News
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A flap but no bird ‘flu
PHUKET: The Chief of Phuket Provincial Health Office confirmed today that a hospital patient originally suspected of having bird ‘flu had been allowed to go home after doctors found he was free of the disease. Virat Hongsib-paed, 33, a garbage man employed in Kamala, was admitted to the Mission Hospital Phuket on Friday after feeling ill for several days. Concern…
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Warehouse blaze causes B2m damage
PHUKET TOWN: An electrical fire this morning caused damage estimated at two million baht in a recently built warehouse belonging to furniture company Phuket Intercraft Co Ltd, on Chao Fa East Rd. Police at first suspected arson until they were told that the building was not insured. Nutchanart Benchakij, owner of the company, told the Gazette that no one was…
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Drive against alcohol and tobacco
PHUKET CITY: In a scene reminiscent of the US in the 1920s, some 100 people turned out this morning to burn cartons of cigarettes and smash bottles of alcohol. The “No tobacco, no alcohol for a better life” project was organized by the Kalyanamitra Organization, Phuket, along with Rajabhat University Phuket, where the bottle-smashing was staged. The message of the…
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Probe into Patong municipal poll
PATONG: Thirteen days after Songserm Kepsap and his Patong Progress Party (PPP) swept aside former mayor Pian Keesin and other Raksa Patong Party candidates in the Patong municipal election, the poll results have yet to be certified by the Government – and an investigation is now underway to determine if the poll was tainted by vote-buying. Kittipong Thiengkunagrit, Director of…
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Yacht customs duty dropped to zero
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket’s marine leisure industry broke out the Champagne today as the government finally dropped the customs duty on imported boats to zero, following publication of the change to the tax law in the Royal Gazette yesterday. Theera Paesathitthavorn, Deputy Chief of the Phuket Customs Office Region 5, told the Phuket Gazette today that he anticipates an increase in…
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“Waters fee’ back with a vengeance
CHALONG: After insisting five days ago that the reintroduction of the “waters fee” applied only to boats mooring in Ao Chalong, officials of the Chalong Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) admitted today that the infamous fee actually applies to all boats mooring anywhere around Phuket. The fee was reintroduced on January 1 after a hiatus of about a year, and has…
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Phuket Town is now Phuket City
PHUKET TOWN: Unlucky for some, but lucky for sign-makers and big-thinkers: on Friday, February 13, the Interior Ministry officially upgraded Phuket Town Municipality to Phuket City Municipality. The Chief Administrative Officer of the new Phuket City (and formerly Chief Admin Officer of Phuket Town), Veerun Hangsawat, told the Gazette today, “The structure and responsibilities of Phuket Town qualified it for…
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SilkAir to boost Phuket service
PHUKET: The blue skies of Phuket tend to empty of airliners during the “green” season but Singapore Airlines (SIA) plans to buck this trend by scheduling more Phuket-Singapore flights every week between April and October. Chan Chee Chong, manager of SilkAir, Thailand, said yesterday that SilkAir – SIA’s regional wing – will add three Phuket-Singapore flights to its schedule each…
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Chicken fallout
UDON THANI: As 58-year-old village headman Boonchu Srisingha was leaving his home in tambon Chiang Yuen on the morning of 27 January, he noticed a white plastic bag hanging from the fence surrounding his home. Intrigued, he looked closer and spotted a note attached to it that read, “Please give the contents of this bag to Mongkol Singhamaw, aged 28,…
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Cursed by spirits
BANGKOK: A man from Buri Ram province who went on a three-day drinking binge returned to his job in the capital with a terrible pain in his abdomen – which he apparently tried to cure by operating on himself. The man, identified as a 32-year-old Sanan Jodrum, having three days vacation, did what most low-paid laborers in Bangkok do: he…
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Instant death
KHON KAEN: There are plenty of coffee lovers in Thailand, but one itinerant sugarcane cutter from Khon Kaen took caffeine craving to new heights. Banjong Singhakul, 45, found that he could bypass the annoying process of mixing the stuff with hot water by simply munching down mouthfuls of instant coffee granules. Unfortunately, too much of anything is never a good…
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The horror of the morning after
PATHUM THANI: Some people may be familiar with the surprise of waking up on the morning of New Year’s Day to find an unexpected creature lying beside them in bed. Few, however, take the trouble to report such incidents to the police. Fewer still are the cases where police haul the offending bedmate off to jail. Pol Lt Col Sarawut…
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Chicken back on the menu
PHUKET: Phuket is starting to recover its appetite for chicken but the importation of live birds to the island is still banned, Sunart Wongchawalit, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office, said today. Only four companies out of 140 that had been checked were currently being allowed to bring processed chickens onto the island. Since the avian ‘flu outbreak hit…
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Computer causes cupid consternation
PHUKET:A total of 138 couples chose to marry on the island on Valentine’s Day – though a computer glitch meant that some of them had a lot of time to think about whether they really wanted to go through with it. The introduction of new computers at the Kathu District Office led to problems that meant couples had to prove…
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Phuket wins road safety award
PHUKET: Phuket has received an award for being the third most successful province in Thailand in terms of reducing road accident figures over the New Year holiday period, the Governor’s office disclosed today. Deputy Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng, who is also Director of the National Road Safety Center, made a presentation to Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura, Provincial Police Commander Maj…
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New TAT boss outlines strategy
