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- Phuket News
Auction of car numbers planned
PHUKET: Phuket will be the first province outside Bangkok to stage an auction of desirable car registration numbers. A total of 301 numbers will go on the block at the auction at the end of next month at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. Prasit Amarapan, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Transportation Office (PPTO), said that the auction follows two similar,…
- Phuket News
Speed up land probe, Gov urges
PHUKET TOWN: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura today urged officials looking into alleged land title abuses on the island to speed up their investigations and to work together in a more analytical way. After talking in detail to some 25 officers at the Provincial Hall, the Governor told media that the land issue needed to be resolved because delays could damage the…
- Thailand News
Fight night down at the wat
SRISAKET: Monks may not often lose their tempers but two did go head-to-head in a heated dispute recently over who got to sit closer to the temple abbot during a merit-making ceremony. The unfortunate incident occurred at Wat Jiang Isrimongkolworaraam in Srisaket province, where devotees had gathered for lunch and a merit-making ritual, to be performed by chief provincial monk…
- Phuket News
Foreign husbands still tied in knots
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Constitution Court yesterday issued a ruling that won’t make it any easier for foreign men married to Thai wives to become Thai citizens. The ruling effectively means that men born overseas will still be subject to complicated citizenship procedures. Foreign women married to Thai men are currently allowed to seek Thai nationality without having to go…
- Phuket News
Offshore oil plan causes alarm
KARON : A plan to unload large quantities of crude oil in the open sea north of Phuket and store it in Phang Nga has brought expressions of concern from Pamuke Achariyachai, Chairman of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, at a meeting with senior government ministers over the weekend. But his objections may be too late. “We are afraid of…
- Koh Samui News
Dulwich mulls opening school on Samui
KOH SAMUI: Dulwich International College (DIC) may open its doors on Koh Samui following a recent decision by the college’s governing body to go ahead with a feasibility study. “The study will, we hope, provide the evidence to support such a venture. The initial response from all parties has been overwhelmingly [favorable],” said DIC Headmaster, David Cook. If the study…
- Phuket News
Warning over forged Immigration stamps
PHUKET: The Superintendent of the Phuket Provincial Immigration Office, Pol Col Sayan Krasaesan, has warned foreigners not to use the services of companies or individuals offering immigration services. His warning comes after 12 foreigners were arrested at Sadao Immigration office and others in Bangkok for having forged entry stamps in their passports. The foreigners, including British, New Zealand and French…
- Phuket News
New Gov aims for transparent administration
PHUKET TOWN: Transparency in government and sorting out Phuket Town’s traffic congestion were the issues that the island’s new Governor CEO, Udomsak Usawarangkura, chose to highlight on his first day in office yesterday. Phuket needs to involve locals and visitors in an open style of government, and to ensure the safety of the four million overseas tourists who visit each…
- Cannabis News
Britons arrested for dealing drugs
KATHU: Two British men and four Thais have been arrested and charged with dealing ya bah (methamphetamines) after a series of “kiss-and-tell” raids on Monday. The charges carry the death penalty – an unlikely but theoretically possible punishment. Information obtained in the first raid led to a second raid, then a third raid. The Britons – named by police as…
- Phuket News
New Gov arrives in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Just one day before officially taking up his new post as Phuket Governor CEO, Udomsak Usawarangkura told reporters today that tourism development would remain a top priority under his leadership. “I will continue to emphasize tourism development for Phuket, as this is the island’s most important industry,” K. Udomsak said following a dinner with local officials at the…
- Phuket News
Nuclear reactor gets govt go-ahead
BANGKOK (The Nation): The controversial nuclear research reactor project in Nakhon Nayok has been given the construction go-ahead. This is despite the environmental impact assessment (EIA) not yet having been completed, and the safety analysis report having been rejected by a key committee. The National Commission on Atomic Energy for Peace yesterday approved the research project, to be built in…
- Phuket News
Drugs top priority for new Governor
PHUKET TOWN: A more intense campaign against illegal drugs will be the top priority when the new Governor CEO, Udomsak Usawarangkura, arrives in Phuket tomorrow, ready to step behind his desk on Wednesday. Coincidentally, October 1 also marks the beginning of a two-month nationwide campaign to eradicate illegal drugs from Thailand. It is hoped that by December 2, all 76…
- Phuket News
Thaksin rewards Gov’s wife
PHUKET TOWN: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has dipped into his own pocket and handed 100,000 baht to Mantana Vasaputi, wife of Phuket’s Governor CEO. She was one of nine provincial governors’ wives to receive awards for providing “a warm home” for their hard-working spouses. K. Mantana, 49, told the Gazette modestly that the award was a result of her husband’s…
- Phuket News
Park officials demolish illegal homes
THALANG: Some 200 heavily-armed police and officers of Sirinath National Park today tore down 14 buildings constructed illegally in the Pason Layan area of the park, including one abandoned holiday home. Satien Chuaynu, Chief of National Parks, Region 19, who is based in Nakhon Sri Thammarat and has responsibility for Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Krabi, Phang Nga and Phuket, told the…
- Phuket News
Work permit rules to change again
PHUKET: A heads-up for foreigners married to Thais: you may soon be in demand by companies, when new draft Labor Ministry regulations covering work permits for aliens come into force in October. Although the new regulations have not yet been published, Wirada Yuvaves, Chief of the Criteria System for Alien Work Permit Approval Consideration at the Ministry of Labor and…
