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Phuket-bound speedboat crashes into longtail at Maya Bay
PHUKET: Three people escaped serious injuries after a speedboat crashed into a longtail off Phi Phi yesterday afternoon. Capt Paramin Maikul of Phi Phi Police received reports of the collision at about 2pm. “The incident occurred near Maya Bay. The longtail had two Japanese tourists and a captain, named Somsak Sangpaen, 30, on board. The captain sustained minor injuries, while…
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Deadly crash kills one near Central Festival Phuket
PHUKET: A Rawai local was killed early this morning when his truck crashed into an electricity pole in front of Central Festival Phuket. Lt Patcharee Wongboon of Wichit Police received reports of the incident at about 4:30am. “We arrived with rescue workers to find the heavily-damaged brown Toyota Vigo pick-up truck flipped over to its left side and smashed into…
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Holiday nightmare: Aussie tourist killed in Phuket jet-ski collision
PHUKET: A 20-year-old Australian woman was killed in a jet-ski collision with her husband at Kata Beach yesterday evening. The victim, named Emily Collie, suffered severe injuries to her head, neck and shoulders. “Other beachgoers came to her aid and lifeguards administered CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) while waiting for police and rescue workers to arrive,” said Lt Col Patiwat Yordsuan of…
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Phuket hospitals reject migrant insurance
PHUKET: Financial difficulties in the healthcare system is leading to pregnant migrant workers in Phuket Province being denied access to Universal Coverage (UC) health insurance scheme when they deliver babies. Usually migrant workers in Thailand are allowed to buy health insurance in order to get access to affordable services while living in the Kingdom, paying 2,100 baht annually for UC…
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CIA executive unfit due to alleged torture links in Thailand, says Amnesty
BANGKOK: Amnesty International has called for the review of the appointment of Gina Haspel as deputy director of the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) because of her alleged torture links in Thailand. Erika Guevara-Rosas, Director of the Americas at Amnesty International, issued a press statement that Ms Haspel’s appointment could hamper investigations into alleged torture and enforced disappearance at…
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Two killed by electrocution in Phuket
PHUKET: Two 27-year-old men were killed in two separate incidents of electrocution in Patong yesterday afternoon. The first victim was an elevator engineer named Detch Gamlhong, who was called in to fix an elevator at a hotel on Prachanukror Road. “We received a report of the incident from staff at Patong Hospital at about 1pm. The victim was rushed to…
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Abandoned luggage causes bomb scare in Phuket Town
PHUKET: The Explosive Ordnance Unit (EoU) responded to a bomb scare at Yi Teng Intersection in Phuket Town at about 8:30 last night. Phuket City Police officers received reports of an abandoned suitcase that had been left near a garbage bin. Traffic came to a standstill as police arrived at the scene and blocked all incoming traffic to the area…
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Finance: A good time to invest in Phuket
PHUKET: I am asked so often about Phuket real estate that I find it a good topic to address from time to time. Of course, there are legal hurdles to consider, but I will leave that aside for today and focus simply on the issue of timing. Is now a time to be buying or fleeing the island? As with…
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Opinion: Taking better care of Phuket’s snakes
PHUKET: Reports that a record number of large snakes were captured by emergency rescue workers in Phuket last month are just the latest indicator of how badly the remaining natural habitats on the island are being destroyed by the relentless ‘development’ that Phuket has undergone in recent decades. Snakes do not rate highly in our anthropomorphic view, which tends to…
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Two teenagers stabbed by youth gang in Phuket
PHUKET: Two teenage boys were stabbed by a gang of teenagers who allegedly tried to rob them at Bang Niew Dam Reservoir in Thalang yesterday evening. Police and rescue teams arrived at the scene to find the two boys injured and bleeding. Worrayuth Kahapana, 18, had stab wounds to his left arm and lower rib. The second victim,16, had multiple…
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Phuket Gov says nightlife issue to be taken up with PM
PHUKET: A proposal to extend the operating times for nightlife entertainment venues in Phuket will be prepared and presented to Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan-o-cha, Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan has confirmed. The Governor has not revealed an exact date, but asked for strict cooperation from restaurant and bar owners in the ‘meantime’. More than 20 night entertainment venue owners met…
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Party it up like you’re in Ibiza
PHUKET: Did you know that the Balearic island of Ibiza and the Andaman island of Phuket are within a few square miles of being the same size? There are other connections too: quite a large chunk of Ibiza has UNESCO World Heritage status, while Phuket cuisine recently picked up the UNESCO seal of approval. Additionally, a significant and growing chunk…
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Thai PM receives death threats, orders manhunt
BANGKOK: Prime Minister Gen Prayuth Chan o cha today said that his government has launched a manhunt for people posting death threats against him and his Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prawit Wongsuwan. “I want to ask them [who posted] where they got the information. I think Thai expatriates overseas who regularly insult the Monarchy mentioned the assassination first,”…
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Foreigner stabbed to death in Phuket last night
PHUKET: Confusion prevailed at Phuket’s Rassada port when a Burmese man ran amok with a deep knife wound in his back last night. The 28-year-old man, named only as ‘Mutesui’, was part of a fishing boat crew and was seen running from a boat docked at the pier at about 11:45pm. “A witness told us that he was walking past…
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Another foreign tourist killed on Phuket’s roads
PHUKET: Another foreign tourist in Phuket, this time a young Turkish man, died in a motorbike crash in Kathu District at about 10pm last night. The incident occurred near the Red Mountain Golf Course. Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene to find Hussain Cengiz Coskun, 24, lying on the road next to an electric pole with severe head…
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British man found suffocated in Phuket
