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Broken heart drives Norwegian to suicide
PATONG: Police believe a 31-year-old Norwegian tourist hanged himself at the weekend because his Thai girlfriend had found another man. Officers from Kathu Police Station were called to a house in Phra Barami Rd about 3.30 am on Saturday where they found the man’s body in a rented room. His girlfriend had earlier discovered the tourist, who was hanging from…
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Phuket Town water to be shut off
PHUKET TOWN: Central Phuket Town will be without tap water from 10 am tomorrow until about 7 am on Wednesday to allow a rainwater pipe to be hooked up to the main water supply. The hook up will be carried out at the intersection of Yaowarat Rd and Soi Rungrawee, near Wachira Phuket Hospital, where Phuket Town’s Public Works Department…
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Snatch-and-go robbers grab gold
PHUKET TOWN: Two men on a red Honda Dream snatched a gold chain from a woman’s neck on Thursday as she rode a motorcycle with her husband. The couple, Jian Boontiem, 68 and his wife Kiat Saetan, 68, told police they had been shopping at the market on Ranong Rd and were returning along Soi Phuton about 9 am when…
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Phuket slated for ban on firearms
BANGKOK (The Nation): Police will slap a sweeping ban on firearm carrying in Phuket under a plan to strengthen security and orderliness in the island, the national police chief said today. Only police in uniforms will be permitted to carry firearms under the plan, the time frame for implementation of which has yet to be worked out, said Pol Gen…
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Transport office silence prompts legal threats
PHUKET: A private company hoping to set up the island’s first metered taxi service announced today that it plans to sue the Phuket Provincial Public Transportation Office (PPTO) for failing to reply to its request to register a vehicle. Tawatchai Meeniam, managing director of Phuket Metered Taxi Service Co, said, “We contacted the office 15 days ago about registering our…
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PM expected to launch “Seven Wonders’
PHUKET TOWN: The “Seven Wonders of Phuket” project, which aims to attract tourists to Phuket Town, gained momentum today with the news that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra might open the first Sunday of festivities on April 7. The announcement, made by Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok at a press conference, comes before three private companies – Kantana, JSL and All…
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Watchdogs rap Thaksin for media fiasco
PHUKET (AFP & Gazette reporters): In an address to the Phuket Reporters Club last night, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi declared his support for freedom of expression in the press. Reporters are not obligated to write only good things about government, he said, noting that criticisms were both “normal” and expected. The governor received a thundering round of applause, apparently in…
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Motorbike taxi rider shot dead
PATONG: Police have launched a murder investigation after a motorcycle taxi rider was shot dead on Patong Hill last night. A blood-stained red Honda Dream and three spent shells from a 11mm pistol marked the spot on the Bonsai Curve on Phra Barami Rd to which police were called at 1:35 am. At Wachira Phuket Hospital an autopsy on the…
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Motorcycle deaths halved
PHUKET: Nine people died in traffic accidents between December 20 and January 20, according to the latest statistics from the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. The figures show a sharp decline in road deaths over previous years. In 1999-2000 and again in 2000-2001, 18 were killed in accidents during the same December-January period. In all three years, all of…
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Phuket to get German consulate
PHUKET: The German government is to open a representative office in Phuket Town on April 1, to deal with passport and visa applications and to assist German nationals with legal and health issues. Dirk Naumann will act as representative of the German Embassy for Southern Thailand while awaiting his formal appointment as honorary consul, at which time the office will…
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Police order story off worldwide web
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai police have today ordered The Economist magazine to take its controversial Thailand survey off its website, where it was made available for free after being barred from (hard-copy) distribution here. The Economist’s circulation director for Asia, Peter Bakker, said the company decided to put the 14-page survey on the website to serve readers and subscribers in Thailand…
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Economist magazine in trouble
BANGKOK (AFP): The latest edition of the Economist magazine is likely to be banned in Thailand over an article that referred to the monarchy, police said yesterday. “It’s highly likely that the authorities will impose a ban on the sale or distribution of the magazine here,” a Special Branch police source said. A police review found that a 14-page survey…
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Warning over dengue fever
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has advised people to take precautions to protect themselves against dengue fever. The warning came after statistics showed a rise in the number of dengue cases in January and February, compared with the same period last year. Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong, Chief of the PPHO, told the Gazette, “This year, there seems to be…
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Phuket to be lab for English experiment
PHUKET: On a visit to Phuket’s schools yesterday, Education Minister Suwit Khunkitti announced that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra wants to see Thais, particularly those in Phuket, speaking English as well as Singaporeans do. Phuket will be the first province to receive support in the government’s policy to improve English skills across the country, K. Suwit said. “We want to develop…
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Call for entries for tourism awards
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is inviting applications for the 4th Thailand Tourism Awards, to be presented in every region of the country on World Tourism Day on September 27. The program was set up in 1996 by the TAT with the aim of improving administrative and service quality in the industry, and to support sustainable tourism. Trophies…
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Prison stuffed with drug offenders