- Phuket News
Dead pets thought to be work of poisoner
KAMALA: Residents of a village in Kamala suspect a poisoner has killed six pet dogs belonging to expatriates in the village over the past eight weeks. A Weimaraner German hunting dog valued at 100,000 baht almost became the poisoner’s seventh known victim earlier this month. According to the dog’s owner, Englishman Andrew Scatter, he was fortunate to save the life…
- Phuket News
Game over: Two held on software violations
PHUKET TOWN: Police officers accompanied by a lawyer from a software firm seized 25 computers and made two arrests in raids on Internet gaming shops in Phuket Town this afternoon. The attorney, representing Asiasoft International Co Ltd, first went to Net Pic, on Damrong Rd, where 11 computers were confiscated, and then to Log-in Internet, on Ong Sim Phai Rd,…
- Phuket News
Land probe turns to tin mines
PHUKET: The Phuket land investigation moved into a new phase this morning when Phuket Provincial Land Office (PPLO) Chief Saroj Ninkhate went to the Governor’s office to present Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi with a list of 57 former tin mine concession land plots in Kathu now in the hands of private owners. The PPLO alleges that all were issued Chanote…
- Koh Samui News
Phuket, Samui property show tops expectations
HONG KONG: Contracts worth a total of more than 180 million baht for the sale of homes in Phuket and Koh Samui were signed at the second annual Phuket & Samui Property Exhibition at Hong Kong’s Convention and Exhibition Center on September 12-14. At the show, organized by Graham Doven and Artasia Press, and co-sponsored by the Phuket Gazette, Laguna…
- Phuket News
One-year stay financial threshold to double
BANGKOK: A high-ranking official in the Immigration Bureau in Bangkok has confirmed that the minimum financial requirements for any foreign man wishing to apply for a one-year permit to stay on the basis of being married to a Thai will double from July 10 next year. Currently, a foreign man married to a Thai woman may obtain a one-year permit…
- Phuket News
Stolen coral seized but gang flees
RAWAI: More than 400 pieces of stolen coral were returned to the sea today after police interrupted a gang transferring it from a boat to land on Saturday night. Marine Police were given a tip-off that the gang would be landing their contraband at Rawai at 10 pm. When the officers arrived, they saw four people moving the coral to…
- Phuket News
Thaksin vows to end “evil’ in Thailand
PHUKET TOWN: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra said yesterday that he would bring an end to “evil” in Thailand through the government’s current campaign against “dark influences”. Speaking at a top-level meeting focused on crushing Thailand’s “dark influences” and drug problems, PM Thaksin said, “I will bring an end to the evil.” He added, “[Currently] 35% of all businesses [in Thailand]…
- Phuket News
Fake goods raids continue
PATONG: Two fake goods vendors were caught and imitation brand-name goods with a street value of 1 million baht were seized in raids last night, Tharadol Thongruang, Deputy Director of Phuket Commercial Affairs Office, told the Gazette today. The 1,000 items seized included fake Levi, Lacoste, Calvin Klein, Camel and Polo brands. One vendor selling fake goods on Soi Bangla…
- Phuket News
Overseas calls, Internet costs to be slashed?
PHUKET TOWN: The Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) wants to drastically reduce the cost of overseas calls and high-speed Internet connections in Phuket, ICT Minister Surapong Suebwonglee said yesterday. Acknowledging complaints by IT-related companies in Phuket that connection costs are too high, Dr Surapong said that he would talk with the Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) and other…
- Phuket News
Phuket Town green team wins award
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Town Municipality has won top honors in a contest run by the Thai Environment and Community Development Association (Tecda) for having the most outstanding recycling project of 85 government offices and private businesses. Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok explained, “Phuket Municipality was chosen because of its well-organized project plans, which are administered by the project committees.” The…
- Thailand News
When the village headman loses it
BURI RAM: A mentally-disturbed man in Buri Ram’s Ban Dan district sliced off the head of his brother-in-law then walked around the village in a demented state, carrying the head in a plastic bag and laughing. The incident occurred in Tambon Prasaat on the morning of August 2. The victim, a 68-year-old farmer named Bun Tharuangrum, was living in the…
- Phuket News
“Intelligent’ traffic lights switched on
PHUKET TOWN: The island’s capital stepped up to a new level of technology yesterday with the switching-on of an “intelligent” traffic light system at the intersection of Thepkrasattri Rd and Komarapaj Rd. Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok explained that the Komarapaj Rd intersection is the location of the town’s longest traffic delays, which was why it was chosen for trials…
- Phuket News
Airport to get B200m makeover
PHUKET: In a move to improve Phuket International Airport, 200 million baht will be spent upgrading the docking aprons, improving the terminal facilities to cope with more travelers and doubling the cargo area, the airport’s director told the Gazette today. Lt Cdr Boonchart Prompoon, Director of the Airports Authority of Thailand, Phuket, explained that the upgrade will be implemented in…
- Phuket News
Subsidized computers scheme launched
PHUKET: A nationwide scheme to allow Thais to get laptop computers more cheaply has been launched as a way to boost computer literacy and skills. Applications to buy the state-subsidized “Notebook ICT” computers are being accepted at Thai post offices across the country until the end of this month. Seven different models are available, including machines by Jade Quantum, SVOA,…
- Phuket News
Yacht import duty close to being scrapped
KARON: The Customs and Excise Departments have recommended that the government scrap import duty on foreign-made yachts, the Director General of the Customs Department, Chavalit Sethameteekul, said today. K. Chavalit made the announcement before joining the meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Sub-Committee on Customs Procedures this morning at the Phuket Arcadia Beach Resort. “Phuket will be a haven…