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- Phuket News
Here comes the weekend: Phuket Gazette hits the streets
PHUKET: This week’s Andaman Edition of the Phuket Gazette goes on sale this afternoon and our Nationwide Edition will be released in Bangkok and placed on board the major international airlines serving Thailand early tomorrow morning. Both editions contain scores of information, all in one place, including: NEWS – Elephant rampage – MP Tossaporn calls for a new hospital in…
- Phuket News
Artificial reefs sunk off Phuket’s west coast
PHUKET: About 200 concrete cubes were sunk in Bang Tao Bay, on Phuket’s west coast, today as the ongoing artificial reef project resumed. The current four-day installment, costing 7.9 million baht, aims is to sink 1,630 concrete cubes by sunset on Monday. The ongoing project is funded by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) and being carried out by the…
- Phuket News
HIV up among Phuket ladyboys
PHUKET: Increasing sexual activity among the youngest members of Phuket’s transgender community is leading to a worrying rise in HIV infection rates, public health officials say. Dr Sak Tanchaikul, chief of Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO), said he was deeply concerned about HIV infection rates among “men who have sex with men”, which his agency members refer to collectively…
- Phuket News
Another Phuket Burmese labor camp destroyed by fire
PHUKET: A Burmese labor camp said to belong to a Phuket City policeman was completely destroyed by fire this morning. The blaze, which broke out in the Samkong camp at about 4:30am, leveled 15 huts and damaged three neighboring homes. More than 30 workers were asleep in the camp, but none was injured. Four fire trucks took almost 40 minutes…
- Phuket News
Finn fights off knife-wielding thugs in Phuket Town
PHUKET: A Finnish tourist is recovering from a gash to his arm after fighting off two young thugs who attacked him with a knife in the heart of Phuket Town before dawn this morning. The Finn, 59-year-old Heikki Antero Malkki, arrived at the bus station on Phang Nga Road at about 3:30am. He had just arrived from Malaysia and planned…
- Phuket News
BREAKING NEWS: Sale of Phuket’s Laguna Beach Resort approved
PHUKET: THE 252-room Laguna Beach Resort in Phuket has transacted to Laguna Phuket Club Co, a Thai company controlled by Singapore-based private equity fund Recap. According to documents filed with the Stock Exchange of Thailand, the Board of Directors of Laguna Resorts and Hotels (LRH) approved the sale of the company’s 60% shareholding in the resort for 723.565 million baht.…
- Phuket News
British tourist drowns in Phuket
PHUKET: A party among friends turned tragic early this morning when a British tourist, whom Cherngtalay police had originally identified as French, entered the surf and drowned at Phuket’s northern Bang Tao Beach. Lt Col Wicharn Suwannasit of the Cherng Talay Police identified the victim as 34-year-old Daniel Medhurst. He was a guest at the Best Western Laguna Phuket Resort,…
- Thai Life
PHUKET DINING: Great value at vintage vamp Kopitiam
PHUKET: If you crave quality Chinese-accented Thai cuisine, and might like to savor it in a retro ambiance, you need to visit the latest addition to Old Phuket Town’s culinary scene. Kopitiam Cafe and Restaurant – a family-owned kitchen located at the Yaowarat Road end of Thalang Road – opened only three months ago but has already established itself as…
- Phuket News
Phuket police investigate Englishman’s “whiskey poisoning’
