News
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Governor heads anti-gambling parade
PHUKET TOWN: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi led a parade today urging people not to gamble during football’s World Cup, which begins tonight. A microphone and speakers were used to address bystanders as the governor and police moved in a cavalcade of vehicles around Phuket Town this afternoon. Later, anti-football gambling brochures and information about penalties for gambling will be distributed,…
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British woman drops rape charge
NAI HARN: A 20-year-old British resident of Phuket today agreed to drop charges of rape against a man from Songkhla after negotiations at the Provincial Court. Details are sketchy, but sources who asked not to be named told the Gazette that the two had been seen together in intimate proximity on three successive evenings. On Wednesday evening, they had been…
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It’s official: Phuket goes crackers
PHUKET TOWN: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is to stage a Fireworks Festival at Saphan Hin on July 26. More than 4,000 skyrockets and other fireworks, costing about 2 million baht, will be fired off in a 45-minute spectacular, which the TAT hopes will attract tourists from overseas and from neighboring provinces. If it is successful it will become…
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Restaurants warned: no alcohol after 2 am
PHUKET: Restaurants, as well as pubs and nightclubs, must stop selling alcohol after 2 am or face losing their licenses for good, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi warned today. “If any restaurants disobey, I will stop them selling alcohol permanently,” he told a monthly meeting of about 100 senior provincial officers at Phuket Provincial Meeting Hall. In a wide-ranging address, he…
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Probe finds road is substandard
CHERNG TALAY: The committee investigating the 4-million-baht road fiasco in Moo 2 Cherng Talay, today dug up the road in question and announced that accusations that the road is shoddy are well-founded. Committee chairman and Thalang District Chief Kanthee Silapa announced the findings after a three-hour meeting at the Cherng Talay Administration Organization (OrBorTor) offices. Although invited, neither the road…
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World Cup hits tourist arrivals
PHUKET: Predictions that Phuket will reap windfall profits as thousands of football fans head for the island, seeing it as the perfect venue for sun, sand and soccer, are, apparently, wide of the posts. Anupharp Thirarath, director of the Phuket office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), today told the Gazette that the World Cup has had the opposite…
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Damaged cable slows Internet access
PHUKET: Access to large parts of the Internet has been slow, if not impossible, since Sunday when an undersea telecoms cable was damaged between Taiwan and Japan. It is unclear what caused the damage. One source at a local Internet service provider (ISP) said the damage was caused by sharks mistaking the cable for a large fish. But Thitiporn Panichphol,…
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Another murder in “Burmese Cemetery’
PHUKET TOWN: Another victim of a vicious stabbing frenzy was found floating yesterday morning in a small mangrove klong by Si Sena Rd – an area that is becoming known locally as the “Burmese cemetery”. He had been stabbed about 50 times. Pol Maj Pitsanu Poonwong of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that local residents called the police…
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Crackdown on Burmese labor imminent
PHUKET: In what it describes as an effort to protect Phuket’s image, the island’s work permit committee has announced that officials will soon begin arresting illegal Burmese laborers living “in a campsite on a mountain”. Vice-Governor Manit Wattanasen, chairman of the committee, said that a request has also been sent to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare to reduce…
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Three toddlers drown in tin mine lagoon
PHANG NGA: Three toddlers drowned in a lagoon in an old tin mine on Sunday after wandering off from their grandfather’s home in Tai Muang. Pol Maj Somporn Paungthong, inspector of Tai Muang Police Station, said that Prapaet Jaikeaw, 53, called police to report that the bodies of his three grandsons, three-year-old Apiwat Jaikeaw, two-year-old Watcharin Chunak and two-year-old Supawat…
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Navy arrests Burmese timber smugglers
RANONG: The Royal Thai Navy stopped a suspicious boat in Thai waters around Koh Chang, Ranong, last Saturday, and found it full of timber, which the boat’s 10-man Burmese crew were apparently trying to smuggle into Thailand. Vice-Admiral Pairoj Theerachai, Commander of the Third Fleet, said that a warship spotted the 20-meter gray boat lurking around the island. The cargo…
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Health Office issues dengue advisory
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has issued its traditional annual advisory about dengue fever. Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong, chief of the PPHO said today, “This is the time when the fever spreads. Because of the rain of the past few weeks, the number of cases has increased. The average is 10 a week, but last week 20 were reported.”…
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Trailer-truck flips on curve
PHUKET: A 10-wheel truck towing an 8-wheel trailer and carrying 900 bags of cement overturned on Chao Fa West Rd last night. While the overturned truck and trailer made for a dramatic scene for motorists on their way to work this morning, no one was hurt in the accident. Pol Maj Peeraphan Meemak, inspector of Phuket Town Police Station, told…
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Client privacy at risk in Thai banks
BANGKOK: A story in today’s “Nation” reveals that the Thai government may have sought, and may still be seeking, direct online access to the accounts of companies and private individuals doing business with any of Thailand’s commercial banks. The Thai Bankers Association, citing customer privacy, has rejected a request, made through the government’s Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), for direct links…
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June Bahtra tour boat seized
PHUKET: Phuket Marine Police and officers from the Bangkok-based Economic Crime Investigation Division this morning seized one of Phuket’s best-known tourism icons, the junk June Bahtra 2. The officers seized the 16-meter wooden boat from the Yacht Haven marina on allegations that the owner, East West Siam Ltd, had presented forged documents when registering the boat eight years ago, in…
