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  • Savvy Chinese Apple user busts thieving baggage handler in Phuket

    Savvy Chinese Apple user busts thieving baggage handler in Phuket

    PHUKET: A technologically handicapped baggage handler at Phuket International Airport was arrested for theft after having been outwitted by a savvy Chinese Apple user. Tah Chat Chai Police arrested Somsak Pohnisai, 31, yesterday and charged with the theft of Yang Liqiang’s iPad on December 14. Mr Somsak might have gotten away with the theft from Ms Yang’s luggage had he…

  • Phuket bus drivers caught under the influence

    Phuket bus drivers caught under the influence

    PHUKET: Law enforcement officials are randomly testing bus drivers for drugs and alcohol during the 10 Days of Danger, and in two days have found three drivers working under the influence. Within Phuket, Thung Thong Police and Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) staff are stopping buses at the Thung Thong checkpoint on Phra Barami Road (map here) before they head…

  • Druggy Grinch confesses to Phuket holiday robbery, Russian assault

    Druggy Grinch confesses to Phuket holiday robbery, Russian assault

    PHUKET: A 42-year-old drug addict confessed to attacking a Russian woman and multiple accounts of robbery after he was arrested by Karon Police on Boxing Day. Boonrit Saeteaw was nabbed after having stolen several items on Christmas Day, including a mobile phone. His failure to turn off the phone’s GPS system, allowed police to track him down, Lt Col Teeradej…

  • Speed cameras operational, but speed limit signs continue non-existent

    Speed cameras operational, but speed limit signs continue non-existent

    PHUKET: Motorists speeding in Phuket now face a fine of 500 baht if they are caught by one of four speed cameras that became operational on Christmas Day. The cameras are in undisclosed locations: one within Phuket City limits; one on the bypass road; one on Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang; and one in the Tah Chat Chai area (story here).…

  • Phuket Opinion: Beware the water

    Phuket Opinion: Beware the water

    PHUKET: I’ve been losing sleep lately thinking about all the poison I’ve subjected myself to during 12 years in Thailand – alcohol, sugar, fatty and acidic foods, traffic smog, secondhand smoke and perhaps the biggest culprit of them all: water. I’m referring to fluoridated water, and the “forced-medication” of the planet’s prime life supply – drinking water. The practice, which…

  • Phuket Opinion: Teaching that it’s not rude, it’s just culture

    Phuket Opinion: Teaching that it’s not rude, it’s just culture

    Madunan Chehteek, 47, is a native of Yala who left school at age 15 and came to Phuket to work at age 19. He held various positions at Phuket resorts, working his way up to receptionist, then was a tour guide for five years. He opened his shop, the Madunan shirt and souvenir shop, on the bypass road in 1997.Here,…

  • Phuket high school student stabbed outside school gates

    Phuket high school student stabbed outside school gates

    PHUKET: A senior high school student is in hospital after being stabbed yesterday afternoon as he left school in Thalang, in central Phuket. Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers were called to the Muang Thalang School (map here) at 2:30pm and found the youth with a chest wound. “He had been stabbed once in the chest with a long, thin, sharp object…

  • Phuket sporting year reviewed

    Phuket sporting year reviewed

    PHUKET: A winding year of the snake, 2013 had its ups and downs – but mostly ups. Following are several Phuket Gazette editors’ picks for this year’s top local sporting events, moments and milestones. Top-5 finish for Phuket United’s inaugural season The island’s pro futsal team Phuket United ended their first season in Thailand’s professional five-a-side footy league in fine…

  • French family lost in Phuket forest found safe [Video] | Thaiger

    French family lost in Phuket forest found safe [Video]

    PHUKET: A French family who went walking in search of a new resort to stay in south of Nai Yang Beach have been found safe and sound after losing themselves in a tropical forest last night. Officers from the Phuket Tourist Police received a call for help from father-of-three Frenchman Bill Letshon, 56, at about 6:30pm. Ten officers from the…

  • Phuket Police probe Bangla bar worker shot dead by off-duty cop

    Phuket Police probe Bangla bar worker shot dead by off-duty cop

    PHUKET: A Patong Police sergeant has been suspended pending an investigation into the shooting death of a 27-year-old bar worker from Soi Bangla early yesterday morning. Officers arrived at the Fong Beer Pub on Phang Muang Sai Kor Road (map here) at 6am to find the body of Sawitree Kaewnin, from Phattalung, slumped over a table in front of the…

