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FC Phuket scramble to score funding
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) will cease its financial support of the island’s professional football club, FC Phuket, starting next season, one of the club’s managers confirmed today.Narubas “Ko Lek” Aryupong told the Phuket Gazette that the team is now seeking new sponsorship channels to pay for players’ salaries and training allowances.He confirmed that Thailand’s Auditor-General’s Office had…
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World Vision rolls out anti-polio campaign in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket office of the World Vision Foundation in Thailand, operating under the Supanimit Foundation, yesterday stepped up its anti-polio campaign, in line with the World Health Organization (WHO) push to eradicate the disease.Supanimit Foundation workers, joined by Phuket Provincial Public Health Office officials, targeted Burmese communities in and around Phuket Town and elsewhere around Phuket.The anti-polio task force…
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Phuket businesses agree to minimum wage hike: survey
PHUKET: More than 70 per cent of business owners in Phuket agree to the minimum wage being raised to 300 baht per day, according to a recent survey by the Phuket Provincial Labor Office. The news was announced today at a high-level meeting of Phuket officials to discuss the rollout of the minimum wage hike. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha chaired…
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Phuket police defuse hostage situation
PHUKET: After a 30-minute standoff, Phuket Police on Tuesday rescued a woman held hostage by a knife-wielding glue addict at a local gas station. Chalong Police were notified of the attack at 11am. Arriving at the scene, the PTT service station on Chao Fa West Road in Chalong, they found a Phuket man holding a knife to the throat of…
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Phuket tourists warned of drink-spiking thieves
PHUKET: Tourists visiting nightspots in Phuket should not leave their drinks unattended as there have been incidents of people having their drinks “spiked” with potent sedatives in recent weeks, Tourist Police volunteers have warned. Frank Tomensen, Group Leader of the Phuket Tourist Police Foreign Volunteers in Patong, has instructed his patrol units to be on the lookout for victims who…
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Phuket Sport – tour survival for Tabuena and Thanyakon at Thailand Golf Championship
Filipino teenager Miguel Tabuena and Thailand’s Thanyakon Khrongpha have prepared for the biggest test in their young golfing careers as the duo seek to earn full Asian Tour cards at the season-ending Thailand Golf Championship starting today. The 17-year-old Tabuena, the youngest member on the Asian Tour this year, is currently three spots outside the top-61 of the Order of…
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Phuket Darts: Hemingways A routs Hemingways B
PHUKET: In Week 9 play in the Patong Darts League (PDL), Hemingways A routed Hemingways B 11-2 and moved past them to take the lead in the league table. It appears that the Swedes can excel in something other than building furniture; they can play pretty good darts too. English Tony and Swedish Tony (Hemingways A) were untouchable, as always.…
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Thailand golf championship – a symbol of strength for Asian tour
This week’s inaugural US$1 million Thailand Golf Championship reflects the growing strength of the game in Asia, say the world stars who have gathered for the Asian Tour’s season finale which starts on Thursday. A starry line-up has gathered at the magnificent Amata Spring Country Club on the outskirts of Bangkok and will feature this year’s Major champions Darren Clarke…
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Phuket Carnival reaches zero hour
PHUKET: The countdown to Phuket’s annual Patong Carnival is over. The six-day event began at 9am today with ceremonial offering of food to monks at Loma Park on the Patong beachfront. After the alms-giving ceremony, at 10:15am the sea of vendors at the park opened their stalls to sell food and drinks. The Phuket Flying Club will join the opening…
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Phuket Sports – Village lead the league, Tigers flatter to deceive
PHUKET: A second win for the Village in the Phuket Island Furniture League ensured a leap frog into first place after a demolition of league newcomers, Thanyapura Tigers at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) on Sunday. Compared with previous seasons when the Village were more a social side, this season their squad shows a good balance of experienced batsmen and…
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Alcohol pricing important for Phuket tourism: poll
PHUKET: Over 57% of respondents to a Phuket Gazette poll believe reasonably-priced alcohol is either “important” or even “critical” to Phuket’s attractiveness as in international tourist destination. The poll was launched in the wake of Phuket suffering a shortage of alcoholic beverages following floods in central Thailand that disrupted operations at production facilities and distribution networks. Overall, 28% voted reasonably-priced…
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Blaze destroys Phuket fishermen’s homes
PHUKET: A fire believed to have started from an explosion quickly engulfed several fishermen’s huts in Baan Bang Tao, Cherng Talay, on Phuket’s west coast, yesterday afternoon. No injuries were reported. Officials at Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) rushed two fire trucks to the scene on Soi Bang Tao 12, near the southern end of Phuket’s popular Bang Tao…
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Phuket Media Watch – Courts in England and Wales relax reporting rules
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Courts in England and Wales to allow journalists to tweet, text and email Phuket Gazette / Agencies PHUKET: The head of the judiciary and courts in England and Wales yesterday announced his decision to allow journalists to use e-mail, text messaging and social media while inside…
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Finnish tourist death in Phuket possibly a suicide
PHUKET: Police do not suspect foul play in the death of a Finnish tourist Veijo Armas Vallius, found dead in his Phuket hotel room last week. The body of 52-year-old Mr Vallius was discovered in a hotel room in Kamala on December 8. Somnerk Damkeaw of the Kamala Police told the Gazette today that the body of Mr Vallius remains…
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Phuket’s Happy Air relaunches services
PHUKET: Boutique carrier Happy Air will resume services today with flights from Bangkok to Ranong, but the airline still has not set a date to resume its Phuket – Haad Yai service. Speaking from the company’s office at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Happy Air sales and marketing representative Onkanya Chaisit said thrice-weekly (Friday, Sunday, Wednesday) flights between the capital to…
