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Vote recount costs Khon Baan Rao clear majority
PHUKET: A recount of votes cast in a single electorate in the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) council election on Sunday has cost the leading Khon Baan Rao party its clear majority on the council. The news came this afternoon as PPAO Chief Administrative Officer Manop Leelasuthanon explained to the Phuket Gazette, “There was an error when officers entered the…
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Officers “defuse car bomb’ in emergency response exercise at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: Officers from a variety police stations across the island yesterday took part in a multi-agency exercise to counter the prospect of a car bomb being detected and another bomb actually detonating at Phuket International Airport. Police from Phuket City, Tah Chat Chai and Thalang police stations were joined by Thalang Hospital staff to take part in the exercise, which…
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Village people file complaint over Phuket pub noise
PHUKET: Villagers in Baan Tha Rua in Srisoonthorn, just north of Phuket’s famed Heroines’ Monument, yesterday filed a group complaint against one entertainment venue in the area for noise pollution and closing after the regulated trading hours. Village chief Chalermpol Gerdsub handed the complaint to Prapan Kanprasang, chief of the Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office) at Phuket Provincial Hall. The complaint…
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Tour company offers compensation for capsized speedboat ordeal
PHUKET: The Phuket-based company operating tours on board the speedboat that capsized off Phi Phi Island in rough seas yesterday has vowed to cover all medical expenses for those injured in the incident and to offer compensation for the emotional stress suffered. Pongsak Pachantabut, the manager of Phuket New Generation Travel Company, today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that there…
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Police brutality complaint filed over drug suspect arrest
PHUKET: A man who claims his nephew was severely beaten by five Thalang police officers trying to extract more information after they had arrested him for drug possession has filed a complaint at the Phuket Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office).Prapakorn Waharak, a 20-year-old Thalang resident, was accompanied to the Damrongtham Center at Provincial Hall yesterday by his uncle Prapan Waharak, 40,…
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All safe after Phuket speedboat capsizes in rough seas
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Police have confirmed that none of the tourists or crew on board a speedboat that capsized in the heavy seas off the coast of Phi Phi Island are missing.The 24 Chinese tourists on board the boat, Luk Pradu 26, arrived at Chalong Pier late this afternoon.Seven of them had suffered minor injuries and were taken to…
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Laguna Phuket announces expansion plan
PHUKET: A lavish dinner to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Laguna Phuket was held on Friday, where Chief Executive of Laguna Resorts & Hotels Ho Kwon Ping (known as KP Ho) gave a preview of upcoming expansion plans for the group. A new mixed-use development overlooking a west-coast beachfront lagoon between the Dusit Thani Resort and upcoming Outrigger Laguna Beach…
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Turtle tangled in fishing net rescued from Phuket beach
PHUKET: An adult Ridley sea turtle, tangled up in a discarded fishing net, washed onto Karon Beach alive, but injured, yesterday afternoon. The female turtle, weighing about 40 kilograms was spotted by a tourist on the beach. A lifeguard, alerted to the situation, contacted the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) Endangered Species Unit. “The turtle was washed ashore with a…
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Heavy rain blamed for Phang Nga bus accident
PHUKET: Police assess that heavy rain caused a bus carrying 20 passengers from Haad Yai to Phuket to overturn on a curve in Phang Nga yesterday, injuring 16 people. Lt Col Sanae Aukod of Phang Nga Town Police received notice of the accident, at the Phu Nga Thani curve, in Takdad, Muang, Phang Nga, at about 6pm. Police accompanied by…
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Patong Hospital ramps up flood defenses
PHUKET: A project costing 16 million baht to better protect Patong Hospital from flooding is expected to be completed by January 7, Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and Pheu Thai Party Government Spokesman Prompong Nopparit were told on Friday. The news follows Patong Hospital flooding during the downpours last week, prompting Governor Tri and MP Prompong to visit the facility to…
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Push for new Patong Road in protected Phuket forest gains ground
PHUKET: Officials are hoping to have enough public support by October to start the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for a 100-million-baht road through protected Phuket forest connecting Patong and Chalong. The EIA will be a critical hurdle for the project as the proposed route will cut through at least one kilometer of protected national forest in the Nakkerd Hills. In…
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Phuket Sports: Dragons still on fire despite the rain
PHUKET: A single goal in the final minutes of the first half was enough for Thai Yamaha 1 runaway league leaders, Ratchaburi FC to prevail over Phuket FC last night. Played on a damp pitch under overcast skies at Surakul Stadium, the match was one of the first for Phuket FC this season to be broadcast live on national cable…
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Phuket FC ready for showdown with Ratchaburi
PHUKET: First-place Ratchaburi FC is in “fine form” and preparing to play attacking football in tonight’s highly-anticipated match against Phuket FC, the team’s coach told a pre-match press conference yesterday. Speaking in the Phuket FC office opposite Surakul Stadium, Ratchaburi Coach Somchai Maiwelai said, “Even though there is a considerable gap between our teams [26 points], we’re not going to…
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Phuket Police nab serial snatch bandit
PHUKET: Police on Wednesday arrested a serial snatch-and-run thief who allegedly committed at least 12 robberies in Phuket Town over the past month.The suspect was identified as 20-year-old Wuttipong Uonpong, listed as a resident of Ayutthaya.Lt Col Prawit Engchuan of the Phuket City Police told the Gazette that his office had received numerous theft reports from the Samkong area of…
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Loan shark bagman shot in Phang Nga
PHUKET: A debt collector for a local loan shark survived a bullet wound to his back inflicted by a gang of teenagers in Phang Nga yesterday afternoon.The victim, Somchai Chaonalai, arrived by motorbike to Thung Kha Ngok District Police Station after the shooting to ask police there for assistance in getting to hospital. Lt Prajuab Wongthong, who was on duty…
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Thailand’s coral reefs 50% gone: Phuket marine biologist
PHUKET: With coral reef systems in Thai coastal waters at a “crisis” level, the director of the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) has vowed to step up his department’s efforts to mitigate the damage caused by the fishing industry and other human factors.“Currently, our natural coral reefs are not half of what they used to be – we are in…
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Phuket Sports: Rory roars to another Major
PHUKET: The last Major on this year’s PGA Tour golfing calendar, the PGA Championship, was played at the Ocean Course Kiawah Island South Carolina, one of the most difficult courses in the world. Before the tournament started, Kiawah Island had heavy thunder storms, similar to the weather in Phuket presently. As all the world’s top professionals gathered, including newly crowned…
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Poll: Should Phuket be exempted from election-day alcohol bans?
