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Phuket Immigration sweep nets 42 foreign workers
KARON, PHUKET: Forty-two foreign workers were arrested during an Immigration police raid on vendor stalls in Karon early last night. Phuket Immigration Police Superintendent Col Chanatpol Yongbunjerd said the arrests were part of an ongoing crackdown on alien workers violating the terms of their work visas by engaging in work, such as retail sales, that is restricted to Thai nationals.…
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Phuket police weed out elderly dope dealer
PHUKET CITY: An elderly drug dealer who was caught on his motorbike with a small package of marijuana in his pocket turned out to have a kilo of the drug stashed at his Phuket house. Police said Tee Laohasuntaratam, 59, aroused suspicion when he began acting strangely while stopped at traffic lights outside Kajornkiat School on Chao Fa West Road…
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Phuket house will cost 100 baht for lucky winner
PHUKET CITY: The top prize in this year’s Red Cross Fair raffle will be nothing less than a new home, it was announced yesterday. In past years the top prize has always been a car or truck, but this year the Red Cross is upping the ante. “I am sure no province in Thailand has ever dared to give away…
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Phuket Governor gets new ride
PHUKET CITY: Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop took possession of a new hybrid car this morning, courtesy of the Interior Ministry. The handover ceremony took place at the Governor’s mansion on Narison Rd, where Chaipat Na Ranong, assistant managing director of the Toyota Pearl dealership in Koh Kaew, handed over the keys to Gov Wichai. The hybrid is a black Toyota Camry…
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Foreign investors in Phuket facing police investigation
PHUKET: A fact-finding effort is underway in Phuket to compile information about local businesses in which Thai people are hired by foreigners as their nominees – a practice which is generally illegal under Thailand’s harsh Foreign Business Act. Provincial governor Wichai Phrai-sa-ngob, who ordered the investigation, said he was not discriminating against foreign investors, but guarding against the illegal use…
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More Phuket drownings ‘inevitable’
KARON, PHUKET: In the wake of the drowning of a Russian man at Karon Beach in Phuket, a local leader has warned that “more will die in the days to come.” Karon village chief Winai Chitchiew said more drownings were inevitable because beach guards were under-equipped, underpaid and couldn’t guarantee tourists’ safety. At least 10 people have drowned off Karon Beach…
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Phuket surprise: Massive fee hikes for work permits mooted
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has learned that recent rumors of substantial increases in work permit fees may be well-founded. Discussions are underway in the Department of Employment that could once again lead to massive hikes in these annual fees. The current fee for a new work permit, or renewal of a one-year permit, is 3,000 baht. The office of Thanawan…
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Two more sick turtles found in Phuket
KATA, PHUKET: Two stricken turtles have been found in Phuket over the past two days. Fishermen found an injured olive ridley turtle missing its front-right flipper floating in the sea off Kata Beach yesterday evening. Dr Patcharaporn Kaewmong, a Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) vet, said the turtle was hit by a boat motor, severing the flipper. The roughly 15-year-old…
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Phuket’s luxury villa sales top 3.5 billion baht
PHUKET: Transactions in Phuket’s luxury villa market topped 3.5 billion baht in the first half of 2009, according to figures just released by Phuket-based consulting firm c9 Hotelworks. The report, ‘Luxury Villa Market Update Mid-year Edition’, defines luxury villas in Phuket as those with price tags of 65 million baht (approx US$ 1.9 million) and above, and puts the value…
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OPINION: Is xenophobia damaging Phuket’s prosperity?
A recent front page story in the Bangkok Post claiming foreigners control 90 percent of Phuket’s beach land through Thai nominees stopped many expats in their tracks.The truth of the claim – by the authors of a new study into foreign land ownership in Thailand – is difficult to verify.The authors of the research, a team from Sukhothai Thammathirat Open…
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Minister went missing off Phuket, now back safely
PHUKET: A government vice-minister fell foul of the terrible weather conditions currently spoiling many a tourist’s Phuket vacation when the speedboat returning him from Koh Racha Yai to Phuket got lost in the rain yesterday. Commerce Vice Minister Veerasak Jinarat’s boat set out at around noon. Shortly afterwards, the Immigration officer steering the boat reportedly became confused because of the…
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Patong mayor helps fill the gap
PATONG, PHUKET: A large sinkhole which opened up on the route from Phuket City to Patong following torrential rain last night received quick attention thanks to the vigilance of one Patong Municipal official. The mayor of Patong himself, Pian Keesin, happened to be heading down Phra Baramee Road towards Patong at about 5pm – just as the surface of the…
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Mermaid baby returns to Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The Burmese infant born with ‘mermaid syndrome’ returned to Phuket on Wednesday night after being declared terminally ill by doctors at Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hospital in Songkhla’s Haad Yai district. The baby girl, named Nichapa, is now back at Vachira Phuket Hospital, where she was born earlier this month. She was rushed to PSU Hospital after…
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FIFA president to open Phuket football center
PHUKET: FIFA President Joseph ‘Sepp’ Blatter is set to visit Phuket next month as part of a whistle-stop three-day visit to Thailand. Mr Blatter will travel to Phuket on September 15 to participate in the grand opening ceremony of the Tsunami Memorial Football Center with Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop. Built at the Baan Ao Nam Bor School near Ao Makham,…
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Weekend washout forecast for Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Those hoping to spend this weekend basking in sunshine on Phuket’s beaches will be disappointed, if the Met’s predictions are anything to go by. The weekend is expected to be a washout. Chokchai Patarayongphaisarn, a Phuket Meteorological Department forecaster, predicted the heavy rain pouring down over Phuket would continue until Wednesday. And there was worse news to come.…