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Manhunt launched for Phuket MMA brawler
PHUKET: American Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter Junie Browning is the subject of an island-wide manhunt following two brawls in Phuket on Sunday and his subsequent escape from Patong Hospital. The manhunt was launched following local media reports that an unnamed American man had been involved in a brawl at a bar in Karon. The man then continued fighting with…
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Phuket property squabble sours Thai-Russian relations
PHUKET: A meeting at Thung Thong Police Station today exposed a rift between partners in a Phuket property company targeting the lucrative Russian market. Outraged by being allegedly cheated by a Russian national, Boonprasert Udommangkorn, owner of ThaiRus Development Co in Phuket’s Kathu District, filed a complaint against former partner Nikita Derkarch. The two met at Thung Thong Police Station…
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Tourist’s keen eye saves green sea turtle
PHUKET: An observant tourist yesterday spotted a young green sea turtle floating in the water off the Yacht Haven Marina in Mai Khao, in the north of Phuket, and by doing so may have saved its life.The Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) was immediately contacted, who in turn asked the Phuket Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation for assistance in recovering the turtle.With…
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Phuket speedboats to pay for upkeep of Racha pier
PHUKET: Speedboats on day trips from Phuket that dock at the floating pier on Racha Yai Island will be charged a mooring fee from January 1 to help fund the cost of repairs to the facility. “The Racha Hotel provides the pontoon and allows everyone to use it, but they never ask for money to maintain it,” committee president Sarit…
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Phuket police arrest one in Burmese dope bust
PHUKET: Phuket police arrested a man for selling drugs in Rawai on Saturday, seizing his stash of marijuana and multiple bundles of kratom leaves in the process. Acting on a tip-off, Lt Col Charan Bangprasert of the Chalong Police dispatched a team to a construction site in Rawai, where the suspect was reportedly supplying drugs to Burmese workers. The suspect,…
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Phuket ‘Colorful Countdown’ to ring in 2012
PHUKET: Phuket will spend 10 million baht on festivities to ring in the new year with the “Colorful Phuket Countdown 2012”. The countdown event at Chai Field, opposite Provincial Hall in Phuket Town, will be put on by Tourism Authority of Thailand and Best Four media, among other sponsors. “We set up a budget of 10 million baht for the…
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Wilkinson drops out
PHUKET: “To say I have played through four World Cups, two Lions tours, 91 international games and a ridiculous number of injuries and other setbacks gives me an incredibly special feeling of fulfillment.”Jonny Wilkinson, England’s enigmatic out-half has announced his retirement from test rugby.His international record includes six tries, 162 conversions, 239 penalties and a record of 36 drop-goals. His…
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Phuket schoolgirl still missing
PHUKET: A schoolgirl who vanished after a Facebook session last Tuesday has yet to reappear, leaving the girl’s anguished mother to once again appeal to the public for help in locating her. Samruay Saenthaweesuk, mother of 12-year-old Samudchaya “Nong Pin” Yanpunya, said she has not heard a word from her daughter since her mysterious disappearance after leaving an Internet cafe…
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Mosque massacre in Krabi: 3 dead, 3 injured
PHUKET: Unknown gunmen ambushed a group of Muslim men outside a mosque in Ao Luek, Krabi, last night, killing three of the men and wounding three others.Ao Luek District Police were informed of the massacre at Ban Ao Nam Mosque in Laem Sak just after 7pm.Sub Lt Manad Inpornphorm, Inspector with the Ao Luek District Police Crime Suppression Division, told…
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Phuket Live Wire – reusing passwords is an expensive bad habit
PHUKET: Here’s a question I see with alarming frequency: Woody, somebody just broke into my Hotmail account. The creep sent messages out to everybody in my Hotmail address book, saying I was in the hospital and needed money sent to me (by Western Union) immediately. What can I do about it? You’ve been hacked, and there’s precious little that can…
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Ironkids nail second successful event
PHUKET: Eight corporate sponsors answered the call for race fees and support of over 90 children at the second IronKids Phuket event held at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) recently. The results were as follows: in first place – Quest Laguna Phuket who also sponsored a team of three kids from Ban Manik School. In second place – Team…
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Traffic warning: Phuket Provincial Youth Games today
PHUKET: Motorists be warned: today is the busiest day of the year at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town, where hundreds of primary and secondary school students from all over the province will amass to take part in the annual provincial youth games. The fun got underway yesterday, with kindergarten-age athletes as young as four taking part in running races, long…
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Volcanic eruption: Buriram pounds Phuket 7-0
PHUKET: FC Phuket took their worst pummeling of the season this evening, going down by the embarrassing score of 7-0 at Buriram FC. The Volcanoes took a 2-0 lead into halftime on early goals by Sumanya Burisay (6 minutes) and Suriya Domthaisong (9 minutes). A complete defensive collapse in the second half led to an orgy of scoring that starting…
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Man on ledge claims being Phuket hitman target for two days
PHUKET: Traffic screeched to a halt on Phisit Gorani Road near Patong Temple about 7pm yesterday as motorists and other passers-by watched a team of Phuket rescue workers snatch a man from the ledge of a three-story building while he was preparing himself to jump. The man, 25-year-old tattoo artist Surasak Buranaphanit, later told Phuket police he was being hunted…
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Phuket Opinion: Time to rein in the beach cowboys, and those who do not govern them
PHUKET: Given the events that have occurred at Phuket’s beaches in recent weeks, it is difficult to ascertain which is the greater maritime threat: natural phenomena such as the rough monsoon seas that claim the lives of scores of overconfident swimmers every year – or the juvenile carnival that gets underway when the winds subside and the beach business operators…
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