PHUKET TOWN: The uniqueness of Phuket’s culture and events such as the Vegetarian Festival will prove to be new attractions for tourists, according to the new Director of the local office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Suwalai Pinpradab. “We will campaign for residents and tourists alike to wear white clothes during the festival to make it unique and…
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OrBorJor poll: the weirdness grows
PHUKET TOWN: The final day of registration for the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) elections today had more twists and turns than an Olympic slalom course. Sudden career changes and dark allegations of death threats were the order of the day as Samroeng Chaisorn, anointed as the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party’s candidate just over three weeks ago, announced he…
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Prizes for Valentine’s Day newlyweds
PHUKET: Couples who marry in Phuket tomorrow will have the chance to win romantic meals for two at the Thainaan restaurant or even romantic nights at hotels on the island. The prizewinners will be determined by lucky draws at each of Phuket’s three District Offices – at Phuket Town, Kathu and Thalang – where officers are preparing for the annual…
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Chalong resumes “waters’ fee
CHALONG: After a hiatus of a year, the Chalong Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) recently resumed collecting fees from yacht skippers at the One-Stop Service office, sparking concern among yachties that the notorious Phuket Waters Fee had been reintroduced. But the Chief Administrator of Orbortor Chalong, Paritta Thitkonglad, explained today that the fee, collection of which resumed at the beginning of…
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Students try electronic voting
PHUKET TOWN: Electronic voting made its debut in Phuket yesterday with a machine being used to register votes in student elections at the Rajabhat University Phuket. After manually registering their attendance, students entered polling booths and pressed buttons on keypads to cast their votes: 1 for Theerayuth Yodkaew, 2 for Chaiwat Tongkerd, or 3 for “neither candidate”. Prapa Kayee, President…
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Mail thief caught – but only on video
PATONG: A manager at the Patong Post Office was caught recently stealing items from mail after five hidden cameras were installed in the building. However, after being carpeted by his boss, the manager was allowed to walk out of the Post Office and has not been seen since. Police are looking for him, but admit they have no idea where…
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Roads claimed 195 lives in 2003
PHUKET: A total of 195 people died on Phuket’s roads in 2003, official figures have revealed – the vast majority of them in crashes involving motorcycles. The figure was up 7.7% compared with the 181 deaths in 2002. The Phuket Provincial Health Office reported that another 12,435 people were injured or maimed in 2003 on the island’s roads, with the…
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Anchalee draws No. 1 ballot spot
PHUKET TOWN: Two of the three declared candidates for the key post of President in next month’s Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) elections registered today, along with many candidates for OrBorJor seats. Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, who resigned recently as a party-list (non-elected) Democrat MP, won a lucky draw for the No. 1 spot on the ballot, provided her paperwork proves to…
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Newcomers in upset victory in Patong poll
PATONG: The Patong Progress Party (PPP) led by Songserm Kepsap won the Patong Municipal election yesterday, beating the Rak Patong Party (RPT) of Pian Keesin by 322 votes. A total of 9,213 people were eligible to vote but in the event only 6,239, or 68% , turned out. K. Songserm polled 2,949 votes against K. Pian’s 2,627, with 519 spoiled…
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2 am fun zones for adults?
BANGKOK (The Nation): Entertainment venues in designated areas across the country will be allowed to stay open an hour or two longer than those outside the zones if the Cabinet endorses a decision arrived at yesterday by a high-level government committee. Deputy Prime Minister Purachai Piumsombun’s committee in charge of combating vice at entertainment venues agreed yesterday to set different…
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Big turnout for Anchalee’s launch
PHUKET TOWN: Over 1,000 people last night flocked to a rally organized by the Democrat party to launch Phuket MP Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr as its candidate for the March 14 election to choose a new President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor). Also on the podium at the outdoor Chatuchak market on Phang-nga Rd were the glamorous and popular Abisit…
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OrBorJor election set for March 14
PHUKET TOWN: March 14 has been set as the date of Phuket’s much-anticipated Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) elections. The announcement came this morning from the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) just one day after the expiry of the previous OrBorJor administration, which was led by president Dr Prasit Koeysiripong. The poll has drawn national attention since Democrat Party party-list MP Anchalee…
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Chicken feed
PATONG: An estimated seven tons of chicken and 40,000 eggs will be used in a free food festival in Patong on Saturday, February 7, to reassure consumers that chicken remains safe to eat despite the ongoing outbreak of avian ‘flu. The government-inspired initiative – all provinces have been ordered to hold similar events – aims to attract more than 10,000…
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Anchalee quits as MP in bid for OrBorJor seat
BANGKOK (The Nation, Phuket Gazette): The Democrat Party yesterday agreed to have party-list (unelected) MP Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr resign from Parliament so she can contest the Provincial Administrative Organisation (OrBorJor) election in Phuket. Democrat spokesman Ong-art Klampaiboon said Anchalee will run with the aim of becoming OrBorJor president, a post soon to be vacated by Dr Prasit Koeysiripong, who recently…
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Bridge to connect Koh Yao islands
PHANG NGA: Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi islands are to be connected by a suspension bridge and a luxury hotel will be developed on one of the islands, District Chief Songpol Konkaew told the Gazette yesterday. An 8-million baht budget has already been issued by the central government to study the bridge project’s technical and financial requirements, he…
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