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Search Continues For Suspects
PHUKET TOWN: Police investigators are continuing their manhunt for two Thai male suspects wanted in connection with the October 27 shooting of Sea Canoe Thailand Day Trip Operation Manager Panwong Hirunchai. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Kongpol Suwannaraks told the Gazette yesterday that the suspected gunman and getaway motorbike driver, both Thai males, remain at large. Three teams of investigators have…
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Officials Keeping Eye On Jet-skis
PHUKET: As the high season gets underway, authorities are keeping a close watch on jet-ski rental businesses operating on west coast beaches to ensure compliance with provincial regulations. Vice Governor Amnuay Sanguannam is overseeing the joint enforcement efforts of district, harbor, marine and police officials. Weekly reports are being filed by the various departments with the vice governor’s office in…
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Foreigner Death Toll On The Rise
PHUKET TOWN: The number of foreigners who have died in Phuket so far this year has surpassed the total recorded in 1997, Phuket Tourist Police told the Gazette today. A total of 33 foreigners died in the province from January 1 through November 25, 1998. By comparison, 23 deaths were recorded in calendar year 1997. Of the 33 deaths recorded…
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Immigration To “Encourage” Registration
PHUKET TOWN: Pol Col Phirojana Paresakul, Superintendent of the Phuket Immigration Office, told the Gazette today that his office will be “encouraging” all aliens who remain in Thailand for longer than 90 days to notify the department of their residential address every three months as required by law. He stated that the law would be strictly enforced by his officers…
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Suspect Nabbed In Yacht Burglary
CHALONG BAY: Police arrested a suspect yesterday in the theft of nearly 200,000 baht in cash and personal effects from a foreign flag yacht moored in this popular bay. Prakit Thongnok, 23, was charged in connection with a theft last month of items on board a yacht owned by Maria Gonzales. According to police, the suspect, a Songkhla native who…
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Doctor Testifies In Murder Trial
PHUKET TOWN: A doctor who examined the body of Roger Jennings testified in court yesterday that the 56-year-old British publican died from a loss of blood following 19 stab wounds. Dr Somchai Chaichayanon of Kathu Hospital was the only witness called to the stand on Monday before Phuket Provincial Court Judge Amornpoj Kulwijit in the ongoing trial of two suspects…
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Activists Call For End To “Rape” Of Maya Bay
PHUKET TOWN: A group of 20 environmental activists staged a rally outside two city venues on Saturday afternoon to protest the changes underway at Phi Phi Leh Island’s Maya Bay to accommodate the shooting of the Hollywood film The Beach. Flanked by fellow activists from Krabi and Trang provinces, Wisanu Mula of the Phuket Environmental Club called on the public…
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Student Prostitutes Among Seven Arrested
PHUKET TOWN: Undercover officers from the Phuket Tourist Police raided a home near Sapan Hin and arrested a 50-year-old man along with six female suspects – including two 15-year-old twins – on prostitution charges. Posing as customers, the two plainclothes officers entered the residence on Soi Tonphol, Phuket Road, shortly before 1 a.m. Saturday and inquired about sex services from…
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Poll Confirms Perceptions Of Local Driving
PHUKET TOWN: In the Gazette Poll for the week ended at noon today, 71.8% of the 662 participants responded “Yes, absolutely” to the question, “Do you feel that driving in Phuket is too risky?” 21.4% voted “No, not really,” and 6.8% said they didn’t know. The perception that driving here is excessively risky was strongest among local foreign residents, 85%…
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Officials Raid Illegal Tin Refinery
PHUKET TOWN: Following undercover surveillance by mineral resources officers, authorities raided a sand processing yard fronting for an illegal tin refinery. Phuket Town Police Superintendent Pol Col Chalit Tintanee and Phuket Mineral Resources Department Chief Panya Worathammaporn, along with officers of both departments, descended on the 15-rai facility, located at 163/5 Wichitsongkram Road, at 5:30 Wednesday afternoon and uncovered five…
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Murder Trial On Court Docket
PHUKET TOWN: Testimony is scheduled to resume next Monday morning at 9 a.m. at the Phuket Provincial Courthouse in the trial of two adult suspects charged in connection with the brutal stabbing death of Roger Jennings. Nongnut Tungkaburi, the common law wife of the slain 56-year-old British publican, is standing trial along with Kraisorn Kamnoun on charges of participation in…
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Dengue Fever Cases Skyrocket
