Search Results for: lion
- Phuket News
One dead, three injured in motorbike accident
PATONG: A young French tourist has been charged with negligent driving resulting in accidental death after the motorcycle he was driving collided with another motorbike early Thursday morning, killing the driver and leaving two passengers critically injured. Kathu Police Deputy Superintendent Pol Lt Col Chawalit Niamwadee identified the Frenchman as Diallo Guimba, 24. At about 4:20 am, Guimba was riding…
- Phuket News
Four Phuket police stations upgraded
PHUKET: As part of a nationwide reorganization of the Royal Thai Police Force, Phuket’s four subdistrict police stations have been upgraded to district police stations, effective from an order dating back to January 16, the Gazette has learned.Col Phuwanart Rithawej, Phuket Provincial Police Superintendent of General Staff, told the Gazette that the order is intended to improve investigation and budget management…
- Phuket News
Top cop toppled after Phuket visit
THALANG: Royal Thai Police Commissioner Gen Sereepisut Taemeeyavej had a busy day in Phuket yesterday, attending two important dedication ceremonies.However, it turned out to be his last day as national police chief as Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej today announced his abrupt transfer to a temporary post in the Prime Minister’s Office.Gen Sereepisut arrived in Phuket from Bangkok yesterday and at…
- 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…
- 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…
- 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
Boat explodes, sinks at Boat Lagoon
KOH KAEW: Two Thai men are being treated for serious burns in the intensive-care unit (ICU) at Vachira Phuket Hospital after the speedboat they were working on exploded at the Boat Lagoon about 11:30 am today.Eyewitness Pisek Manasit told the Gazette that the gas tank on board the 35-foot fiberglass speedboat Sakila 6 caught fire and exploded within minutes.“The fire started…
- Phuket News
Major break-ins reported
PHUKET: Police on Thursday reported two major robberies, including a daylight break-in at the residence of a high-ranking civil servant.The first robbery took place in Pa Khlok late last Tuesday night or early last Wednesday morning.Pol Maj Seksan Komsakorn of the Thalang Police told the Gazette that the break-in was reported by Winai Rattanawittayaporn, owner of the Bang Pae Wassadu…
- Phuket News
New Phuket Airport director aims for expansion
PHUKET: Phuket International Airport (PIA) appointed 54-year-old Wing Commander Wicha Nurnlop as the airport’s new director on February 1, replacing former-Director Squadron Leader Pornchai Eua-aree, who has been transferred to the Airports of Thailand (AOT) headquarters in Bangkok. K. Wicha returns to PIA after spending the past four months as Director of Haad Yai International Airport. Before transferring to Haad…
- 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
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
Banphaeo Hospital inks deal with OrBorJor
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) and Banphaeo Hospital in Samut Sakhon signed a deal on January 26 at Phuket Merlin Hotel that will see the long-abandoned buildings of Phya Thai Hospital renovated and jointly run as a public organization under provincial administration.Public Health Minister Mongkol Na Songkhla and Phuket Vice-Governor Worapoj Ratthasima witnessed the signing that will see…
- Phuket News
Three die in Kalim horror smash
KATHU: Two Italian tourists and a Thai teenager were killed in a head-on collision in Kalim on Thursday night, a local Thai-language newspaper has reported. The two Italians were named as Luiz Fransescopilato, 37, and his female companion Anna Montone, 30.The Thai victim was identified as 15-year-old Patong resident Theerawat Samarnmitr.Ms Montone was riding pillion on a blue Honda Click…
- Phuket News
New limo service sparks strike at airport
MAI KHAO: While Phuket Mai Khao Company launched its airport limousine and minibus service at Phuket International Airport yesterday morning, some 100 drivers and other staff of the Phuket Limousine and Business Services Cooperative (PBC), which already operates limos and minibuses at the airport, staged a five-hour strike in protest of the new concession.However, few passengers were inconvenienced as there…
- 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
Hotel room tax generates B65m
PHUKET: About 65 million baht in tax on hotel rooms was collected in Phuket in 2007, some 5 million baht more than expected, Anchalee Vanich Tephabutra, president of Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has announced.“Our target was 60 million baht. More tax was collected because we met with a large number of hotel operators and explained to them how the…
- Phuket News
Marine tourism the cornerstone of 4-year provincial development plan