PHUKET: Patong police have sent a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label whiskey for laboratory tests to determine whether a 77-year-old Englishman found dead in his Phuket guest suite was poisoned. Duty Officer Lt Col Jongserm Preecha today told the Gazette that the tests were only a precaution. No evidence of fighting was found in the man’s room, in a…
- Phuket News
Phuket Island View: Get more creative with Phuket’s image
PHUKET: I was happy to read Janpen Upatising’s article last week [Phuket Gazette: ‘Lights, camera, action for future island creativity’, February 12]. As a retired creative marketer, I can say that if there’s demand, or if you can create demand for something and supply it, you will be successful. Phuket needs to develop at least one festival or event each…
- Phuket News
Phuket Petition: Foreign donations critical in recurring calls for blood
PHUKET: Coming as it does every year during the high season for tourism here in Phuket, Valentine’s Day once again coincided with urgent pleas for donations of rare negative blood, this time for a Danish road accident victim desperately in need of it. Negative blood types are very rare among Thais, who make up the bulk of the donors at…
- Phuket News
Phuket woman, 80, dies in family water well
PHUKET: Police are treating as accidental the apparent drowning death of an elderly woman whose body was discovered in the family water well early this morning. Thalang Police Inspector Lt Patiwat Yawdkhwan was informed of the death by the family of the victim, 80-year-old Saner Bureerak, a resident of Thepkrasattri Village 4. Responding to the 4:30am call with Kusoldharm Foundation…
- Phuket News
Phuket palm oil frenzy amid shortage fears
PHUKET: Shoppers in Phuket yesterday snapped up a cache of government-distributed palm cooking oil amid fears the household necessity will soon disappear from local stores. The Phuket Commerce Ministry Office (CMO) received 24,000 bottles of palm oil for distribution to help ease the shortage. For months now, major retailers in Phuket have been rationing sales of palm cooking oil to…
- Thai Life
PHUKET FINE DINING: Beat the rush to Brush
PHUKET: Kalim Bay has developed into Phuket’s fine dining epicenter, where the island’s trendiest restaurants stretch from Baan Rim Pa to IndoChine, and include the White Box, Acqua and Lim’s – and now the stylish new five-star bistro Brush Restaurant & Lounge. Brush is the creation of Australian sculptor John Underwood, whose studio also created the award-winning interiors at Phuket’s…
- Phuket News
Phuket Live Wire: TOTtering along
PHUKET: After a truly terrible week of slow international download speeds and patchy service, TOT’s download speeds have improved across much of the island, although several TOT customers are still reporting problems. Surprisingly, TOT Fiber Optic now appears to be the fastest commercially available Internet package – although it’s quite expensive. We also continue to log truly amazing wireless “3G”…
- Phuket News
Phuket snatch banditry on the rise
PHUKET: Phuket City Police are urging women to be extra cautious when walking along the street as attacks by young snatch bandits are increasing – and proving hard to catch. Duty Officer Capt Kittiphum Tinthalang told the Phuket Gazette today that bag snatching attacks are becoming more common. “Nowadays, we get reports of bag snatching all the time,” he said.…
- Thai Life
Saving Phuket’s cultural heritage
PHUKET: Old Phuket Foundation President Kawee Tansukatanon spoke last week to the Phuket Gazette about preserving the resort island’s traditions, community values, and unique heritage. Reporter Janpen Upatising, herself a Phuket native, filed this report: Smartly dressed and upbeat, Kawee exhales and furls his lips in a smile as he recalls growing up in Phuket in the late 1960s. He…
- Thai Life
Phuket Tourism: Has Phuket been ruined by tourism?
