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Phuket Poll: Do you feel safe on the streets of Phuket after dark?
PHUKET: The gruesome murder of two British backpackers on the holiday island of Koh Tao has drawn international media attention to safety concerns in major Thai tourists destinations such as Phuket. In the wake of the murders, the Region 8 Police commander ramped up security in all areas under his watch, including Phuket and Koh Tao (story here). At about…
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Phuket readies for first-ever International Night Run
PHUKET: Athletes will have the opportunity to run along the streets through Phuket’s historic Old Town under the cover of darkness on November 1 as the island hosts its first Phuket International Night Run. Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana unveiled the new event – organized in conjunction with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the Sports Authority of Thailand…
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Breaking News: Patong mob kingpin, taxi mafia suspect Pian Keesin found dead
PHUKET: Former Patong Mayor and taxi mafia suspect Pian Keesin died at his home at the Rock Garden housing estate this morning, police confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. The cause of death has yet to be released. Mr Pian, along with his son Prab Keesin, was facing charges of extortion and criminal activity carried out by a criminal association after…
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Phuket flash flood, landslide warning in effect, but bright skies ahead
PHUKET: The flash flood and landslide warning issued for Phuket last Friday is still in effect, though local officials have appealed for people to not panic over the current wet weather. “The warning was sent to every local authority as a precaution, to advise people to beware of flash floods and landslides in risk areas,” said Weera Amnuayporn, acting director…
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King’s condition improves after gall bladder removed: doctors
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community King’s condition improves after gall bladder removed: doctors The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s health has improved after he underwent a successful operation to remove his gall bladder, according to the latest statement from the Royal Household Bureau. The operation, which took…
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Nobel Prize for medicine goes to discoverers of brain’s internal GPS
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Nobel Prize for medicine goes to discoverers of brain’s internal GPS Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Anglo-American John O’Keefe and Norwegian couple May-Britt and Edvard Moser won the 2014 Nobel Prize for medicine on Monday for discovering the brain’s internal positioning system, helping humans find their…
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Boating: Peeking behind Phuket’s Boatshed
PHUKET: Alan Giles from the UK initially came to Phuket 14 years ago to be a sailing instructor for Sunsail. As the years passed, he finally made the move to become a permanent island resident, and to open Phuket’s own Boatshed brokerage. Testament to the name on the door is the assortment of boating goodies in the office at the…
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Phuket teen stabs ex-girlfriend’s new lover in jealous rage
PHUKET: A teen, recently released from the island’s juvenile detention center, is on the run after he stabbed his ex-girlfriend’s new lover seven times in a jealous rage in Phuket Town early this morning. Phuket City Police arrived at the scene, outside of Royal Phuket City Hotel, at about 12:30am. There, they found a 29-year-old hotel employee, named by police…
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Phuket tourists’ safety vital during Asian Beach Games, says Governor
PHUKET: Local community support is essential for tourists’ safety and Phuket’s image when the island hosts the Asian Beach Games next month, Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong said today. “We need more advertisements encouraging locals to get involved. Everybody on the island is hosting this event – we have to work together to best represent our homeland,” said Governor Nisit, who…
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Phuket member at National Reform Council granted royal endorsement
PHUKET: Cherdchai Wongseree, who failed to gain election to the Senate in March (story here), today received royal endorsement to become Phuket’s sole representative at the National Reform Council (NRC). Mr Cherdchai was among the 250 candidates throughout the country whose names were published in the Royal Thai Government Gazette today as approved by HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej to serve…
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Phuket storm pins woman under tree, more rain forecast
PHUKET: The storm that ravaged Phuket over the weekend pinned a woman under a felled tree on a busy street in Mai Khao late Saturday night. Rescue workers and police arrived at Mai Khao Soi 10 at about 11:30pm to find Soisuda Somjan, 20, and her motorbike trapped the tree. “She was unable to move with her right leg caught…
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Indian tourists washed overboard, drown off Krabi coast
PHUKET: Two Indian tourists travelling in a rented longtail boat drowned off the coast of Railay, east of Phuket, yesterday after a large wave swamped their boat and washed them overboard. Ekkapong Kinglek, 25, the boat operator, was charged with reckless driving causing death, Capt Praphan Nhuchaikaew of the Krabi City Police told the Phuket Gazette. The tourists, Yash Agarwal,…
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![Phuket Classic competition to attract 145 bodybuilders [VIDEO] | Thaiger](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0naHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmcnIHZpZXdCb3g9JzAgMCAzMzEgMjIwJz48L3N2Zz4=)
Phuket Classic competition to attract 145 bodybuilders [VIDEO]
PHUKET: This year’s edition of the Phuket Classic bodybuilding competition will see 145 contestants flex their muscles to please the audience. The event will be held at Central Festival Phuket on October 12, from 11am to 7pm and will see 10 foreigners competing in a separate category. “The judges will be evaluating the contestants depending on body type, weight and…
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Phuket underpass faces part-closures, races for November opening
PHUKET: The northbound lane above the 600-million-baht underpass beside the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall has been closed so workers can repave the road. “Motorists heading north can still use the underpass,” Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad told the Phuket Gazette. With the lane closed for repaving, motorists heading east past Central Festival can no longer turn left onto…
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![Villa Market expansion caters to Phuket yachties [VIDEO] | Thaiger](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0naHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmcnIHZpZXdCb3g9JzAgMCAyOTMgMjIwJz48L3N2Zz4=)
Villa Market expansion caters to Phuket yachties [VIDEO]