PHUKET: Reported cases of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) in the province during the first ten months of 1998 have surpassed the combined total of the past three years. Provincial Health Officer Dr Boonriang Chuchaisangrat told the Gazette today that 755 cases of the mosquito-borne virus were documented by his department through the end of October. The ten-month total is more…
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Tests Confirm Drugs in 15 Samples
PHUKET TOWN: Fifteen of 51 urine samples sent to a regional health department testing laboratory in Trang following the raid at the At Eaze Music House in September have tested positive for amphetamines, Phuket Provincial Health Officer Dr Boonriang Chuchaisangrat told the Gazette today. The urinalyses were carried out to confirm initial results obtained by local health officers who conducted…
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Vacationers Getting Soaked
PHUKET: Heavy rainshowers are giving the high tourist season a wet start as precipitation for the first half of the month has surpassed last November’s total rainfall. The Southwestern Meteorological Center told the Gazette today that a total of 252.6 millimeters of rain was recorded during the first 15 days of this month at the bureau’s monitoring station at Phuket…
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Seven Held On Oil Smuggling Charges
PHANG NGA: One vessel was impounded and seven suspects arrested following a raid on an oil smuggling boat operating in the waters off Khura Buri district. Marine police boarded the Chok Krating 7 off the coast of Surin Island at around 10 o’clock Saturday night and took the vessel’s skipper and crew, all Thais, into custody after discovering a total…
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Local Internet Poll Launched
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Gazette has announced the launching today of a weekly opinion poll on its websites. Focusing on strictly local issues of interest to the island’s residents and legions of tourists, the Gazette Poll appears on both the Phuket Residents’ Page (www.phket.loxinfo.co.th/~gazette) and on the Phuket Gazette Online at thethaiger.com. The results of each poll, broken down into…
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All Eyes Will Be On The Sky
PHUKET: Plans are underway to accommodate local astronomy buffs hoping to catch a glimpse of the Leonids meteorite shower predicted for next week. Sakchai Petchchuay, an astronomy professor at Rajabhat Institute Phuket, will be on hand at the school’s soccer field late Tuesday night and well into the wee hours of Wednesday morning to assist students and residents in spotting…
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Motorcycle Accident Claims Foreigner
KALIM: A motorcycle accident on Phrabaramee Road north of Patong claimed the life of a 35-year-old South African man and seriously injured his female passenger on Wednesday afternoon. Kathu district police said Daniel Gensen, an employee of Singapore-based Sun Cruises, lost control of his 1,200 cc rented motorcycle and crashed shortly after 3 p.m. Wednesday while traveling southbound on the…
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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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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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Vegas-Phuket Links Discussed
PHUKET: Student exchanges, international flight service and Internet promotions were among the topics discussed between representatives of Phuket and Las Vegas during a Sister Cities visit to the American entertainment capital by a delegation led by Governor Chadej Insawang. The Phuket delegation, which included local officials, prominent business operators and members of the media, returned to the island yesterday following…
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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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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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Arrivals Surge In October
MAI KHAO: Domestic and international passenger arrivals at Phuket International Airport surged last month as both categories recorded double-digit, year-on-year increases, an airport spokesman announced today. Last month, 85,611 passengers disembarked from domestic flights, up 26 percent from October 1997 when 67,698 arrivals were recorded. International arrivals rose 17 percent, with 38,092 passengers for the month. In October 1997, there…
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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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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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Dutch Tourists To Be Accommodated
BANGKOK: The recent announcement by Thai Airways International (THAI) to temporarily suspend flights to and from Amsterdam has been followed up with measures to minimize the impact of the service cutback on passengers, the carrier said. Tasnai Sudasna na Ayudhaya, Vice President for Revenue Planning and Management, acknowledged that over 7,000 Thailand-bound vacationers had booked flights on the airline out…
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