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Murder suspect may be charged in Germany
KAMALA: A police officer from the German Embassy in Bangkok visited Kathu Police Station on Tuesday to gather evidence regarding the November 13 murder of 21-year-old Waraporn Tawaetwong in Kamala. Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, says that the officer is gathering documents so that police in Germany can charge Walter Roland Oberleitner, 39, a German national…
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Local official shot dead in Krabi
KRABI: An assistant poo yai baan in Tambon Kao Panom, Krabi, was gunned down early yesterday morning after he got into a fight with the owner of a rubber plantation. Police told the Gazette that Jamikon Sung-rod, 25, shot Chob “Yam” Nuan-on, 36, during a fight in the Kao Tong restaurant, which is on the road from Kao Panom to…
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Four tourists die in bus accident
BANGKOK (AFP): Four Malaysian tourists were killed and another 30 seriously injured in Thailand early today when their bus careened off the Asian Highway and overturned. The group was on its way to the southern city of Hat Yai, as part of a tour of Thailand that took them as far north as Chiang Rai. The accident occurred in Nakhon…
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Thaksin found guilty of false declarations
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s anti-graft watchdog ruled today that leading prime ministerial candidate Thaksin Shinawatra was guilty of filing a false declaration of his assets, an offence that could result in him being banned from politics for five years. The nine-member board of the National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) voted 8-1 that Thaksin “intentionally filed a false statement of assets”, said…
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Crashed cement truck blocks road
KATHU: A cement truck overturned on a sharp curve on Patong hill at noon today, forcing traffic police to close the road for two hours. The driver, Jarouy Promhoun, lost control of the truck after stalling the engine on the way up the hill, Pol Cap Kittipong Claikaew told the Gazette. The truck, owned by Chalong Concrete Co, overturned just…
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African men imported for Thai sex industry
BANGKOK (AFP): African men are being transported to Thailand to work in the capital’s commercial sex industry, reports said earlier today. African male prostitutes have become “fairly popular among gays and wild older women,” the Nation daily said, quoting a Thai man who frequently purchases the Africans’ services. Transported to Thailand from Ghana, Nigeria, Senegal and the Sudan, the men…
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Astrologers say recovery not on cards for 2001
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s influential astrologers say their crystal balls and tarot cards confirm what financial analysts have learned from spreadsheets and graphs — the economy is in for a tough time in 2001. Hopes that Thailand could shake off the legacy of the 1997 economic crisis in the New Year will be dashed, as the forces of nature forecast the…
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Man arrested for suitcase murder of Briton
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai police said this afternoon that they had arrested a 19-year-old Iranian man on suspicion of involvement in the murder of a British man whose dismembered body was found in a suitcase in a Bangkok suburb. The body of 52-year-old John Morris Neville, part-owner of a hotel in the Thai capital, was discovered on December 9, packed into…
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Post Office ready to face the world
PHUKET TOWN: Thanks to a piece of technical wizardry introduced by the Phuket Post Office and local company C&P Sticker, letter writers now have the chance to use their own personal stamp on the envelope. It’s being done to mark International Children’s Day. Anant Muangmee, an officer at the Phuket Post Office, explained that those wishing to send letters with…
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3 die, 36 hurt in bus crash
THALANG: Three people died yesterday afternoon when a Phuket Central Tour bus crashed on Thepkrasattri Rd about a kilometer south of the entrance to the Yacht Haven. The remaining 36 passengers, including six foreigners, were injured. Just 45 minutes after it left Phuket Town, bound for Bangkok, the bus flipped onto its side and crashed off the road on an…
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Airport boss moved to Chiangmai
PHUKET: Suthara Huangsuwan, the boss of the Phuket International Airport, was abruptly moved to a new post in Chiang Mai yesterday. An airport official denied that his transfer was the result of his inability to solve the problem of “black” taxis at the Phuket airport, which came to a head on December 16 when a licensed taxi driver was beaten…
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Disappointing start to Tourist Police raids
PATONG: The Phuket Tourist Police, under their new inspector, Pol Lt Col Supawat Sookjaroen, have launched a series of raids that will continue until January 15, and which will be aimed at reducing crimes against tourists. Lt Col Supawat was a “little disappointed” by the results of the initial raids on Tuesday, he told the Gazette. “We expected to catch…
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Paedophile placed on FBI’s most-wanted list
BANGKOK (AFP): The FBI’s decision to put accused paedophile Eric Rosser on its most-wanted list was welcomed today by Thai child rights activists who said it served as a powerful warning to sex criminals. Rosser, a former piano player at Bangkok’s prestigious Oriental Hotel and a tutor to the city’s elite, is believed to be the first paedophile listed among…
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Economy may be headed for another recession
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand risks heading into another recession unless monetary policy is eased in the face of a slowing economy, ING Barings said in a report released yesterday. The merchant bank downgraded its growth forecast for 2000 to 4.0 percent from 4.8 percent, a day after official data clipped expected GDP expansion to 4.5 percent from an earlier goal of…
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Airport taxi driver beaten to death
PHUKET: Airport limousine operators threatened to blockade Phuket International Airport yesterday after a “black” taxi driver allegedly beat a legitimate limousine operator to death on Saturday in front of the airport. A fight broke out between Kanisorn “Lert” Downchoowan, 35, the black taxi driver, and Chart Ketwongworachat, 58, the legitimate limousine operator, at around noon after the two argued over…
