News
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Abhisit wants Anupong, Thawil to testify
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Abhisit wants Anupong, Thawil to testify The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva yesterday petitioned the NACC (National Anti-Corruption Commission) to question two more witnesses with key roles in the deadly 2010 crackdown on protesters when he was prime minister. The two…
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Earthquake rattles Phuket
PHUKET: An earthquake measuring 3.8 in magnitude rattled the east coast of Phuket before dawn this morning. The Thai Meteorological Department reported the quake as striking at 5:32am, with its epicenter halfway between Phuket and Koh Yao Yai island in Phang Nga Bay (click here). The epicenter of the quake was centered in the same area where a 4.0 quake…
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‘Kamnan Sia’ and wife get 11 years jail for seizing state land
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community ‘Kamnan Sia’ and wife get 11 years jail for seizing state land The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Former Democrat Party candidate Pracha “Kamnan Sia” Phophiphit and his wife were yesterday sentenced to 11 years jail for seizing state land. They had encroached on a large…
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Bangkok’s dummy police to go ‘smart’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dummy police to catch traffic offenders next month The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Starting next month, dummy traffic officers on some of Bangkok’s roads will officially become “smart”, as they will be able to catch violators red-handed via a newly introduced tech system. The so-called…
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Phuket park officials set “no go’ zone to protect new reef
PHUKET: Officers at Sirinath National Park yesterday began installing floating markers off Nai Yang Beach to protect a young reef system discovered only last month. The markers are to establish an exclusion zone preventing swimmers and boats from entering the area, explained deputy park chief Neramit Songsaeng. “Officers from the Phuket Marine National Parks and Protected Areas Innovation Center arrived…
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Phuket mega-party promoter, TV stars jailed for defamation
PHUKET: Two famous national television show hosts have been sentenced to one year in jail, with no suspended sentence and no option for parole, for defaming the organizer of the 2013 New Year mega-party held at Phuket’s Patong Beach. The Criminal Court in Bangkok yesterday sentenced Vuthithorn ‘Woody’ Milintachinda and Chaleumpol ‘Jack Fanchan’ Tikumpornteerawo, of the popular show ‘Chao Doo…
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Civil defence volunteer kills girlfriend in Kathu somtam shop
PHUKET: A civil defence volunteer has confessed to the shooting murder of his girlfriend inside a somtam shop in Phuket last night. Police were called to the scene on Wichit Songkram Road in Thung Thong at about 8:45pm, where they found the body of 46-year-old Yupin Somrak on the floor of the shop’s kitchen. “Ms Yupin suffered fatal gunshot wounds…
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Bangkok water users to pay for what they use
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Bangkok water users to pay for what they use The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Residents of Bangkok, Nonthaburi and Samut Prakan provinces will pay for tap water according to what they use from April 1. Rakkecha Chaechai, secretary-general of the Ombudsman’s Office, said yesterday that…
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Nation Group to sue NBTC over hostile takeover bid
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nation Group to sue NBTC over hostile takeover bid The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The Nation Multimedia Group (NMG) will petition the Administrative Court against three members of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunication Commission’s broadcasting committee for alleged dereliction of duty in deciding the legitimacy…
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Russians and Iranians nabbed in drug raids
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Russians and Iranians nabbed in drug raids The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Russian and three Iranians have been arrested along with 496.52 grams of crystal meth worth 1.5 million baht in Bang Lamung district in Chon Buri and Phaya Thai in Bangkok, the Police…
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Cabinet meet in Hua Hin to go ahead, despite explosives found
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Cabinet meet in Hua Hin to go ahead, despite explosives found The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: The mobile Cabinet meeting scheduled on Friday and Saturday in Prachuap Khiri Khan will go ahead despite the discovery of explosives and assault rifle ammunition about three kilometers from…
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Police seize bumper haul of illegal lumber
PHUKET: Marine Police on Friday seized a truckload of rough-cut planks of wood hewn from protected trees that were bound for Phi Phi Island, where they were to be used to build a restaurant. The truck, bearing Chachoengsao license plates and driven by Janyarat Janput, 34, was stopped near Jianwanich pier in Rassada near Phuket Town during a random check…
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Anthony Lark takes the reins at Trisara
PHUKET: Widely respected hotelier Anthony Lark has been appointed managing director and general manager of Trisara, a high-end resort of 48 pool villas and 20 privately owned residences on Phuket’s west coast. In his new role, Mr Lark will continue to provide hospitality advisory services to the clients of the Montara Hospitality Group, which operates the resort, and will develop…
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Trial for Tiger disco inferno to start April 23
PHUKET: The first witness testimony over the deaths of four people in Patong’s notorious Tiger Disco inferno is set for April 23, Public Prosecutor Vivath Kitjurak has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. The trial will begin almost three years after the blaze claimed the lives of four people, including two tourists. The popular nightclub erupted into flames at about 4am…
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Satree Phuket strides for new sports facilities
PHUKET: Satree Phuket School will hold a mini-marathon this coming Sunday dedicated in honor of HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s 60th birthday on April 2. The event, held in association with the Sport Association of Phuket, will also serve as a fundraiser for the school’s new, high-standard sports facility, said Koson Saikao, principal of Satree Phuket School. “The new sports…
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Business Buzz: Social media for profit – passing fad or must-have tool?
