News
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Sponsored A healthy tomorrow starts today: Celebrate the great American Smokeout day
The Great American Smokeout, held this year on November 17, is a nationwide event that encourages smokers to take their first steps towards a smoke-free life. If you’re an expat in Thailand, this day could be a timely reminder to...
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Trade Fairs Seen As Harmful To Local Merchants
PHUKET TOWN: Growing numbers of Trade Fairs traveling into and around Phuket are damaging the business of many local shops, according to the Phuket Merchants Association. They say they have been receiving waves of complaints from the shops and that some have had to close down, unable to compete with the marketing power and pricing practices of the fairs. A…
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1999 Gazette Guide Now On Sale
PHUKET TOWN: The 1999 Gazette Guide, Phuket’s Business & Entertainment Directory, or ‘yellow’ pages, is now on sale. Priced at 140 baht, the 310-page book, containing 2,504 listings, is the island’s largest business database. The Guide may be purchased at the following locations: Deli Supermarket (Patong), Dokyah Bookstore (Phuket Town), Good Earth Books & Tea Room (Kata Center), Jay’s Business…
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Municipal Schools Hiring Foreign Teachers
PHUKET TOWN: In a first for Thailand, the Phuket Municipality is to enter into a contract with a private company to improve the quality of English among primary students at municipal schools. ELT Phuket will be employed to raise the standard of English among the municipality’s teachers, according to Somjai Suwansupana, a Phuket municipal counselor. “We want to improve the…
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Navy’s Third Fleet Heightens Safety Role
CAPE PANWA: Vice Admiral Somphop Bhuridej, Commander in Chief of the Royal Thai Navy Third Fleet, announced on Wednesday that the Third Fleet will assist in ensuring safety for those who travel by boat to Phuket’s outlying islands. The announcement follows a spate of fatal accidents which occurred in the region’s public ferry services last year, and which were summarized…
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Bank To Auction Properties
PHUKET: A number of local properties will go under the hammer at the Patong and Chao Fa Road branches of Siam Commercial Bank from January 22 through 24. They include 16 townhouses, 20 detached homes, several condominium units, 26 shophouses, and land. Prices for some of the properties are expected to reach 40 million baht, while others will change hands…
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Law, Order, And Tuk-Tuk Power
PATONG BEACH: At a time when many wonder who, if anyone, is really running the show in Patong, a new contender has emerged and demonstrated that he is a force to be reckoned with. When roughly 100 tuk-tuk drivers banned together late Friday night to block Patong’s beach road for more than three hours following a police lock-up of two…
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1998 Saw Growth In Crime, Arrests
PHUKET TOWN: The number of crimes in Phuket increased by 2.5 percent to 3,065 last year, according to figures handed to the Gazette by Phuket Provincial Police earlier this week. Arrests also increased, climbing 5.9 percent to 4,504 in 1998. Police said the increase in criminal activity on the island was due to Thailand’s economic slump, rising unemployment having forced…
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Another Thai Navy Vessel Comes Under Attack
RANONG: A Royal Thai Navy surveillance vessel has been engaged in gun battle with an unidentified fishing boat for the second time in less than a month, Vice Admiral Somphop Bhuridej, Commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Fleet, told the Gazette earlier this week. Both incidents occurred in Thai territorial waters off Ranong province. On December 19, two officers…
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Swiss Tourist Robbed In Phuket Town
PHUKT TOWN: A Swissair pilot had his pack snatched while riding a rented motorbike in Sapan Hin yesterday. It was the second such incident to be reported to the Gazette by police in a period of three days. Mr Philipe Braun, 58, who is on holiday in Phuket with his family, told police two teenagers on a motorbike came along…
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TAT Guides The Way
BANGKOK: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has tightened language qualifications for the country’s army of tour guides. People now wishing to register as guides for foreign tourists must have one of the following qualifications: · A high school education with a certificate in a foreign language; · A high school education with at least 150 hours of certified training…
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Thalang Hospital Wing To Open
THALANG: Thalang Hospital will officially open its new 60-bed patient wing on February 11. The 11.5-million baht, two-story building will be opened by the Sheikhul Islam and the abbot of Wat Sa Khed. Phuket Governor Chadej Insawang will attend the ceremony. People wishing to donate money for medical equipment can contact Orapin Ratanarat at Thalang Hospital. Tel: (076) 311033-4, ext…
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The Beach Hits Phuket
Producers of the controversial movie The Beach, featuring superstar Leonardo DiCaprio, are seeking permission from authorities to film a number of scenes in Phuket. Film-makers want to shoot scenes in a shoe factory in Baan Manic from February 27 to March 17; at Cape Promthep March 3; Naithon Nui Beach on March 18; Surin Beach from March 19-22; Kata Beach…
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Poacher Pays For Monkey Business
THALANG: Phuket police have charged a 62-year-old man in connection with the poaching and killing of protected wildlife on Toh Sae Mountain. Ging Phollom, from Tambon Sri Soonthorn, Amphur Thalang, was arrested following a tip-off by members of the Toh Sae Mountain Walkers’ Club. He was found in possession of a monkey corpse, a live monitor lizard and a live…
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Police Bag Two In Chalong
CHALONG: Pol Col Decha Budnampeth, Chief of Police at Chalong, told a press conference this morning that a woman was robbed of her handbag while crossing the bridge on the road into Wat Chalong early on Saturday. The victim, Areerat Nusri, 34, reported the incident to police at Chalong station at 7:30 Saturday morning. She said the bag had been…
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Visa Criteria, Procedures Clarified
PHUKET TOWN: The superintendent of the Phuket Immigration Office, Pol Col Phirojana Praesakul, confirmed to the Gazette this morning that the financial requirements for the non-immigrant ‘O-A’ visa are as follows: 1) at least 800,000 baht in liquid funds in a Thai or overseas bank (the definition of “liquid” was not immediately available, so it was not clear whether fixed…
