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Firms urged to promote tourist VAT refunds
PHUKET TOWN: To help boost the tourism industry and the local economy, all tourism-related businesses should promote and take part in offering value-added tax (VAT) refunds for tourists, Suri Buakhom, Deputy Director-General of the Revenue Department, said today. Speaking at an all-day seminar to promote and explain the system, known as VRT (VAT Refunds for Tourists), K. Suri said, “All…
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Three land officials “guilty’ – inquiry
BANGKOK: The SorPorKor 4-01 land investigation in Phuket reached a milestone yesterday when an official inquiry found that the former Chief of the Phuket Agricultural Land Reform Office, Surat Wasinwattana, had intended to destroy important evidence related to the issue of illegal SorPorKor papers, after investigators found documents in his house and car. The inquiry found two other officials, Ittichai…
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F-16 fly-by “no cause for alarm’
PHUKET: The roar of an F-16’s jet engines ripped through the air over Phuket at 3:20 this afternoon, startling more than a few people across the island. The Royal Thai Air Force warplane was on a practice run from its base in Haad Yai and back again, said Sumeth Charoensin, Watch Supervisor of the Phuket branch of Aeronautical Radio of…
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Evason dispute ends
RAWAI: The industrial dispute involving nearly 350 staff of the Evason Phuket Resort is over, following negotiations and arbitration by officials from the Phuket Labor Office. In an official statement released last night, the resort announced, “The Labor Office encouraged both parties to meet and hold discussions. The [hotel staff] union withdrew its outstanding demands and accepted all demands made…
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Second Hilton deal for major Phuket resort
BANGKOK: Hilton International Co is to take over management of Karon’s Phuket Arcadia Beach Resort, which will be rebranded as the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa from October 1 next year. The deal between Hilton International and PPC Holdings Ltd., which currently runs the resort, was announced today. It is the third addition in as many months to Hilton’s…
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Phuket, Samui property show tops expectations
HONG KONG: Contracts worth a total of more than 180 million baht for the sale of homes in Phuket and Koh Samui were signed at the second annual Phuket & Samui Property Exhibition at Hong Kong’s Convention and Exhibition Center on September 12-14. At the show, organized by Graham Doven and Artasia Press, and co-sponsored by the Phuket Gazette, Laguna…
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Three arrested in porn VCD raids
PHUKET TOWN: Police last night arrested three men and seized 191 lewd VCDs in raids on CD vendors at the Tai Rod market, near the Shell gas station on Phang Nga Rd. Led by Phuket Provincial Security Affairs Chief Nikorn Torhiranyapreuk and Pol Capt Sommai Ornkam, of Phuket Town Police Station, a team of six plainclothes officers raided the vendors…
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Quake tremors stir Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Tremors from a distant earthquake that measured 5.0 on the Richter scale were recorded in southern Thailand early on Sunday. Thawat Thantumnu, Director of the Southern Meteorological Center, West Coast, said that the quake, with its epicenter about 360 kilometers away in Sumatra, Indonesia, was felt on the island at 3:42 am. “Phuket has nothing to fear,” he…
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Phuket buses hailed a success
PHUKET TOWN: The revamped Phuket bus service is a success, Samroeng Chaisorn, Vice-President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), said today. Speaking at a press conference at the OrBorJor offices at Phuket Provincial Hall, K. Samroeng said, “Under the old system, the bus service cost the OrBorJor 1.7 million baht in rent and operating costs a month, but in…
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Beware bogus inspectors: PPEA warns
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) today warned people to beware of a gang posing as PPEA workers who rob homes during or after bogus inspections. Sornchai Uparamai, the Manager of the PPEA, said that the gang members, dressed in PPEA workers’ uniforms, arrive unannounced at homes and ask to inspect electrical appliances or the electrical meter, claiming that…
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Whale bombing unlikely, says biologist
PHUKET TOWN: A local marine biologist has cast doubt over local press reports that the whale that washed up on a Koh Racha Yai beach on Monday died as a result of the illegal use of explosives for fishing. Phuket Marine Biology Center (PMBC) biologist Kongkiat Kittiwattawong, who has been contact with island residents by telephone, told the Gazette today…
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200 villagers demand justice in shooting
PHUKET TOWN: About 200 villagers from Rawai descended on Phuket Provincial Hall this morning to demand that police expedite the investigation into the September 6 shooting of a 17-year-old boy, allegedly by an off-duty policeman. The shooting, which occurred at 2 am at the Monkey Pub on Takuapa Rd, in Phuket Town, has left the first-year Phuket Technical College student…
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Drunk with noose cooks own goose
TRANG: One can cheat death for only so long, as residents of tambon Kok Lor in Trang province learned recently when an elderly villager hanged himself “accidentally on purpose” while drunk. The “accidental” suicide occurred on August 16, when 76-year-old Sian Ninlata suspended a rope from a roof beam, placed his head in the noose and stumbled around drunk on…
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Why love’s a blast
KAMPHAENG PHET: They say you’re never too old to fall in love. But if that’s true, then it must follow that you’re never too old to blow away a romantic rival with a shotgun in a fit of jealous rage, either. When 73-year-old land owner Samraan Imsuwat rented out a piece of land to 71-year-old Nou See-uso to cultivate jasmine…
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Murder 101: lessons in killing
PHITSANULOKE: Region 6 police apprehended three members of a five-man gang in Phitsanuloke province who shot and killed at least three people and injured several others in at least 10 shooting incidents in Phichit and Phitsanuloke provinces. Among their victims were teachers, military personnel, secondary school students and even a little girl. In confessing to the shootings, the suspects –…
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Officials monitor Singapore Sars case
