News
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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Trang woman commits suicide in Rassada
RASSADA, PHUKET: A woman who committed suicide by hanging was found in the living room of her daughter’s home late Tuesday morning. Phuket City Police Duty Officer Anek Mongkol identified the deceased as 45-year-old Lamoon Injan, a resident of the Wangwiset District in Trang. At about 11:30 am, Mrs Lamoon’s daughter discovered her mother’s body suspended by the neck from…
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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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Phuket has a serious new blog
PHUKET: ThePhuketInsider.Com, a major new blog described as “The Source for All Hotel & Real Estate News”, was launched today by Phuket Gazette columnist Bill Barnett, the well-known local property and hospitality consultant. Barnett is the Managing Director of Phuket-based C9 Hotelworks. His blog is slated to become something quite special for readers with an interest in the ‘Greater Phuket’…
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Red Cross Vigo auction on March 18
PHUKET CITY: The Toyota Vigo that was top prize in the 2009 Phuket Red Cross Fair raffle is to be auctioned on March 18. The 650,000-baht pick-up remained unclaimed at the midnight deadline on Saturday February 28, prompting the auction. Bidding will take place at the Phuket Red Cross Office on Narisorn Rd. Prospective buyers should arrive at the office…
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Thai AirAsia to add direct Hong Kong flights in June
PHUKET / BANGKOK: Thai AirAsia is planning to start direct flights between Phuket and Hong Kong in June and will push Phuket as a second hub in Thailand. An executive of the budget airline said daily flights between the two cities would use new A320s, scheduled for delivery in June. Phuket will be given more links with major destinations in…
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Drowning victim’s body recovered off Rawai
RAWAI, PHUKET: A fishing trip ended in tragedy on Sunday, when a small fiberglass boat with three men aboard sank in a storm off Koh Bon in Rawai. Kathu resident Attakorn Chaiboon, 40, drowned in the accident, which happened at around 8.30 pm. His body was finally recovered from the sea at 3.10 pm on Tuesday. Two survivors, 33-year-old Sittichai…
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Body of sunken dive vessel victim identified
PHUKET CITY: The identity of the female tourist whose body was recovered by a Royal Thai Navy vessel this morning has been confirmed as that of Austrian national Gabrielle Jetzinger, a source at the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) has revealed. Ms Jetzinger was among seven passengers still listed as missing after the dive…
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Body of Caucasian woman recovered at sea
AO MAKHAM, PHUKET: The body of a Caucasian woman was this morning found floating near the site of the sinking of the Choke Somboon 19, which capsized about 12 nautical miles off Phuket on Sunday night. For the original story, click here. The identity of the woman has not yet been confirmed. Her body, recovered by a Royal Thai Navy…
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Strong evidence against alleged British pedophile: Kathu Police
PATONG, PHUKET: A British man arrested for allegedly molesting four young boys was returned to Kathu Police Station for a press conference last night, but the conference was delayed pending the arrest of a second suspect on similar charges. A team of Department of Special Investigation (DSI) officers, with the assistance of Kathu Police, arrested 41-year-old UK national Dax J.…
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Seven still missing after freak storm sinks boat near Phuket
PHUKET: Following the sinking of a boat last night that was carrying tourists returning to Phuket from a diving trip near the Similan islands, six foreign tourists and one Thai member of the boat’s crew are still missing. Police have issued the following list of seven people who were on the boat but remain unaccounted for: German national Ms Jetzinger…
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British expat denies child molestation charges
PATONG, PHUKET: A British man is being held for alleged sexual assault on four young schoolboys between the ages of nine and 14. Department of Special Investigations (DSI) officer Pol Maj Jatuporn Arunleaktawin identified the suspect as British national Dax J. Young, a 41-year-old Caucasian arrested by DSI officers and Kathu Police over the weekend in his rented home in…
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Jyoti scuba dives his way to win the Singha Thailand Open
LAGUNA PHUKET: After starting the day as joint leader in the final day of the Singha Thailand Open golf tournament in Phuket, Indian national Jyoti Randhawa won the four-day event to take home the King’s Cup and nearly US$80,000. Jyoti led at the 40th Singha Thailand Open at the start of today’s play with fellow Indian SSP Chowrasia and Welshman…
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Another murder as meatball dispute turns fatal
RASSADA, PHUKET: A dispute between rival meatball (look chin) vendors ended in murder last night when one man slashed the other’s throat and left him lying dead in a pool of his own blood. The murderer turned himself in to police soon after, claiming that he had acted in self defense. Phuket City Police Duty Inspector Peeraphan Meemak was informed…
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