  • Phuket honors victims on ninth anniversary of the tsunami

    Phuket honors victims on ninth anniversary of the tsunami

    PHUKET: The Phuket community yesterday morning honored those who died in the devastating tsunami that struck the island in 2004 with a ceremony at the Tsunami Memorial Wall in Mai Khao followed by the traditional “Light Up Phuket” candle-lighting ceremony on Patong Beach last night. About 50 people turned out at the Tsunami Memorial Wall in Mai Khao, including a…

  • Phuket Govt offices shut down for New Year

    Phuket Govt offices shut down for New Year

    PHUKET: All government offices in Phuket will close for five days over the New Year holidays, Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa has confirmed. “December 27 will be the last day of service for the year for all government officers in Phuket. They will return to work on January 2,” Vice Governor Sommai told the Phuket Gazette yesterday. Vice Governor Sommai…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Policeman killed in Bangkok clashes; EC calls to defer poll; Kobkul killer death sentence upheld

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Policeman killed in Bangkok clashes; EC calls to defer poll; Kobkul killer death sentence upheld

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Police officer killed in clashes with protesters The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: One police officer was killed and at least 96 anti-government protesters and journalists and 28 police officers were injured after violence erupted at the Bangkok Youth Centre (Thai-Japan) aka the Thai-Japanese Stadium yesterday, according to…

  • Phuket Marine Office launches New Year boat safety drive

    Phuket Marine Office launches New Year boat safety drive

    PHUKET: Officers from the local Marine Office led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut today conducted safety inspections of ferries and other tourist boats operating out of Rassada Pier as part of a safety drive for the new year. Rassada Pier, located on the east side of Phuket Town (map here), is a major jump-off point for tourists boarding ferries and…

  • Phuket Red Cross Fair 2013 kicks off with B1.5mn golden touch

    Phuket Red Cross Fair 2013 kicks off with B1.5mn golden touch

    PHUKET: The Phuket Annual Red Cross fair kicks off at Saphan Hin tonight and runs until January 5, offering over 1.5 million baht in gold lucky draw prizes and 14 motorcycles for anyone who buys a ticket to support the Red Cross. The popular 11-day fair features hundreds of stalls selling local delicacies, knickknacks, clothing and a huge variety of…

  • Phuket Police chief calls to play down bomb scare

    Phuket Police chief calls to play down bomb scare

    PHUKET: The commander of the Phuket Provincial Police has called for the media to not “help suspects” by publishing news of the car bomb found in Phuket Town last weekend. Maj Gen Ong-art Phiewruangnont’s call for media silence follows police confirmation that a pickup truck rigged as a bomb discovered in Phuket Town last Saturday was stolen from a man…

  • Phuket captain, meth user sunk

    Phuket captain, meth user sunk

    PHUKET: Two men who had just returned tourists by speedboat to the pier at Phuket Boat Lagoon were arrested yesterday afternoon for using ya ice (crystal methamphetamine); one was also charged for possession of over eight grams of the drug.The men were apprehended as part of a holiday drug-sweep in the area, Marine Police Inspector Chatchai Sakdee told the Phuket…

  • Ukrainian motorcyclist first death in Phuket safety campaign

    Ukrainian motorcyclist first death in Phuket safety campaign

    PHUKET: Phuket skated by the first day of the Ten Days of Danger campaign with zero deaths, but a big bike accident that killed a Ukrainian* early this morning puts the goal of zero road deaths out of reach. The traditional Seven Days of Danger campaign was bumped to ten days in hopes of saving more lives during the extended…

  • Phuket Blood Bank’s vaults low on Rh- blood ahead of New Year demand

    Phuket Blood Bank’s vaults low on Rh- blood ahead of New Year demand

    PHUKET: As Phuket enters the 10 Days of Danger (story here), the Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) scrambles to boost low stocks of Rhesus-negative blood, calling on blood donors to come forward and save lives this holiday season. “We have no AB- blood in stock at all,” PRBC Chief Pornthip Rattajak told the Phuket Gazette today. “We have a lot…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Dour Christmas for Philippines typhoon survivors; China down on Mao birthday; Russia releases Greenpeace activists

    Phuket Gazette World News: Dour Christmas for Philippines typhoon survivors; China down on Mao birthday; Russia releases Greenpeace activists

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Remittances throw lifeline to Philippines’ typhoon survivors Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: A sister living on the other side of the world gave Roberto Retanal what he needed most to piece his humble home back together after the devastating typhoon that tore through his village in the central…

