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Police ordered to carry out weekend blitz on crime
PHUKET: One of Thailand’s top-ranking police officers has ordered Phuket law-enforcement authorities to ramp up their crackdown on all forms of crime over the weekend as part of a blitz to improve tourists’ confidence in safety. Gen Wuthi Liptapallop, a national-level adviser to the Royal Thai Police, was in Phuket yesterday to review progress made in the island-wide crackdown launched…
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Gunman Dj Bee on the run
PHUKET: Police suspect Dj Bee and his two alleged accomplices in the gunning down of man in Phuket’s party town of Patong on Sunday have fled the island. “The court issued an arrest warrant yesterday for Wanchit Sornsaree (also known as Dj Bee), Tookta Saleekoop and Moe Than Daroo for attempted murder and the possession of an illegal firearm and…
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Strict firework controls put in place for upcoming Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Officials agreed on Wednesday to adapt extra measures to control the use and sale of fireworks during the Vegetarian Festival next week, with special emphasis on keeping particularly loud and quick-to-ignite pyrotechnics off the streets.The small red strings of firecrackers will be allowed, said Chaiwat Taephee, Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad). But only at shrines and during parades.Officials…
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Phuket Gazette World News: UN makes Syria deal; Kenya says White Widow not wanted for mall seige; Pakistan gets new island; Human remains found on salvaged cruise liner
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community U.N. council agrees on Syria chemical arms measure Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Ending weeks of diplomatic deadlock, the United States and Russia reached an agreement on Thursday on a draft U.N. Security Council resolution aimed at ridding Syria of its chemical weapons arsenal.Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador…
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Enraged villagers protest over-sized truck nuisance, get results
PHUKET: Villagers on Soi Han Farang finally lost their patience with the constant stream of over-sized trucks rumbling past their homes and held a protest yesterday afternoon to demand an end to what they view as a serious nuisance and health hazard. The road is used many times a day by trucks bringing soil and construction materials to about half-a-dozen…
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Patong Mayor Pian suspended
PHUKET: Patong Mayor Pian Keesin was suspended from office by the Administrative Court Region 8 in Phuket Town yesterday over a vote fraud complaint filed against him by the Election Commission in Bangkok. “We received the court order yesterday instructing Mayor Pian to cease all activities in his capacity as Mayor of Patong,” confirmed an official at Mayor Pian’s office.…
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Phuket sex show raids not coming – yet
PHUKET: The chief of police in Phuket’s premier party town of Patong has confirmed that he has yet to receive any order to launch a crackdown on lewd shows on Soi Bangla. “As soon as we receive such an order, we are willing to do whatever the order demands,” Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan told the Phuket Gazette this morning.…
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Water stoppage to hit parts of Phuket on Monday
PHUKET: The water supply is set to be suspended to parts of Phuket on Monday, September 30. Residences and businesses in Kamala, Cherng Talay, Sri Soonthorn, Koh Kaew and Rassada will be affected. “We have to stop the water supply on Monday to expand the piping network in order to extend our service to Baan Mak Prok, in the Mai…
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Phuket officials inspect suspected land encroachment behind Boat Lagoon
PHUKET: A sortie of officials yesterday inspected the site of alleged land encroachment along the banks of the canal that provides access to Boat Lagoon Marina in Koh Kaew.The team of about 20 officers led by Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak arrived at the site in response to an anonymous complaint received by the Damrongtham Center (Ombudsman’s Office) on July…
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No rest for the weary: Man comes home from work, is busted for drugs
PHUKET: A Myanmar native returned home from work on Tuesday only to be arrested for drugs by Phuket Police officers who were lying in wait at his house. Police raided a camp in Chalong after receiving a tip-off that workers at the camp were selling kratom leaves. The workers living in the four houses at the camp fled when they…
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Video Report: Driver trapped in car for 30 minutes after crash
PHUKET: A pickup truck collided with a car on Thepkrasattri Road last night, trapping the driver of the car in her badly mangled vehicle for more than 30 minutes.The pickup truck driver, Rapeeporn Chonlasi, told police that while heading north, she lost control of her vehicle on a curve and crossed the median trip into southbound traffic. When police arrived…
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Light-fingered job-seeker nabbed for Phuket hotel thefts
PHUKET: An out-of-town job-hunter applying for positions in Phuket’s hotel industry has been arrested for stealing from hotel guestrooms.Following a tip-off from a Patong hotel manager, police arrested Teerawat Yordying, 29, from Trang province. “We searched all over Phuket for Mr Teerawat. Finally, at 11:30pm [on Tuesday], we found him in an entertainment venue area on Srisena Road in Phuket…
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Phuket Gazette World News: No more Greece bailouts; 7.0 quake strikes Peru; Allies probe Kenya mall attack; Hacker mercenaries in Asia
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Peru to rescue copper miners after 7.0 quake Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Authorities in Peru rushed to rescue miners reportedly trapped in copper pits on Wednesday after an earthquake shook the coast – causing landslides, injuries and possibly deaths in rural provinces, local officials said.Officials in the…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Bangkok floods not critical, says BMA; Dam report scrapped; Constitutional Court accepts complaints; Students split on sexy uniforms
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community No major flooding in capital: BMA The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Despite heavy downpours over the past two weeks, the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) still believes the capital should escape floods this rainy season. “Run-offs and rain will not coincide with high tides this year,” an official…
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Phuket Police arrest US drugs fugitive
PHUKET: Officers led by Lt Gen Preawphan Damapong, the assistant police commissioner in charge of national drug suppression, this afternoon moved in and arrested American Joseph Manuel Hunter, 48, at his rented home in Kathu. The squad of officers from Phuket Immigration and the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok arrived at the home, located near the Loch Palm Golf Course,…
