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Andaman cluster revenue set to top B100bn
PHUKET CITY: Officials from the three “Andaman Cluster” provinces of Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi met at the Thavorn Grand Hotel yesterday to discuss progress on the cluster’s strategic development plan, which has now been in effect for nine months. Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura said, “The cluster’s private sector is now generating 95 billion baht in tourism revenue annually and…
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Phang Nga tourism boss slams pipeline
PHUKET CITY: The President of Phang Nga Tourist Association, Anupong Sa-Nguannam, yesterday joined the growing lobby against the government’s plan to construct an oil pipeline across Phang Nga, arguing that it threatens tourism and the local fishing industry.Speaking in Phuket yesterday, he said, “It may well bring money into Thailand in addition to the money brought in by tourism but…
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Tourism roadshow targets neighbors
PHUKET CITY: About 30 Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) staff, members of the Phuket Tourism Association and industry representatives from Phang Nga and Krabi are taking a “Thailand – Southern Paradise Roadshow” to Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Johor Bahru and Singapore in a lightning tour that will end Saturday.The focus of the promotion is Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival, due to start on…
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ICEC can be anywhere – Gov
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has said he does not care where the controversial 2.5-billion-baht International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) is built, so long as it benefits Phuket.“We have wasted a lot of time on this already. The ICEC can be built anywhere that will create growth in Phuket. We won’t argue over it anymore,” he said.Previously, Gov…
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Woman’s body found in garbage dump
KAMALA: Police have not yet been able to identify a woman’s body found at the Kamala garbage dump on Thursday.The Deputy Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, Pol Lt Col Chawalit Niemwadee said that the police went to the scene after being called by local garbage collector Newin Sukprasert, who made the gruesome discovery.Col Chawalit said the woman, about 155 centimeters…
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Hike in city water rates likely
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City residents can expect rising water charges in the coming few years, following former mayor Phummisak Hongsyok’s decision to begin charging for water the municipality pumps from his tin mines. For years, K. Phummisak has provided the water free of charge, but he told the Gazette last month that he intends to start charging about 2 baht/cubic…
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Radical changes to Phuket government proposed
PHUKET CITY: How should Phuket be governed? That was the question asked yesterday at a National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) seminar at the Phuket Merlin Hotel.The seminar covered three main areas: the disadvantages of the current system of government in the province; what could replace it, and how residents would be likely to react to changes.The President of Phuket…
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Murdered politician’s daughter to run for his seat
PHANG NGA: The daughter of murdered politician Nithas Siribenjakul has announced she is to stand as a candidate in the election to replace him on the Phang Nga Provincial Administration Organization (OrborJor) council, and she has urged the police to do more to find his killers.K. Nithas, who was chairman of the OrBorJor, was gunned down at Takuapa bus station…
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Gambling tops arrests again
PHUKET: Gambling has once again topped the crime statistics in Phuket, with 139 arrests recorded between August 1 and 15.The latest police figures show that other common crimes included possession or use of illegal narcotics – with 62 arrests and 200 ya bah (methamphetamine) tablets seized – and illegal immigration, with 21 people arrested.Thirty people were arrested on prostitution-related charges while…
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Road accidents kill 13 in one month
PHUKET: Between June 20 and July 20, 13 people died in accidents on Phuket’s roads, according to the latest statistics from the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals.Of the 13 dead, 12 had been riding motorcycles, while one was in a car, Ampaipan Pawawattananusorn of the Phuket Provincial Health Office reported.In the same period, 963 people were hurt in crashes…
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Fourth drowning in five days
SURIN BEACH: A retired Frenchman planning to make his home on Phuket drowned at Surin Beach yesterday, just hours before the body of a Singaporean tourist who disappeared while swimming off Karon on Monday was found.The two incidents bring to four the number of people drowned in the waters around Phuket in just five days.Frenchman Patrick Michel Peters, 56, drowned…
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New police chief outlines plans for Phuket
PHUKET: The police general who is about to become Phuket’s new provincial commander has outlined how he plans to solve Phuket’s “many problems”.Pol Maj Gen Suvith Othong, who is currently provincial police commander for Krabi, is due to be transferred to Phuket on October 1.He will replace Pol Maj Gen Veerayuth Sittimalic, who took over the top spot in Phuket…
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The love that lasts
SUPHAN BURI: Love is sweeter the second time round for Suphan Buri newlyweds Sunthon Thanabutr, 74, and Sumrith Aom-aerm, 75. The love-struck third-agers, both of whom have been married and widowed, knew each other more than half a century before their chance meeting at an “Elders’ Day” event held at Wat Pho Takuan earlier this year. K. Sumrith said that,…
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Port information hotline launched
CHALONG: The Phuket Port Control Center (PPCC) at Chalong Pier has launched Thailand’s first 24-hour bilingual automated port information service as part of its Phuket ePort project.By calling the Bangkok number Tel: 02-3659696, people can access information in Thai and English on port control procedures, contact details of government offices, and general information about Phuket.Dr Rattana Wetprasit, Acting Manager of…
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Pian back in Patong hot seat
PATONG: It’s official: more than two months since his apparent election as Mayor in the June 21 town council elections, Pian Keesin can finally take office after his victory was confirmed by the Central Election Commission.K. Pian, a former mayor of the town who lost office in a council coup in October 2001, will now face a daunting challenge in straightening…