PHUKET: Alcohol sales will be banned island-wide this weekend due to the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization election on Sunday, while Patong will face two consecutive weekends of lost nightlife trade due to municipal council elections, due to take place there next weekend. The alcohol bans will be in effect from 6pm on Saturday through to midnight on Sunday. Retail outlets…
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Phuket Sports: Premiership preview
PHUKET: The Premiership returned last weekend to bring joy and pain back to football fans across Phuket again. The drama and excitement of the world’s most popular football league was played out across England, with all 20 teams playing over Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Saturday saw seven games played with the stand-out result being West Brom’s 3-0 victory over Liverpool.…
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PM Yingluck Shinawatra invited to speak at Phuket Halal Expo
PHUKET: The organizers of the annual Phuket Halal Expo, to take place early next month, have invited Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and Asean Secretary-General Dr Surin Pitsuwan to give speeches at the event, which will have special activities in Patong and Phuket Town. Officially entitled “Phuket Andaman Halal for Tourism 2012”, the expo is intended to showcase the island’s Muslim…
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Weird World News: New York City abuzz over obsessed beekeeper
PHUKET: This week’s Weird World News Roundup is full of colonizing fears: from busy bee activity in New York City to South Africa taking on the elephantine issue of birth control. Only the unflappable British remain unconcerned, especially now that UFOs officially “pose no threat” of colonizing their country. Britain safe from UFOs It is official at last: Britain is…
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Phuket taxi driver presents photo of Tiger Disco ‘ghost’
PHUKET: A Phuket motorcycle taxi driver who entered the charred remains of the Tiger Discotheque the day after the fatal fire claims that photographs he took inside bear images of the spirit of a woman who lost her life there. The motorcycle driver told the Phuket Gazette that he belonged to a group of motorcycle taxi drivers who pick up…
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Phuket Sport: International round up
PHUKET: The following is a round up of international sports news, compiled by the Phuket Gazette for the island’s international community. ATHLETICS: Yohan Blake did the unthinkable at the Lausanne Diamond League meeting: he managed to take the headlines away from Usain Bolt. Blake ran the third fastest 100-meter race of all time, clocking 9.69 seconds. Bolt holds the world…
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Tonight! Phuket Seafood Fiesta in Patong
PHUKET: The Phuket Seafood Fiesta casts its net today in an effort to draw more visitors to the island during the current low season for tourism. The Seafood Fiesta, held in conjunction with the Andaman Hoteliers 2012 event, runs from 3pm to 10pm today and tomorrow at the Jungceylon shopping complex in Patong. “At the festival you can experience all…
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Gardener, 60, drowns in Phuket tin mine pond
PHUKET: Phuket Police are investigating the drowning death of a 60-year-old man found floating face-down in a tin mine pond in Thalang late yesterday afternoon. The discovery of the body was reported to Thalang Police at 5:30pm by a roommate of the deceased who gave his name only as “Gai”. Mr Gai told investigators he went looking for his friend,…
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Thailand News: Sex trade – playing with the devil
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Transvestites, women warned against sex trade in Mideast Phuket Gazette / The NationPHUKET: Many Thai male cross-dressers get legitimate jobs in Oman as masseuses but choose to also offer sexual services on the side, a Thai embassy official in Muscat said Panida Somao said the laws…
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Full-scale tsunami rescue drill “freaks out’ Phuket tourists
PHUKET: Two tourists on holiday from Vietnam panicked after witnessing the full-scale tsunami rescue drill being conducted off the east coast of Phuket this afternoon. “Oh my God! My friend and I thought it was some kind of terrorist attack or that a really big accident had happened. We had no clues it was a drill.” said Ms Julie as…
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Phuket Tiger Disco fire: Police identify two Thai women as victims
PHUKET: Forensics experts at the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok have officially announced the names of two more victims of the Tiger Discotheque fire in Phuket last Friday. Dr Bhawat Prateepvisrut, a forensic pathologist at the institute, confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today that two of the four bodies recovered from the scorched nightclub had been identified as those…
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500 Phuket homes affected by floods
PHUKET: Tentative estimates by officials are that about 500 households were affected by the floods yesterday.The news follows Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana’s confirmation that despite more rain today, the floodwaters in Phuket Town have completely receded and the situation has returned to normal.“Our trucks had washed off all the mud from the main roads in Phuket Town by last…
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Phuket Sports: Aspiring Thai futsal squads pitted against Spain
PHUKET: Thailand’s male university futsal team progressed to the quarterfinals in the World University Championships (WUC), set to take on tournament favorites, Spain, later tonight. Meanwhile, the Thailand senior males national squad are also scheduled to take on the world’s top-ranked team, Spain, in two friendly matches in Thailand this weekend. Being hosted at the University of Minho in the…
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