Search Results for: cat
- Phuket News
Classic ketch gutted in boatyard blaze
RASSADA: Police suspect that a smoldering cigarette butt caused an early-morning fire that gutted a 25-meter yacht in dry dock at Phuket Fishing Port. Maj Wicharn Suwannasit of Phuket City Police told the Gazette that he was notified of a boat ablaze just before midnight on Monday night. Police and firefighters arrived to find several people trying to douse the…
- Thailand News
Mischievous monkey meddlers meet their match
SRISAKET: A man was arrested in the early hours of February 21 for kidnapping monkeys from a popular tourist spot in Rasi Salai District. Police believe the monkeys were to be smuggled to Korea, to be eaten for perceived health-giving benefits.At 3:30 am, Pol Lt Col Wisanu Reuangsri, an investigating officer at Rasi Salai District Police Station, received a phone…
- Phuket News
Outrigger to operate West Sands resort
MAI KHAO: Lifestyle-property developer and management company Outrigger Enterprises Group announced on Thursday that it will manage West Sands Resort, Phuket, a mixed-use luxury resort and residential development currently under construction by Central & City Developments at Mai Khao Beach.West Sands is seen by Outrigger Enterprises as a showcase resort as the company moves to establish a strong presence in…
- Phuket News
Blues Fest rocks Karon
KARON: Blues fans were treated to a lineup of local and international acts last night at the first night of the Phuket International Blues Rock Festival at the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort and Spa. Gates opened at 6 pm and the crowd slowly swelled as the acts played late into the night. Bangkok-based Soi Dog Blues Band were the first…
- Phuket News
Officer charged over tsunami funds misappropriation
BANGKOK (Kom Chad Luek): The Royal Thai Police Disciplinary Division has charged a high-ranking officer in the Foreign Affairs Division over alleged improprieties in the use of funds for the Thailand Tsunami Victims Identification (TTVI) center.Col Chaiyaporn Wannaprapa, Deputy Commander of the Disciplinary Division of the Royal Thai Police, on February 12 announced that Col Pornprasert Karnjanarin was formally notified…
- Phuket News
Three coastal projects denied building permits
PHUKET: The Provincial Natural Resources and Environment (PNRE) committee chaired by Phuket Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima has denied building permits for three marine projects, citing Interior Ministry regulations prohibiting such construction in six tambons.Declined were an application from Trisara resort developer Three Dolphins Co Ltd to build a wharf in Cherng Talay for boats under 20 tons displacement; an application for a floating…
- Thailand News
Tanked-up tiger taming leads to trauma
AYUDHAYA: Taming big cats, whether they are lions or tigers, generally requires a long period of dedicated training – and no small amount of skill and courage. After a drinking session recently, one man in Ayudaya Province persuaded his zoo-keeper friend to let him have a go at taming a large tiger – with sadly predictable results. Prasert Yomprakong, originally…
- Phuket News
German death-plunge treated as “suicide’
PATONG: In what police are treating as a case of suicide, a German man fell to his death from the 20th floor of the Royal Paradise Hotel yesterday morning.Kathu Police Superintendent Col Grissak Songmoonnark identified the man as Alexander Staubl, 35.Police received a report of the death from hotel staff about 11 am. Mr Staubl’s body was found dressed in…
- Phuket News
American extradited on child molestation charges
PHUKET (Gazette, Nation, Kom Chad Luek): A man wanted for child molestation by police in the US state of Missouri was arrested Tuesday afternoon and has been turned over to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for extradition.During questioning, the suspect, Earl Russel Bonds, tried to kill himself by cutting his left wrist with scissors, but police seized the…
- Phuket News
Young writers set to jet to Dublin
BANGKOK (Nation): The winners of the 4th Annual Junior IMPAC Dublin Literary Awards for Thailand were announced yesterday.The writing competition theme, “If We Could Change the World” proved challenging enough to attract entries from almost 1,000 students throughout country.The competition was open to Thai students between 14 and 18 from Thailand’s four main regions – North, Northeast, South and Bangkok/Central.…