PHUKET: Officials are monitoring the progress of a new case of Sars in Singapore in case precautionary measures again become necessary for direct flights from the island-nation to Phuket. A 27-year-old post-graduate student in Singapore has contracted the virus and 25 other people who had been in contact with him have been quarantined. While the case brought back memories of…
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One-year stay financial threshold to double
BANGKOK: A high-ranking official in the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok has confirmed that the minimum financial requirements for any foreign man wishing to apply for a one-year permit to stay on the basis of being married to a Thai will double from July 10 next year. Currently, a foreign man married to a Thai woman may obtain a one-year permit…
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Phuket gets set for Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET TOWN: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi chaired a planning meeting today for the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which will run from September 25 to October 5. “We invite everyone from near and far to participate,” the Governor said. Prasert Fakthongphon, President of the Phuket Shrine Club, said, “We’d like to preserve this ancient tradition. If we don’t help to preserve it,…
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Protesters seek power for the people
PHUKET TOWN: More than 200 villagers protested today at Phuket Provincial Hall about the lack of adequate electric power for their homes in a small community off Chao Fa East Rd in Chalong. About 1,000 people live in 570 dwellings at Kok Tanode, also known as Chalermprakiat, without permanent electricity, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi was told when he met a…
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10 Indonesian fishermen nabbed
AO MAKHAM: Ten Indonesian fishermen are being held at Phuket Provincial Prison after being arrested on Saturday night for fishing illegally in Thai waters. The two fishing boats the men were crewing were seized after being intercepted by two patrol craft from the Third Fleet, Royal Thai Navy, about 30 kilometers from Koh Racha Yai. Thai fishermen alerted authorities to…
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Dolphin, whale die on beaches
PHUKET: Monsoon storms are probably to blame for the deaths of a young dolphin found on Mai Khao Beach and a whale found at Koh Racha Yai. The 1.7-meter spinner dolphin was discovered by staff of the JW Marriott Phuket Resort and Spa at 4 pm yesterday. Supot Chantrapornsyl, Marine Biologist at the Phuket Marine Biology Center, told the Gazette…
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Phuket to get new police chief
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Kongpol Suwannaraks has been promoted to Assistant Commissioner of Police Region 8, based in Surat Thani, with effect from October 1. Gen Kongpol’s promotion was one of 202 police promotions and transfers recently approved by the Cabinet as part of the annual reshuffling of government employees. Gen Kongpol told the Gazette that he…
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Finance Minister has high hopes for growth
CHERNG TALAY: Suchart Jaovisidha, Thailand’s Minister of Finance, today annnounced that he expects steady economic growth in the Asian region for the rest of the year. “We are pleased that, despite a weak international environment due in part to the Sars outbreak and the war in Iraq, which affected the first half of the year, we expect the region to…
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Chanote title project underway soon
PHUKET TOWN: As part of a national campaign to standardize land ownership titles, people who have property deeds other than Chanote have been asked to contact the Phuket Provincial Land Office (PPLO). Thailand’s Land Department is currently undertaking a survey of the entire country and, starting in the 2004-2005 budget year, will launch a drive to upgrade all land papers…
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PM praises Phuket to Apec ministers
PHUKET: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra praised Phuket in his keynote address to delegates attending the opening session of the 10th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Finance Ministers’ Meeting today. “Apart from attending this Apec meeting, I hope you will also have the opportunity to experience some Thai culture and the astounding beauty of Phuket, Thailand’s largest and most renowned island,”…
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New Governor CEO lists priorities
PHUKET TOWN: Developing Phuket further as an attractive destination for tourists and solving the island’s chronic shortage of water are two top priorities, the Governor CEO-in-waiting, Udomsak Usawarangkura, told his first media conference yesterday. K. Udomsak, who will take over from Pongpayome Vasaputi on October 1, said the controlled expansion of Phuket Town was a third vital concern. The Department…
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American, 61, found dead in Karon
KARON: Police are searching for a Thai woman who may be able to throw light on the circumstances surrounding the death of 61-year-old American citizen David Lee Dilley, whose body was found yesterday. The woman, Nanthira Srimuang, from Ubon Ratchathani province, has not been seen since Mr Dilley’s body was discovered at the couple’s rented house on Patak Rd, Karon,…
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Thaksin arrives for Apec meeting
PHUKET: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrived in Phuket late this afternoon, direct from Brunei, to preside over tomorrow’s opening ceremonies of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Finance Ministers’ Meeting at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket. This evening the Prime Minister is due to meet with governors and senior police officers from the 14 southern provinces. The meeting, at the…
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Fake goods raids continue
PATONG: Two fake goods vendors were caught and imitation brand-name goods with a street value of 1 million baht were seized in raids last night, Tharadol Thongruang, Deputy Director of Phuket Commercial Affairs Office, told the Gazette today. The 1,000 items seized included fake Levi, Lacoste, Calvin Klein, Camel and Polo brands. One vendor selling fake goods on Soi Bangla…
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Dramatic drop in motorcycle mayhem
PHUKET: An increased police presence on Phuket’s roads has been credited for a dramatic drop in the usual motorcycle mayhem during the July-August period. Nine people died in motorcycle incidents between July 20 and August 20 – well down on the 14 deaths during the preceding period and a huge drop on the 26 motorcycle deaths in April-May. Ampaipan Pawawattananusorn,…
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