Search Results for: cat

  • Phuket NewsPatong may be first beach to have lifeguards | Thaiger

    Patong may be first beach to have lifeguards

    KATHU: Pol. Col. Kokiat Wongvorachart, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette this morning that his unit is sponsoring two new tourist safety projects for the coming high season in Patong. The proposals are currently awaiting approval from the Ministry of Interior in Bangkok. Khun Kokiat says he is optimistic that approval, along with the required budget allocations, will…

  • Phuket NewsRough seas for software pirate | Thaiger

    Rough seas for software pirate

    BANGKOK (AFP) – A Thai-Japanese engineering firm has paid the largest ever out-of-court settlement in southeast Asia for the use of pirated software, a software industry alliance announced this morning. “This settlement sends a very clear warning: using pirated software carries high risks and will result in severe financial penalties,” said Heuy Tan of the Business Software Alliance (BSA) in…

  • Phuket NewsPhuket Town has “best police station in the South’ | Thaiger

    Phuket Town has “best police station in the South’

    PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Town Police Station has won a special award for being the best police station in southern Thailand, beating 111 other police stations in the seven provinces that comprise Police Region 8. The citation came as part of a nationwide drive by the Ministry of Interior to improve police operations in Thailand. Police stations were evaluated on…

  • Phuket NewsQantas 747 accident closes airport runway | Thaiger

    Qantas 747 accident closes airport runway

    BANGKOK (AFP): One runway at Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport was closed today after a jet belonging to the Australian airline Qantas ploughed off the end of it while landing in heavy rain last night. None of the 410 passengers and crew aboard the plane was seriously injured, a Qantas spokeswoman said, but the Boeing 747 sustained damage to the nose,…

  • Phuket NewsMan found dead with 58 stab wounds | Thaiger

    Man found dead with 58 stab wounds

    PHUKET: Police are trying to identify a man found dead yesterday of multiple stab wounds in the playing fields on Soi Si Sena, near Phya Thai Hospital. Pol Maj Vinai Kongkaew of the Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that the man had 58 stab wounds — in his back, neck and ears. The victim, Pol Maj Vinai said,…

  • Phuket NewsPolice step up action against fuel smugglers | Thaiger

    Police step up action against fuel smugglers

    PHUKET TOWN: The Marine Police have stepped up checks on Thai-flag vessels in an effort to curb any rise in gasoline or diesel smuggling, following the latest increase in fuel prices. A further 30 satang per liter was added to fuel prices yesterday, the result of a combination of rising international oil prices and the falling value of the baht…

  • Phuket NewsSlaughter of stray dogs begins | Thaiger

    Slaughter of stray dogs begins

    PHUKET TOWN: Dog owners in Phuket Town have been warned to keep their animals at home until the end of September as a drive to shoot stray dogs gets underway. Municipal employees, hunting in teams of four, will use darts fired from powerful air guns to kill any stray dogs found on the streets of Phuket Town. The carcases will…

  • Phuket NewsGun found: May be Supercheap murder weapon | Thaiger

    Gun found: May be Supercheap murder weapon

    PHUKET TOWN: Police say they have found a gun that may be the one used in the Supercheap murder-robbery on Monday. Speaking with reporters today, Pol Maj Gen Kongpol Suwannaraks, commander of police in Phuket Province, declined to say where the gun had been found. He said investigators are currently awaiting the results of forensic tests to determine whether the…

  • Phuket NewsTax Office reaps huge gains from business profits | Thaiger

    Tax Office reaps huge gains from business profits

    PHUKET: If tax paid by businesses is any indication of an island’s prosperity, then Phuket has made a positively astounding recovery from the depths of the Asian crisis. According to the latest figures from the Phuket Provincial Revenue Office, revenue from Juristic Income Tax, levied on the net income of most companies and partnerships, is up by a massive 52.7%…

  • Phuket NewsSurvey of tourists highlights problems | Thaiger

    Survey of tourists highlights problems

    PHUKET: The Provincial Government is to look at ways of improving certain aspects of tourism on the island, following a survey of foreign tourists’ attitudes before and after visiting Thailand. The survey, conducted in Phuket by Sasirat Tanapanpanis of the local branch of the Office of Educational, Religious and Cultural Development, spotlighted the following five main problems, in descending order…

