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Dulwich Principal Honored
PHUKET: Dulwich International College Thai Principal Dr Pimon Ruetrakul was recently named as this year’s “Model Citizen in Educational Administration” by the Foundation for Thai Society. The organization honors distinguished Thai citizens for their contributions in various fields. Past recipients of the society’s model citizen award include Prasit Ourairat, Uthane Techapaiboon, Chatree Soponpanich and Dr Jirayu na Ayutthaya.
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Child Advocacy Group Gets Formal OK
PHUKET: After a two-year procedural undertaking, the island’s children’s advocacy organization is now legally registered. The Child-Watch Phuket Association announced it has received formal approval of its registration by the National Culture Committee. The association currently has five ongoing projects to help improve the quality of life for Phuket’s underprivileged children. Among the projects are three facilities: a child recreation…
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Animal Support Group Fundraiser
CHALONG: The Phuket Animal Support Group (PASG) has announced it will hold a fundraiser on Wednesday, November 18, from 6:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. at Jimmy’s Lighthouse. Tickets, priced at 300 baht apiece, include a Thai buffet, one drink and entertainment. Organizers will also conduct raffles and auctions as part of the event. Proceeds will go toward PASG’s ongoing programs…
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Monkeys Move To Prime Time
PHUKET TOWN: Early morning visitors to Rang Hill are getting more than a panoramic view of the city. Reports of monkeys swinging in the trees and foraging for food are giving the well-known park some new attention. Natthanit Nithiwiroon, the morning disc jockey on radio station FM 89, said she’s been spotting up to two dozen monkeys a day in…
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Local Tourism Grads Landing Jobs
PHUKET: Graduates of Prince of Songkhla University’s Faculty of Hotel and Tourism Management program are faring better than fellow grads of the school’s other campuses when it comes to landing a job. Nine out of ten Bachelor’s degree recipients from PSU’s Phuket campus, where the four-year program is offered, found employment following their graduation in September, according to a poll…
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Fundraiser Total Tops 300,000 Baht
PHUKET: Organizers of a fundraiser for motorbike accident victim Michael Ilijash have reported that 338,000 baht was raised at last Thursday night’s event at Jimmy’s Lighthouse. Proceeds from the evening will be used to help settle outstanding medical bills totalling approximately 600,000 baht at Wachira General Hospital in Phuket and Songkhla Nakarin Hospital in Hat Yai. The event was attended…
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Pupils Have It Made In The Shade
KOH KAEW: Dulwich International College students will be busy planting trees today and tomorrow as part of the ongoing “Shadier Phuket” project. Led by Phuket Provincial Council member and Shadier Phuket Director Dr Prasit Konavipong, pupils and staff will be planting 400 donated seedlings on the campus grounds and another 600 on adjacent property.
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Carrier Offers Half-Price Tickets
PHUKET: Pacific Leisure (Thailand), a preferred agent for Lauda Air, has announced that the carrier is offering a 50 percent discount on one-way and round-trip business class seats between Thailand and Europe in celebration of its expanded flight service. The special offer applies to business class seats on Lauda Air flights originating at Phuket or Bangkok. The discount, however, does…
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Huge Turnout For Fundraiser
CHALONG: Local residents packed Jimmy’s Lighthouse last night to raise money to help pay for medical expenses incurred by motorbike accident victim Michael Ilijash, an Australian resident of Phuket who died last Tuesday after a valiant fight for his life. Expressing his appreciation to the crowd, the young man’s uncle, Mark Briet, said the event was “a celebration of Michael’s…
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Officials Report 15 New AIDS Cases
PHUKET TOWN: Government health officials recorded 15 new cases of AIDS in Phuket province and three deaths from AIDS-related complications during the one-month reporting period ending October 19. The Phuket Provincial Health Department has recorded 780 cases of AIDS since it began keeping records in January, 1989. A total of 265 deaths attributed to AIDS-related complications have been recorded during…
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Foreign Ministers Meeting In Phuket
KARON: Foreign Affairs Minister Surin Pitsuwan is in Phuket today as part of an official visit by his Bangladeshi counterpart, Abdul Samad Azad. This morning, the two participated in a roundtable discussion with leaders of the local Muslim community at the Phuket Arcadia Hotel and Resort. Before returning to Bangkok later today, the Thai minister will lead an orientation tour…
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Another Year Floats By
PHUKET TOWN: The island was aglow last evening as residents and visitors observed Loy Krathong at city parks, the seaside, resort hotels, and just about anywhere else you could find a body of water. In Phuket Town, crowds lined the reflecting pool at Saphan Hin and sent their decorative offerings on their way. Krathong vendors reported doing a brisk business,…
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Siblings Drown In Kata Tragedy
KATA BEACH: Three Thai children from the same Karon family drowned Saturday after they went swimming in heavy surf without adult supervision, Chalong district police reported. The bodies of 17-year-old Methanee Chuanchid and her sister Sasithorn, 11, were pulled from the water at approximately 9:30 Saturday night by members of the Kusonlatam Foundation Public Rescue Unit. The body of their…
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Over 300 Netted In Crime Suppression Effort
PHUKET TOWN: District patrolmen and crime suppression officers arrested more than 300 suspects on various criminal offences during the Phuket Provincial Police Department’s latest reporting period. In its crime report covering October 1 through October 25, the department said officers charged one suspect with murder, eight with assault, one with criminal sexual assault, 52 with theft, and seven with firearms…
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Walkers Headed To Isan
MAE SAI: Dennis Peacock and Boonchern Jinapirom, the two men who took to the pavement in their grassroots “Walking For Thailand” campaign earlier this year, are still going strong in their pursuit to traverse every province in the Kingdom. In a postcard received today by the Gazette, Peacock wrote that the pair were on their way from Mae Sai in…
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Sailors Convicted In Theft Incident