- Thailand News
Abbot killed in “chicken shoot’
KAMPHAENG PHET: A temple abbot was shot dead February 5 after one of his students mistook him for a chicken. Phra Khru Silwachirakan, known to his followers as Luang Por Pheuan, the abbot of Wat Traiphum in Phrankratai district, was tending cattle belonging to the wat with three followers, Phra Pui, 27, Sanong Phobanlang, 37, and Buntham Phairoj, 54, when…
- Phuket News
PPHO to clear the haze on smoking ban
PHUKET: While the ban on smoking in air-conditioned areas in bars, restaurants and nightclubs came into effect in Bangkok last night, entertainment venue and restaurant operators in Phuket have a temporary reprieve.Venue operators and smokers found breaking the new law in Phuket will not be fined until after the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has launched a public awareness campaign,…
- Phuket News
Missing Dane found dead
PATONG: The body of Danish tourist Henrik Rasmussen, 47, was discovered late yesterday afternoon in a section of Klong Pakbang behind the Royal Paradise Hotel, police have confirmed.Mr Rasmussen, who suffered from Down syndrome, left the Royal Paradise Hotel about 4:30 am on January 28 and had not been seen since, his cousin Helen Soerenson had earlier told the Gazette.Kathu…
- Phuket News
Concerns grow for missing Dane
PATONG: Danish tourist Henrik Rasmussen, 47, remains missing despite a reward of 10,000 baht for information that helps find the holidaymaker. Mr Rasmussen, who suffers from Down syndrome, disappeared from the Royal Paradise Hotel on January 28. “He left the hotel around 4:30 am to look for his lost mobile phone. We haven’t heard from him since,” said Mr Rasmussen’s cousin…
- Phuket News
Police shoot out tires to end driving spree
PHUKET CITY: A high-speed chase through Phuket City came to an end about midday on Monday when police shot out the tires of a pickup being driven by a man suffering from severe stress, with the pickup crashing into a concrete pole on Soi Korpai, off Phuket Rd.Phuket City Police Duty Officer Maj Keerati Triwai told the Gazette that Kusoldharm…
- Phuket News
HK billionaire to build mega-resort in Phang Nga
PHANG NGA: The Year of the Rat is certain to change the fortunes of a sleepy area of Phang Nga province, as a Hong Kong company owned by billionaire Richard Li has announced plans for a mega-resort project along the beach in Thai Muang district.Land acquired by Li’s company Pacific Century Premium Developments Limited (PCPD) in late 2007 totals 1,081.25…
- Phuket News
Danish tourist missing in Patong
PATONG: A reward of 10,000 baht is being offered for information that helps to find Danish tourist Henrik Rasmusen, 47, who was last seen about 10:30 pm on January 27 at the Royal Paradise Hotel, where he was staying.Mr Rasmusen, who has Down’s Syndrome, is tall, slim, has gray hair and a light gray beard and mustache.Anyone with information that may help locate…
- Phuket News
New animal shelter nears completion
PHUKET: The Soi Dog Foundation (SDF) has announced that a new dog shelter, animal hospital and education center will open next month in Mai Khao. Situated on 10 rai, the new facilities will not replace the government-run dog pound in Thalang, where the SDF has been operating for the past 15 months. In November, the SDF received a letter from…
- Phuket News
Aussies top tourist arrivals for Q1-3 2007
PHUKET CITY: When all the figures are in, tourist arrivals to Phuket in 2007 are expected to exceed five million and generate as much as 70 billion baht in revenue, Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) Vice-President Bhuritt Maswongsa said yesterday morning.At a meeting chaired by Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit at Phuket Provincial Hall, K. Bhuritt said that Tourism Authority of Thailand…
- Phuket News
Officers befuddled by seaplanes in Patong
PHUKET CITY: Destination Air seaplanes landing and taking off near the Amari Coral Beach Resort have left government officers in a spin about what to do with complaints about noise, safety and even fuel left floating in the planes’ wakes.At a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, Kathu District Chief Khantee Silapa said, “For nearly three months I have received complaints from…
- Phuket News
Glass adding to trash crisis – experts