PHUKET: No matter where we go, we are surrounded by social media and its influences. Tweet this, like that, share and like this; terms we were not familiar with all that long ago are now in common, daily use. So is this a passing fad or is this social media craze here to stay, and even more importantly, is this…
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Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore’s founding father, dies at 91
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Lee Kuan Yew, modern Singapore’s founding father, dies at 91 Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore’s first prime minister, died on Monday aged 91, triggering a flood of tributes to the man who oversaw the tiny city-state’s rapid rise from a British colonial…
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British man, 21, kills self at Phuket gun range
PHUKET: A 21-year-old British man turned a gun on himself and committed suicide at a Phuket shooting range this afternoon. Staff and witnesses at the Thalang Shooting Range said the man arrived at the tourist attraction before 3pm. The man hired an 11mm pistol and emptied his magazine at the target, before asking for three more bullets. He then turned…
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Teen dies in motorcycle crash
PHUKET: A teenage boy is dead and one man injured after their motorcycle slammed into a traffic sign near the main intersection north of Thalang town at around 1:15am today. Somjai Tengsomboon, 18, suffered a head injury and died at Thalang Hospital early this morning. “The passenger, Sathaporn Wongwai, 35, received minor injuries and confessed that they had both been…
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Suspects yet to be charged for billion-baht illegal beach rental scheme
PHUKET: The public prosecutor has yet to press formal charges against the Kata-Karon mayor or any of the other suspects allegedly involved in the island’s billion-baht illegal beach rental scheme. At least 15 people, including Kata-Karon Mayor Tawee Thongcham, were accused at a press conference in September last year of illegally issuing permits for local beach vendors to use public…
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Death sentence for man who had his family killed
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Death sentence for man who had his family killed The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Bangkok’s Thon Buri Criminal Court yesterday handed down the death sentence to 23-year-old Kittinan Homchong, after finding him guilty of hiring killers to murder his parents and older brother in 2014.…
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Chinese tourists safe after airport taxi slams into motorcycle, kills man
PHUKET: Two Chinese tourists brought their holiday in Phuket to a close by witnessing one man being killed and another suffering serious injuries in a road accident before dawn this morning. The tourists were heading to Phuket International Airport when their taxi slammed into a motorcycle at Baan Porn, in Thalang, at about 5am, explained Lt Suporn Muangkhai of the…
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Navy probes ATV tour operator, shrimp farms for mangrove encroachment
PHUKET: The deputy commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command in Phuket is spearheading an investigation into an ATV tour company and five shrimp farms for alleged encroachment of more than 200 rai in a mangrove forest in Pa Khlok. Rear Admiral Teansiri Montriwade personally led an inspection of the alleged encroachment site in Baan Pak Chit on…
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Myanmar convicts five over fake rape claim that sparked riots
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Myanmar convicts five over fake rape claim that sparked riots Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A Myanmar court convicted five people for spreading fabricated allegations that a Muslim man raped a Buddhist woman, which led to deadly riots last July, a court official said on Friday.…
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Ex-princess’ family members get five-year jail terms
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Ex-princess’ family members get five-year jail terms The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Three relatives of the former Princess Srirasm were given five-and-a-half-year prison terms yesterday for abduction, intimidation and lese majeste – crimes associated with a racketeering gang led by disgraced former crime-buster Maj Gen…
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Government evicts Surin Beach clubs
PHUKET: Several iconic beach clubs are among 39 businesses along the Surin beachfront boardwalk that were given eviction notices yesterday. The notices, and the negation of contracts for the use of the buildings, follows the demolishing last year of some of the businesses’ developments on the west side of the boardwalk, which were deemed to be encroaching on public land…
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Pakistani nabbed after B200k hotel theft in Patong
PHUKET: A Pakistani man caught on CCTV robbing nearly 200,000 baht in cash from guests’ safe-deposit boxes at a Patong resort has been arrested in Haad Yai. Officers arrested Paris Azeem, 21, at about 10pm on Wednesday after Patong Police tracked him from Phuket to Bangkok to a rented room in Haad Yai, in the southern border province of Songkhla.…
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Aussie charged for fatal Phuket stabbing in court on Monday
PHUKET: Mark Pendlebury, the Australian expat charged for the fatal stabbing of a Patong nightclub security staffer on March 11, is expected to present himself in court on Monday. Mr Pendlebury was granted bail by the Phuket Provincial Court, confirmed Lt Col Jessada Saengsuree of the Patong Police. “He must present himself to the court on March 23 in order…
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Opinion: Need for more speed in court proceedings
Sakun Suanpharn, 53, originally from Uttaradit, took up the position of Chief Judge of Phuket Provincial Court on April 1 last year. Judge Sakun earned a Bachelor’s of Law, Barrister-at-law from Ramkhamhaeng University. Before coming to Phuket, Judge Sakun served as Chief Judge of Yala Juvenile Court, following more than 20 years’ experience after graduating from university. Here, he explains…
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Opinion: Take it easy, people
PHUKET: Take it easy, people. What our government is trying to do is bring back “The Land of Smiles”. The nation’s leaders are trying to fix all of the problems that have plagued Thailand for decades. I have heard some say that Rome wasn’t built in a day… so, give the government a chance to work out these problems. What…
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