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More yellow shirts on the way
BANGKOK (The Nation): Clothing manufacturers have been asked by the government to produce 500,000 more yellow shirts, commemorating HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s diamond jubilee, to meet huge demand from the public. The shirts will be available at supermarkets including Big C, Makro and 7-Eleven stores nationwide. Siriphol Yordmuangcharoen, Director General of the Department of Commerce, said he has met with…
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Police unravel tale of money and murder
PHUKET: Phuket Police have arrested three people in connection with a web of crime including the assassination of a local newspaper editor and the attempted murder of the ex-husband of one of the accused. A police sergeant was among those arrested.Local businessman Peerasak “Ko Yu” Aiewpanich was shot on October 19 last year while he was giving alms to monks…
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Chalong police issue burglaries warning
CHALONG: Pol Col Chalit Kaewyarat, Superintendent of Chalong Police Station, this morning urged residents in the Chalong and Rawai areas to take extra precautions against burglaries following a recent spate of break-ins, mostly involving homes of foreigners.“A house in Soi Taiad [Chalong] and another one in Soi Samakkee 2 [Rawai] were recently broken into by burglars.“A couple of days ago…
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Phuket to receive award for “fastest recovery’
PHUKET CITY: Phuket has won the Arabian Travel Market 2006 (ATM) “New Frontiers Award” for being the tourism destination that recovered fastest from a natural disaster, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura announced yesterday.“The Arabian Travel Market has praised Phuket for its outstanding recovery and positive contribution to tourism development after the tsunami,” Governor Udomsak said.“The island was chosen after organizers consulted professionals…
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Land Office moves to allay property bust fears
PHUKET: The Chief of the Phuket Provincial Land Office (PPLO), Supot Suwannachote, has moved to reassure businesspeople that the closer inspection of companies wanting to register land titles, as ordered by the Ministry of Interior, does not mean that transfers of ownership will be refused.He stressed that he did not want to see a slowdown in Phuket’s booming property industry.…
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Phuket readies security for Swedish royal visit
PHUKET: Security will be tight during the one-week visit to Phuket of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden, with more than 100 police officers directly involved in the security effort and units from many other government agencies taking part. The Swedish royal couple will arrive in Phuket on the afternoon of June 14, following their attendance in…
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Airport limos give ground to keep concession
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Limousine and Business Services Cooperative Ltd (PBC) is to have its concession to operate limousines at the airport renewed, but members will have to agree to a number of conditions. The news came after both the PBC and the Airports Authority of Thailand (AAT) asked the provincial authorities to intercede in negotiations. The current concession agreement…
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More than 3,000 ya bah pills seized in May
PHUKET: Statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police show that 3,183 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills were seized by police, with 71 arrests made in connection with the drug, between May 1 and 25. Seizures of ecstasy were also up on last month’s figures. In total, 121 people were arrested on drug-related charges. The second most commonly seized intoxicants were solvents…
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Official denies extortion and bodily harm charges
CHALONG: Sassiri Klinhom, a district official from Surat Thani, presented himself to Chalong Police Station on June 1 to deny charges of extortion and causing bodily harm.Pol Lt Col Jessada Sangsuree told the Gazette that at about 10 am on May 29, he and other officers responded to a call saying that a woman had been found handcuffed and drugged…
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Police Chief warns of increasing petty crime
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth has ordered police in the province to step up their vigilance against petty crimes.He has also urged the public to help officers by informing them of any crimes they witness, especially in the run-up to the month-long soccer World Cup.Gen Decha said, “All police officers should be more attentive…
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Property boom makes tax office glow
PHUKET CITY: If taxes paid are any indication of economic health, then Phuket’s economy, in particular the property sector, is very healthy indeed. Between October 1 last year and April 30 this year, the Phuket Area Revenue Office (PARO) collected 455.75 million baht in taxes from property businesses alone – an increase of 64.58% on the same six-month period a…
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Blue Canyon out of bankruptcy
BANGKOK: The Central Bankruptcy Court (CBC) in Bangkok today announced its decision to allow Murex Co Ltd, the holding company for Blue Canyon Country Club (BCCC), to officially exit the debt restructuring process it has undergone under the court’s administration.BCCC, in an official release, stated, “The Plan Administrator of Murex, BC Golf Resort Management Co Ltd, has been instrumental in…
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Land crackdown targets Thai shareholders
BANGKOK: The Ministry of Interior has ordered a crackdown on property companies attempting to circumvent Section 74 of the Land Act in order to allow foreigners to control land ownership.Section 74 states (unofficial translation): “In the process of registering [land] possession rights and contracts between parties … officers have the power to investigate both parties and call them for questioning…
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Hotel buying spree continues
PHUKET: Central Hotels & Resorts (CHR), which last month announced that it had bought the Islandia Park Resort in Karon for more than a billion baht, has also bought the Jiva Resort & Spa in Kata.This most recent purchase brings the number of properties CHR owns in Phuket to four; the company’s other properties in Phuket are the Central Karon Village…
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Patong waitress in acid attack horror
PATONG (Kom Chad Luek): A 23-year-old waitress has been badly disfigured after acid was thrown on her, allegedly by her jealous ex-boyfriend. The woman then traveled to Bangkok with her mother to seek help from the Paweena Hongsakul Foundation for abused women and children.Tassaya Wanich, 24, met K. Paweena on May 26 and explained that she had been frequently abused…