Villa hopes to build on its success at the Boat Avenue shopping street. PHUKET: Villa Market is set to slice off another slab of the imported groceries market in Phuket when it expands to Boat Lagoon. The new branch, set to open in early 2015, is designed to tap into the yachtie-catering market and to position itself as the go-to…
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Myanmar man slays roommate, licks blood from knife
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Myanmar man slays roommate, licks blood from knife The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Bangkok Police yesterday arrested a Myanmar man who they claimed killed a countryman and sucked his blood because the man had a crush on his wife. Udomsuk Police Superintendent Somphorn Krissanapipat said…
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13 trafficked Laotian girls, women freed in Chumphon
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community 13 trafficked Laotian girls, women freed in Chumphon The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: A joint police and military team of 30 officers raided a karaoke business in Chumphon yesterday and rescued six underage Laotian girls and seven Laotian women who were trafficked into prostitution in…
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Koh Tao murder report to go to prosecutors this week: police
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – Thailand news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Koh Tao murder report to go to prosecutors this week: police The Nation / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Police plan to forward their investigation report on the killing of two British tourists on Koh Tao to public prosecutors this Wednesday. “We will include DNA test results related…
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At least one dead as typhoon lashes Japan, heading for Tokyo
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community At least one dead as typhoon lashes Japan, heading for Tokyo Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Hundreds of flights were cancelled and thousands of people advised to evacuate as a powerful typhoon lashed Japan on Monday with heavy rains and high winds, leaving at least one…
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Special Report: Phuket’s billion-baht beach ‘scandal’ never kept a secret
Special Report PHUKET: A senior official at Kata-Karon Municipality this week claimed that permits issued to allow local residents to work as beach vendors were introduced at the behest of a Provincial Hall standing committee some 20 years ago. The issue raised a storm of controversy last week when Paween Pongsirin, Region 8 Police Deputy Commander at the time (story…
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Breaking News: 6-wheeled Phuket truck kills two on Patong Hill
PHUKET: Two people were killed in a road accident as they ascended the infamous Patong Hill road at about 3pm today, Patong Traffic Police told the Phuket Gazette. The two people riding the motorbike died after being crushed by a 6-wheeled truck in front of Sea Pearl Hotel. The driver, who police have yet to publicly name, has been taken…
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Masked men open fire in Phuket drive-by shooting, injure two
PHUKET: Two men were injured just before midnight last night in what Phuket police are calling a drive-by revenge shooting. Four men were sitting round a table drinking at Baan Liporn when a group of eight masked men on motorbikes drove by and opened fire. Watthana Suebsak, 18, was shot in the face and seriously injured, while Prasert Chanthip, 35,…
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DDPM issues flash flood, landslide warnings for Phuket
PHUKET: A weather warning advising Phuket residents and tourists to prepare for flash floods and landslides has been issued by the local Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM). “According to the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD), we can expect increasingly heavy rains tomorrow,” said Weera Amnuayporn, acting DDPM Phuket office chief. “It’s going to take a turn for the worse,…
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Australians’ drunken balcony fall raises Phuket safety concerns
PHUKET: Patong Police have urged local municipality workers to inspect the balcony-railing heights of Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa after three drunk Australians tumbled off their second-floor balcony (story here). “It is beyond our jurisdiction to ensure that the railings are of a safe height. We actually voiced our concern before this accident, and again after it. However, we cannot…
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Heroin overdose suspected in American expat’s death in Phuket
PHUKET: Police suspect that a 29-year-old American expat found dead on the side of the road in Kamala early last Sunday morning died of a heroin overdose. Not far from where the body of Texan Benjamin Nesher Jones was found on Soi 8, police arrested another man with 18grams of heroin. “We believe that Mr Jones died because of a…
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Opinion: Bilking billions from Phuket’s beaches
PHUKET: The arrest of Karon Mayor Tawee Tongcham and subsequent revelations about the nature and scale of the “beach rental” concession rackets along Phuket’s west coast is just the latest in a stunning series of graft-busting power punches made by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) since it took power on May 22. One of the most remarkable…
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Video Report: Phuket dive boat operators join forces for cleaner reefs
PHUKET: Dive boat operators of all creeds, and all certification affiliations, banded together last weekend to clean popular Phuket dive sites ahead of the high season. Nine boats, including one sport-fishing vessel, piled on about 200 participants and spent the day at various dive sites including Anemone Reef, Shark Point, Koh Mai Thon and many others. About 2,000kg of trash,…
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PWA announces Phuket Town water shutoff
PHUKET: The Phuket Water Authority (PWA) has announced that water supply in some areas of Phuket Town will be shut off from 9pm tomorrow to 3am on Sunday. Water is being shut off to allow for new pipes to be laid in Suan Luang Park* – part of the PWA’s plan to improve Phuket Town’s water-treatment process. Those affected include:…
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Phuket Police officer charged for fatal pub shooting
PHUKET: A Phuket Provincial Police officer has been charged with gunning down a waitress in cold blood after forensic evidence showed that the bullet came from his gun. Nuchiska Klasuek, a 35-year-old waitress, was shot in the head by an unidentified assailant in a pick-up truck on May 16, after leaving the popular Saraphan Pleng Pub live-music bar in Chalong…
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Show the Russians some Phuket love
PHUKET: Is Phuket on the brink of losing its Russian comrades? According to a recent report published by the Kasikorn Research Center, Russian arrivals to Thailand are expected to drop 5.5% by the end of this year. When you consider that Russian visitors to Thailand (1.73 million) were almost double the number of visitors from the whole of Europe last…
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