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Golf: Two holes-in-one, one man, one game in Phuket
PHUKET: Long-term Phuket resident John Connelly, 58, smashed all records Saturday morning when he carded two holes-in-one in a single round of golf at Phuket’s Blue Canyon Country Club. According to an estimate published in Golf Digest magazine, the odds of such an occurrence are about one in 67 million! Connelly, with a handicap of 13, achieved the feat while…
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Sports Complex design complete, but still no building budget
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Design work on a long-awaited sports complex on 240 rai of state land in Mai Khao is now complete, but the project remains without funding. Promchote Traivate, head of the Phuket Office of Sports and Recreation Development, said the latest design consists of a 4,000-seat multi-purpose hall, a 15,000-seat football stadium with retractable roof, an “extreme sports”…
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Sirinath Park standoff now in Day 2
SAKOO, PHUKET: Some 100 protesters have roadblocked the entrance to Sirinath Marine National Park, hoping authorities will do away with sharply increased entrance fees that are keeping tourists away and hurting their businesses. The new fees, which took effect about two months ago, have made access to the park much more expensive – prohibitively so for many tourists who used…
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PM says ‘no’ to bullet-proof car
BANGKOK / PHUKET: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday declined an official offer to use a state-owned bullet-proof car, despite having received many death threats in recent days. He refused to change to the bullet-proof model offered by his security team and said that the offer had nothing to do with the assassination threats. The team told him that they did…
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Road accident update: Day 6
PHUKET: The death toll over the first six days of this year’s “7 Days of Danger” road safety campaign is now up to three, following the death early Sunday morning of a worker in the back of a pick-up in Koh Kaew. The Road Safety Center, set up by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket), identified the deceased…
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Man arrested for KorTorMor shooting
PHUKET CITY: The son of the owners of a popular car repair chain has been arrested for allegedly shooting another man in the back inside the KorTorMor nightclub at 1 am on January 1, bringing New Year’s festivities there to an abrupt end.Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit, who is personally overseeing the investigation, said fighting broke out between Sombat…
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Italian dies in road accident
PHUKET CITY: Two people, including a foreigner, died in road accidents in Phuket during the first three days of the government’s “7 Days of Danger” road safety campaign that began on December 30. Nattadawan Maneerangsrisuwan, an officer at the provincial Road Safety Center, set up by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket), said the first casualty reported was…
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Swede dies in Kata guesthouse
KARON, PHUKET: A young Swedish man was found dead in his room at the Kata View Guesthouse Sunday morning, according to a report in a local Thai-language newspaper. Police at 9 am on Sunday responded to a report of a death in the Kata View Guesthouse on Soi Koktanode in tambon Karon. Arriving at the scene with rescue workers from…
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Red Cross Fair starts today
PHUKET CITY: The annual Red Cross Fair kicks off at Saphan Hin tonight and runs until January 10. As in past years, the fair will be a fun time for the entire family, with OTOP products for sale, food and beverages, stage shows, exhibitions and a wide variety of entertainment. There will also be some real bargains available, with handcrafted furniture…
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Countdown to 2009 underway
PHUKET CITY: Watch out Times Square, tropical Phuket has launched its most impressive New Year’s Countdown activity ever at Surin Circle, in the heart of Phuket City. Organized jointly by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) and Phuket City Municipality, the “Colorful Phuket Countdown 2009” activities kicked off with a special opening ceremony on Christmas night with opening speeches by…
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Teen survives shooting
KOH KAEW, PHUKET: A 16-year-old boy being treated at Vachira Phuket Hospital for gunshot wounds was shot in the chest and right arm early on the morning of December 28, a local Thai-language newspaper has reported. Phuket City Police received a 191 report of the shooting at about 2 am. By the time police arrived at the scene, at the…
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Aussie arrivals receive Christmas surprise
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Airports of Thailand (AOT) held a “Splendid Phuket Merry Christmas & Happy New Year 2009” event in the main terminal building of Phuket International Airport on the afternoon of December 26. Phuket Governor Preecha Ruangjan, AOT Chairman Wuttipan Wichairat and Phuket International Airport Director Wicha Nernlop were on hand to preside over the activities, which included staged…
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New Government to continue free water project
PHUKET CITY: Consumers will be glad to know that a nationwide project that exempts most homeowners from having to pay water bills will continue under the new Government. The exemption, part of a six-month economic stimulus package introduced by ex-prime minister Samak Sundaravej, started in October. Sawong Sri-in, Director of the Phuket Municipality Water Supply Division, told the Gazette that…
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Two foreign tourists die in Rawai in two days
RAWAI, PHUKET: Two foreign tourists were found dead in their rooms in Rawai early this week. The first was identified by Chalong Police as American Martin Howard Schechter. Mr Schechter, 67, was found in the bed of his rented bungalow in Rawai Village 4. At about 11 am on Monday morning, the staff grew concerned because Mr Schechter, who they…
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Phuket remembers the tsunami
PHUKET: Today marks the fourth anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami, which was triggered by an earthquake that measured close to nine on the Richter scale. The tsunami hit Phuket on the morning of December 26, 2004. More than 5,000 people, mostly international tourists, were killed in Thailand’s six Andaman coastal provinces when the killer waves struck. Indonesia, India and…
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Phuket Airport to fall short of 6 million passenger milestone