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Document forging gang arrested
PHUKET CITY: Two Burmese men and a Thai woman have been arrested for producing fake work documents to sell to illegal immigrants. The two men, Sommay Mahapong, 24, and So (last name unknown), 25, and the woman, Nipaporn Boonbunjob, also 25, were arrested in their Phuket City apartment where document-forging equipment was also found and seized. Pol Maj Pheeranat Chatinkaew,…
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Gov moves to unite dog welfare bodies
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has appointed a committee to try to solve the problem of stray dogs in Phuket. One main responsibility of the new Stray Dog Committee will be to promote coordination between the various government bodies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who, Gov Udomsak believes, are not cooperating efficiently.Dr Prasit Koeysiripong, the newly appointed Chairman of one of the…
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New terminal opened at Krabi International Airport
KRABI: Phumtham Vejyachai, Deputy Transport Minister, officially opened a new four-floor domestic-passenger terminal at Krabi International Airport on May 18. Pisarn Jinacharn, Director of Krabi International Airport, said “The terminal has been built for domestic passengers and has many facilities such as restaurants, banks, taxi services and car rental offices. It has an area of 10,593 square meters and a…
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Gibbon problem returns to Patong
PATONG: The problem of gibbons being hawked around Patong for photo opportunities has returned after a two-year absence. Over the past two weeks gibbons and their handlers have started to reappear, particularly around Soi Bangla. The problem had previously been cleared up by the Wildlife Conservation Office (WCO) which carried out a campaign to confiscate illegally-held gibbons and house them…
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Chetwynd-Talbot gets 10 years for murder
PHUKET CITY: Briton Paul Chetwynd-Talbot was sentenced to 10 years in jail today for the murder of his girlfriend, Debra O’Hanlon, on July 31 last year in the Patong room the couple shared at the time.The 32-year-old accused and his lawyer, Somsak Chattay, had hoped for a reduced charge of manslaughter, arguing that Chetwynd-Talbot had not intended to kill Ms…
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Errant abbot
An abbot in Lampang was nabbed by a group of villagers while he was sneaking back into the wat at 4:30 am after a tryst with his paramour, a local widow. The 50-strong mob confronted the 43-year-old abbot, who was described as being “a bit on the chubby side”, and his 49-year-old paramour as she was dropping him back at…
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New rules reduce sailboat confusion
PHUKET: The Marine Department has announced that Thai-registered sailing vessels with a length of 16 meters (52.4 feet) or less no longer need to have a Thai skipper or crew on board when in Thai waters.Phuket Marine Office Chief Surin Theerakulpisut told the Gazette today that the new rule came into effect on March 1.Vincent Tabuteau, Managing Director of Asia…
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Sea gypsies halt Rawai road-widening project
RAWAI: A protest by a group of Sea Gypsies has led to the Rawai road-widening project being halted. The group from Village 2, Rawai, complained about the proposed destruction of four houses to make way for the widening of Wiset Rd. The project has now been put on hold until a solution is found. On May 19, Seksan Bangjak, a…
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Phuket-based TV correspondent dies
SURAT THANI: Phuket-based TV correspondent Colin Hillis died on Saturday after a seizure and fall while walking to the Koh Samui ferry in Don Sak. He was 41.The Scottish-born reporter worked with Lanarkshire Television as anchor on its nightly magazine program Live@6 and was also a newscaster for the station between 1999 and 2001. Earlier in his career, he was…
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Rugby 10s tourney moves to Phuket City
PHUKET CITY: The 8th Molly Malone’s Phuket International Rugby 10s tournament, originally to have been played at Karon Municipal Stadium this Saturday and Sunday, will now be held at Sanam Chai, opposite Phuket Provincial Hall on Narisorn Rd.Tournament organizer Patrick Cotter, of the Phuket Vagabonds FC, told the Gazette that at about 3 pm today that he finally written received…
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3 arrested on smuggling charges
RASSADA: Two Thais and a Taiwanese citizen have been arrested for their involvement in smuggling cigarettes and batteries into Phuket.The contraband, seized along with the trio in a raid by officials from the Phuket Area Excise Office (PAEO), is estimated to be worth 5 million baht, the richest smuggling seizure in five years in the province.Led by Surat Sangnej of…
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Metal workers and mechanics to be moved
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Industry Office (PPIO) has announced that mechanics’ garages and metal workers’ shops in Phuket City are to be relocated to an area outside of the city center as part of a zoning scheme aimed at combating pollution. Businesses that refuse to comply will risk losing their licenses to trade.At a press conference at The Metropole hotel,…
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Missing fishermen safely home
AO MAKHAM: Two Thai fishermen missing after their boat sank on Tuesday night have returned home safely after being in the water for more than 20 hours. The men managed to climb ashore at Ao Makham yesterday evening after having drifted around the length of the island.The fishing boat Sin Piphat sank in rough seas about 13 miles west of…
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Migrant laborer rules “to be relaxed’
PHUKET: The complicated and much-maligned system for employing migrant laborers from Myanmar, Laos or Cambodia is to be overhauled, Boonchock Maneechot, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Employment Services Office (PESO), has announced.Previously, employers wanting to hire workers had to pay a “guarantee” of either 10,000 or 50,000 baht per worker, depending upon the immigration status of the worker.However, at a…
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Lovers slain during beach tryst
NAI YANG: A couple have died after being brutally attacked yesterday while they were enjoying a secret rendezvous on Nai Yang Beach in the early hours.Pol Lt Col Sakchai Limchareon, Deputy Superintendent at Tah Chat Chai Police Station, told the Gazette today, “The man was Chian Petcharat, 59, and the woman was Sriprai Chai-intha, 40. Both of them were married…
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