News
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Gambling cases top crime stats again
PHUKET: Gambling cases once again topped the crime lists in Phuket for the period between January 1 and 15, according to statistics released yesterday by the Phuket Provincial Police. A total of 163 people were arrested for gambling in the course of 96 police raids. Following close behind were illegal immigrants; 94 were caught in the same period. Drugs also…
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Thaksin voted in as PM
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s House of Representatives today elected Thai Rak Thai party leader Thaksin Shinawatra as the nation’s 23rd prime minister, by a majority of 340 votes to 127. Another 30 MPs abstained and three MPs were absent. Thai Rak Thai and its coalition partners, Chart Thai and New Aspiration, were bolstered in the vote by the support of 15…
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Scheduled blackouts announced
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced the following scheduled blackouts for the month of February: The PPEA will be clearing tree branches and installing orange insulating covers on power lines in these areas. The blackouts will last from 9 am to 4 pm. February 13: Chao Fa Nai Rd from the Kwang Rd intersection to the Tah…
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Airport passenger figures still rising
PHUKET: The number of passengers arriving at and/or departing from the island via Phuket International Airport continues to rise, according to the latest figures released by airport officials. Passenger throughput in December last year rose to 347,720, an increase of 13.51% over the figure for December 1999. The number of passengers on domestic flights increased by 14.16% to 205,939, while…
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Activist’s alleged killer arrested
THALANG: Bancha Noppawong, 34, from Songkhla, was arrested yesterday evening on a charge of murdering environmental activist Jurin Rachapol in Pa Khlok on January 30. K. Jurin died after being shot three times while searching for cashew leaves in a forest near to the Wachara Prawn Farm in Pa Khlok. Contrary to earlier assertions by an official that Bancha had…
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Another fishing port murder
PHUKET TOWN: A man was found murdered in the fishing port in Mu 7, Tambon Rassada, early yesterday morning. Pol Maj Thanet Phuangmanee of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette, “A crewman from a fishing boat told me that as he was moving fish from the boat to the dock he saw the body floating in the water. He…
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Unpaid fornication hits “sex workers’
BANGKOK (AFP): The advent of casual sex is bad news for Thailand’s prostitutes who are going idle as their customers increasingly engage in pre-marital sexual relationships, according to a government report. The Ministry of Public Health said a study of 10,000 sex workers revealed each woman had on average only one customer a night, compared to an average of 1.5…
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Dengue fever arrives early
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PHO) has warned that there is an increased risk of dengue fever infection this year. From January 1 to 26, 11 cases of dengue fever were reported in Phuket, all in the Muang and Thalang districts. The highest number of patients was reported in Tambon Rassada, followed by Tambon Wichit and Tambon Mai Khao.…
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Prawn farm owner arrested
PHUKET TOWN: The owner of the Wachara Prawn Farm in Pa Khlok, Somsak Wongsawanond, 36, from Songkhla, reported to police in Phuket Town Police Station last night after a warrant was issued for his arrest on one charge of illegal possession of a weapon and another of discharging a weapon in a public area. The warrant was issued last week…
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Frightened villagers meet Minister
PHUKET AIRPORT: Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Banyat Banthadtan was today scheduled to meet with villagers from Pa Khlok to listen to their views about the recent assassination of environmental activist Jurin Rachapol. The meeting was arranged to allow the villagers to make an official request to K. Banyat – whose ministry is in charge of Thailand’s police –…
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Governor goes into cyberspace
PHUKET: The Governor of Phuket, Pongpayome Vasaputi, now has his own email address for people who wish to make suggestions to him. He has also launched the provincial government’s new website at https://www.phuket.go.th, in line with a Ministry of Interior policy to have every province set up a presence on the Internet. The website, which is currently in Thai only…
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Dry season for Phuket Island Lager
PHUKET: Lovers of Phuket Island Lager will have to exercise some restraint over the coming week; distributors are being rationed after an unforeseen surge in sales resulted in demand outstripping supply. “We’re not completely out of stock, but we can’t match demand,” said Ekaraj Intravisit, general manager of Phuket Island Trading Co. “If a customer wants 10 boxes of beer,…
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Pattaya firm takes over Phuket radio station
PHUKET: The end of a four-year contract has seen Pattaya-based Sunshine Radio win the rights to run the local government radio station, 101.5 FM Phuket. Sunshine Radio won the contract direct from the Phuket branch of the Mass Communications Organization of Thailand (MCOT) in Bangkok. The amount of the winning bid was not announced. “Previously, the contracts were won on…
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Governor urges swift action on murder
PA KLOCK: Phuket Provincial Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi this morning visited the site where environmental activist Jurin Rachapol was shot dead yesterday. He urged the Thalang police to find the gunman quickly and to conduct their investigation as fairly and thoroughly as possible. Gov Pongpayome was accompanied on his visit by Pol Maj Gen Kongpol Suwannaraks, Commander of the Phuket Provincial…
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Environmental activist shot dead
PA KLOK: Environmental activist Jurin Rachapol, 50, was shot dead this morning while out collecting cashew nut leaves for salad. Pol Capt Anan Jengjit of Thalang Police Station said that K. Jurin went into the forest around 9 am with his wife. He was shot three times; two bullets hit his left shoulder while the third hit his head, killing…
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IBAP elects first general committee