PHUKET TOWN: Statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Prison this week show that more than half of the prison population consists of narcotics offenders or those awaiting trial on drug-related charges. Among the 1,180 prisoners, 506 men and 109 women are in for narcotics offenses. Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of the Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette today,…
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207 arrested in labor crackdown
PHUKET TOWN: More than 200 Burmese have been arrested this week by the Phuket Immigration Police as part of national crackdown on illegal workers launched on February 10. Pol Maj Gen Ukrit Phatchimsawas, Deputy Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau of the Royal Thai Police (RTP), visited officers at the Phuket Immigration Office today to check on local progress in the…
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Gambling again leads arrest stats
PHUKET: Gambling once again topped the arrest statistics this month, with 176 people caught in 82 raids. However, police statistics show that the arrests for illegal gambling between February 1 and 24 were down from the same period in January, when 193 people were arrested in 113 raids. The police also arrested 139 people for drug-related offences, down slightly from…
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Probe promised on illegal fishing
KRABI: A senior official of the Koh Lanta National Park has promised swift action over photographic evidence of fishing at the protected Hin Daeng reef 10 days ago. Hin Daeng was recently also the target of dynamite fishing, with considerable destruction of its famed coral and marine life. The photographs, copies of which were passed to the Gazette, were originally…
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“Behave yourselves today,’ citizens told
BANGKOK (AFP): Police enforcing Thaliand’s “social order” campaign aimed at curbing drugs and sleaze, today urged citizens to be on their best behavior to mark Makha Bucha Day. Pol Maj Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen told reporters that officers nationwide would strictly monitor entertainment venues for any activity that violated the spirit of the Buddhist festival. “We ask all entertainment venue owners…
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Woman arrested over protected fish
RAWAI: Phuket Marine Police today arrested a woman for being in possession of protected fish with the intent to ship them to Bangkok for sale. Acting on a tip-off, officers arrested Ammarin Sailuenam, 27, in a raid at about 3:30 pm. They found about 500 fish belonging to protected species in tanks in the back of the house in Moo…
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Green light for walking street project
PHUKET TOWN: Thalang Rd will become a regular “walking street” between 1 pm and 11 pm on Sundays, starting from April 7. The first seven Sundays will have a “Seven Wonders” theme to attract Thais and foreigners with special activities in one of Phuket Town’s oldest and best-known streets. Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok met today with municipal officers and…
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Bars urged to close on Tuesday
PHUKET: Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon has ordered all Governors to urge bars and nightclubs to close on Tuesday, and to request businesses in their provinces to refrain from selling alcohol between noon and midnight on that day. Tuesday is Makha Bucha Day, commemorating the Patimoke Sermon by the Buddha and the first occasion on which a Buddhist monk attained Nirvana.…
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Woman fined for seeking donations
PATONG: A 57-year-old Ukranian woman has been fined 100 baht for soliciting donations from tourists without permission. Police said the woman, whom they named as Nipa Vira Panchuk, had been seeking donations for a religious organization, and told them she did not realize permission was required. Pol Lt Serm Kwannimit, of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that other foreigners…
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AAT warns of Phuket flight delays
PHUKET: The Airports Authority of Thailand (AAT) advised today that, because of increased security, outbound international passengers should make sure they allow three hours to clear processing at Phuket Airport. In some cases, flights have been delayed because tourists – or their agents and guides – have failed to allow enough time for clearing security, customs and immigration. The AAT…
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PM goes walkabout in Patong
PATONG: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra went walking in Patong this afternoon to view its problems first-hand, and later said that the environment, garbage disposal, land encroachment and public transportation were the main issues facing Phuket. He met and talked with tourists and Thais on the beach. At one point, Patong’s ex-mayor, Pian Keesin, approached the PM and gave him a…
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ASEAN pledges joint action on terrorism
PHUKET (AFP): Southeast Asian ministers today pledged a “new era” of cooperation against the global terrorist threat, with plans to link efforts to combat militancy and promote the region as a safe place for tourists and investors. At an informal retreat at the Amanpuri resort, the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers moved to counter a growing…
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Staff believe Shark will reopen
PATONG: Loyal Shark Club staff still camping outside the darkened disco in protest over its closure expect the club will eventually reopen, one of their leaders told the Gazette today. The staff also hope that expelled Canadian manager-shareholder Kevin Radke will return to run the business. The club’s Chief Engineer, Sayan Ongvimonkarn, told the Gazette that he believed the closure…
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Knife-death bouncer surrenders
CHALONG: A bouncer wanted for stabbing a man to death in a brawl in Kata Center on January 20 has turned himself in, police said today. Tanakrit “Bud Easy” Taweesaman allegedly knifed Chaiwut Yodkaew after an altercation near where Tanakrit worked at the Easy Rider pub on Tina Rd. (See also https://thethaiger.com/news/index.asp?Id=1872 .) Police Col Sati Malakanond, Superintendent of Chalong…
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PM to make lightning tour of Phuket
PHUKET: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra arrives in Phuket tomorrow afternoon for a lightning tour that will take in Phuket Town, Patong and the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ retreat at Amanpuri. The PM’s schedule is as follows: * 1:30 pm – Arrival at Phuket International Airport and then by car to Pa Khlok; * 1:50 pm – Visit “One Tambon, One Product”…
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