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Two die in separate suicides
PHUKET: A 32-year-old katoey (transsexual), Patcha Jitbantad from Bangkok, jumped to his death from the top floor of the Sky Condo in Patong on July 15. A suicide note found in his apartment stated that he was depressed because he was suffering from AIDS. Pol Lt Col Saguan Maungtam of the Kathu Police Station said that at 5:10 am the…
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Father drowns at Kata Beach
PHUKET: A Thai man drowned on Tuesday (July 18) while swimming with his nine-year-old daughter in front of Club Med at Kata Beach. Pol Lt Teerawat Leamsuwan of Chalong Police Station said that Mana Sakulpakdee, a 54-year-old educational supervisor at the Office of Educational, Religious and Cultural Development, drowned while playing in the sea with his daughter Naruecha. Mana and…
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Suspect grabs officer’s gun, fires shot
PHUKET TOWN: A 20-year-old Phang Nga native was arrested on Monday after a fierce struggle with police, during which he grabbed an officer’s gun and fired a shot. Pol Capt Wisan Magnadsare of the Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that he and Pol LCpl Supachai Pongsuwan were patrolling on their motorbike at around 3:30 am when their suspicions…
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Bangkok-based ya bah dealer arrested
PHUKET: Police on Friday arrested a Bangkok-based ya bah dealer and his local associate, and seized 2,100 pills of the drug. Pol Maj Manat Iamchareonchaikul, an inspector with the Phuket Narcotics Police, told the Gazette that 36-year-old Narumol Bormuang, arrested July 7 on charges of possessing and trafficking in ya bah (methamphetamine), gave them information about the two men, Winai…
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Council sets up P.O. box, invites letters
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has set up a new P.O. box to receive comments and questions from local residents. Dr Prasit Koysiripong, president of the OrBorJor, told the Gazette that the purpose of the new P.O. box is to make it easy for people to ask questions or make suggestions on how to improve Phuket. “Every…
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Dutchman arrested at scene of road accident
KATHU: Johannes W. Wisser, a 53-year old Dutchman currently on trial for assault, found himself in more hot water when he was arrested early yesterday morning for several traffic violations, including reckless driving that caused injury to another motorist. Wisser, who police say has resided in Phuket for eight years, was also charged with drunken driving and attempting to flee…
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Island-wide blackout set for July 25
PHUKET: The entire island will be without power for nine hours on July 25, the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced. The blackout, from 7 am to 4 pm, is necessary because of work being done by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), which is replacing the main power line into Phuket. The new line will be able…
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Dry spell about to end
PHUKET: The dry sunny days of the past couple of weeks are about to come to a soggy end, Phuket’s weathermen have warned. Amorn Chantanavivate, director of the Southwestern Regional Meteorological Center, told the Gazette today that a southwest monsoon is forecast to hit the Andaman Sea and the entire southwest coast of Thailand tomorrow, lasting about five days. He…
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Fed-up elephant kills teaser
PATTAYA (AFP): An elephant hired to give tourists rides gored and killed his mahout’s brother, who had teased the animal for years, police said today. “They were not getting along very well and the elephant was very unhappy whenever the victim went near him,” said Pol Maj Thanakrit Larpinpisant of the Pattaya police. It was the second fatal attack by…
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“Don’t smuggle guns to Indonesia,’ ministry warns
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s Foreign Ministry today warned the nation’s fishing fleet of the possible grave consequences of smuggling guns to Indonesia’s Maluku islands, where a sectarian conflict is raging. It said that the Thai embassy in Jakarta had informed the ministry that Indonesia’s Admiral Achmad Sutjipto had vowed to sink any ship found in the area with weapons destined for…
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Don’t shoot at eclipse, mayor warns
PHUKET: With a lunar eclipse taking place next Sunday night, the Phuket Town Municipality has issued a warning to gun owners: Don’t mark the occasion by firing weapons at the Moon. Traditional Thai and Chinese belief is that a lunar or solar eclipse is caused by a malevolent giant attempting to eat the moon. It is therefore the responsibility of…
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TT&T launches new services
PHUKET: Thai Telephone & Telecommunication (TT&T) has launched a new gadget that it says will make the use of phones “more effective” – a caller ID box. The box, attached to a telephone, shows on a small screen the telephone number of the person calling in. It will also record the numbers of people trying to reach you while you…
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Four teams sign up for Rugby Sevens
PHUKET TOWN: Rugby teams from England, Malaysia, Taiwan and Thailand have already registered to play in the 2nd Phuket International Rugby Sevens Tournament, and another five countries – Singapore, China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Sri Lanka – are expected to join them. Three more teams – Wales, France and Germany – have yet to respond to invitations, Thai Rugby…
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Two busted for selling ya bah
PHUKET TOWN: Narcotics agents yesterday arrested two people on drug-trafficking charges and seized 450 pills of “ya bah” (methamphetamine). Pol Lt Worapoj Wattanasuwan, deputy inspector of the Phuket Narcotics Police, told the Gazette that the police were tipped off by an informant that ya bah was being sold from a rented house in Soi Patcharee 4 in Baan Kuku, Tambon…
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170 arrested in narcotics crackdown
PHUKET: A total of 170 drug dealers and users were arrested in Phuket during June, after orders were issued by the Commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8, Pol Gen Somsak Saibua, to crack down on narcotics abuse before the commencement of the new academic term. Six people were arrested after being caught selling narcotics, 22 for possession with intent to…
