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- Phuket News
Notorious pirate caught
RANONG (AFP): Police said today they had arrested notorious pirate Viroj Buasuwan, better known as “Roj 100 Corpses” for his brutal treatment of ships’ crews. Viroj, 50, was arrested on Saturday in Ranong on charges related to an attack on the Burmese trawler “Thorae” in January, the Crime Suppression Unit said. Roj and his 20-strong gang forced the crew of…
- Phuket News
TAT issues swimming warning
PHUKET: The local branch of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) today warned that people should not swim at beaches where red flags or warning signs indicate that it is unsafe to do so. The warning was issued, the TAT said, in light of statistics that show that drowning is the leading cause of death among tourists during the southwestern…
- Phuket News
First case of rat disease reported
PHUKET: The first known case of leptospirosis contracted in Phuket has been reported by Thalang Hospital, the Provincial Health Office has announced. The victim is a 32-year-old Phuket man living in Moo 4, Baan Don, Thalang. He checked into Thalang Hospital on June 21 after suffering from a serious headache for about six days. The whites of his eyes were…
- Phuket News
Phuket sees boom in new businesses
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket is still the Number One place in southern Thailand in which to open a business, according to Veerachai Tantiwathanavallop, Director of the Phuket Commercial Registration Office. A total of 392 business were registered between January 1 and May 31, an average of 78 new businesses a month. “That is about 10% to 15% higher than last year,”…
- Phuket News
Owners urged to give land for expo center
PHUKET TOWN: The Governor of Phuket has asked local landowners to donate 100 rai of land for the construction of an international convention and exhibition center (CEC). The call by Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi came at a meeting held this afternoon in the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization chamber. Also present at the meeting were representatives of the Tourism Authority of Thailand…
- Phuket News
Power grid ‘will improve radically’
PHUKET: By December next year, Phuket will have a much more sophisticated and reliable electricity supply, according to experts from the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) and the European Union (EU), which is providing some of the funds for upgrading the system. The upgrade includes the construction of two new substations in addition to the existing two and the laying of…
- Phuket News
Nepal’s crown prince kills parents, relatives
KATHMANDU (AFP): Nepal’s crown prince shot dead his parents – the king and queen – and several other relatives during a family dinner at the royal palace here before turning the gun on himself, officials said this afternoon. King Birendra, Queen Aishwarya and nine other people were killed when Crown Prince Dipendra opened fire with a semi-automatic weapon during the…
- Phuket News
Embassy clarifies visa rules – sort of
KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Thai Embassy in Kuala Lumpur has clarified the reasons for its recent imposition of harsh “old” requirements for a Non-Immigrant B visa, in particular as they apply to any foreigner wanting to go to Thailand on a business trip. As reported by the Gazette Online yesterday the consulate in KL has, since May 21, been handing…
- Phuket News
Seatran wins port tender with 90m baht bid
PHUKET TOWN: Seatran Travel Co Ltd has won the tender to run the Rassada Port with a bid worth more than 90 million baht over the 30 years of the lease. The port is owned by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor). The decision was announced on Friday by the OrBorJor’s Deputy President, Wisut Santikun, who headed the committee examining…
- Phuket News
Phuket shut out of medals in Rugby 10s
SAPHAN HIN: So far but no further was the catchphrase for Phuket this afternoon, as the Phuket Barbarians crashed out of the Cup semi-finals in the Phuket Island Lager International Rugby Tens, going down 0-27 to the eventual winners, Hong Kong FC Vandals. The Phuket Vagabonds, meanwhile, slaughtered the Hong Kong Bulls 40-0 in the Bowl semi-finals, only to be…
- Phuket News
Gov to lobby against flight change
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi is to request the government to reconsider the switching of a Thai Airways International (THAI) service from Phuket to Bangkok. THAI has announced that its twice-weekly service between Perth, Australia, and Phuket will be canceled. Starting from October 1, the flights will land in Bangkok instead. Governor Pongpayome said yesterday, “I don’t agree with this…
- Phuket News
Gov urges businesses to tell him of problems
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi today urged foreign investors in Phuket to inform him of their suggestions, complaints and problems so he could deal with them or pass them on to the government. Speaking at the monthly meeting of the International Business Association of Phuket at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, the governor also stressed that corruption in government…
- Phuket News
Two million baht robbery reported
PHUKET TOWN: At 10 am on Monday, May 14, Sophana Tawahudee reported to Phuket Town police station that her house on Mae Luan Rd had been robbed, and that cash and valuables worth over two million baht had been stolen. K. Sophana, the manager at the Andaman Sea View Hotel in Karon, said that the bandit had made off with…
- Phuket News
Thailand’s Hotel Act to be overhauled
PHUKET TOWN: A forum, instigated by Phuket’s Democrat MP Anchalee Vanich Thepabutra, was held at The Metropole hotel on Saturday to brainstorm proposed amendments to the Hotel Act. The forum was attended by all three Phuket MPs; the Thai Hotels Association’s vice-president and president of the southern chapter, Sithi Tandavanitj; the honorary advisor to the Thai Hotels Association, Sampan Panpat;…
- Phuket News
American dies at police station
PHUKET TOWN: An American man died after falling off a chair early yesterday morning while in custody at the Phuket Town Police Station. Police named the 56-year-old man as William Bryan Brooks. Pol Maj Adul Nirapai of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that he had received a call late Monday night from staff at the Bai Fern restaurant…