PHUKET CITY: The provincial government’s next four-year development plan aims to establish the island as a world-class marine tourism destination by 2012 while sustaining annual 10% increases in tourism-industry revenue over the four-year period starting in 2009.The ambitious plan, drawn up by the Governor’s Office, was presented to elected local officials and representatives of government agencies at a meeting at…
- 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
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…
- Phuket News
Police release sketches of gold shop bandits
WICHIT: Police are still searching for two men who robbed a gold shop on Chao Fa East Rd Wednesday morning, escaping with jewelry valued at more than a million baht.Phuket City Police Duty Officer Lt Theeradet Jiraksa told the Gazette that the robbery took place about 11 am at Srithong Gold Shop, located by Moom Muang Market, near the entrance…
- Phuket News
Chalong Bay Marina expansion to be scaled back
PHUKET CITY: The second phase of the Chalong Bay Marina project is now being redrawn, following complaints from local fishermen to the National Human Rights Committee that its construction could harm the local environment and destroy their livelihoods. Wasan Panich, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, on January 7 chaired an ad-hoc committee meeting at the Phuket Merlin…
- Phuket News
Holiday season sees B2bn boon for tourism sector
PHUKET: Businesses in Phuket’s tourism sector enjoyed a prosperous festive season, with many hotels fully booked and more than 2 billion baht generated by the industry during the period December 24 through January 2.Runjuan Tongrut, assistant director of Tourism Authority of Thailand Southern Region 4 Office, made the announcement at a press conference on January 2.A large number of Thais and foreigners came to…
- Thailand News
Abbot aberration under investigation
NONTHABURI: When Commander Kritsapha Suksaengdao from the Department of Civil Aviation walked up to Luang Por Prasit Sithikaroh, abbot of Wat Sainoi, on December 26 and offered a polite wai, the abbot probably thought nothing of it. After all, the abbot was the most revered monk in the province and counted many high-ranking military and government officials among his throng…
- Phuket News
Chef scorched in Patong gas explosion
PATONG: The chef at a newly opened restaurant on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd suffered first- and second-degree burns to 40% of his body after a cooking gas cylinder exploded on Wednesday morning.Pol Capt Jongserm Preecha of the Kathu Police told the Gazette that he received a report at 8 am that there was an explosion at Patong Corner Restaurant, on…
- Phuket News
Strong turnout for absentee vote
PHUKET: There was a strong voter turnout in advance polling for the December 23 general election, with 25,956 voters from around the country making their way to Phuket Community Hall on December 15 and 16 to cast absentee ballots in their home constituencies. Phuket Election Commission (PEC) Director Supap Akkam told the Gazette that the turnout exceeded 85% of the…
- Phuket News
Land acquisition funds approved for Chalong dam
CHALONG: Some 160 million baht for the final land acquisition for the Klong Krata reservoir project has been approved and landowners will receive compensation payments within two months.News that the funding had been made available under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives was reported during a project update meeting chaired by Phuket Vice-Governor Smith Palawatwichai at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday…
- Phuket News
New company to operate airport limos
TAH CHAT CHAI: Phuket Mai Khao Co Ltd has won a concession to operate a new taxi and passenger van service at Phuket International Airport (PIA). The company will operate 60 vans and 20 cars under a three-year concession won with a bid of 33 million baht, Phuket Airport Director Sq Ldr Pornchai Eua-aree told the Gazette.The company can begin…
- Phuket News
Five arrests in teen-stabbing case
PHUKET CITY: Five youths were arrested on Saturday for the murder of 14-year-old Theeraphong Thongklam, who died after being stabbed in the heart in the early hours of last Wednesday. Theerapong’s friend, who was riding pillion when their bike on crashed about 1 am on the night of the murder, told police that he and Theerapong were driving to Thalang…
- Phuket News
New Karon Municipality offices open
KARON: Karon Municipality dedicated its new 63-million-baht office building yesterday morning with a ceremony presided over by Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit.The new offices, which took about 17 months to complete, are on three rai at Kata Beach, next to the Kata Beach Resort. The stately four-story building replaces two old, single-story wooden buildings at the same site.Beneath the building is…