PHUKET CITY: With the volume of trash generated in Phuket increasing almost 20% annually, Phuket is facing a waste disposal crises that needs immediate attention, experts told a seminar at the Phuket Provincial Office on January 28. Monthip Srirattana Tabuganon, Deputy Director-General of Natural Resources and Environment Ministry’s Department of Environmental Quality Promotion led the meeting, much of which focused…
- Phuket News
Desalination plant working at “near capacity’
KARON: After months of rectifying problems related to unstable power supply, Thailand’s second-largest desalination plant is finally working near full capacity, the Gazette has learned.The reverse-osmosis (RO) plant, located at the hairpin turn on the road from Karon to Patong, was completed mid-2006 at a cost of 528 million baht by REQ Water Service Ltd.By mid-2007, the plant was unable…
- Cannabis News
Gambling trumps crime statistics
PHUKET: Yet again, gambling has topped the monthly crime statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police, with 284 arrests in December.During the period, drug-related cases accounted for 131 arrests, of which 55 involved ya bah (methamphetamine). A total of precisely 13,041.5 pills were seized.Thirty people were arrested for using cannabis, with a total of just 39.4 grams confiscated. There were 23…
- Phuket News
NDWC to install more tsunami-warning buoys
PHUKET CITY: The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has finally received 165 million baht from the central government to install two more tsunami-warning buoys in the Andaman Sea. They are to be installed by the middle of this year, NDWC Director Dr Smith Dharmasaroja told a conference in Phuket City on January 21.The conference, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel…
- Phuket News
German caught robbin’ the hood
CHALONG: Jannik Norbert Volz, 19, from Germany, was arrested about 2 am on Sunday while he was attempting to steal a motorbike just after he had stolen a hunting bow and arrows from the Phuket Shooting Range.Police arrested Jannik and charged him with “nighttime theft”, which in Thailand carries a stiffer penalty than robbery in daylight, after he was seen stealing…
- Phuket News
Year of the Rat a boon to Phuket tourism
PHUKET CITY: Despite many public events being canceled in respect of the passing away of HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana on January 2, the Tourism Authority of Thailand expects a 20% increase in the number of mainland Chinese celebrating the upcoming Chinese New Year in Phuket over last year.The lunar-based Chinese New Year celebrations, this year marking the arrival of the…
- Phuket News
Two tonnes of smuggled beef goes up in flames
PHUKET CITY: Nearly two tonnes of smuggled beef went up in smoke at the Phuket Incinerator in Saphan Hin on Sunday. The meat, worth an estimated 153,600 baht, was from cattle infected with foot-and-mouth disease, said Phuket Vice-Govenor Smith Palawatvichai.Most smuggled meat was from diseased animals and was of low quality, he added.According to a press release issued by the…
- Phuket News
Slain frogman identified
KARON: After days of intense speculation, Chalong Police investigating the bizarre death of a frogman who attacked a Swiss yacht owner and a Thai woman on the night of January 9 have finally identified the attacker as German national Peter Michael Schmid, aged 35. The investigation by Chalong Police included showing pictures of the deceased frogman to hotel employees in…
- Phuket News
Party for the Little People
PHUKET: Parents around Thailand today have their hands full as the nation celebrates Children’s Day. To mark the annual event, free activities, prizes and entertainment are being held for youngsters around the island. Here, the Gazette has compiled a roundup of where to go and what to do to keep Phuket’s little people entertained on this special day. However, this…
- Phuket News
Banphaeo Hospital steps in to help OrBorJor
PHUKET CITY: Banphaeo Hospital in Samut Sakhon will next month sign a management contract agreeing to help the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) re-open the long-abandoned Phyathai Hospital as a public organization, to be run independently of the Public Health Ministry.OrBorJor President Anchalee Vanich Tephabutra said that when the new facility opens, hopefully by the end of the year, it…
