News
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Gambling once again tops monthly crime list
PHUKET: Statistics released today by Phuket Provincial Police, covering crimes committed between December 1 and 25, showed that 144 people were arrested for gambling in the course of 116 raids. Drug possession was next on the list with 122 arrests. There were 46 arrests for robbery and theft. Prostitutes were arrested 31 times and 19 people were held for possessing…
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Gruesome toll on Thai highways
PHUKET: The Public Health Ministry says at least 300 people died and 19,433 were injured in auto accidents in Thailand over the holiday period. Ministry officials speculate that many of the accidents were caused by drivers relying on amphetamines to stay awake. During the four-day New Year’s holiday here in Phuket, 261 people were injured and 9 killed in car…
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Night on town costs tourist 160,000 baht
PHUKET: A Swedish tourist says that spending New Year’s Eve with a prostitute cost him 160,000 baht. The victim, Sven Anders Fireballs (not his real name), 32, met a woman in a bar on Soi Bangla. After drinking and chatting, the two decided to go into Phuket Town where they checked into the 999 Motel on Kra Road for a…
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Controversy over suicide of Maikhao tambon boss
MAIKHAO: As reported earlier by the Phuket Gazette Online, the president of the Maikhao Tambon Administrative Council (OrBorTor), Boonchoo Rakrungsimansuk, 55, apparently took his life on December 17 by drinking a liter of pesticide. The police have confirmed that the death was a suicide and have declared the case “closed”. Dollar Loala, a member of OrBorTor Maikhao, disagrees and thinks…
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More accidents, fewer deaths on the island’s roads
PHUKET TOWN: The latest year-to-date figures, those to December 20, show that 172 people, 153 of them on motorcycles, have died on Phuket’s highways this year. Last year at this time, 186 people had died, 164 of them on motorcycles. But there is no basis for optimism in these figures. In November, traffic accidents increased by 14% from the same…
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Doctors warned on unnecessary caesarian births
BANGKOK, Dec 25 (AFP): Thai authorities have warned doctors they risk losing their licenses if they perform caesarians to insure that a baby is born on the first day of the new millennium. Some parents are pressuring doctors to undertake the operations because they want their baby born on the highly auspicious day. Supachai Khunaratanaphruek, Deputy Permanent Secretary for Public…
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Van Morrison band to perform in Phuket
PATONG: Van Morrison’s band, The Red Hot Pokers, and Stan Boardman, a famous British comedian, will appear at Molly Malone’s Irish Pub in Patong on Monday evening, January 3, 2000. The famous entertainers are coming to Phuket for a one night appearance after performing for a Royal audience at the Shangri-La Hotel in Bangkok on New Year’s Eve. Stuart Montgomery,…
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Crackdown on illegal workers results in 375 arrests
PHUKET TOWN: A series of blockades and a sweep of construction sites in Phuket on December 19, 20, and 21 resulted in the arrest and deportation of 375 illegal Burmese immigrants. According to Phuket Governor Charnchai Soontharamat, the number of arrests and deporations could reach 600 by the end of the year. The arrests are part of a nationwide crackdown…
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Arrests made in robbery and murder of Supercheap employee
PHUKET: Police in Saraburi Province arrested three of the four-man gang suspected of robbing and murdering Jennarong Utoksaenee, 65, a manager of Supercheap, a large “warehouse” style store in Phuket Town. Khun Jennarong was shot dead in his car at 3:00 pm on September 6 while on his way to deposit 1.7 million baht in receipts from Supercheap. According to…
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StarAid funds used to support several projects
PHUKET TOWN: Funds raised from the StarAid event held at the Sheraton Grande Laguna Phuket last June were used to organize a Christmas celebration for 30 HIV infected children at Vachira Hospital last Sunday. On the same day, 30,000 baht was donated to the slum village of Langho Prachum for the development of an HIV educational fund for the children…
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Young People’s Party dominates municipal elections
PHUKET: Results of the election for the Phuket Municipal Council have been released: the Young People’s Party won 13 seats, the Creative Party four seats, and the People’s Party one seat. Of the municipality’s 42,378 registered voters, only 53% voted in the election. Current Mayor Phumisak Hongyok is a member of the Young People’s Party so it appears likely that…
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Occupancies soft at Phuket hotels
PHUKET: As can be seen in the data above, compiled from hotels the Gazette was able to contact today, the occupancy situation in Phuket is not robust. Room cancellations are rising, continuing a trend that started early in November. All the hotels represented in our chart report that the usual occupancy rate for this time of year is 80% or…
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Search underway for Algerian hotel thief
CHALONG: Phuket police are searching for an Algerian suspected of stealing money and other valuables from the rooms of tourists in small hotels and guest houses in Cherng Talay and Karon Beach. According to Pol Col Sathi Malakanont, superintendent of the Chalong Police Station, the man checks into an establishment, breaks into rooms, and then departs without checking out. The…
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84 Burmese arrested in Chalong
CHALONG: Police yesterday arrested 84 Burmese who were working illegally in the Chalong area. According to Pol Capt Thanate Poungmanee of Chalong Police Station, 54 of the 84 arrested were male. After the sweep, the Burmese were transferred to the Immigration Office in Phuket Town where their arrests were recorded. They were then immediately sent to the Thai-Burma border in…
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Lumberyard burns on Kwang Rd
