Search Results for: cat
- Cannabis News
More illegal immigrants arrested
PHUKET: Illegal immigrants topped this month’s crime statistics with 176 arrests between December 1-25. Figures released by Phuket Provincial Police show arrests for gambling coming in second with 169 people taken into custody from 48 raids. Another 43 people were charged with involvement in underground lotteries. Police apprehended 32 people for prostitution and made 48 arrests for possession or use…
- Phuket News
Maritime safety highlighted
PHUKET TOWN: Although not citing any specific threat, Phuket Marine Police are implementing plans to work more closely with other agencies to gather and share intelligence. Deputy Commander of [the national] Marine Police, Pol Col Ularn Anekboon, said, “Phuket, like Koh Samui and Pattaya, has many marine tourist centers and we have to maintain security at all of them. “All…
- Phuket News
CSD called in after diver’s disappearance
KAMALA: The family of missing divemaster Phikun “Nori” Srisaksungnoen traveled to Bangkok on December 22 and filed a missing-person report with the Crime Suppression Division (CSD), which is now investigating the disappearance independently of Kathu Police Station. K. Nori’s mother, 54-year-old Soi Mungpanklang, and her younger sister Thanachat Srisaksungnoen, 23, told CSD officials that the investigation by Kathu Police Station…
- Phuket News
Patong murder suspect arrested
PATONG: The alleged murderer of a go-go dancer is now in Phuket Provincial Prison, following his December 23 arrest in Bangkok by a team of Kathu Police investigators. The man, identified as 26-year-old Akharadech “James” Phusuwan, was arrested without struggle in his native Bangkok following an investigation led by Pol Maj Chawalit Petchsripia. Akharadech was wanted for the August 20…
- Phuket News
Christmas first for Governor
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura tomorrow night will be the special guest answering questions from the island’s English-speaking residents during a new weekly English-language radio show. The program will give listeners a chance to send or call in questions to local officials, with responses read out over the air, usually in a live format. Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit today said the…
- Phuket News
World dive record broken off Patong
ANDAMAN SEA: Briton Mark Ellyatt has set a new world record of 313 meters for the deepest solo scuba dive, beating the previous record by five meters. Describing his historic dive on Thursday, in waters four hours off Patong, Mr Ellyatt said, “It’s a lonely trip, like a trip to the Moon.” The descent into the depths took a mere…
- Phuket News
Bid to regenerate coral at Maithon
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) and the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization are to launch a 1.5-million-baht project to regenerate coral around Koh Maithon, five kilometers south-east of Phuket. Although the technique has been employed on Australia’s Great barrier Reef, this is the first time this kind of project has been attempted in Thailand. Nalinee Thongtham, a coral…
- Phuket News
TOT promises fast Internet, more phones
PHUKET: TOT Phuket plans a huge expansion of high-speed Internet links, telephone exchanges and listed numbers, the Gazette has learned. The Director of Marketing and Customer Services Center at the TOT Phuket office, Suporn Chuenpimolchankij, said that the 12 existing telephone exchanges would be boosted to 37 and 19,530 telephone numbers would be added to the existing 40,676 numbers. The…
- Phuket News
Questions as waystop cost grows to B87m
PHUKET: The plan to build a two-million-baht police firearms depository at Tah Chat Chai on the main route into Phuket has ballooned into an 87-million-baht project to develop a major waystop, including a service station, a restaurant, and parking for 200 cars. But doubts are now being raised about the usefulness of such a facility. The plan has grown at…
- Phuket News
B5m blaze grills tuna boat
PHUKET TOWN: A tuna boat loaded with diesel fuel and bottled gas for a month-long trip burned to the waterline in a five-million-baht fire at Rassada on Saturday. The blaze was spotted about 11 am on Saturday but seven hours of efforts by seamen and firefighters failed to douse the flames and the boat was burned to a blackened hulk.…
- Phuket News
Plis Play wins King’s Cup
PHUKET: There were shouts of Olé across the water today as the newest addition to Spain’s fleet of sailing boats won overall honours in the Racing class in the annual Phuket King’s Cup Regatta. Plis Play, which was launched in Malacca just over a week ago, finished the Regatta with 12 points after a third-place finish today to beat Clariden-Karakoa,…
- Phuket News
Jet-ski crash kills second tourist
PATONG: A young Swedish tourist was killed in a jet-ski crash off Patong yesterday – almost exactly one month after the death of a 13-year-old German prompted officials to decide they must take steps to prevent more fatalities in the wildcat jet-ski rental industry. But proposed action to rid the island of unregistered jet-skis and strictly control legitimate beachside operators…
- Phuket News
Police target teenage gangs
PHUKET TOWN: In a move to improve public safety, police have launched a campaign targeting wayward youngsters, with special attention being given to teenage gangs. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Veerayuth Sittimalic told the Gazette today that the crackdown began two weeks ago with after-dark patrols at Saphan Hin, long a hotspot for teenage gang violence. He explained that…
- Phuket News
“Troublemaker’ found drowned
PATONG : The body of a drowning victim discovered 70 meters off Patong Beach on Sunday morning has been identified by police as that of 42-year-old German national Jürgen Schweiker. Mr Schweiker’s body was discovered by a local jet-ski operator, still clutching one of a string of floats used to demarcate the swimming area along the beach. Pol Lt Col…
- Phuket News
2,000 join mass dance
PHUKET TOWN: A sea of yellow shirts filled Surakul Stadium yesterday as 2,000 people in Phuket joined in with the nationwide “Yellow Shirt Power Dancing 2003” event. More than 8.2 million people around the country took part in the fun, aimed at persuading people to exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. The activities began at 2 pm with…
