Phuket

Opinion: Need to practice responsible journalism

Published

3 years ago

January 14, 2017

Opinion: Need to practice responsible journalism | The Thaiger

PHUKET: As a regional tourism and transport hub, Phuket has an important role to play in easing the hardship of the hundreds of thousands of people who have been affected by the worst flooding in the Thai south in decades.

Our island is fortunate to have been spared the kind of severe flooding that has stricken much of the region in recent days and weeks – with no apparent end in sight.

Unfortunately, coverage of the inundation in the international media has been somewhat misleading.
Reports have predictably focused on the death toll, with the figure having surpassed 30 lives at the latest count.

In reality, few deaths have been the direct result of people drowning in raging floodwaters. In fact, the numbers are probably fewer those attributed to road deaths in the region during the recent holiday safety campaign.

Of course, the total amount of human misery and property loss will be far higher. It continues to grow with each passing day as floodwaters get dirtier, access to essential supplies remains cut off, and local economies remain in a virtual state of suspended animation.

Other reports, including some by major international news agencies, incorrectly stated that heavy rain was uncharacteristic to the Thai south this time of year.

The climate in the Isthmus of Kra is characterized by an annual reversal in monsoonal flow. From May to November, a westerly monsoon predominates, bringing copious amounts of rainfall to Phuket and other Andaman Coast provinces.

It is during this period that the weather on the Gulf Coast tends to be sunny and dry. During the reversal, the Gulf Coast gets hammered from the East and the Andaman Coast tends to enjoy nice, relatively dry conditions.

It is also important to keep in mind that the recent flooding stems more from bad land-use management and planning as it does from any statistical rainfall anomaly.

From large-scale effects such as global warming, all the way down to bad individual decision making, the recent flooding once again reveals that short-sighted, profit-driven processes need to be replaced with more forward looking ones to better deal with the realities that confront us. Welcome to 2017.

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Crime

Thalang Police arrest local Phuket drug dealer with amphetamine pills

Published

8 hours ago

October 20, 2019

The Thaiger

PHOTOS: เหยี่ยวข่าว ภูเก็ต Newshawk Phuket

Thalang Police have arrested a local drug dealer with more than 192 amphetamine pills. Thalang police in Phuket arrested 29 year old Wimon Songkong from Nakhon Si Thammarat with 192 amphetamine pills that he was carrying when they nabbed him in front of a 7-Eleven store inside a PTT gas station on Thepkasattri Road, in Thalang District.

The amphetamine pills were packed in a black zip-lock plastic bag, which was hidden in his grey shoulder bag. Two of the pills were green and 190 of them were orange, while each pill had the letters ‘wy’ printed on them.

Wimon was charged for possessing and trading illicit drugs and was sent to Thalang police station for further investigation and processing.

STORY: Newshawk Phuket

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Hua Hin

Southern Thailand braces for rough weather and rain

Published

1 day ago

October 19, 2019

May Taylor

Southern Thailand braces for rough weather and rain | The Thaiger

The Thailand Meteorological Department issued a weather warning for southern Thailand with torrential rain forecast to hit the region throughout the weekend. The heavy monsoon over the Gulf of Thailand and south of the country is being blamed for the rough weather, with the TMD predicting flash flooding in many areas.

(Phuket, Hat Yai and Hua Hin’s forecast below)

“Waves are expected to reach 2 metres in height in the lower Gulf of Thailand and possibly higher at the height of the storm. Ships are advised to proceed with caution.”

For the north and northeast of Thailand, the TMD forecasts strong winds and cooler mornings as the arrival of the “winter” season, coupled with a moderate high-pressure system, causes temperatures to dip.

Hua Hin’s five day forecast

Phuket’s five day forecast

Hat Yai’s five day forecast

SOURCE: The Nation | weather.com

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Crime

Now you see him, now you don’t… Patong Police hunt foreigner over $30k theft

Published

2 days ago

October 18, 2019

Greeley Pulitzer

Now you see him, now you don’t… Patong Police hunt foreigner over $30k theft | The Thaiger

PHOTO: Patong Police

Patong Police have yet to develop any tangible leads tracking down a foreigner who made off with US$30,000 in cash from a currency exchange booth in Kalim, north of Patong in Phuket, last Tuesday.

The man is about 168 centimetres tall with grey hair and around 60 years old, Patong police told The Phuket News.

“We have no clue what nationality he is.”

He was last seen at the currency exchange booth wearing a purple polo shirt, blue jeans and black cap. Police have checked hotels in the area, police stations across the island and Phuket Immigration, but have yet to join the dots and come up with firm leads.

“Investigators have checked CCTV in the area and collected what evidence we have but we still do not know the man’s name or where he was staying.”

The man had visited the booth several times before Tuesday, when he disappeared with the $30,000 in US banknotes, according to police.

“It was always small amounts”, he added, noting that the amounts didn’t warrant staff at the exchange booth to check the man’s passport before making the exchange.

The man arrived at the booth again at about 1pm on Tuesday, saying that he had 900,000 baht cash to exchange.

SOURCE: The Phuket News

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