Phuket

Vicious Gang Attack: Krabi teens yet to stand trial

Published

7 years ago

November 24, 2012

Vicious Gang Attack: Krabi teens yet to stand trial | The Thaiger

PHUKET: The two youngsters charged with the vicious attack on a British couple on holiday in Krabi last month have yet to stand trial, the Phuket Gazette learned yesterday.

Lt Col Niwat Pimket of the Ao Nang Police, who is the leading investigator into the attack on British tourists Jack Cole and April Clifton, yesterday told the Gazette that both teenagers had been presented in court and charged with gang-attack causing serious injury and carrying a knife as a weapon in public, but the pair had yet to stand trial.

“I’m waiting for documents relating to the 17-year-old suspect [who cannot be named for legal reasons] to be provided by the Krabi Youth Observation and Protection Center,” said Col Niwat.

“I expect to receive the documents, which detail the 17-year-old’s background, soon; then his case can be tried in court,” he added.

The case against the other teenager charged over the attack, Anusorn Kullak, 18, is ready, but his trial must wait as the charges against the two men have been presented to the court to be heard as the same case, Col Niwat explained.

“In the meantime, he is currently being detained at Krabi Provincial Prison,” Col Niwat said.

The news follows Mr Cole and Ms April Clifton appearing in an in-depth report in leading UK newspaper The Sun. The report stated that, “They were found guilty and jailed for three and ten years respectively. Three others have been arrested, but so far there have been no more convictions.”

However, Col Niwat explained that only two suspects were even charged, let alone tried, as Mr Cole could positively identify only two of his assailants.

The in-depth Sun report featured the headline, “We thought Thailand was paradise… now we are haunted by memory of [the]machete sex attack”, and a second headline “Stabbed as I saved lover from holiday rape gang”.

However, an exasperated Col Niwat reiterated that he was powerless to pursue any investigation into claims of attempted rape as not a single report he had received included any allegations of such an attack.

“I’m not sure why there are media reports saying the attack involved an attempted rape. I have not received any reports containing any information like that. Mr Cole and his girlfriend, and the suspects, have not mentioned anything like that at all. It was fighting, that’s all,” he said.

Col Niwat said the Krabi Police had received an email from Mr Cole thanking them for their efforts in handling the case.

“Mr Cole sent us an email via his friend saying that he appreciated what we’ve done and thanked us for catching the suspects and closing the case so quickly. He said that he would come back again, but the email also did not mention anything about an attempted rape or ask us to investigate [such an attack],” he added.

Mr Cole underwent surgery in Phuket for the serious injuries sustained in the attack – deep cuts to his temple, chest, right shoulder and right arm.

— Atchaa Khamlo

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News

30 dolphins greet visitors to Similan Islands

Published

1 day ago

October 21, 2019

Greeley Pulitzer

30 dolphins greet visitors to Similan Islands | The Thaiger

Tourists were treated to the sight of a school of dolphins in the Similan Islands off the Phang Nga coast on Sunday.

Tour organisers said that around 30 dolphins swam close to the boat six or seven miles offshore, creating excitement for passengers. It was the first time dolphins had been seen in the vicinity since October 15.

The Similan Islands National Park director said they were bottlenose dolphins and were among several species now returning to the area following a five-year closure of the park for environmental rehabilitation. Food is again plentiful there for them, he said.

Tourists are forbidden to feed wildlife lest the free handouts alter the animals’ natural behaviour, and the park’s waters are also very sensitive to contamination from human disease and marine debris, according to the director.

SOURCE: nationthailand.com

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Patong

Phuket hotels slashing the price of rooms

Published

1 day ago

October 21, 2019

The Thaiger

by Sophie Deviller

Hotels on Thailand’s most popular holiday island are being forced to slash prices, with rooms left vacant and beaches sparse as Thailand’s tourism chiefs struggle with a plunge in Chinese visitors caused by the US trade war and a stronger baht. Phuket was the most visited destination in the country last year, after Bangkok, and a good gauge of the state of its crucial travel industry.