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Bars urged to close on holy day
PHUKET TOWN: Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, yesterday urged bars and nightclubs to close tomorrow (Sunday) and requested shops to refrain from selling alcohol between noon and midnight as a way of showing respect on Visakha Bucha Day. Col Paween told the Gazette, “I have sent a notice to bar owners asking them not to…
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Drugs summit in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: The National Security Council held a meeting today behind closed doors at the Royal Phuket City Hotel to discuss ways of combating drug proliferation in Thailand. Sixty officials from the central government and Phuket reviewed results so far in the current “war on drugs” at the meeting, which was chaired by Kachadpai Burusapatana, Secretary General of the National…
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Burmese katoey stabbed to death
PHUKET TOWN: A Burmese katoey [transsexual] has been found murdered behind the Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) office on Srisena Rd. Acting on information received, Pol Capt Watcharin Jiratikarnwiwat and other officers from Phuket Town police station found the man’s body on Wednesday in a machinery shed, face down in a pool of blood. The man, later identified as “Bee,” had…
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Committee to probe shoddy road
CHERNG TALAY: Following a protest by villagers on Wednesday about the poor quality of a new concrete road in Moo 2, Cherng Talay, a special committee has been formed to investigate the handling of the 4-million-baht budget for the project, and the officials involved. Siri Yokthong, chief of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), said yesterday that the OrBorTor…
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Thai-Malaysian Naval exercise concludes
AO MAKHAM: A ceremony was held yesterday to mark the conclusion of a joint naval exercise between the Royal Thai Navy Third Fleet, the Malaysian Navy and the Marine Police. Burma’s sudden closure of its border with Thailand added some interest, but the annual event, which started on Sunday, was otherwise without incident. The exercise featured the Royal Thai Navy…
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Villagers protest over shoddy new road
CHERNG TALAY: Some 60 villagers in Cherng Talay staged a protest this morning on Soi Masjid Langkao, complaining about the rapid deterioration of a new concrete road running through the village. The villagers accused unnamed officers of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) of acting without transparency in this and other construction projects in the tambon. During the protest,…
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Oops! Auditor mislays B1.5 million
PHUKET TOWN: British vacationer Michael Michalke is a lucky man after recovering all of the 1.5 million baht he left in his Phuket hotel room at the weekend. Lucky and a little red-faced: back home, Mr Michalke is an auditor. The 50-year-old Brit and his 29-year-old Thai girlfriend, Rungtip Praujanteuk, checked into the Pearl Hotel on Montri Rd on Saturday…
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Indonesian boats caught fishing illegally
CHALONG: Phuket Marine Police boarded two Indonesian fishing boats moored near Koh Racha Noi on Sunday and arrested 10 crewmen for fishing illegally in Thai waters. Pol Lt Col Prathuang Srilamontri, inspector of the Phuket Marine Police, said that he had received a report from an investigation team that foreign boats had been seen fishing in Thai territory. At around…
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Campsite plan for Nai Yang beach
PHUKET: Tourists will be able to camp out on Nai Yang beach under a proposal to set up a company to run a campsite business, with profits going to the local community. The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), and the Moo Baan Saku Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) want to set up Saku Co with local stakeholders providing sites, equipment and…
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Immigration steps up English skills
PHUKET TOWN: Thirty officers from Immigration Division 3, the division for Southern Thailand, today began a four-day English-language workshop at the Pearl Hotel with the aim of improving their English skills. The course, called the English Language Training Camp II, was organized by the Immigration Bureau in conjunction with Chulalongkorn University Language Institute to improve the quality of Immigration service…
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Teenage couple busted for dealing drugs
PHUKET TOWN: Police arrested two teenagers suspected of selling ya bah (methamphetamine) in Phuket Town on Saturday. The Phuket Special Unit Police force, led by Pol Capt Suwarith Prommul, nabbed Weerayut Puangmalai, 19, and his 17-year-old girlfriend, at around 2 pm in their rented room on Soi Pachanee, Rassadanusorn Rd. Pol Capt Chokchai Suthimake said that Weerayut was a repeat…
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Phuket looks at creative ways to raise funds
PHUKET: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi says he is seeking new ways to raise additional funds to develop the island. The provincial government, he explained, receives 3.2 billion baht a year from Bangkok. About 2 billion baht of this covers fixed costs such as salaries and equipment, while the remaining 1.2 billion baht is allocated for specific projects. So far this…
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Sewerage project almost complete
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok has announced that the final phase of the project to upgrade Phuket Town’s sewers is nearing completion. Speaking at a press conference, Mayor Phummisak said, “Phase 2 [the final phase] of the project is 77% complete and is on target to finish on schedule, on January 2 next year.” He explained that, of…
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Burmese fisherman stabbed 50 times
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a man believed to have been a Burmese fisherman was found behind the abandoned Phaya Thai Hospital building on Si Sena Rd yesterday. The victim had been stabbed some 50 times. Pol Maj Pitsanu Poonwong, of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that local residents called the police after finding the body at 7:15…
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Monsoon missed Phuket – weatherman
PHUKET: The weatherman said today that the strong southwesterly monsoon predicted to hit Phuket this week missed. Tawat Tantham-nu, director of the Southwestern Regional Meteorological center, told the Gazette that while there are still scattered clouds and isolated thunderstorms in the area, the southwestern coast will remain calm. He said that, with wave heights of only about one meter, people…
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