Phuket

Foreign couple in Phuket pass fake UK banknotes at Kata currency booth

Published

7 years ago

July 20, 2012

Foreign couple in Phuket pass fake UK banknotes at Kata currency booth | The Thaiger

PHUKET: The owner of a currency exchange booth in Kata fell victim to a pair of unidentified foreigners that systematically passed off a series of counterfeit British £20 banknotes.

Kanyarat Tiewsakul, 48, who owns the exchange booth, and the massage parlor and spa next door, said that twelve counterfeit £20 notes were exchanged by the couple between July 17 and July 18 for 11,436 baht.

“A member of my staff told me that a woman came to the booth at about 5pm on Tuesday and exchanged the British banknotes. Later that day, a man came and also exchanged some UK currency. Altogether we took eight notes that day,” Ms Kanyarat explained.

The next morning the couple allegedly appeared together at the booth and exchanged five more bank notes.

“Only the top bank note was real,” said Ms Kanyarat. “The others were fake.”

The couple was described by staff as being in their forties, with the man being blond and a little overweight.

“My husband went to exchange the banknotes in Phuket Town on Wednesday morning (July 18). Later, the bank called to tell us that the eight banknotes were counterfeits,” said Ms Kanyarat

“But the bank’s notice was too late, as the couple had just given us another four bad notes half an hour before they called,” said Ms Kanyarat.

She said that her shop didn’t have CCTV and it was unlikely that the CCTV system at the hotel across the road had any footage.

Chalong Police officers visited Ms Kanyarat and took one of the counterfeit banknotes as evidence for the investigation.

“The new female staff member who was in the booth at the time has only worked here for two months. Now all my staff will be trained on how to identify counterfeit-international banknotes,” Ms Kanyarat said.

— Atchaa Khamlo

Phuket

UPDATE: Search for Filipinos lost off Freedom Beach, Phuket

Published

2 hours ago

July 18, 2019

The Thaiger

PHOTO: siangtai.com

Officials are still trying to push on with a search for two Filipino tourists who were washed out to sea by waves at Freedom Beach in Phuket last night around 5pm. With nearly 24 hours having passed since the pair’s disappearances grave fears are now held for their survival.

Conditions have been quite rough and squally for most of Thursday. Freedom beach is also bordered with rocky cliffs making searching difficult north or south of the shores of the beach.

12 Filipino tourists were visiting the Beach, between Patong and Karon on the island’s west coast, and were playing in the shallows despite quite strong winds and big waves.

Lifeguards from the nearby Patong Beach and rescuers from the Kusoldham Phuket Rescue Foundation rushed to search for the two but the search had to be called off due to the failing light and the waves up to 2 metres.

Patong Bay Watch volunteers resumed the search this morning in two boats. There has so far been no sighting of the two missing Filipinos.

UPDATE: Search for Filipinos lost off Freedom Beach, Phuket | News by The Thaiger

Freedom Beach in much better weather

Patong

Fire destroys 12 shops in Patong market

Published

3 hours ago

July 18, 2019

The Thaiger

PHOTOS: Siam Rath

A fire at a market in Patong early this morning has caused damages estimated at 1 billion baht in value. Five fire trucks raced to the scene at the SB Plaza on Rat-U-Thit road at about 2am. It took firefighters an hour to bring the fire under control.

12 shops were destroyed. No one was injured in the blaze.

At this stage police speculate that the fire was caused by an electrical short-circuit. It was raining sporadically last night.

Fire destroys 12 shops in Patong market | News by The Thaiger

Krabi

TMD issues a new weather warning for tropical storm Danas

Published

3 hours ago

July 18, 2019

The Thaiger

The Thai Meteorological Department has issued another warning about tropical storm Danas since saying it’s on the move, from the Philippines’ Luzon, north and north-eastward into the East China Sea. The storm appears headed for Taiwan and likely to dump plenty of heavy rain on the way.

The storm is ‘sucking’ in moisture from the Indian Ocean across southern Thailand, causing additional rain in the southern and central provinces.

The influence of DANAS will intensify the monsoon across the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand on July 18 and 19 brining outbreaks of heavy rain to the South, the East and the lower Central regions of Thailand.

“People should beware of flash floods and water runoff, according to the warning.”

TMD advises that all ships proceed with caution, and small boats remain ashore.

Possible isolated heavy rains are forecast for…

July 18

Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Lop Buri and Saraburi, Sa Kaeo, Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung, Songkhla, Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat, Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun.

July 19

Kanchanaburi, Ratchaburi, Lop Buri and Saraburi, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat, Phetchaburi, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Chumphon, Surat Thani, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Phatthalung and Songkhla, Ranong, Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi, Trang and Satun.

TMD issues a new weather warning for tropical storm Danas | News by The Thaiger