  • A New Year gift from Phuket Police

    A New Year gift from Phuket Police

    PHUKET: Patong Police are looking forward to giving the people of Phuket a gift for the New Year – public parking spaces along the Patong beach road that are free of taxi and tuk-tuk thugs. Lt Col Akanit Danpitaksat, Deputy Superintendent of the Patong Police, said his team was ready to enforce the new regulation to reduce the number of…

  • Phuket’s top politicians send holiday wishes

    Phuket’s top politicians send holiday wishes

    PHUKET: The island’s top two officials, Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut and Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising, took a few minutes out of their busy schedules today to wish everyone in fair Phuket happy holidays. In addition, President Paiboon invited one and all to celebrate Christmas with the OrBorJor at 6pm on Friday at Surakul stadium (map here).…

  • Phuket’s Nai Harn Bay gets artificial coral reef

    Phuket’s Nai Harn Bay gets artificial coral reef

    PHUKET: Villagers and marine officers joined together yesterday to drop concrete frames into the sea at Nai Harn Bay as substructures for artificial coral reefs.“There were over 50 people there to help drop 200 concrete frame-cubes,” said Tanet Munnoy, chief of the Phuket Office of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR).“Coral reefs are important resources for marine animals.…

  • Beautiful Christmas weather, but stay safe in the water, says lifeguard

    Beautiful Christmas weather, but stay safe in the water, says lifeguard

    PHUKET: On another stunning sunny day in Phuket, the head lifeguard at the island’s deadliest beach wishes all a happy holiday and a very safe New Year.“It is a beautiful day in Kata, Karon and across the island, and it will remain beautiful for the holiday season. There are no rip currents to worry about right now,” Kata-Karon head lifeguard…

  • Phuket cows freed to honor HM The King’s birthday

    Phuket cows freed to honor HM The King’s birthday

    PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut led a ceremony at Saphan Hin on Sunday to free 22 cows and over a million marine animals in honor of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 86th birthday on December 5th. “Making merit by releasing life is a wonderful activity, as it feels so good to give something so special,” Gov Maitri said. “It makes you…

  • Phuket Gazette World News: Aleppo air strikes slay 300; AK-47 inventor dies; St Valentine beast jailed; UAE jails man for YouTube parody

    Phuket Gazette World News: Aleppo air strikes slay 300; AK-47 inventor dies; St Valentine beast jailed; UAE jails man for YouTube parody

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– World news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community More than 300 dead in week-long Aleppo air raids Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: More than 300 people have died in a week of air raids on the northern Syrian city of Aleppo and nearby towns by President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, a monitoring group said on Monday.Many of…

  • Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Protests disrupt poll registrations; Red Shirts say dump Yingluck; Baht lowest in four years

    Phuket Gazette Thailand News: Protests disrupt poll registrations; Red Shirts say dump Yingluck; Baht lowest in four years

    PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Thailand news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Protesters disrupt poll registration The Nation / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Anti-government protesters yesterday managed to interrupt the first day of candidate registration for the February 2 election, which demonstrators have vowed to disrupt as they push for national reform by a people’s council.Hundreds of protesters began to besiege…

  • Phuket car bomb linked to dead man in Deep South

    Phuket car bomb linked to dead man in Deep South

    PHUKET: The pickup truck rigged with a bomb that was found parked at Phuket City Police Station over the weekend belonged to a man who was shot dead in Pattani on May 9, police have confirmed. The truck, found on Saturday (story here), was loaded with 180kg of explosive material. “The registered owner was Withan Yachumnan, 34, from Songkhla,” Phuket…

  • Chinese tourists rescued from sinking speedboat in Phuket’s Chalong Bay

    Chinese tourists rescued from sinking speedboat in Phuket’s Chalong Bay

    PHUKET: A speed boat carrying Chinese tourists from Koh Lone to Chalong Pier took on water yesterday morning and sank about 500 meters from Chalong Pier.A passing longtail boat safely transferred the 16 passengers and three boat crew members from the speedboat to the pier.The speed boat Alisa 2 was nearing Chalong at about 8am when the boat crew noticed…

  • Suspected Deep South bomb truck found in Phuket Town

    Suspected Deep South bomb truck found in Phuket Town

    PHUKET: Bomb disposal experts this morning are inspecting a pickup truck that was found parked in front of Phuket City Police Station with two gas cylinders in the back seat connected by electrical wires.Officers discovered the pickup truck on Saturday while clearing the police station car park for the annual police assembly held each year to launch the new year’s…