- Phuket News
New QSI director denies closure rumors
KATHU: The new director of the QSI International School of Phuket, Dr Paul Finkbeiner, has emphatically denied rumors that the school is about to shut. “We are definitely not closing down. If that were true, then I wouldn’t be here,” he said, adding, “I plan on staying here for two years. But if things go well, they may have to…
- Phuket News
Laser speed trap on airport road
PHUKET: Motorists traveling north towards the airport are advised to take their feet off the gas until the end of this week at least, or risk paying a fine for speeding. Every day until Saturday, police officers will be been perched atop the footbridge near the Muang Thalang School, armed with a pair of laser speed guns, while, 300 meters…
- Phuket News
Malaysia puts harsh brakes on Thai drivers
KHUAN DON, THAILAND: In a move sure to bring frowns and grimaces to the Land of Smiles, Thailand’s neighbor to the south has introduced measures making it an almost hopeless enterprise for Thais to enter Malaysia by automobile. At the Khuan Don border (near Satun) this afternoon, Malaysian authorities in spiffy blue uniforms were handing out “Rules” flyers to scores…
- Phuket News
Free dive master training for Thais
PHUKET: The Dive Operators’ Club of Thailand (DOCT), Phuket Chapter, is seeking Thai applicants to train as dive masters in response to the shortage of Thai dive masters on the island. Applicants must be at least 18 years old. They must have a working knowledge of English, a high-school education, be physically fit and able to swim, and have their…
- Phuket News
Police seize 2 tonnes of smuggled meat
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Marine Police yesterday evening raided a warehouse in Moo Bann Iravadee on the bypass road after receiving a report that it contained smuggled cigarettes. But instead of illegal smokes, they found about two tonnes of illegally imported meat, worth about 200,000 baht. Pol Lt Col Bunjerd Piriyavong of the Phuket Marine Police told the Gazette that…
- Phuket News
Thai Airways board appointments spark protest
BANGKOK (AFP): Hundreds of aviation industry employees rallied today outside the headquarters of Thai Airways to protest the company’s new board of directors, which they say is rife with cronyism. Wearing symbolic black dress, workers from Thai Airways and Aeronautical Radio of Thailand surrounded a limousine carrying Deputy Transportation and Communication Minister Pracha Maleenond, who will chair a meeting of…
- Phuket News
Gov denies being too strict
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi yesterday denied being too strict on work permits and new company registrations. He insisted that he was simply enforcing the law. “I haven’t been too strict or done anything extraordinary,” he told the Gazette. “All I’ve done is ensure that procedures are followed according to Thai law. “The problem before was that no one checked…
- Phuket News
TAT rejects “Phuket too costly’ claim
PHUKET: Anuphap Teerarat, director of the Phuket office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), today rejected criticism from a German movie producer that Phuket has priced itself out of the market as far as film-makers are concerned. The producer, Wolfgang Rademann, was quoted in the Bangkok Post as saying that he had opted to shoot his made-for-TV movie, which…
- Phuket News
Homeowners urged to join watch program
PATONG: Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, has urged Patong homeowners and tenants to notify the police when they go on vacation, leaving their homes unattended. Police officers will check on the houses while on patrol. A red box will be installed in front of each home, containing a logbook for patrolmen to sign when they check…
- Phuket News
What next? Dog passports, of course
PHUKET: Phuket has begun issuing dog passports, making it the first place in Asia (and the second in the world) to do so, according to the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO). Koh Samui will be the next location in Thailand to adopt the system, with the rest of the country to follow in due course. The introduction of dog passports,…
- Phuket News
Abattoir worker slaughtered
PHUKET TOWN: A slaughterhouse worker died an ironic death in the early hours of Friday morning when his throat was cut during an argument that got out of hand. Police were called to housing near Suan Luang Park on Chao Fa Nai Rd after neighbors witnessed the killing. Pol Capt Anukul Nuket of Phuket Town Police Station, naming the dead…
- Phuket News
Appeal for 12-year-old’s kin to come forward
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Public Welfare Office (PWO) has made a public appeal for the relatives of Worawut Hahom – or anyone who knows anything of their whereabouts – to come forward. Worawut was eight years old when he was sentenced by a court to four years of state care and rehabilitation at the Observation and Protection Center (OPC) of…
- Phuket News
Crackdown on drunk driving
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Police and the Phuket Provincial Health Office are to launch a breath-test campaign to catch drunk drivers, starting in the early hours of Friday, March 30. Happily for drunk drivers, Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, Chief of the Health Office, has revealed that the checks will take place in front of Surakul stadium between 2 and 4…
- Phuket News
Police learn about international crimes
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Provincial Police hosted a seminar today aimed at educating police in Region 8 about economic and international crimes. Topics discussed at the seminar, held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, included detection of counterfeit US currency and forged credit cards, and crimes involving international criminals. The seminar brought together police officers from Phuket, Surat Thani, Nakhon Sri…
- Phuket News
Seized luxury yacht to be auctioned
PHUKET TOWN: A luxury motor yacht, which was seized when its Singaporean owner failed to pay import duty, is to be auctioned on March 20 at Phuket Customs Region 5 on Phuket Rd. The yacht’s owner kept it more than six months in Phuket without paying the crushing import duty of about 200%. The yacht, a Sealine T46 built in…