian Festival, is a world record. The flag, which is 9,999 meters long and carries uplifting messages in Thai, may already be seen, running along the roadside from the…
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Woman found dead in Suan Luang Park
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a young Thai woman was found floating in a canal in Suan Luang Park on Chaofa Rd early Saturday morning. The body was discovered by a security guard in the park. He alerted police who, with the help of staff from the Kusonlatham Foundation, retrieved the corpse. Pol Maj Amnuay Kraiwutthianant, in charge of investigating…
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Gazette sports reporter comes up a champ
PHUKET TOWN: The Gazette’s own sports reporter, Elke Cheong, yesterday beat off all-comers to win the women’s prize in the 1st Phuket Mini-Marathon, run on the streets of Phuket Town. Elke covered the 10-kilometer course in a time of 44:07 minutes, beating Kanlaya Odoom and Jamruensuk Kao-ien to take the overall women’s title. Overall winner of the race was Pawin…
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Embassy raiders flee, hostages unharmed
BANGKOK (AFP): The siege of the Myanmar embassy in Bangkok ended this afternoon almost as swiftly as it began yesterday, with the five gunmen being flown in a police helicopter to Ratchaburi Province, near the Thai-Myanmar border, where they are reported to have fled into the countryside. On landing, they released Thai Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand Paribatra and one other…
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Armed group storms Myanmar embassy in Bangkok
BANGKOK (AFP): A group of 12 men armed with grenades and AK-47 assault rifles stormed the embassy of Myanmar (Burma) in central Bangkok just before noon today. Some 20 embassy staff are believed to have been taken hostage or to be trapped in their accommodation in the compound. In a statement faxed from inside the embassy, the group said the…
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