PHUKET TOWN: Members of the International Business Association of Phuket (IBAP) elected the organization’s first general committee at a meeting at the Royal Phuket City Hotel on Friday. They also adopted its constitution. The new committee is headed by Chairman Satit Viddhayakorn, managing director of Bangkok Phuket Hospital. Oraual Paethong, manager for South Thailand of Pacific Leisure (Thailand) Ltd was…
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Nationalists: Soros not welcome in Thailand
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand will not be putting out the welcome mat for international financier George Soros when he fronts up here next week, say angry nationalists who accuse him of sabotaging the Thai economy. “Our foreign ministry should bar entry to a man who has hurt 60 million Thais, and turned Thailand into one of the United States of America,”…
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Police raid law-breaking pubs
PHUKET TOWN: Police launched a series of raids in the early hours of yesterday morning, targeting establishments known for ignoring opening and licensing laws. The raids resulted in seven establishments being caught flouting the law. Kung Ja Restaurant and Nam Fon Karaoke were charged with staying open after the 3 am closing time. Establishments charged with operating without a license…
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Six tourists arrested for drugs at “rave’
KANCHANABURI (AFP): Six foreign tourists have been arrested on drugs charges after a raid on a “Black Moon” party at a campsite in this western province, police said today. More than 100 backpackers were netted in the crackdown on an all-night “rave” at a local holiday spot. Police swooped on the site early on Thursday, seizing ecstasy pills and marijuana.…
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Bag-snatchers have a busy week
PHUKET: Motorbike-riding bag-snatchers have been busy over the past week, police report, with two or three cases a day, all in the same area south of Phuket Town. “Most of the thefts took place on Chao Fa Nok Rd, Chao Fa Nai Rd, Kwang Rd, or Sakdidet Rd,” said an undercover policeman who asked not to be named. “They work…
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Thief steals 500,000 baht while victims sleep
PHUKET TOWN: A well-known Ranong fishing raft owner and his wife lost close to 500,000 baht in the early hours of Tuesday morning when a thief stole into the Phuket Town hotel room where they slept. Pol Lt Khaneung Pitakkullatorn of Phuket Town Police Station said that the victims, 39-year-old Apirak Sornsom and his wife, were staying at the Phuket…
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62 election results thrown out
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s Election Commission today threw out poll results in 62 constituencies where the winning candidates were accused of cheating in the January 6 national elections. Thaksin Shinawatra’s Thai Rak Thai party earned more than half the disqualifications, with five of its candidates being found guilty of corruption and 27 others being handed warnings over graft allegations. The Democrats,…
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Bar owner rounds up turtle hatchlings
BANG TAO: Local bar owner Tony Somrak discovered 95 Olive Ridley hatchling turtles on the beach in front of the Banyan Tree Resort late last night. “This is the first time that I’ve seen turtles hatch,” Tony told the Gazette, “and it was only because we had a small family picnic on the beach last night. When I went back…
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Chuan to open major seminar in Phuket
PHUKET: Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai will open the 18th National Chamber of Commerce Seminar, which will take place in Phuket on February 3 and 4, hosted jointly by the Phuket Chamber of Commerce and Thai Chamber of Commerce (TCC). The seminar, which is expected to draw about 150 participants representing chambers of commerce from across Thailand, will begin at 8:30…
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Urgent call for B negative blood
PHUKET TOWN: Wachira Phuket Hospital has issued an urgent appeal for Type B negative blood for a young Thai woman who is bleeding internally. Surin Khomkaew, 17, who was six months pregnant, arrived at the hospital this morning complaining of severe stomach pains. Tests revealed that her unborn child had died. Following an operation to remove the fetus, K. Surin…
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Crackdown on traffic violators planned
PATONG: The Superintendent of Kathu Police Station has warned that from February 1 his officers will begin a crackdown on people who break traffic laws, particularly in Patong. Pol Col Paween Pongsirin told the Gazette that Patong’s traffic problems have worsened since police began taking a softer line on law-breakers last October. The softer line was introduced in response to…
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Bag-snatchers back in action
PHUKET: Bag-snatchers on motorbikes are back in action in Phuket after a seven-month lull, with two cases reported yesterday, one in Phuket Town and the other in Thalang. In June last year there was a spate of bag-snatching cases, with robbers on motorbikes riding up alongside their targets and snatching handbags from the baskets of their victims’ bikes. With the…
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Dutchman held for working illegally
PHUKET TOWN: A Dutch national living in Phuket was arrested on Saturday evening for working without a work permit. Police told the Gazette that Provincial Defense Officers, led by Chief Nikorn Torhiranpruek, were conducting a sweep for illegal workers when they found William Pittel, 46, helping his Thai wife to sell limes at the Down Town Night Market, opposite the…
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Airport bomb hoax
MAIKHAO: At 5:15 pm yesterday, an anonymous phone call was made to staff at Phuket International Airport by a man claiming that a bomb had been planted and was set to go off in 30 minutes. The call was made from a public phone by a man believed to be a Thai. After immediately notifying the police, staff informed the…
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Airport traffic rises again
PHUKET: Passengers arriving or departing the island via Phuket International Airport continue to rise, according to the latest figures released by airport officials. The passenger throughput in November rose to 311,292 – a rise of 4.59% – compared to 299,139 in November, 1999. The statistics show that 311,292 passengers went through the airport in November, compared with 299,139 in the…
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