Search Results for: thailand
- Phuket News
Town to get bus service soon, maybe (Part II)
PHUKET TOWN: Attempts to get Phuket Town’s first real bus service up and running – originally scheduled to start last May – are still on, and are still inching toward reality. Samkhan Saengfai, managing director of PB Holdings, which has a seven-year operating license from the Phuket Provincial Transport Office, told the Gazette that the service has been delayed because…
- Phuket News
CAT slashes Internet and video conference fees
PHUKET: The Phuket Telecommunications Center (PTC), a division of the Communication Authority of Thailand (CAT), has announced a 50% reduction in the fees charged for two of the services it provides. Internet connection fees have been cut from one baht a minute to 50 satang (the three baht fee for the first minute will remain unchanged). With a CATNET card,…
- Phuket News
Nine arrested for gasoline smuggling
PHUKET: Marine Police on Wednesday seized two vessels and 116,000 liters of smuggled gasoline. Nine crew members of the two vessels were arrested. Pol Col Misakawan Buara, Superintendent of Phuket Marine Police said that his men had seized the Chockkrating 222, a modified fishing boat, with 110,000 liters of fuel on board, along with the Suapisarn 10 which had on…
- Phuket News
Rises in Immigration fees put on hold
PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration Office, like all other Immigration offices in Thailand, has rescinded steep rises in visa and other fees which were introduced recently. The rises, which quadrupled the existing fees, were contained in a new immigration law brought into force on November 12. However, a subsequent notice from Immigration headquarters in Bangkok on November 29 ordered the new…
- Phuket News
“Too sexy’ policewomen get a dressing-down
BANGKOK (AFP): Policewomen in Thailand were today ordered to cover up, after a top police chief complained that too many officers were wearing miniskirts and body-hugging uniforms. “A number of policewomen wore too tight uniforms with short skirts, colorful makeup and have dyed hair,” said a government statement. Pol Lt Gen Somchai Milindangkura said a special team had been established…
- Phuket News
Phuket MP to press for probe into immigration laws
PHUKET: Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, Phuket’s Member of Parliament, has agreed to help foreigners living in Thailand by pushing for a top-level inquiry into the way the country’s immigration laws are applied. Khun Anchalee was shown Section 5 of the Alien Registration Act which – as reported in the Gazette on October 15 – requires all foreigners to register with police and…
- Phuket News
Police issue sketch of foreign gunman
CHERNG TALAY: Thai police have issued a sketch of a Western gunman wanted for murdering Thai restaurateur Lor-man Karnjanasadoong last Tuesday at Bang Tao Beach. The gunman is described as being about 170 cm tall, with pale skin and a silver cap on an upper right tooth. Police believe the man goes by the name “Oliver” and that he is…
- Phuket News
Ranong crossing reopens for visa runs
RANONG: Following a visit to Myanmar by Thai Foreign Minister Surin Pitsuwan on Monday, border crossings between Thailand and Burma reopened yesterday afternoon, allowing foreigners from Phuket once more to take a long-tail boat from Ranong Town to the Burmese side to renew their visas. Although some media announced that all border crossings had opened yesterday morning, Ranong was initially…
- Phuket News
Execution of woman is first in 20 years
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand has executed its first female prisoner in two decades, the Corrections Department said in a statement today. It said that Samai Barn-in, 59, was executed by firing squad late yesterday, along with two men. She received the death sentence after police found four kilograms of heroin in her possession in 1994. She had 12 previous convictions for…
- Phuket News
Police target criminals who prey on tourists
BANGKOK (AFP): In a major publicity drive ahead of His Majesty The King’s birthday celebrations next month, Thai police today launched a nationwide crackdown on criminals who target tourists. The operation was launched simultaneously by the national Tourist Police in major centres around the country, officers said. “This sweep is against any illegal activity involving tourism, illegal tour operators, unfair…
- Phuket News
Cabinet approves huge hike in work permit fees
BANGKOK: A proposal by the Ministry of Labor to raise the price of renewing a work permit has been passed by the Thai Cabinet, bringing massive rises in fees a step closer. The proposal must be ratified by Parliament before the change in legislation comes into effect. This may take up to a year. Should the proposed legislation be accepted…
- Phuket News
Pirates arrested with hijacked vessel
PHUKET: Authorities in Bombay have arrested the pirates who seized a Japanese freighter off the coast of Indonesia on October 22, Phuket Marine Police said today. The pirates set the crew of the vessel, the Alondra Rainbow, adrift on a raft on October 29. They were found 11 days later by Thai fishermen who brought them to Phuket. Pol Col…
- Phuket News
Two tourists killed, two hurt in van crash
CHIANG MAI (AFP): Two British tourists were killed and a Dutchman was injured this afternoon when a van crashed near a mountain-top retreat in northern Thailand. According to police, the accident happened when the van, hired by a tour company, went into a spin on a mountain road and hit crash barriers in northern Chiang Mai province, 700 kilometres (420…
- Phuket News
Hospital director appeals for funds
PATONG: Dr Taweesak Netwong, the director of Patong Hospital, has appealed to the public to donate funds to help him in his plans to create Thailand’s first state-owned “international” hospital. Dr Taweesak told the Gazette that since Patong is in a unique location which requires it to deal with more tourists than any other hospital in Phuket, it needs upgrading.…
- Phuket News
Phuket expels illegal immigrants