- Phuket News
Immigration warning over 90-day reporting
PHUKET TOWN: An Immigration official has advised foreigners holding any type of one-year visa extension that they must visit their local Immigration office every 90 days to confirm their identity and address – or face a 2,000 baht fine. “You will not be charged a fee for registering but you will be fined if you are late,” Capt Krissarat Nusen…
- Phuket News
Angry islanders in Phi Phi protest
PHI PHI: Boats to this tourist hotspot stopped running for about seven hours today after some 300 angry people assembled at the island’s pier, blocking incoming and outgoing traffic. The mob were protesting against an order to use a new pier in Krabi, three kilometers away from the old one in Krabi Town. They argued that it was too far…
- Phuket News
Violin karaoke faces the music
PHUKET TOWN: A 3 am swoop by police on the Violin karaoke bar on Phang Nga Rd on Saturday netted seven ‘VIP’ patrons and six hostesses drinking after hours. Officers found the after-hours party padlocked behind reinforced doors, front and rear. It took them an hour to saw through the locks. The 13 people arrested, who were each fined 100…
- Phuket News
Meeting to discuss jet-ski crackdown
PHUKET TOWN: Following the death of a 13-year-old German boy on a jet-ski last month, the local office of the Marine Department will meet with the provincial government and other government agencies tomorrow to discuss measures to improve jet-ski safety on the island. Royal Thai Navy Lt Thongchai Mabangyang of Marine Department Office 5 told the Gazette that the department…
- Phuket News
Battle over elephant’s death
PHUKET TOWN : Veterinarian Taweepoke Angkawanish of the Lampang-based Thai Elephant Conservation Center (TECC) has held a press conference at Phuket Provincial Livestock Department to explain his role in the controversial death of an elephant he admits to having treated without its owner’s permission. The pachyderm, a female in her 40s named Phang Wassana, died at about 5 pm on…
- Phuket News
Diving lures more Russians
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is set to open an office in Moscow as Phuket attracts more visitors from Russia – especially for diving vacations. Napasorn Kakai, the Deputy Director of the local TAT office, told the Gazette yesterday, “Phuket is appealing to more and more Russian tourists. We now have 5,000 coming each year, especially between November…
- Phuket News
TAT denies move to give foreigners right to own land
BANGKOK: Reports that foreigners who buy the one-million-baht Thai Privilege Card will be able to own land have been denied by a senior official of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) parent of the card issuer, the Thai Privilege Card Co Ltd (TPC). The reports suggested that the government was moving to allow card-holders to buy and own up to…
- Phuket News
Public urged to join bad food crackdown
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Health Office held a press conference at its offices on Narisorn Rd today to announce a major campaign to crack down on unsanitary restaurants and outlets that sell meat and vegetables laced with dangerous chemicals. Speaking at the press conference,Vice-Governor Niran Kalayanamit said the inspection regimen of the Clean Food, Good Taste project would play…
- Phuket News
897 declare wild animal ownership
PHUKET: A total of 897 people in Phuket have been officially registered as having protected wild animals in their possession, Sukree Attaporn, Officer of Protected Area Management Administration 19 at Nakhon Sri Thammarat, has told the Gazette. The 19th area includes Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Nakhon Sri Thammarat). Compilation of the figure came after a 120-day amnesty for people…
- Phuket News
Dog pound strays to wrong site
THALANG: Completion of Phuket’s first large pound for stray dogs will be delayed for at least a month – and the chief of the Phuket Livestock Department plans to lodge a complaint with the Phuket Provincial Public Works Department for not building the facility to his specifications. Sunart Wongchawalit, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO), told the Gazette…
- Phuket News
PSU joins French tourism project
KATHU: The Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket Campus has joined a 5.4-million-baht project aimed at developing better ways of catering for tourists visiting France and Thailand. The aim is to improve standards and promote education about tourism, and to exchange knowledge about the cultures of the two countries. PSU will work on the program with the Université de Perpignan…
- Phuket News
Skipper accused of smuggling alcohol
THALANG: Marine Police seized 505 bottes of Champagne, wine and spirits in a raid on a rented house near the Yacht Haven marina this morning and accused a Frenchman of failing to pay import duty on the alcohol. Herve Letouze, 48, a catamaran captain, admitted importing the bottles but told police his intention was to drink the goods himself on…
- Phuket News
Pet owners moving out of Kamala
KAMALA: Pet owners have begun moving out of Kamala as poisonings of dogs and cats continue. One refugee is Andrew Scatter, whose 100,000-baht Weimaraner hunting dog, Gendolf, has been poisoned twice. Luckily, on each occasion Gendolf was taken to a vet in time for him to be treated, and he survived. But Mr Scatter says he has had enough and…
- Phuket News
Osaka-Phuket direct flights begin
PHUKET TOWN: Thai Airways International (THAI) has begun direct flights from Osaka, Japan, to Phuket using a 200-seat Airbus. The thrice-weekly service, on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays service, designated as flight TG-637, leaves Osaka at 1:25 am and arrives in Phuket at 6:35 am local time. The service got underway on October 27, the same day as the new THAI…
- Phuket News
Anti-smoking “cops’ to get tough
PHUKET: To mark the first anniversary of the ban on smoking in public venues, officials from the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) will scour the island from November 8 to purge Phuket of persistent puffers. Acting Chief PPHO Somboon Aiyarak today said that from midnight on November 7, PPHO officers will enforce the ban more stringently than they have during…