Tourism accounts for 18% of Thailand’s gross domestic product and Chinese holidaymakers make up more than a quarter of total arrivals. But while 2.2 million people from the country visited in 2018, according to official figures, the numbers for January-September were down almost 20% year on year.

Claude de Crissey, the French Honorary Consul in Phuket and owner of about 40 rooms in the Patong Beach area, says Chinese tourists are usually present even during the current low season.

“That was not the case this year,” he said, adding he had to lower his prices by as much as 50%.

The problem is not only in Phuket, with hotels also struggling to fill rooms in the seaside resort of Pattaya on the mainland and on Koh Samui.

Trade tensions with the US have already made some Chinese reluctant to take holidays owing to uncertainty back home, while the Thai baht has risen about 10% against the yuan this year.

A boating disaster off Phuket’s coast that killed 47 Chinese holidaymakers in July 2018 also scared some off.

“We are worried,” said an industry insider, declining to be named due to the sensitivity of the topic in a country where tourism provides tens of thousands of jobs. Adding to the headache is the fact that more than 3,000 new hotel rooms are being constructed on the island, raising the question of who will fill them.

“In terms of business, it’s not good,” said Kongsak Khoopongsakorn, vice-president of the association of hotels in Thailand and director of Vijitt Resort.

“Because … we have more hotels, more rooms to sell, we have more restaurants, more coffee shops.”

Still, tourism authority chairman Yuthasak Supasorn said he remained “optimistic.”

“We should reach our goal of 39.8 million foreign visitors.”

However, that is only up from 38.2 million in 2018, much less than the jump seen from the previous year’s total of 35.6 million.

Counting on India

Now hoteliers and tour package operators are targeting visitors from elsewhere, particularly India, which experts see as a huge untapped market.

A rapid expansion of the middle class in India, increased direct flights and visa-free travel have prompted Thailand to revise forecasts upwards.

It now expects two million Indian tourists this year, after an increase of nearly 25% on-year in the first seven months. But for now, the lower arrivals is evident on the streets of Phuket.

“I’ve never seen anything as bad as what it is at the moment,” said Paul Scott from Australia, who said he has been coming to Thailand for 15 years.

He mainly blamed the stronger baht for the drop-off but also the fact that Thailand wasn’t the untouched vacation paradise it once was. “Now it’s not so new … and it’s not cheap,” he said.

SOURCE: AFP

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Events

The 15th Mai Khao Marine Turtle fun run attracts more than 4,000 runners

Published

2 days ago

October 20, 2019

The Thaiger

4,000 runners from Thailand and overseas took part in the 15th Mai Khao Marine Turtle Fun Run and Half Marathon 2019 yesterday, starting from the Phuket Gateway.

The event is expected to raise 700,000 baht for the charity, now in its 15th year. The money raised goes towards to The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation, which is committed to protecting the marine and coastal environment, and ecosystems, for the wellbeing of sea turtles that nest in the Mai Khao beach and the surrounding areas.

The annual race also provides funds for thePhuket Marine Biological Centre’s Injured Turtle Rehabilitation Program and The Third NavalArea Command’s Turtle Hatchery Program.

The race was in its 15th year and runners of all ages and abilities took part in the race. The morning’s racing was divided into five categories – the 21.1km half marathon, 10.5km mini- marathon, 5km fun run and 3k family run and VIP participants for all the races. The route of 21.1 kilometre race took runners northwest along the Haad Sai Kaew beach towards Thao Thepkasattri bridge, past the rural road No. 3006, run along the road – Pi Lai viewpoint area returned back along the T. Baan Tha Nun to the iconic Sarasin bridge before finished the half marathon in the Phuket Gateway.

For Mini Marathon 10.5 km – Over all category, Mr. Chinnawat Changlek clocked 39 minutes and 40 seconds to clinch victory in the male half marathon, winning prize money and a trophy with the signature of Phuket’s Governor. The winner in the female mini marathon was Surakarn Wanna with a time of 47 minutes and 47 seconds.

Winners also received a prize gift voucher as well as a medal. Congratulations to all participants.

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