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Province campaigns against dining on dog meat
BANGKOK (AFP): A province in northeastern Thailand is asking local folks to treat dogs more like man’s best friend — and less like their breakfast. “Sakhon Nakhon province is now launching a campaign…to reduce consumption of dog meat,” announced the local provincial government earlier today. Officials are organizing trade fairs to urge people to switch to other sources of protein,…
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Local Burmese with HIV/AIDS bring huge costs
PHUKET TOWN: Recent reports about the ignorance of people in Burma when it comes to HIV and AIDS is reflected in local figures, says the Phuket Provincial Health Office. Dr Boonriang Chuchaisangrat, chief of the Health Office, said that the number of Burmese in Phuket suffering from AIDS is rising, mostly because the Burmese have little knowledge about the deadly…
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Dead katoey puzzles police
PATONG: Police are scratching their heads after beach guards pulled the body of a katoey (transsexual) from the sea near Patong Beach yesterday morning. Pol Col Kokiat Wongvorachart, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that the corpse was clad only in a black brassiere, white women’s panties and short white pants. The body has been identified as that…
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Red faces over Saphan Hin reclamation
PHUKET TOWN: Local authorities were red-faced this week after learning that part of the land reclamation at Saphan Hin appears to have been done illegally. The reclaimed land in question is next to the sea at the southeastern end of the road leading into Saphan Hin. It currently has a car park on one side and an open area on…
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21 die in traffic accidents
PHUKET: Twenty-one people were killed in traffic accidents between April 20 and May 20, according to statistics from the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. Ampaipan Pawawattananusorn of the Phuket Provincial Health Office reports that 17 of the victims died while on motorcycles, three in cars and one while riding a bicycle. In the same period, 48 people were injured…
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Korean visitor hospitalized after fall
PHUKET TOWN: A 42 year-old South Korean visitor, Kang Ki Hswan, is in hospital with serious head injuries after falling from a second-floor terrace at the Pearl Hotel yesterday morning. It is understood that Mr Hswan came to Phuket on Wednesday after being invited to the opening ceremony of the new Pearl Bowl bowling alley, held yesterday afternoon. Pol Maj…
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Foreign investment goosing local economy
PHUKET: Foreign investment in Phuket is still booming, according to the latest statistics from the Provincial Commercial Registration Office, which show that 95% of the businesses registered between June 1, 1998 and May 31, 2000 have foreign capital in them. This compares with about 65% in the two years up to May 31, 1998. “If we didn’t have the foreign…
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Policeman kills karaoke critic
BANGKOK (AFP): A police officer has confessed to killing one man and attempting to kill another because they didn’t like his karaoke performance, police said today. Pol Cpl Jirawat Sangworn, 25, has admitted both charges, claiming he was provoked by the victims’ booing and name-calling when he was about to sing the same song – a sentimental Thai ballad –…
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Turtles fail to cooperate with researchers
SIMILAN ISLANDS: Scientists, ecologists and navy personnel from Phuket and Japan combined recently on a project to attach satellite tracking tags to sea turtles in Thai waters. The only thing missing was the turtles; over a two-week period, the 12-person research team camping on Mun-Nai Island in the Similans managed to find only five turtles they could tag. Involved in…
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Third fisherman murdered in 48 hours
PHUKET TOWN: A man believed to be a Burmese fisherman was found dead in front of the entrance of the P. Pichai raft on Soi Si Sena in Phuket’s fishing port early yesterday morning. He was the third person to be murdered in the area in a period of 48 hours. Pol Capt Kanuang Pitakkulthorn of Phuket Town Police Station…
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Academic warned to stay away “or risk injury”
PHUKET: The instigator of a campaign to get a Bangkok-based academic to apologize for allegedly slandering the revered former abbot of Chalong, Luang Por Cham, has urged the academic to stay away from Phuket or risk injury at the hands of irate locals. Amnuay Koombarn, a member of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization, is leading a petition to press Dr…
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PIWC sports day raises 28,000 baht
KARON: The Family Sports Day organized by the Phuket International Women’s Club (PIWC) on Saturday at the Phuket Arcadia Hotel in Karon raised just over 28,000 baht toward the PIWC’s scholarship fund. As in previous years, fun games were organized by Claire Ratcliffe and Mark Breit of Coral Seekers. The event attracted 138 adults and children. Sponsors included the Phuket…
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Car smashes house, kills woman
KAMALA: A 45-year-old woman was killed early yesterday morning by a car whose driver lost control after avoiding a motorbike. The woman, Suda Khummitr, was sweeping in front of her house next to a bend on the Kamala beach road when, at about 6.45 am, the car hit her and then smashed into her house. The driver, a 29-year-old Australian…
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Crackdown on insect souvenirs
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Forestry Office has announced its intention to crack down on anyone selling, buying, hunting, collecting or “doing anything threatening whatsoever” to 15 species of endangered insects. The insects, four kinds of beetles and 11 kinds of butterflies, are already protected under the 1992 Preserved and Protected Wild Animals Act. Recently, dried remains of some of these…
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Pig disease “no danger to Phuket’
PHUKET: Following reports that the deadly Nipah virus is making a comeback in northern Malaysia, Phuket’s health chief today sought to allay worries that the disease may spread to southern Thailand, including Phuket. Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office told the Gazette, “So far, there have been no reports of anyone in the country getting this…
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