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Mother rescues daughter from beggar gang
PATONG: A mother from Isan has been reunited with her daughter after three terrifying years during which the girl was kidnapped by a gang and set to work begging on the streets of Patong. Three years ago, Huad Sooksaeng, 34, from Buri Rum, decided to come to work in Phuket. She left her four-year-old daughter, Kesorn, in the care of…
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Navy thanks Governor with flowers
PHUKET: The Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Navy Third Fleet, Vice Admiral Sathirapan Keyanon, today presented Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi with flowers to thank him for his role in resolving the Cape Panwa blockade last week. The Governor played a central role in resolving the blockade by local villagers after a Navy non-commissioned officer shot a local Muslim…
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PAWS elects new chairman
PHUKET: The Phuket Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) committee has appointed Howard Cant as chairman, with responsibility for promoting awareness of the society’s activities and for improving efficiency. Eric Wells, the former chairman of PAWS, has resigned and has now set up Dogs in Danger in Thailand (DIDIT), to continue his work for the welfare of neglected canines. The PAWS committee…
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New Tourist Police chief arrives
PHUKET: Pol Lt Col Supamit Sukjaroen has arrived on the island to head up the tourist police in Phuket, Krabi, Phatthalung, Trang and Nakhon Sri Thammarat. He replaces Pol Lt Col Chak Onnim, who has been reassigned to a post as deputy superintendent of Phra Kanong Police Station in Bangkok. Lt Col Supamit was previously Inspector of investigations with the…
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Villagers lift Cape Panwa blockade
AO MAKHAM: Following a mass meeting between villagers and high-level government officials last night, and agreement by the officials to two additional demands made by the villagers, the blockade of Cape Panwa ended peacefully this morning. A barricade across the road leading to the cape was erected on Wednesday as part of a mass protest at the shooting to death…
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Tom yam gung ‘may block cancer’
BANGKOK (AFP): Tom yam gung, the Thai spicy prawn soup, contains ingredients that may help prevent digestive cancer, researchers announced today. Substances found in galangal, lemon grass and kaffir limes, three main ingredients in the soup, are effective in inhibiting tumors in the digestive tract, said the researchers, who work for Kyoto and Bangkok universities. “A combination of the main…
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Governor detained by angry mob
PHUKET: The Governor of Phuket and a number of officials, including senior police and navy officers, were detained for nearly six hours today by an angry mob demanding justice over the killing of a 16-year-old boy last night. The mob also blocked a main road, trapping a number of tourists inside the Cape Panwa and Panwaburi resorts. Commodore Preecharn Jamjaroen,…
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OrBorTor takes over Chalong tap water
CHALONG: As of today, the Chalong Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) will be responsible for supplying tap water to residents of Moo 6, Chalong, which includes Wat Chalong and Baan Na Kok. The OrBorTor will also collect money direct from users. Up until now, the water supply has been managed by the Provincial Administration Organization.
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‘Local’ soccer team beats celebrities
PHUKET TOWN: A team comprising local footballers and members of the Thai national soccer squad stamped their authority on Saturday’s match to celebrate the reopening of Surakul Stadium, with a 7-5 victory over a celebrity side. Thai international Sutree Suksomkit, playing for the “Locals”, was the first to find the net after just nine minutes. A few minutes later, Sutree’s…
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Brit dies in car crash on way to airport
PHUKET TOWN: British national Allan Winston Allford, 50, died instantly from head injuries sustained in a car accident on Friday afternoon while on the way to the airport. Arriving at the scene on Chao Fa Nork Rd, opposite Soi Sa Nguan Sak, police found Mr Allford’s jeep upside-down in a drain. Mr Allford’s body was still trapped behind the wheel.…
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King’s Cup ends on a breezy note
PHUKET: The 14th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta – the biggest yet – came to a close on Saturday with skippers and crews reinvigorated by good winds after a week of light breezes had turned much of the racing into a frustrating exercise for crews and regatta jury alike. As the last day of racing dawned across Phuket, the largest fleet…
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Phuket-Krabi flights mark launch of Air Andaman
PHUKET: The new Phuket-based airline, Air Andaman, will take to the air on Monday with a twice-daily service between Phuket and Krabi. The frequency will increase to three flights a day from Friday. Montri Rattanapiphop, Regional Sales Manager at Air Andaman’s Bangkok office, told the Gazette, “We will fly from Phuket to Krabi at 0930 and 1720. The return flights…
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King’s Cup: wind disappoints again
KATA: White caps on the waves and a spectacular start by the Premier Cruisers gave everybody hope that Wednesday’s Andaman Sea Race would see hard, fast competition. The race, sponsored this year by Volvo, has a reputation for being long and hard – a grueling 40 nautical miles around the southern tip of Phuket, between Koh Racha Noi and Koh…
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Interpol to be contacted over murder suspect
KAMALA: Police have applied to the Governor of Phuket for an arrest warrant for Walter Ober Lener, 39, who is wanted in connection with the November 13 murder of his 21-year-old Thai girlfriend, Waraporn Tawaetwong. “The Chief of Kathu District has sent a request to the Governor which, once signed, will authorize us to notify Interpol that Lener is a…
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40 illegals, 5 employers netted in crackdown
PHUKET: About 40 illegal workers and five people employing them have been arrested since a crackdown on illegal labor began last Friday. Vowing to continue to arrest illegal workers and their employers, Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi yesterday noted, “There are people who do not agree with me for cracking down. “I have even heard that some employers may raise a…
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