  • Phuket NewsFisherman drowns while diving for shellfish | Thaiger

    Fisherman drowns while diving for shellfish

    CHALONG: A 38-year-old fisherman drowned among the mangroves at Pakrongmudong, Tambon Vichit, yesterday afternoon. Police, who named the dead man as Virrut Sawatdirak, from Srakaew, said he and three friends had gone diving for shellfish. The friends told police that all had drunk some alcohol beforehand, “but not too much”. They did not realise that Khun Virrut was in trouble…

  • Phuket NewsWastewater project said to be on schedule | Thaiger

    Wastewater project said to be on schedule

    PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Municipal Councilor Ayoot Thansiriroj told the Gazette this morning that installation of the large wastewater pipe beneath Mae Luan Road in Phuket Town is now complete. The work, part of Phase Two of the municipality’s wastewater treatment project, began in May of this year. Starting next month, work will begin on laying pipe in Anuphasphuketkarn Road, near…

  • Phuket NewsNo more elephants in Phuket: Governor | Thaiger

    No more elephants in Phuket: Governor

    PHUKET: The Governor of Phuket, Chadej Insawang, has announced a ban on any more elephants being brought into the province for commercial purposes. Announcing the decision on Tuesday at a seminar, organized by the Department of Livestock Development and attended by 75 elephant keepers from Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, the Governor said, “Phuket has 170 elephants in 27 camps.…

  • Phuket NewsMan found shot dead in tin mine | Thaiger

    Man found shot dead in tin mine

    PHUKET TOWN: Kupai Foundation staff found a corpse floating in an abandoned tin mine on Chao Fa Nok Rd on Sunday. Police called to the scene described the corpse as male, wearing an unbuttoned black shirt and Chinese trousers. Kupai Foundation staff found one gunshot wound in the back of the head and another in the right chest, with an…

  • Phuket NewsUnidentified bodies washed up on Patong Beach | Thaiger

    Unidentified bodies washed up on Patong Beach

    PATONG: Kathu Police have appealed for help in identifying two men found dead on Patong Beach last weekend. The first was found early on Saturday morning in front of Kamonland, a cabana hotel. Police said the man was about 45 to 50 years old, wearing violet shorts and a green T-shirt inside a long-sleeved grey shirt. An autopsy showed the…

  • Phuket NewsAmerican believed murdered in Bangkok | Thaiger

    American believed murdered in Bangkok

    BANGKOK, Aug 4 (AFP) – An American found dead in a central Bangkok hotel room with a plastic bag covering his head was believed to have been murdered, police said this morning. Wayne Tischbern, 58, was found yesterday when hotel staff informed police that he had spent an unusually long time in his room. Tischbern was handcuffed, there was tape…

  • Phuket NewsTAT outlines plans to mark the Millennium | Thaiger

    TAT outlines plans to mark the Millennium

    PHUKET: It’s early yet, but the Tourism Authority of Thailand has made tentative plans to mark the new millennium with a “Goodbye 1999 -Welcome 2000” party at the sunset-watchers’ favorite location, Laem Phromthep. Anuparp Thirarath, Director of TAT’s southern office, said he is currently waiting for Bangkok to approve his proposal and the 200,000-baht budget it will need. The party,…

  • Phuket NewsFame and money not enough to win local elections | Thaiger

    Fame and money not enough to win local elections

    PHUKET TOWN: A survey by Rajabhat Institute into voters’ beliefs in the run-up to Sunday’s Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) elections reveals that voters have very definite ideas of what they expect of those elected. It is also clear that having a lot of money or being well known will not necessarily attract many votes. What most of the voters want…

  • Phuket NewsPenguins storm to 51-0 victory in Phuket Rugby 7s | Thaiger

    Penguins storm to 51-0 victory in Phuket Rugby 7s

    PHUKET TOWN: Like one of the tropical squalls that swept the Saphan Hin field from time to time during the second and last day of the Singha Phuket International Rugby Sevens tournament, the Penguins RFC side – representing England – swept all before them, burying Germany under wave after wave of attacks to rack up a final score of 51-0.…

  • Phuket NewsEight arrested for selling copy watches | Thaiger

    Eight arrested for selling copy watches

    PATONG: Authorities confiscated nearly 2,000 fake watches with a street value of more than 5 million baht from two shops, and arrested five men and three women, aged 18 to 41, on charges of violating the Trademark Act of 1991. Pol Maj Gen Teerajitr Uttama, deputy director of the Bangkok-based Center for Intellectual Property and Copyright Violation Control, and Pol…