PHUKET: A British man from Liverpool was found dead with a plastic bag taped around his neck at a house in Rawai yesterday afternoon. His partner, Rasamee Khaigarb, contacted Capt Somkiet Sarasit of Chalong Police to report the incident at about 4pm. The policeman arrived at the scene with rescue teams. “We found the 55-year-old man lying face up with…
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‘Most beautiful’ girl in Krabi crowned
KRABI: Pamela Pasinetti won the Miss Grand Krabi 2017 beauty pageant last weekend, and is on her way to compete in Miss Grand Thailand 2017. The Miss Grand competition involves the selection of the ‘most beautiful’ girl in a particular province. Once the girl is chosen, she gets a chance to compete in the larger Miss Grand Thailand competition –…
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Phuket swimmers treated with plant paste for jellyfish stings
PHUKET: A quick-thinking Surin lifeguard used his basic knowledge of beach vegetation to treat a young boy and two adults stung by jellyfish this morning. Sayan Bureerak, head of Surin Beach Lifeguards, received reports of the incident at about 11am. “The tourists – two adults and one 10-year-old boy – were in a lot pain when I arrived. Since I…
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100,000 baht found on Phuket temple beggar
PHUKET: A crippled Thai beggar with a hidden ‘money-belt’ was arrested last night after police received complaints from visitors at the Chalong Temple Fair. Lt Col Parinya Tanthasuwan of Chalong Police received reports of the 67-year-old man harassing locals and foreigners at about 7pm, and called in Supparuek Pinyo from the Phuket Province Social Development and Society office. “We first…
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Phuket school assembly disrupted by parked car
PHUKET: A picture of a car parked in the middle of a school assembly in Phuket is making the rounds on the internet this morning. The Facebook post was originally shared by Pairat Kamliang, deputy director of Baan Samkong Municipality School, asking the public to help locate the owner of the car, which is a Toyota Camry Hybrid. Mr Pairat…
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His Majesty’s pictures lead sea gypsies to victory
PHUKET: About a hundred emotional Rawai sea gypsies gathered outside a Phuket court that ruled in their favor this morning, resolving years of disputes about land ownership and encroachment. Coconut trees in the pictures of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 1959 visit to the area rank among key pieces of evidence that acquit four long-time residents of land encroachment charges.…
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Critically injured Aussie hospitalized in Phuket [video]
PHUKET: An Australian tourist, who was reportedly involved in a head-on collision with a truck in Koh Lanta on January 15, has been hospitalized in Phuket with a mounting medical bill that is not covered by her insurance. Dawn Weldon-Schupp, a 53-year-old nurse from New South Wales, was travelling on a motorbike with her 14-year-old son, Josh, when the accident…
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Phuket’s snakes have no place to go
PHUKET: The Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation Phuket has reported that at least 16 reticulated pythons were captured from people’s homes in Kathu and Phuket City this month. “We classified the reptiles by weight; five of them weighed under 5kg and were released into the Khao Phra Thaew Nature and Wildlife Education Center Non-hunting restricted area,” Phongchart Churhom, head of the Khao…
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Panicked Phuket elephant rampages into forest
PHUKET: Police and livestock officers shot a runaway elephant with five tranquilizer darts after he panicked and ran loose at a camp in the Nakkerd Hills yesterday morning. Staff from the elephant trekking camp located in Soi Yodsanee, Chalong, called in officers from the Phuket Livestock Office and Chalong Police for help at about 10:30am, after the elephant, named ‘Plai…
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Phuket pockets billion-baht infrastructure budget
PHUKET: A billion-baht budget for infrastructure development for 2017-2018 has been approved for Phuket, Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan announced last week. The budget is slated to improve traffic congestion and overall infrastructure development in Phuket, including building, extending and maintaining roads; installing CCTV cameras; burying overhead cables; beach development; and building and maintaining underpasses. Additionally, Governor Chokchai has re-ignited interest in…
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Another unidentified foreigner found dead, at Phuket Beach
PHUKET: Another unknown tourist has been found dead in Phuket, this time having plunged from some rocks into the sea. The victim is male and believed to be aged 50-56, but as in several similar recent cases his identity and nationality are unknown. “Witness said the man was walking on the rocks before he suddenly fell down and was dragged…
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Electrical malfunction believed to be cause of Patong nightclub fire
PHUKET: The cause of a fire at ‘Seduction’ discotheque on Soi Bangla, Phuket’s infamous party street, is believed to be an electrical malfunction in a ceiling fan. The fire started at about 7:45pm on Saturday. Six firetrucks arrived at the scene, with firefighters working for at least two hours to calm the flames that took over and extensively damaged the…
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Finance: The markets are aiming higher
PHUKET: At the start of 2017, much of the media coverage about the stock market was focused on the Dow Jones reaching the 20,000 level, with some commentary about how the ‘January Effect’ or ‘January Barometer’ theories could help the market. Before discussing what I believe technical indicators are predicting, we need to debunk any theories that claim to predict…
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Owner reunited with lost Chinese envelopes
PHUKET: A stack of red envelopes filled with cash left behind at a Phuket Town restaurant were returned to their original owner within a few hours with the help of a Facebook post last night. The red envelopes, known as ‘hóngbao‘, are generally distributed to employees, or to children during the Chinese New Year celebrations. “At about 4pm yesterday, I…
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Video: Rare, endangered mammal safely rehabilitated in Phuket
PHUKET: A night guard working in Rawai discovered a rare and endangered mammal early yesterday morning, and quickly sprang into action to protect the creature from harm. Guard Sanya Ritto noticed a creature in the undergrowth during one of his security rounds at the Rawai Villas development. Recognizing it as a Sunda pangolin, he approached it. However, following its natural…
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