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Land Dept claims 90% of prime Phuket land controlled by foreigners
PHUKET: Phuket leads all of Thailand in the amount of land held by foreigners, with up to 90 per cent of prime beachfront land being illegally held through Thai nominees, claims one of the country’s top land officials. Speaking at a recent seminar on legal issues relating to land ownership, Land Inspector Sriracha Charoenpanit said Thailand’s positive characteristics, friendly people…
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Aussie family doubt suicide claim by Phuket police
PHUKET: The family of Australian tourist Marc Gerard Hoy, 34, who fell to his death from the sixth floor of a Phuket hotel last weekend, have expressed doubts that he committed suicide. “His relatives in Australia are finding it difficult to believe that he jumped off the building, but I told them that I have CCTV footage as evidence and…
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Contador’s Tour de force
PHUKET: “The idea victory could be taken away if I win, I just find ridiculous.” Alberto Contador vents his frustration at being left in limbo before the start of this year? Tour de France. The most famous bicycle race begins this Saturday. The three-time Tour de France champion was cleared by the Spanish Cycling Federation over a positive clenbuterol test…
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Korean charged over drunk driving death
PHUKET: A Korean man is facing a manslaughter charge after a head-on collision resulted in the death of Rik Johannes de Jong , 51, from the Netherlands. Mr De Jong is well known among foreign expats as the restaurateur of The Secret Cove restaurant at Ao Yon, which he ran with his Thai wife since 2009. Mr De Jong was…
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Rolling boulders crash into Phuket resort
PHUKET: The management of an upscale hillside villa resort in Phuket has filed a police complaint after huge boulders tumbled down from a road construction project last Saturday, causing property damage and frightening guests. Wassana Yukhunthon, public relations manager at the luxury L’Orchidee Residences off Phra Barami Road Soi 4 at the north end of Patong, told the Phuket Gazette…
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High hoops for youth basketball in Phuket
PHUKET: THE PHUKET Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) and the Phuket Basketball Club’s second annual provincial basketball competition is now underway. The opening ceremony of the “Basketball PPAO Phuket Junior League 2011” was held at Saphan Hin, Gymnasium 1, on June 25 and the league will run until September 23 with matches starting at 4pm every Friday. OrBorJor President, Paiboon Upatising,…
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Phuket Red Cross blood drive for July
PHUKET: Following a successful campaign in June, the Phuket Regional Blood Center has announced the dates for its July blood drive. “By June 28, we had 2,124 blood donations for the month. This was above our target of 1,500-2,000 donors,” said Suphawan Rattanachan, an officer with the Phuket Red Cross. “This month the need for blood won’t be as high…
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Phuket banks closed for mid-year holiday
PHUKET: Banks throughout Phuket are closed today for the annual “Mid-Year Bank Holiday” across Thailand. However, to ensure some access to finances, branches at some major retail centers are open. Somrudee Kanhayuva at the Kasikorn Bank call center in Bangkok confirmed that Kasikorn branches at major department stores are open as usual. “In Phuket, Kasikorn has seven branches open today:…
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Sailing courses at Phuket’s ACYC
PHUKET: Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) is now an officially recognized Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Shore Based Training Center and will be running theory courses at the club in Chalong. Courses are open to members and non-members and apply equally to sail boats and powerboats. Being shore-based, the courses are invaluable to people who have their own powerboat, but have…
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Phuket expo center coming “no matter what’: Raywat
PHUKET: Construction of Phuket’s International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) will begin in three to four months no matter which party forms the next government, a Democrat Party candidate said yesterday. Raywat Areerob, incumbent MP candidate for Phuket constituency two, told the Phuket Gazette the election results would not affect existing plans to build the ICEC in Mai Khao. “[If…