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Best Western enters Laguna Phuket
PHUKET: Hotel chain Best Western has been signed to manage the Allamanda phase 2 and 3 condo hotel, which is to be re-branded as the Best Western Laguna Phuket Resort. A re-launch of the hotel will be in place by October. With 120 keys in their rental pool, the property will complement a number of other flagged Best Western hotels…
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Phuket’s Prime Place taking shape
PA KHLOK, PHUKET: Work on the 300-million-baht Prime Place Phuket Monument mega-project, set on 20 rai in Pa Khlok, is well underway. The development, located about 800 meters from the Heroines’ Monument on the way to Pa Khlok, features around 120 units built in ‘modern tropical’ style. Prime Place will also include a park and will aim to provide natural…
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Phuket practices for protests
PHUKET: About 1,300 police officers battled it out with ‘protesters’ near Phuket International Airport this afternoon in a mock riot as part of a regional security drill. The simulated riot was a scripted scenario in which a mob of about 400 protesters aimed to force the closure of Phuket’s airport, protesting against construction of a casino in Phuket. The protesters…
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New condos set to tempt Phuket’s golfers
KATHU, PHUKET: The 61-unit Green Golf Residence Condominiums are located in Kathu, in the heart of Phuket. They’re complemented by a full array of facilities and provide easy access to Phuket’s international schools, shopping centers and hospitals. The complex is a 15-minute drive from Patong. Developed by Tamarind Bay Co., Ltd, work on the project began in December last year…
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Phuket governor dishes out money, advice
PHUKET CITY: After dishing out 156,000 baht in cash to some of the island’s poorest families at a ceremony at the Phuket City Municipal Offices this week, Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop dished out some advice. Phuket’s poor must work harder, stop gambling and not spend so much time watching bird singing contests, the governor told his audience. Otherwise, he said,…
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Mermaid baby given less than a month to live
PHUKET: ‘Nichipa’, the Burmese infant born with ‘mermaid syndrome’ in Phuket earlier this month, is still fighting for her life in Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Hospital in Haad Yai.However, doctors said they did not expect her to survive much longer.Her kidneys remained underdeveloped and her body had stopped expelling waste through the artificial waste orifice created for her, doctors…
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Andaman Sea storms sink Thai bulk-carrier
PHUKET: A Thai bulk-carrier ship transporting millions of baht worth of teak from Burma sank in the Andaman Sea just off Phang Nga province on Sunday. All crew on board the Chart 1 managed to escape on inflatable rafts. Vice Admiral Narong Tesvisarn, Commander of The Third Naval Area Command in Phang Nga, received a distress call from the crew…
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Phuket cultural heritage on display next month
THALANG, PHUKET: The Thalang National Museum will hold a free exhibition of antique beads from Phuket and around the Andaman region next month. The museum will display jewelery owned by collectors from around the South, including Phuket, Surat Thani and Krabi. The exhibits, which are hundreds of years old, will not be for sale, but visitors will be able to…
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OPINION: Do foreigners really own 90% of Phuket’s beach front?
PHUKET: The front page story in today’s Bangkok Post which quotes a leading research body as saying foreigners own 90% of Phuket’s beach front land has certainly struck a sour note against foreign ownership of land in Thailand. The study, which was put together by the Thailand Research Fund, quotes a professor from Sukhothai Thammathirat University who says these holdings…
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Phuket school celebrates a century of “cultivating knowledge’
PHUKET CITY: Plukpanya Municipal School celebrated its 100th birthday on Saturday with a special Buddhist ceremony attended by pupils, teachers, alumni and other well-wishers. On April 29, 1909, King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) opened the school, naming it Plukpanya, which means ‘cultivating knowledge’. The birthday celebration may have taken place a few months late, but it was nevertheless well attended, with more…
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Power cuts in Phuket tomorrow
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced there will be power cuts in some areas of the island tomorrow between 9am and 4pm. The cuts are required so maintenance on high-voltage wires can be carried out. Affected areas will include: Chao Fah West Road, east of Phuket Power Distribution Control Center 2, Thinawut Village Project 2, Thinawut…
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Phuket tsunami drill a success: Suthep
PHUKET: Phuket’s tsunami warning towers sounded the alert yesterday morning, sending crowds running down Soi Bangla to the higher ground further inshore. The exercise was all part of a full-scale tsunami warning and evacuation drill, which Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban pronounced a resounding success. “This will help tourists trust our tsunami warning system and encourage them to return to…
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Phuket to become AirAsia regional hub
PHUKET CITY: Thai AirAsia will begin direct flight services to Phuket from several new major cities in the region starting by the end of the year, the low-cost carrier has announced. AirAsia will base five aircraft at Phuket International Airport as part of its plan to establish Phuket as an aviation hub, Thai AirAsia CEO Tassapon Bijleveld told a press…
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Racha Reef to be expanded off Phuket
RAWAI, PHUKET: Plans are afoot to expand an artificial reef off the coast of Koh Racha Yai Island, south of Phuket. Paitoon Panchaiyaphum, director of the Phuket-based southern regional office of the Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation Department (MCRCD), said the artificial reef had been a great success since its construction three years ago. “Our research shows lots of marine…
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Phuket tsunami evacuation drill this morning
PHUKET CITY: There will be a a full-scale tsunami warning and evacuation exercise in Phuket this morning starting at 10am, the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has announced.The drill, to run until 12 noon, will also be conducted in Phang-Nga, Krabi, Ranong, Trang, and Satun provinces. This is only a drill. Warning tower alarms will go off in all participating areas. The Phuket exercises…
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