PHUKET TOWN: A total of 72 illegal immigrants – 28 Burmese laborers and 44 Cambodian beggars – were sent back to their countries from Phuket today. The Burmese were sent to Ranong while the Cambodians were trucked to Aranyaprathet. All the Burmese were adults, but 30 of the Cambodians were children, and many of the 14 adults were handicapped. The…
- Phuket News
Immigration Police crack the whip on foreigners
PHUKET: In a move reminiscent of the darker passages of a Kafka novel, Immigration Police in the province are visiting foreigners’ homes and demanding to see passports and visas. They say they plan to check up on every foreigner’s residential and work address every 90 days. The visits, which have raised the specter of a police state, have outraged a…
- Phuket News
France wins Junior Pétanque Championships
SAPHAN HIN: France on Sunday recaptured the Seventh World Junior Pétanque Championship title after a lapse of six years, with a convincing 15-6 win over Switzerland. The French team – Ludovic Labrue, 17, Alexandre Ruffo, 17, Romaine Scultore, 15, and Nicolas Taviand, 17 – used a variety of strategic moves in “pointing” and “shooting” that experts agreed showed maturity beyond…
- Phuket News
Hot competition in Junior X-Games
PATONG: Today’s ESPN/Junior X-Games semi-finals saw tough competition, especially in the sport climbing – bouldering category. Pipoy Cosculluesia and Tagoy Ledesma from the Philippines, Kim Dae Yaob from South Korea and Michael Foo from Malaysia topped the event, each clearing the two routes on their first try. In the female category of the same event, Shaina Gu from Taiwan and…
- Phuket News
Lotus opening creates massive traffic jams
PHUKET: Lotus yesterday opened its new super store on the edge of Phuket Town, the company’s 17th in Thailand. The “soft” opening caused huge traffic jams in all direction as shoppers rushed to check the place out. Grinning widely, Gwyn Sundhagul, Senior Vice President of Operations, admitted that the company, which is majority-owned by British retailing giant Tesco, had underestimated…
- Phuket News
Businesses help tax office stay on track
PHUKET: With 11 months of the taxman’s year complete, The Phuket Provincial Revenue Office reports that collections are up very slightly compared with the same period last year. There have been significant falls in VAT revenue, down 47 million baht; in Specific Business Tax (mostly from banks and finance companies), which fell 32 million baht; and in Personal Income Tax,…
- Phuket News
Three murdered on road to Bangkok airport
BANGKOK, Oct 17 (AFP): Thai police have launched a major investigation into the murder of three men from Hong Kong early Saturday morning. Chen Jian-jun, 40, Chan Kam-yin, 41, and Hong Leong, 41, were killed shortly after midnight as they travelled on a main highway heading to the Bangkok airport, police said. They said the men had taken a taxi…
- Phuket News
Thai banks slash interest rates for foreigners
PHUKET: Thai banks here and across the country have quietly followed the legions of tuk-tuk drivers and street vendors who practice “two-tier” pricing – one for Thais and another for foreigners. In this case, the pricing relates to interest paid on savings accounts and fixed deposits. While the rates paid to foreigners vary from bank to bank, almost all are…
- Phuket News
Standard and Poor’s doubtful about bank recoveries
BANGKOK (AFP) – Thai banks need a further injection of 863.5 billion baht (23.3 billion dollars) to restore solvency, global ratings agency Standard and Poor’s said in a report issued today. The report was critical of the high levels of bad loans as well as capital quality, and expressed doubts whether restructuring efforts are sustainable. “Thailand’s banking sector still requires…
- Phuket News
Five murderers executed by firing squad
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand has executed five prisoners found guilty of murder, corrections officials said Saturday. The five men, ranging in age from 26 to 51, were shot dead by a firing squad late on Friday after their appeals for royal clemency were rejected, the officials said. The men were all convicted for murders committed between 1983 and 1996, they said,…
- Phuket News
Hermaphrodite poses problem for prison
BANGKOK (AFP): Prison authorities in Thailand are debating where to house a suspected drugs offender found to possess both male and female sex organs, officers said this afternoon. Police initially sent the 22-year-old to the women’s wing of the jail in the central province of Lop Buri to be held pending trial, but officers there soon began to suspect she…
- Phuket News
Minister to wager his life that flying is safe
PHUKET: Thailand’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Suthep Theuksuban, will fly from Bangkok to Haad Yai next Friday. Nothing unusual in that, except that the THAI aircraft in which he will fly will have its computer clocks set to December 31, 1999. During the flight they will tick over to January 1, 2000, to test whether the airline’s jets are…
- Phuket News
Thai wins country’s first surfing contest
KATA BEACH: Chalong Tonaus, 24, is no longer just a lad from Phitsanulok working as a beach boy in Patong. On Sunday, he became the first surfing champion in Thailand. Chalong was elated by his victory over some 50 other surfers in the Quicksilver Phuket Surfing Contest, organised by Aloha Surf Sports in cooperation with the Tourist Authority of Thailand…
- Phuket News
Police say burglary detection rates up sharply
PHUKET TOWN: Police detection rates in burglary offences have risen significantly this year compared with the previous two years, latest statistics from Phuket Town Police Station show. In 1997, police received 372 reports of burglary, and made arrests in 258 of them, a detection rate of 69%. Last year there were 401 reported burglaries, of which 282, or 70%, were…
- Phuket News
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 News
Local team in shock defeat of national side
PHUKET TOWN: A scratch soccer team made up of players from Phuket and Chumphon beat Thailand’s national under-17 team 1-0 on Thursday, with a last-minute goal at the Saphan Hin stadium. The loss was a blow for the national squad, who are the Asian champions in their age group, and who preparing for the Under-17 Football World Championships in Napier,…