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Officials ‘slash and burn’ 25 tons of pirate goods in Phuket
PHUKET: Counterfeit goods worth more than 58 million baht were destroyed at the incinerator in Phuket Town this morning as part of the nationwide crackdown on copyright infringement. Before the serious destruction began, high-ranking officials and guests used box cutters to slash fake Louis Vuitton bags and Ralph Lauren shirts, while others smashed pirated DVDs with oversized sledgehammers. “This is…
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Phuket restaurants race against coastal erosion
PHUKET: Restaurant owners along the Rawai beachfront on Phuket’s southern coast are racing to repair a collapsed section of the seawall and pavement before monsoon surf causes more damage. The damaged section of the seawall spreads over about 100 meters and includes at least one privately owned restaurant. Rawai Municipality has placed rocks along 60m of the waterfront to slow…
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Federer out, Murray in
PHUKET: “I was just perfect today. I served just unbelievably.” Jo-Wilfried Tsonga doesn’t hold back on describing his performance against six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in Wednesday’s quarter-final at the All England Lawn Tennis tournament.True, it was a fantastic performance, but certainly not perfect. Federer had gone two sets up before the big serving French player clawed his way back…
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Phuket outshines Big Bang in Toyota Cup
PHUKET: In Toyota League Cup second round play last night, FC Phuket downed Division 1 rivals Big Bang Chulalongkorn University (BBCU) 2-1 in extra time in front of a large crowd at Surakul Stadium. The ‘Southern Sea Kirin’, as FC Phuket is sometimes known, got the scoring underway on 15 minutes with slick passing between Niran Phanthong and Nitirote Sukuma…
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Reward offered for help in recovery of missing Phuket rental car
PHUKET: A Hungarian man who rented a car in Phuket in mid-April has yet to return it and the owner is offering a reward to anyone who can help recover it. Supornchai Thuenthin, a 43-year-old car rental operator in Patong, held a small conference at the Tourism Authority of Thailand office in Phuket Town on Monday in hopes of getting…
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Phuket tuk-tuk driver questioned over rape of tourist
PHUKET: A Patong tuk-tuk driver questioned by police has denied any involvement in the alleged rape of a 21-year-old British female tourist in Phuket early on Monday morning. The woman went to Bangla Road with friends on Sunday night but later separated from them and went to another bar alone, said Kathu Police Duty Officer Jakkrapong Luang-aon. “She hired a…
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FC Phuket vs “Big Bang” Chula in Toyota Cup action tonight
PHUKET: Second round matches of the Toyota League Cup get underway this evening, with FC Phuket facing a formidable challenge against Big Bang Chulalongkorn University (BBCU). Division 1 rivals, the teams have played once already this season. That fixture, at Surakul Stadium on March 13, ended in a 0-0 draw. BBCU led the league at the time and Phuket were…
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7 rounded up on drugs, arms, theft charges in Phuket
PHUKET: The arrest of one man found with drugs and a handgun on his person at a roadside police checkpoint on Sunday night has led to the arrest of seven more suspects. Col Komol Wattarakorn, Deputy Commander of Phuket Provincial Police, presented the eight suspects, along with two others, at a press conference at Phuket City Police Station yesterday. “We…
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Phuket Live Wire: The empire strikes back, TOT steps up
PHUKET: LONG the whipping boy in Phuket’s internet competition, TOT is finally showing signs of life and offering some real alternatives. Some people have had good TOT lines for years, and haven’t found any reason to switch. But an alarmingly large percentage of people I know with TOT lines have given up and gone with competitors – most frequently True…
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Brutal execution
PHUKET: “This is going to be the most brutal execution of a boxer that you’ve seen for many, many years. Don’t go to the hospital with your brother. Make sure you’re there, don’t go with the ambulance.” WBA Heavyweight Boxing Champion David Haye, 30, from Great Britain voiced and illustrated his intentions towards the Klitschko brothers (Wladimir, 35, – IBF…
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Hotel cook drowns at Phuket beachside lake