TOKYO: The two American sailors who sparked a manhunt after cash was discovered missing from their navy vessel’s safe following a liberty call in Phuket, have been convicted and sentenced in general court-martial proceedings at the Yokosuka Naval Base, the U.S. Embassy and naval criminal investigators have confirmed. Petty Officer 2nd Class Roger Alden Chain, Jr, who served as the…
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Foreign Residents Face Crackdown On Registration
PHUKET TOWN: Pol Col Phirojana Paresakul, Superintendent of the Phuket Immigration Office, confirmed yesterday that immigration authorities nationwide have begun to enforce a law requiring all aliens who remain in Thailand for longer than 90 days to notify the department of their residential address every three months. The superintendent said the alien registration requirement has been on the books for…
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Sea Canoe Manager In Stable Condition
PHUKET TOWN: Panwong Hirunchai, the Day Trip Operation Manager for Sea Canoe Thailand’s Phang Nga-based operations, was reported in stable condition at Bangkok Phuket Hospital this morning, one day after being shot outside the expedition company’s office. Sea Canoe Director and General Manager Noah Shepherd, who visited Khun Panwong earlier today at the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit, told the Gazette…
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Canoe Manager Shot Outside Office
PHUKET TOWN: Police are hunting for two suspects in connection with the shooting earlier today of Panwong Hirunchai, the Day Trip Operation Manager for Sea Canoe Thailand’s Phang Nga-based operations. According to Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Somjai Sirikul, the 39-year-old manager was shot as he arrived at Sea Canoe’s offices on Yaowarat Road at 10:20 a.m. The gunman, described…
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THAI Winter Program Announced
BANGKOK: Thai Airways International (THAI) has announced its new Winter Program, which will be in effect from October 25, 1998 to March 27, 1999. The carrier will maintain its flight frequencies on Northern Pacific routes, including seven flights per week on the Bangkok-Osaka-Los Angeles route. The total number of weekly flights operated between the Kingdom and Europe will be increased…
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Toll Rises To Five In Ferry Tragedy
KOH SAMUI: The death toll in Wednesday’s ferry boat accident has risen to five as authorities recovered the bodies of two more victims yesterday afternoon. Searchers discovered the bodies of two Thai male passengers floating in the water at around 1:30 p.m. Friday near the point where the Panmaneesap 9 capsized and sank. Pol Lt Col Wisoot Seekong, Deputy Superintendent…
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Stage Set For Triathlon
CHERNG TALAY: Final preparations are underway for tomorrow’s Thai Airways International Laguna Phuket Triathlon. Australian pros Greg Welch and Jackie Gallagher will be seeking to defend their men’s and women’s titles, as are Paisarn Sangvirul and Napaporn Boonthum, last year’s top finishers in the Thai men’s and women’s amateur divisions. The race will also boast a large contingent of local…
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Boxing Champ To Kick Off Festivities
PATONG BEACH: Former international muay Thai champion Samart Payakaroon will be on hand this evening to help launch a new 20-million-baht multi-purpose entertainment venue at the Phuket Simon Shopping Arcade on Soi Bangla. The kick boxer is scheduled to step into the ring at 9 p.m. for a one-hour demonstration of the very traditional Thai sport. A spokesman for Phuket…
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Ferry Boat Accident Claims At Least Three
KOH SAMUI: Three passengers, including two foreigners, drowned and more remain missing and feared dead after a ferry boat bound for Koh Tao capsized early yesterday morning north of Surat Thani. Authorities believe a heavy storm caused the overladen Panmaneesap 9 to take on water and capsize off the coast of Koh Wow, a small island northwest of Koh Samui,…
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Donors Help Save Accident Victim
PHUKET TOWN: Local residents answered a plea for blood donations over the weekend and helped save the life of local resident Michael Ilijass, who was severely injured in a motorbike accident last Friday night. Early Saturday morning, calls for donations of type A Positive blood went out to the general public while doctors at Wachira General Hospital battled to save…
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It’s Time To Wear Your Whites
PHUKET TOWN: Vendors along Ranong Road got a jump on the annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival last night when they started serving up spring rolls, dumplings and other treats. Booths selling white cotton T-shirts and pants were doing a brisk business as residents prepared for the nine-day festival, which runs from October 20-28. A schedule of events, including a map of…
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Enhancements For Sunset Lovers
RAWAI: Plans are afoot to improve facilities at Cape Promthep, one of Phuket’s most popular sunset viewpoints. Aree Somboon, Chairman of the Rawai Tambon Administration Organization, told the Gazette today that his office is seeking funding from the provincial government to upgrade lighting, expand parking, and install new seating areas to accommodate the large crowds that descend on the picturesque…
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Sea Walker Guide Arrested
CHALONG: Tourist Police apprehended an unlicensed guide who was allegedly conducting sea walker expeditions at Coral Island. The Region 2 Tourist Business and Guide Office notified Tourist Police on Thursday that a Thai male was leading a group of tourists to the popular offshore island for a sea walking trip. At approximately 3 p.m., Tourist Police intercepted a boat as…
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Pian Regains Mayor’s Chair
PATONG: Rak (Love) Patong Party leader Pian Keesin was installed as mayor this morning following a vote earlier this week by the city council. Khun Pian, who finished second in the municipal election on October 4, received six of eleven council votes on Monday, with council member and former mayor Dr Anan Anantanawat abstaining. Council members also elected Uthai Karnchana…
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Drug Rehab Program Launched
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Governor’s office has announced the start-up of a new confidential drug treatment program to provide counselling and treatment for substance abusers. The Phuket Drug Prevention and Suppression Center was launched by the governor’s office in conjunction with provincial health officials as part of a nationwide initiative by the prime minister’s office to deal with drug addicts…
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