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More Beds For Patong Hospital
PATONG BEACH: Patong Hospital will increase its number of beds from 10 to 90 by the end of the this year in a bid to meet growing demand for bed space, according to Director Dr Taweesak Nertwong. Because of its location in the heart of Phuket’s major tourist centre, Dr Taweesak said the hospital had become too small to treat…
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Speed Limit Signs Sorely Needed
PHUKET TOWN: Widespread confusion and ignorance of the law with respect to speed limits in Phuket province was underscored in the Gazette Poll which closed at noon today. Only 22% of the 911 participants in the internet poll knew (or guessed correctly) that speed limits apply to all roads on the island (and throughout Thailand). In response to the question,…
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Water War Waged Against City Hall
The Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority has moved to take over Phuket Municipality’s Water Supply Division, claiming the division has failed to meet World Health Organisation quality standards. But the Mayor of Phuket, 1st Lt Phummisak Hongsyok, has vowed to fight the take-over, saying it would lead to a big hike in water supply prices for consumers. In a recent letter…
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Biggest Heroin Haul In Ten Years
PHUKET TOWN: In what police told the Gazette was the biggest drug case to arise in Phuket in the past ten years, authorities have seized heroin with a street value they estimate at roughly one million baht. At 3:30 yesterday afternoon, the Patong-based Kathu police received a report from the Phuket Town office of the national Narcotics Control Board (NCB)…
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Holidays Wreaked Havoc On Island’s Roads
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Provincial Police told the Gazette today that during the four-day holiday period commencing December 31, 1998 and ending January 3, 1999, a total of 40 traffic mishaps were reported. The accidents, which involved 42 cars and 39 motorbikes, left three people dead and 38 in local hospitals. According to the police, alcohol was a factor in “most”…
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Traffic Injuries Near 10,000-mark
PHUKET: Traffic-related injuries approached the 10,000-mark for 1998, the Phuket Health Department reported last week. In its report to the Phuket Governor, the agency said 885 patients were admitted to government hospitals from October 20, 1998 through November 19, 1998, including 826 with motorbike-related injuries. A total of 25 people died in traffic accidents during the period, including 19 motorbike…
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Divergent Views On Priorities For The New Year
PHUKET: Greater emphasis on education was considered the most important priority for Thailand in the new year, according to the Gazette Poll which closed at noon today. Containment of corruption ranked a close second. From the four available answers to the question, “What’s your Number One wish for Thailand in 1999?”, 34.3 percent of the internet poll’s 735 participants opted…
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Crowd Greets Arrival Of Elephants
PHUKET: Five elephants shipped back to the Kingdom from Indonesia received a warm welcome late last night as they, along with their 12 mahouts, arrived at the Deep Sea Port aboard the Sinthu Phuket. The pachyderms made headlines recently when the cash-strapped Indonesian government said they no longer could afford to continue a joint elephant training program. In October 1997,…
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Europeans Boost Arrivals
BANGKOK: Aided by double-digit growth in the European and Oceanian sectors, international tourist arrivals to Thailand posted a 7.3 percent year-on-year increase during the first ten months of 1998, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) reported today. From January 1, 1998 through October 31, 1998, a total of 6,235,639 tourist arrivals were recorded. During the same period a year earlier,…
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Honk In The New Year At Benz Sale
PHUKET TOWN: Can’t seem to find the perfect New Year’s present? Try the car park in front of the Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel where the second “Amazing Secondhand Benz Sale” is underway through December 30. The event, co-sponsored by Thonburi Leasing, Wiriya Leasing and Benz Bor Jor Nor Phuket, features attractively priced, used Mercedes passenger cars. The first such sale…
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Beach Scene Brings Out The Crowd
PHUKET: Padded lounges were occupied well before noon, masseuses had their hands full, and vendors were having a field day keeping up with demand for cold drinks as the island’s peak tourist season got underway this week. Sun worshipers turned out in droves on west coast beaches, soaking in the rays and being pampered. “It’s wonderful,” commented first time visitor…
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High Seas Firefight Kills Two Navy Officers
RANONG: Two officers of the Royal Thai Navy’s Third Fleet were killed last Saturday during a midday firefight between their surveillance vessel and an unidentified fishing boat in Thai territorial waters off the coast of Ranong province. Petty Officer First Class Chalermsak Jeenprakom and Petty Officer Third Class Amorn Panlert died of bullet wounds when the navy patrol boat Tor…
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Supercenter To Anchor Bypass Intersection
PHUKET TOWN: Ground has been broken for a new Lotus Supercenter at the intersection of Phra Phuket Road, (also known as the Samkong-Kathu Road), and the Chalerm Prakiat Ror 9 Road, (also known as the Bypass Road), on the city’s northwest side. A marketing representative for Bangkok-based Ek-Chai Distribution System, which operates the retail center chain for joint-venture partners Tesco…
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Sex Does Matter In Selling Phuket
PHUKET: To the surprise and disappointment of many local residents, the Phuket Gazette’s Internet poll for the week ended December 18 suggests that large numbers of people familiar with the island believe the local sex industry does help to attract tourists. Of the 789 participants in the poll, 54.8 percent were of the belief that the availability of ‘paid sex’…
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Tourist Police To Step Up Patrols
PHUKET TOWN: Tourist Police will be out in force in the popular beach areas as throngs of vacationers descend on the island for their annual holiday. Phuket Tourist Police Inspector Pol Maj Arnont Kamolrat said his officers would step up patrols along Patong and other beaches frequented by foreign visitors. In addition to providing assistance to tourists, officers will be…
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