  • Phuket NewsPolice open rice shop to help poor officers | Thaiger

    Police open rice shop to help poor officers

    PHUKET: Police in Phuket have gone into the rice business as a way for impoverished officers and their families to supplement their income. Pol Col Chalit Thintanee, superintendent of the Phuket Town Police Station, and his deputy, Pol Lt Col Samarn Chainarong, came up with the idea after seeing how Bangkok Police had successfully allowed officers in the capital to…

  • Phuket NewsReport casts gloom on Thai banks | Thaiger

    Report casts gloom on Thai banks

    BANGKOK, June 23 (AFP) – Thailand’s banking sector plunged into fresh gloom Wednesday as US ratings agency Moody’s Investors Service said the crisis-hit industry remained “deeply impaired.” The judgment came at a time when many investors had been expecting ratings upgrades from foreign agencies for debt-laden Thai banks which have been struggling to recapitalise. In a report received here Wednesday,…

  • Phuket NewsReduced phone charges to US and Canada | Thaiger

    Reduced phone charges to US and Canada

    PHUKET: The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) has reduced call charges to Canada and the United States, including Hawaii, Khun Worawit Worapiboonpong, Chief of the Phuket Telecommunications Center, has announced. Reductions of up to 20% apply to all calls made from June 1, resulting in the following charges per minute: 5 am to 7 am, and 9 pm to midnight:…

  • Phuket NewsInferno yacht to be salvaged | Thaiger

    Inferno yacht to be salvaged

    PHUKET: The Head of the Harbour Master’s Office has told the Gazette that the wreck of the yacht Catalina, which burned and sank in Chalong Bay in March, will be salvaged. Khun Soontree Hirunwan said that following talks with a representative of the Catalina’s owners, a salvage company has been contracted to raise the wreck in the coming week. Following…

  • Phuket NewsFisherman finds unidentified corpse | Thaiger

    Fisherman finds unidentified corpse

    THALANG: A fisherman yesterday found the body of an unidentified man in the water near Baan Tah Chat Chai. Police said the dead man was Asian, dressed in brown trousers and shirt. They estimated his age at around 25 to 30 years, and his height at about 1.6 metres. The corpse carried no identification, but police believe he may have…

  • Phuket NewsRugby star’s wife hospitalised after accident | Thaiger

    Rugby star’s wife hospitalised after accident

    PHUKET TOWN: The wife of top Australian rugby player Kerrod Walters was rushed to the Bangkok Phuket Hospital in the early hours of Sunday (May 9) after an accident in a tuk-tuk near the Safari Club in Patong. Mr Walters told the Gazette that his wife Maureen, 31, was on holiday in Phuket with a friend, staying at the Patong…

  • Phuket NewsMountain hikes to resume | Thaiger

    Mountain hikes to resume

    PATTANI PROVINCE: Local authorities here have decided to repeat their successful eco-hikes to the top of Sankalakiri Mountain, the highest peak in southern Thailand. Over the course of two days and one night, hikers will be guided through the forest and to the top of the mountain. From the summit, 1,300 metres above sea level, they can look down into…

  • Phuket NewsWeatherman warns swimmers: Be careful! | Thaiger

    Weatherman warns swimmers: Be careful!

    PHUKET: The island’s top meteorologist has warned that people should be careful when swimming off Phuket’s beaches because of large swells generated by storms out at sea. Khun Amorn Chantanavivate, Director of the Meteorological Department, said a tropical depression over the South China Sea was causing storms in the region. He urged swimmers to check flags on beaches to see…

  • Phuket NewsMinistry boss gives progress the thumbs-up | Thaiger

    Ministry boss gives progress the thumbs-up

    PHUKET TOWN: A senior government official today gave Phuket his seal of approval for its progress in implementing projects funded by the central government. Khun Anand Tejavanija, Deputy Director-General of the Community Development Department of the Ministry of the Interior explained that he was visiting Phuket to check on progress in using the 2.15 million baht allocated by Bangkok for…

  • Phuket NewsBusiness registrations up 30% over last year | Thaiger

    Business registrations up 30% over last year

    PHUKET TOWN: New businesses registered in the first quarter of this year show an increase of 30 percent over the same period in 1998, indicating a surge of confidence in the island’s economy. Khun Virachai Tantiwattanawanlop, Head Administrator of the Phuket Commercial Registration Department, told the Gazette that in the first three months of 1999, 163 new firms registered with…