PHUKET / MAI KHAO: A “Splendid Phuket Merry Christmas and Happy New Year” event will take place on Boxing Day at Phuket International Airport, replacing a previously scheduled activity to welcome the airport’s record 6 millionth passenger in 2008. Airport authorities expected the 6 millionth passenger to arrive around Christmas, but the milestone will not be reached because of the…
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Holiday road safety measures set
PHUKET: Nine major road checkpoints and 18 smaller “mobile units” will be in operation around Phuket from December 30 to January 5, 2009. The checkpoints form the final phase of a three-pronged effort to combat road accidents over the holiday period. This year’s strategy, coordinated by the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM), started with…
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Pair nabbed for passing bogus bills
PHUKET / SRISOONTHORN: Thalang Police on Wednesday night arrested two men for passing counterfeit banknotes at local shops and restaurants. Thalang Police Duty Inspector Anukul Nuket identified the suspects as 24-year-old Nikorn Raksapol from Nakhon Sri Thammarat and Pattipong Nuea-nan, 31, from Chiang Rai. The pair were arrested at about 11 pm in the Fah Sai Restaurant in tambon Srisoonthorn…
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Crime crackdown hits city streets
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Police have deployed 180 police officers to man six checkpoints around the city as part of a crime crackdown that began on December 17 and will end at 6 am on the morning of December 20. Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit told the Gazette police have already opened 10 new cases as a result of…
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Burglar arrested with B1.5m in stolen goods
CHALONG: A cat burglar released from prison last year is now back in custody, arrested on Sunday with over 1.5 million baht in stolen goods – mostly Buddhist amulets. Also arrested were his two alleged accomplices, one a 16-year-old boy. The arrests were announced a press conference later the same day led by Police Region 8 Commander Santarn Chayanon. The…
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Youth loses face in explosive sex act
ANG THONG: Following on from last week’s report about the unfortunate Army private with the fish caught in his throat comes yet another sorry tale from a Thai youth about the perils of putting foreign objects in one’s mouth. This story came to light when an eighteen year old youth, identified only as Chai, was brought in to Wisetchaichan Hospital on December 7…
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Kids lifesaving carnival on Saturday
KAMALA: A “Nippers Mini Surf Lifesaving Carnival” will be held on Saturday morning, December 20, at Kamala Beach, near Kamala Park and Kamala Police Station. The competition, open to kids five to 15 years of age, is organized and conducted by the Phuket Lifeguard Club. Children from local schools and swim clubs are invited to attend the carnival, which is…
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Blackout tomorrow in city’s south end
PHUKET CITY: Residents of much of Phuket City’s Talad Neua sub-district will be without electricity from 9 am to 4 pm tomorrow, as the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) will cut the power to replace pylons along three main roads. The affected area starts from the Tha Kraeng three-way junction near Suan Luang Park in the south, runs north along Chao…
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Phuket Immigration clarifies new visa rules
PHUKET CITY: At a press conference held late yesterday, Phuket Immigration confirmed that foreigners arriving without visas at any of Thailand’s non-airport immigration checkpoints will be granted permits-to-stay of only 15 days, half the former number. The conference was led by Phuket Immigration Superintendent Chanatpol Yongbunjerd, who also confirmed that the former rule limiting foreigners entering on “visa exemptions” from…
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Phuket businesses seek debt moratorium
PHUKET (The Nation): Cash-strapped tourism businesses in Phuket are seeking debt relief in order to deal with the current downturn in tourist arrivals at a time when hotel occupancy rates are normally at their highest. Somchai Pathamakantin, founder of the Phuket Seashell Museum and representative of tourist business groups on Kata and Karon beaches, today proposed to Phuket Governor Preecha…
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Work on new Phuket City market almost complete
PHUKET CITY: Work on the new public market on Ranong Rd in downtown Phuket City is now 90% complete, according to officials at Phuket City Hall. City official Udom Tansakul yesterday told the Gazette that the only work left to be done involves installation of vendors’ stalls and other finishing touches. The city has already paid 14 of 16 installments specified…
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Police nab alleged extortionists
PHUKET CITY: Two young men were arrested on the morning of December 8 in Tambon Rassada for beating up an off-duty sailor, stealing his safety helmet and walkie-talkie, and then allegedly using the equipment to pose as government officers to extort money from Burmese workers. At a press conference led by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Apirak Hongtong at the Phuket…
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Thai tourist beaten, stabbed, robbed
PHUKET CITY (SAPHAN HIN): Police have issued an arrest warrant for a motorcycle taxi driver who assaulted and robbed a passenger early yesterday morning and left him bleeding in the middle of the road. A local Thai-language newspaper identified the victim as 43-year-old Nakhon Sawan resident Kittiporn Jongsiri, holder of a master’s degree from prestigious Chulalongkorn University. From his bed…
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Wife fatally stabs husband in clinic
PHUKET CITY: A man stabbed in the shoulder by his wife went into shock and died while receiving hospital treatment early Sunday morning.Phuket City Police Duty Inspector Sarit Butnongsang told the Gazette he received a report at 3:20 am on Sunday of a stabbing at Mor Term Medical Clinic Branch 2, a traditional Thai medicine clinic located in a commercial…
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Phuket business community pleads for stability
PHUKET: With it still unclear whether the Democrat Party or the Pheu Thai Party will form the next Thai government, top figures in the Phuket tourism and real estate sectors say a return to stability is the key to restoring the local economy. Tanan Tanphaibul, President of the Phuket Real Estate Club, says the Phuket business community is calling for…
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