Phuket

Immigration scandal officer to be prosecuted

Published

17 years ago

March 25, 2002

Immigration scandal officer to be prosecuted | The Thaiger

BANGKOK: Investigations into the corruption scandal at the Patong Immigration Office have already nailed one officer, according to a highly-placed source in the Immigration Department in Bangkok. The source, who requested anonymity, told the Gazette today, “One Immigration officer [from Phuket] has been found to have behaved incorrectly. We will be bringing criminal charges against him. “Another officer is still under investigation.” Meanwhile, 15 foreigners who went to Bangkok over the past few days to reclaim their passports, seized by the Immigration Department as part of the investigation, received an unexpected shock. They were thrown into the Immigration Department’s jail. A German hotelier who spoke to the Gazette (like everyone else, on condition that his name not be used) explained that when he arrived at the Immigration Department headquarters with a group of four others, he was questioned about how he had received his most recent extension of stay, and which officers in Patong had provided the extension. “In the late afternoon we were moved to the detention center, photographed and then fingerprinted. “One person was released on bail of 50,000 baht. Another one, who had his lawyer with him, flew out to New York that evening.” All were issued with official documents explaining that they would be expelled from Thailand for overstaying, and ordering them to be held in the Immigration Detention Center until they could be put on a plane. “They told us that we would be expelled from Thailand and that in order to be able to leave the prison we had to buy tickets to our home countries. “They refused to inform our embassies, and we spent the night under very inhuman and humiliating conditions – there were 60 people in that cell.” The following day, however, the hotelier and the other two detainees – an American tourist and an Italian tourist – were released, with apologies from the officers, and had their passports returned. They were told that if they wished to remain in Thailand, they would have to do a “visa run”, paying the normal 200-baht-a-day fine for overstaying. The Immigration source said, “We detained 15 foreigners. We have the right to do that when people overstay. They were only detained for one night, and have all been released after the Commissioner ordered that all the foreigners involved in this case should be exempted from prosecution.” The remaining 30 or so foreigners who have yet to report to Immigration in Bangkok will, it seems, be able to get their passports back without spending a night in the cells.

Phuket

Motorbike driver smashes through glass window after accelerator malfunctions

Published

10 hours ago

March 22, 2019

Kritsada Mueanhawong

Motorbike driver smashes through glass window after accelerator malfunctions | The Thaiger

A female motorbike driver has sustained injuries after her motorbike’s hand grip malfunctioned and she collided with a glass wall.

Chalong Police were notified of the incident at an air conditioning shop at 6pm yesterday on Chao Fa West Road in Chalong.

Police and emergency responders arrived and found the shattered glass wall and a damaged motorbike.

The injured 40 year old Naowarat Jankarn had already been taken to Chalong Hospital. She sustained injuries from cuts from the broken glass. polls of blood were found on the floor.

Ms Naowarat told police that she had parked her motorbike in front of the shop since Wednesday . The motorbike was underivable because the hand grip accelerator was malfunctioning.

Yesterday she started the motorbike, claiming she had forgotten about the broken accelerator.

Phuket

Police hunting for driver who threatened others with a gun on Phuket road – VIDEO

Published

12 hours ago

March 22, 2019

Kritsada Mueanhawong

Police hunting for driver who threatened others with a gun on Phuket road – VIDEO | The Thaiger

PHOTO: Tiw Tiw

The Thalang Police are hunting for the driver who was threatening other motorists on Thepkrasattri Road by waving a gun around out of the driver’s window of his red sedan in Thalang this morning.

A Facebook user ‘Tiw Tiw’ has posted the video with a message reading “where are the police, please follow him. The incident happened this morning in Thalang.”

The video shows a car switching from one lane to another. The driver shows a gun in his car window and then appears to throw it out (at least he used his indicator).

The Thalang Police are investigating the incident and want to find the car driver for questioning.

Phang Nga

Phuket’s hotel and property players look north

Published

14 hours ago

March 22, 2019

Bill Barnett

Phuket’s hotel and property players look north | The Thaiger

by Bill Barnett of c9hotelworks.com

One of Greater Phuket’s real estate and hotel market’s that has a decided buzz of late is the area north of Phuket over the Sarasin bridge in Phang Nga.

In Natai Beach, the entry of the Baba Beach Club and nearby Akyra has created renewed visibility for the broad West Coast stretch of white sand beach, extending north beyond Phuket.

Two upscale hotels are in the development phase in the vicinity, with one being flagged to an international hotel operator.

Up at the 1,000 plus rai Thai Muang mega-project, movement is once again underway, as is a nearby massive Japanese-led mixed-use project including a golf course.

Land values are currently running amuck in the Koh Kloi area where the AOT (Airports of Thailand) has reportedly acquired land for an upcoming Phang Nga airport which will provide Phuket with a second gateway alternative.

Premium land transactions are taking place, with the most notable being the recent trade of the former oceanfront site in Bodan that was to be at various stages first a Raffles and later a Ritz-Carlton Reserve.

Looking at Phuket’s light-rail initiative, one knock-on effect will be the eventual linkage between the island and larger connection to a broader rail terminus in Koh Kloi. This will likely spur real estate speculators to acquire peripheral locations.

As Phang Nga’s West Coast four land highway expansion moves forward to Khao Lak and beyond, Phuket’s Northern neighbor is seeing a renewed push in its tourism, property and infrastructure.