PHUKET: British TV personality Phillip Schofield revealed in a recent Daily Telegraph interview that he thinks Phuket – in particular Promthep Cape – has been ruined by tourism. Recounting a recent trip to Promthep Cape with his wife, Schofield told the newspaper he was shocked by how much the place had changed for the worse since he visited in his…
- Phuket News
Kiwi bar owner found dead in Phuket
PHUKET: A Phuket bar operator from New Zealand died early Sunday morning from apparent heart failure. Kathu Police duty officer Jongserm Preecha identified the deceased as Paul Allen, 58. Mr Allen’s body was found at his rented home on Nanai Road by his female companion, Usa Kallaya, 32. The couple married two years ago and opened the KP Bar, located…
- Phuket News
German expat found dead in Patong
PHUKET: A retired German man was found dead on the sidewalk in front of his rented home in Patong on Sunday night. Police say the body was discovered by neighbors at about 6:30pm. Harald Rainer, 69, had lived in Phuket for about a year. Police Sub Lt Pattapee Srichay told the Phuket Gazette last night that Mr Rainer was found…
- Phuket News
Power outages to hit southern Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced scheduled blackouts to carry out maintenance on high-voltage power lines, install new lines and move power poles in Chalong. The dates and locations of the operations, which will be carried out from 9am to 5pm, are: February 17 Along Chao Fa West Road, from in front of Chalong Temple to Land…
- Phuket News
Phuket call for urgent blood donations
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center is calling for urgent blood donations, especially of types A- and O-. Pornthip Ratthajak, director of the Red Cross Phuket Regional Blood Center, said the blood was needed for two emergency cases: a leukemia patient at Bangkok Hospital Phuket and a Danish road accident victim at Vachira Phuket Hospital who desperately needs O-. In…
- Phuket News
Phuket Live Wire: International internet speeds are up
PHUKET: International internet speeds in Phuket this week were generally excellent for 3BB, CAT and True, but bad-to-abysmal for TOT. 3BB customers are being upgraded, free, frequently without any notification before or after the upgrade. TOT Fiber Optic was performing horribly – often half as fast as standard ADSL lines, at five times the price – but the speed has…
- Phuket News
BREAKING NEWS: 33 Rohingya remain detained in Phuket, tell of hardships at home
PHUKET: The whereabouts of the 68 Rohingya refugees who were arrested on January 31 when their boat drifted to Phuket’s shores has been confirmed by the Phuket Gazette. Phuket Immigration late yesterday gave the Gazette access to 33 Rohingya men in custody at the Immigration Detention Center (IDC). The youngest in the cell was only nine years old and the…
- Phuket News
MISSING CHILD: Girl, 14, vanishes from Phuket temple fair
PHUKET: The mother of a girl who went missing from the Chalong Temple Fair grounds in Phuket on Wednesday is asking the public for help in locating her. Sapsiri Narmsra, 29, reported her 14-year-old daughter La-ongda Narmsra missing to Chalong Police on Wednesday. Mrs Sapsiri, a resident of Ayudhya, said she arrived with her daughter and relatives on January 29…
- Phuket News
Anchalee calls for all islanders to register as Phuket residents
PHUKET: Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr, Secretary-General to the Prime Minister, this morning urged all people living in Phuket to register as residents so that appropriate-size development budgets could be allocated for the number of people actually living on the island. The rapid pace of development in Phuket was a serious concern of Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and the Cabinet, and the…
- Phuket News
Thai lawyers urge action over refugees, human trafficking
PHUKET: The Lawyers’ Council of Thailand (LCT) today released a statement demanding the government to “tackle Rohingya trafficking organizations”. The statement comes after 68 Rohingya were arrested in Phuket last week, and 158 in Trang and Satun provinces last month. The status and location of the 226 Rohingya is currently unclear amid conflicting reports of transfers and possible human rights…
- Phuket News
Phuket yachting icon succumbs to road accident injuries
PHUKET: Tony Knight, a leading figure in Phuket yachting for more than a decade, died in Brisbane, Australia last night after succumbing to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. “Tony had a motorcycle accident in Australia on Friday and seemed not too bad, but his condition deteriorated over the next few days as we believe his lung or spleen was…
- Thai Life
Phuket loves sun, sea, surf and… Singto
PHUKET: Thailand’s indie music scene is ambiguous. That is to say, there doesn’t appear to be any defined ‘scene’ as such. On the surface, the country’s live musical experience is a stable diet of tone-deaf karaoke yodelers screeching out Lady Gaga’s latest hit, or over-excited Thai jam bands churning out the same old predictable covers at deafening decibels. But scratch…
- Phuket News
Phuket Police: Drug war crippled by slow test results
PHUKET: Procedural problems in drug testing are crippling efforts by the Phuket Police to suppress narcotics use on the island, a provincial committee on drug suppression was told last week. At the first annual meeting of the committee, held at Phuket Provincial Hall, Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha said central government policy on drug issues was straightforward and progress easy to…