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One more year for Udomsak
PHUKET: Udomsak Usawarangkura is to be Governor of Phuket for at least one more year.K. Udomsak’s name did not feature in a list of governors who are being promoted or moved on this year. As a result, he told a meeting of senior government officers this morning at Phuket Provincial Hall, “We will be working together for at least one…
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Pongtorn murder investigation shelved
PHUKET: The investigation into the assassination of land official Pongtorn Hiranyaburana, who was shot dead on the way to his home in Surat Thani in April last year, has officially been shelved, pending further evidence being presented to the police.K. Pongtorn was the Deputy Chief of the Phuket Provincial Land Office (PPLO) and was ordered to look into the issuing…
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Skeleton found in Kathu
KATHU: A human skeleton wearing a watch, bra and jeans was found among trees behind the Kathu Health Center on Wichit Songkram Rd early on Monday evening.The remains are undergoing forensic examination to determine whether they are those of Phuket native Wimonmas Bannalang, 34, a cashier at the Buffalo Steakhouse at Karon, who went missing in July.K. Wimonmas was last…
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Makro opens tomorrow
PHUKET: Wholesaling giant Makro opens its 27th Thai branch on Wichit Songkhram Rd tomorrow, raising the number of hypermarkets on the island to three.At least 1,000 guests are expected to attend the official opening, and the store has arranged three additional parking areas to accommodate them all. Makro Southern Area Manager Noppachai Meetam told the Gazette that sales of memberships,…
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Court orders Anchalee’s husband to quit land
PHUKET: The Phuket Appeal Court yesterday overturned a judgement of the Provincial Court and ordered Tossaporn Thepabutr to quit 98 rai of land in the Nakkerd Hills in Karon. K. Tossaporn is the husband of Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr. The successful appeal was made by the Provincial Land Reform Office (PLRO), which argued that K. Tossaporn…
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Thaksin rejects “pearly’ underpasses
PHUKET: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, in Phuket today for just one hour, turned down a proposal to build two underpasses on the bypass road at a cost of 800 million baht.Instead, he said, the provincial authorities should look at the example of Dindaeng in Bangkok, where a single tunnel, long enough to reach from Phuket’s Samkong intersection to the Darasamut…
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Deputy PM defends Phang Nga pipeline
THALANG: In his first press conference today in Phuket, Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Lipatapanlop defended the government’s plan to build an oil pipeline across Phang Nga, saying that it will not affect tourism in the region.Speaking to the press at Phuket International Airport this morning, the former Chart Pattana leader, who joined Thai Rak Thai as Deputy PM two and…
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50 million baht for “health hub’ Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The Health Ministry is to spend 50 million baht promoting Phuket as a health hub of Asia, Health Minister Sudarat Keyuraphan announced today.In Phuket for a health conference organized by her ministry, K. Sudarat said the money had already been allocated and would be spent before the end of the year on developing health tourism schemes for the…
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Cops and fobbers
BANGKOK: A former security guard at the Israeli Embassy in Bangkok was arrested on August 8 for impersonating a police officer and illegal possession of a firearm, police said. Following reports of gunfire at 5 am , two police officers from the Makkasan Police station found Theerapong Sawaiprekon, 30, in a police uniform at the scene. The former security guard…
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Runway extension plan under fire
PHUKET CITY: Plans by the Airports Authority of Thailand (AAT) to extend the 3,000-meter runway at Phuket International Airport by 700m came under fire today from Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, President of the Phuket Provincial Organization, at a meeting at The Metropole hotel.The extension is deemed necessary by the AAT to allow fully-laden Boeing 747-400 airliners – used extensively on routes to…
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Figures show huge property boom
PHUKET: Figures indicating how the property industry in Phuket is booming were presented yesterday by the Phuket Real Estate Club (PREC).At a conference on the southern Thai economy, held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, PREC Secretary Thanit Prateepnathalang said that between January and July this year, property companies applied for permission to build 43 new developments. Of these, 28…
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Warning to Khao Lak: don’t overbuild
PHUKET CITY: Tourists may turn their backs on Khao Lak if the rapid development there continues, the Deputy Director of the local Tourism Authority of Thailand office has warned, while oversupply of accommodation in Phuket is leaving nearly half the island’s hotel rooms lying empty.Napasorn Kakai told a conference on the southern economy at the Royal Phuket City Hotel on…
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Tourist drowns at Karon Beach
KARON: A Bahraini tourist drowned on Saturday evening at Karon Beach while trying to help one of his children who had gotten into difficulty in the sea.The victim has been named as Ahmed Turani, 41, who had been staying with his family at Karon Buri resort.Pol Capt Vicharn Suwannasit, of Chalong Police Station, told the Gazette that the victim had been…
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Briton arrested for murder
CHALONG: Briton Michael John Taylor, 40, who was last week questioned by police and then released, has been arrested on a charge of murdering his girlfriend on August 17.Police say they have statements from eight people confirming their belief that Taylor, known locally as “Mick the Pom”, murdered 27-year-old Jantra Weangta at the home they shared in Chalong.Pol Maj Jessada…
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Cop beaten into coma, attacker kills self
PATONG: A police sergeant from Kathu is in a coma in Bangkok Phuket Hospital after a severe beating by two men, one of whom subsequently shot himself with the sergeant’s gun.The beating took place at 5:30 am yesterday at a noodle shop in Nanai Rd. Reconstructing events, investigators found that Pol Sgt Pramual Thongaugsorn, who was off-duty, went to the…
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