PHUKET TOWN: Chaijaras Kah Mai, a lumberyard on Kwang Rd, suffered damage estimated at 2 million baht when a fire swept through the premises at 1 am this morning. No deaths or injuries were reported. Strong winds and the highly combustible lumber forced firefighters to battle the blaze for almost two hours before putting it out. Pol Capt Surat Muangsri…
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Woman arrested for illegal possession of fish
RAWAI: A woman has been arrested for possessing tropical fish of a protected species. Pol Lt Teerawat Liumsuwan from Chalong Station told the Gazette that police and officers from the Phuket Provincial Fisheries Office raided a house at 5/3 Wiset Rd in Rawai last Friday evening. In the house they found about 40 fish of different protected species, 55 fish…
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Diarrhea outbreak comes to an end
THALANG: The recent outbreak of severe diarrhea in the Thalang area is over, Dr Boonriang Chuchaisangrat, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office, has confirmed. All those affected have now gone home from hospital, and no new cases have been reported. The first case of severe diarrhea was reported on October 27 and was diagnosed as a strain known as…
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Police hunt for novice monk in tourist murder
BANGKOK, Dec 21 (AFP) – Thai police said Tuesday they were hunting for a 14-year-old novice monk allegedly involved in the brutal murder and suspected rape of an Australian tourist in the southern beach resort of Krabi. Police Major Khejorn Siriwan said warrants had been issued for the novice and a 19-year-old man over the murder of Cheree Cobcroft, 24,…
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Australian woman murdered in Krabi
KRABI: Cheree Joy Cobcroft, 24, an Australian tourist, was brutally murdered in Krabi on Friday. Her body was found naked, hanging by a belt from a tree in the woods behind the Kaew Krowararam temple in Krabi Town. Her clothing and personal belongings were scattered on the ground below her. Police estimate the murder occurred between 6:00 am and 1:30…
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Man drowns at Patong Beach
PATONG: A man drowned while swimming 60 meters from shore in front of Loma Park at Patong Beach on Saturday afternoon. According to Pol Capt Boonlert Oonkrang of Kathu Police Station, the man waved his hand, yelling for help. He was eventually taken ashore by a tourist on a jet-ski, but died in the ambulance on the way to Patong…
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French-Swiss pair win Black Cat pétanque
CHERNG TALAY: Frenchman Frederic Vignial and partner Eric Uldry of Switzerland shot 13-9 against Frenchman Franck de Lestapis and Australian Craig Ryan to win the Fifth Black Cat Pétanque Tournament at the Black Cat restaurant yesterday. The consolation round was won by a margin of 13 to 6 by yet another Frenchman, Marcel Lerat, and his Thai partner Somnuk Chunrat.…
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Fantasea still showing a loss – CEO
KAMALA: Pin Kewpaisal, President and CEO of Phuket Fantasea, admitted last night that the cultural theme park is still losing money but said that he remains optimistic about the future, and that he believes Fantasea is on the right track. Khun Pin didn’t reveal actual loses, but said Fantasea has to pay about 50 million baht a month just to…
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Maikhao tambon boss commits suicide
MAIKHAO: The president of the Maikhao Tambon Administrative Council (OrBorTor) was found dead at his home at 164 Moo 3, Tambon Maikhao, Amphur Talang, early yesterday morning, having apparently committed suicide. Pol Capt Adul Nirapai of Phuket Town Police Station said the dead man, Boonchoo Rakrungsimansuk, 55, is believed to have died after swallowing about a liter of pesticide. Though…
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MP shot after censure debate session
BANGKOK (AFP): An MP from Thailand’s governing Democrat party was ambushed and shot after leaving the censure debate in Parliament, party officials said today. Parnawat Liangpongpan, an MP from Buriram province in Isarn, was attacked by a gunman outside his apartment in Bangkok as he got out of his car in the early hours of this morning. “He was shot…
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Type A Negative blood urgently needed
PHUKET TOWN: Bangkok Phuket Hospital has issued an urgent appeal for Type A Negative blood for an Austrian tourist who is bleeding internally. Alfred Edlinsel, 41, was rushed to the hospital yesterday with a ‘terrible’ stomach pain that subsequently deteriorated into gastric and intestinal bleeding. Mr Edlinsel’s medical record shows that he has had a stomach condition for years. The…
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Seminar to promote Phuket to foreign investors
PHUKET: The Phuket Chamber of Commerce will conduct a seminar to encourage foreign investment in Phuket at a Board of Investment Fair that will be held in Bangkok from February 3-17. Charn Wongsatayanont, President of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, says, “The seminar will provide Phuket with an opportunity to point out the island’s strengths and potential as a place…
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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…
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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,…
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Phuket’s power system said to be “Y2K-ready”
PHUKET TOWN: The island’s Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) is now ready for whatever the Millennium may throw at it, says PEA vice president Kumnueng Tadsri Khun Kumnueng says the entire computer system has been upgraded to comply with standards set by the General Accounting Office. All elements of it have been tested and are Y2K-ready. But just in case the…
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Five Westerners may be released from local prison
PHUKET: As many as five Westerners are expected to be on the list of people to be released from Phuket Provincial Prison in the next couple of days, in accordance with the nationwide amnesty declared to mark HM the King’s 72nd birthday. Exact numbers have yet to be ascertained, but Preeda Nijsiri, commander of Phuket Provincial Prison, said that the…
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