PHUKET: A hotel cook drowned last night at Nong Harn Lake, at the northern end of Phuket’s tourist-popular Karon Beach, sparking a three-hour search for his body. Kasin Wirachod, 41, employed by a prominent Karon hotel, supplemented his income by catching fish in the lake, an old tin mine quarry surrounded by resorts and restaurants. Mr Kasin, originally from Sakon…
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Phuket beachfront cables buried, but road awaits resurfacing
PHUKET: The power cables along the Karon beachfront, on Phuket’s tourist-popular west coast, have been finally buried, but the road still needs resurfacing. “We are now seeking tenders for a construction company to pave the road,” Norasak Phuriphattaraphan, an engineer at Kata-Karon Municipality’s Public Works Division, told the Phuket Gazette today. “We expect to have selected a company to carry…
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Election Thailand: Poor turnout at Phuket ‘absentee’ polls
PHUKET: Despite more than 40,000 people taking the time to pre-register to cast “absentee ballots” for the July 3 election, only half that number actually turned up at polling stations in Phuket yesterday. “A total of 20,874 people cast ‘absentee votes’, which is 51% of the 40,630 people who registered to do so,” said Phuket Election Commission Director Kitipong Thiengkunakrit.…
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FC Phuket take Songkhla by the horns
PHUKET: Saturday’s “southern derby” at Surakul Stadium lived up to expectations for an exciting match, but failed to produce any goals for FC Phuket and regional rivals Songkhla FC. The game was originally scheduled for March, and with the fixture filled Phuket and Songkhla are now up to date for league games played. Each of the 18 teams in League…
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Sunday Opinion: Phuket declares support for roadside trash in national elections
PHUKET: As Thailand’s general election draws near, one can only guess what tourists in Phuket might make of it all. So ubiquitous and impressive is the roadside pollution that many visitors will spend their holiday bewildered as to why they are looking at thousands of colorful images of suited monkeys, salivating dogs and fatuous monitor lizards. For many, the preponderance…
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Phuket’s young voters want job security and stronger tourism policies
PHUKET: Students at Phuket Vocational College rate job security and sustainable development of Phuket’s tourism industry among their top criteria in selecting which candidates to vote for in Thailand’s general election next Sunday. About 300 students from the college on Thursday attended a rally at Saphan Hin, where the three candidates contesting Phuket Constituency 1 urged the students to exercise…
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Nice one: FC Phuket sign French goalie Matijas
PHUKET: FC Phuket have signed goalkeeper Jonathan Matijas from France and have their eyes on other foreign players, the team has announced. FC Phuket General Manager Ahsin Arammethapongsa this morning confirmed the club has signed an agreement with Matijas, a tall 21-year-old from Nice who comes from Amiens SC in the French Ligue 2. Matijas will join Phuket at the…
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Phuket Tourist Police volunteers branch out
PHUKET: Phuket’s newest Tourist Police Volunteer Center opened at Chalong Circle this week and is already helping foreigners in need in the south of the island. Within hours of opening their doors on Monday, officers at the center were called on to assist a Russian couple whose rented motorbike was involved in a minor accident at the roundabout. The motorbike…
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Strong winds ground pilots at Phuket Fun Fly
PHUKET: Paragliding enthusiasts assembled in Rawai for Phuket Fun Fly 2011 found the wind too strong this morning for pilots to safely get off the ground, but expect flying conditions to improve over the weekend. “We still cannot glide right now because the wind is too strong. It is too dangerous,” said Sarayut Chinpongsatorn of the Thai National Paragliding Team.…
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School van crash: Police to pursue charges against pickup driver
PHUKET: Police will pursue charges against the driver of a speeding pickup that crashed into a school van on Tuesday morning, killing two and leaving many others injured. The driver, 41-year-old Nikom Kaewmanee, told police he was driving at about 100kmh when he tried to overtake the van, which had 15 occupants, Thalang Police told the Phuket Gazette . The…
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