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Massive Phuket mystery intensifies, but announcement promised for ‘today’
PHUKET: When Winston Churchill in October of 1939 spoke of “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”, he was referring to Russia, but he might with at least equal validity have been speaking of an event that had captured the imagination of the world two years earlier: the disappearance of Amelia Earhart from the skies over the Western…
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Phuket Gazette World News: Shopping mall siege leaves at least 67 dead; American jailed for 10 years in Bahrain; Mexican storm death toll 130
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Kenyan mall siege over but death toll unclear Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: As Kenya began three days of mourning on Wednesday for at least 67 people killed in the siege of a Nairobi mall, it was unclear how many more hostages may have died with the Somali…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: PM defends her performance; China wants Asean rail-link; BRN demands; Girl swept away in floods; 3 heists
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community PM defends performance in ‘challenging’ first year The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra finally delivered her administration’s first-year performance declaration to Parliament yesterday, stressing that the period was filled with challenges and problems on many fronts, ranging from politics, society and natural…
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Phuket’s tourist (only) court officially opens
PHUKET: Phuket’s highly anticipated tourist court, the Tourist Protection Section of Phuket Provincial Court, will only serve those visiting the country on a tourist visa, says Phuket Court Chief Judge Parinya Chaowalittawin. The opening ceremony yesterday, chaired by President of the Supreme Court Pairoj Wayuparb, was held at Phuket Provincial Court. The opening makes the court the second tourist court…
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Phuket transport council agrees to 36% jump in taxi fares
PHUKET: The ruling committee for Phuket’s public transportation authorities today agreed to price hikes of up to 36 per cent for metered taxi fares in Phuket. Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, who chaired the meeting of the provincial transportation committee, explained that the proposed increases in taxi fares were the same as those proposed at a meeting on August 29…
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Millennia-old cave art, earthenware discovered in Krabi
PHUKET: Ancient drawings and earthenware estimated to be between 2,000 and 3,000 years old have been discovered in Krabi’s Ao Luek district. Local villagers came across the archaeological site while looking for guano to fertilize their crops. On discovery, the villagers notified the Krabi Environmental and Cultural Preservation Committee of their thrilling find. Members of the committee visited the location,…
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Patong water-quality test results in – some of them
PHUKET: Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) yesterday released the test results for only two out of four water-quality test points along Phuket’s famous beach, Patong. Test results were released for two sites in the tourist-dense midsection of the beach, away from the mouths of the two canals that discharge water into the bay. The testing of Patong Bay water came…
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Stiff penalties for Phuket slow loris touts in wake of Rihanna Instagram
PHUKET: The changing faces of touts in Phuket exploiting the slow loris – a vulnerable and protected species – is a sign that the penalty for the crime is stiff enough, said Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Pratuang Polmana. Police action and determination to re-apply pressure to the issue of animal touts in Phuket follows global celebrity Rihanna posting photos on…
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Phuket expat Gerald Mason in urgent need of help
PHUKET: Expats contribute to Phuket’s well-being in various ways. Some engage in high-profile endeavors, such as setting up environmental campaigns or animal welfare groups. Others benefit the community simply by being all-round good guys, known and loved by a wide circle of friends. Gerry Mason is such a man, a man for all social seasons. An enthusiastic member of the…
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Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Flood under control, media blamed for ‘panic’
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Floods ‘under control’ The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: While industrial estates and households along waterways are bracing for heavy water runoff, the authorities have soothed public fears, saying the situation will not be as bad as in 2011. “The situation, so far, is not as…
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Phuket Viral: Rihanna sex show tweets put ball in police court
PHUKET: Officials were lambasted today after Rihanna tweets about Phuket sex shows went viral. From Twitter account @rihanna, Rihanna expressed her surprise over a Patong showgirl’s abilities. The tweets have been re-tweeted more than 1,000 times, reported The Nation. The Rihanna tweets stated: “Either I was phuck wasted lastnight, or I saw a Thai woman pull a live bird,2 turtles,razors,shoot…
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Phuket 7-Eleven teenage shooter claims self-defense
PHUKET: Two teenagers charged yesterday with shooting dead an 18-year-old man outside of a 7-Eleven in Rawai claimed that the gun was fired out of self-defense. Korrawit Sriboonma, a waiter at the popular Sala Loi seafood restaurant on the Rawai beachfront, was gunned down with a homemade gun on the corner of Soi Laem Ka Yai at about 4am on…
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No justice served on Phuket Tourist Court’s opening day
PHUKET: The judge’s gavel will not fall at the Phuket Tourist Court’s official opening tomorrow, as no cases will be heard the day of the formal opening, revealed Phuket Court Chief Judge Parinya Chaowalittawin this afternoon.“Tomorrow we will only hold a ceremony to open our Tourist Protections Section [the official name of the tourist court], as we have yet to…
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Helmetless sidecar driver dies after big bike wipeout
PHUKET: A helmetless driver of a motorbike with sidecar died after a high-speed collision with a big bike travelling at high speed in Thalang on Saturday evening. Tah Chat Chai Police arrived at the u-turn south of Kor En curve, notoriously nicknamed by locals as “Death Curve”, on Thepkrasattri Road (map here) just after 5:30pm. In the middle of the…
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Leading candidate as Phuket’s new top cop “open to all’
PHUKET: The man being tipped to become the next top cop in Phuket, Maj Gen Ong-art Phiewruangnont, is a “country person” open to listening to everyone. “Anyone who has a problem is welcome to come and talk to me. I will help you all,” he told the Phuket Gazette. However, Gen Ong-art would neither confirm nor deny that he has…
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