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Sapan Hin murder victim identified
PHUKET: The identity of a man who was found dead in Saphan Hin on Saturday evening, July 29, has now been established. The murder victim has been identified as Chin Lueyot, 33, a Phuket-based long tail boat driver. Last week, Tanakarn Wareethip, a construction worker from Tambon Rasada and a friend of Khun Chin, saw a picture in a local…
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Air passengers surpass year-ago figure
PHUKET: Heartening news for the low season comes with the latest monthly figures issued by Phuket International Airport. These show an 8.73% rise in passengers using the airport, compared with June 1999. The statistics show that 208,426 passengers went through the airport in June of this year, compared with 191,698 in the same month last year. Due primarily to an…
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Village chief smoked out by police
CHALONG: Sema Adhan, a village headman in Chalong, was arrested for possession of marijuana at his home yesterday. Pol Capt Chana Suthimas of Chalong Police Station said an informer told police yesterday that there was marijuana hidden in a house in Chalong. In the process of acquiring a search warrant, police investigators found that the house belonged to Sema, who…
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Drugs spreading rapidly into southern Thailand
HAT YAI (AFP): Amphetamine addiction, which has caused havoc in Thailand’s cities and been named its top national security threat, has now spread to the rural south, the army says. “I believe that more than 50 percent of the villages in the south already have a drug problem,” said Lieutenant General Narong Denudom, the commander of Thailand’s Fourth Army which…
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Abandoned baby found in field
KATHU: A baby boy, estimated to be only three days old, was found abandoned in a field used by a driver’s training school in Kathu yesterday morning. Pol Capt Theerarat Choychanchaikul, of Thung Thong Sub-District Police Station, said the baby was found wrapped in a towel inside a black leather bag. The bag had been placed on the ground next…
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Beach tar not really a hazard, say officials
NAI YANG: In response to complaints from both tourists and Thais about tar washing up on Phuket’s beaches, a team of local government officials and environmental experts investigated the problem at Nai Yang Beach yesterday. The investigation was led by the Phuket Health Office and the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) at the request of Phuket Governor Charnchai Soontharamut. Phuket…
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Chinese minister to visit Phuket
PHUKET: Chen Changzhi, Vice Minister of the ‘Ministry of Inspection’ of The Peoples Republic of China, will arrive in Phuket tomorrow for a personal visit. Mr Chen and his entourage will stay at the five-star Le Meridien Phuket on Relax Bay. Scheduled excursions for the group include Krabi and Phang Nga Bay National Park. They also plan to visit Phuket…
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Phuket parents don’t want sex bags in schools
PHUKET: Phuket is trying to bolster its defense against AIDS by increasing education and stepping up the distribution of condoms. But the province faces stiff resistance from the local population. According to Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office, the reason Phuket has the second highest rate of AIDS infection in southern Thailand is that both…
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Murder victim found in Saphan Hin
PHUKET: A man was found murdered in Saphan Hin, Phuket Town, on Saturday evening. Police have not yet been able to confirm whether he is Thai or Burmese. Police said the victim died of blood loss from stab wounds to his face. Other wounds on his body indicated that he had been involved in a fight. Pol Capt Pin Inmak…
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Deadly disease returns to Phuket
PHUKET: Burmese, Laotian, and Cambodian laborers have brought a deadly disease back to Thailand, the Phuket Provincial Health Office said yesterday at its monthly meeting. In March, two people in Phuket were infected with the contagious disease, which is called Meningo Cocemia. The first, an unidentified Burmese worker, transmitted the contagious disease to a Thai child living in the same…
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THAI plan to ground “unsexy’ stewardesses slammed
BANGKOK (AFP): A top labor union representative today slammed plans by Thai Airways International (THAI) to ground older stewardesses not sexy enough to meet its hostess profile. THAI is planning to replace older stewardesses with younger, sexier models, labour union president Jaemsri Sukchotesri said, by moving over-45s to ground staff positions. “THAI is not selling sex. We are simply selling…
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20 die in traffic accidents
PHUKET: Twenty people died in traffic accidents between May 20 and June 20, according to statistics from the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. Ampaipan Pawawattananusorn of the Phuket Provincial Health Office reports that 18 of the victims died while on motorcycles, while one was in a car and one was riding a bicycle. In the same period, 84 people…
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One more blackout to come
PHUKET TOWN: Following Tuesday’s island-wide blackout, the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) has said that there will be one more power outage when the last piece of work on a new, higher-capacity cable is completed. But neither Banlue Teerametawit, EGAT’s assistant governor for transmission construction, nor Rangsan Ammarin, an engineer with the authority, could say exactly when the final…
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German arrested for lonely hearts scam
BANGKOK (AFP): A German man who ran an Internet scam, posing as a Thai woman in search of a Western husband, has been arrested for fraud, police said today. Rudiger Reischert, 50, conned at least 500,000 baht out of men who responded to an advertisement he placed on a matchmaking website in the name of “Thaee Maiyuran”. The money the…
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Turtles found trapped in fishing net
NAIYANG: One sea turtle was found dead this morning on Naiyang Beach, along with two others badly injured and barely alive after having become tangled in a nylon fishing net. Suthon Klapsong, a security guard from the Phuket branch of Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Ltd, found two of the turtles early this morning when he spotted a large black object…
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Ordeal at sea after fishing boat sinks
PHANG-NGA BAY: An 83-year-old was among seven men rescued today after their fishing boat sank early Monday morning off Koh Taloo in Phang Nga Bay and they spent as much as 30 hours clinging to debris. Commodore Preecharn Jamjaroen of the Royal Thai Navy’s Third Fleet said that the seven took the boat out on Monday morning to go fishing…
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Treasure hunters suffocate in cave
KANCHANABURI (AFP): Six treasure hunters died in a cave in this western province as they searched for gold rumored to have been stashed there 50 years ago by defeated Japanese soldiers. Police in Sangkla Buri district said today that the four men and two women died after becoming trapped 50 meters into the narrow cave. “They died because of lack…
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Two Drown at Kata Noi
KATA NOI: Two Japanese tourists drowned at Kata Noi Beach on Friday. Pol Maj Pissanu Poonwong of the Phuket Town Police identified the victims as Yoshinori Gotoda, 51, and Sajime Miya, 54. The two men were guests of the Kata Thani Hotel and had arrived in Phuket on Wednesday as part of a tour group. Although there were red flags…
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Young People’s Party wins by-election
PHUKET TOWN: Watcharapong Anantrakul of the Young People’s Party won by a narrow margin in yesterday’s Phuket Town Municipal Council by-election. K. Watcharapong beat four other candidates in the by-election, which was held to replace Suwit Sa-Ngiamkul, who resigned from the council to run in parliamentary elections to be held around the end of the year. Just over 25% of…
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Ministry aims to get the sex out of massage
BANGKOK (AFP): To restore the image of traditional Thai massage, all public hospitals will be required to offer classically trained masseurs to patients, Health Minister Korn Dabbaransi announced today. “In order to rehabilitate Thai traditional massage, so that it is not misused for commercial sex, all hospitals under the ministry will have to hire masseurs,” Korn said in a statement.…
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Phuket Town on the wagon for poll day
PHUKET: Planning on going out drinking in Phuket Town this Saturday or Sunday night? If so, change your plans because the town is going dry. A by-election will be taking place on Sunday for one of the seats on the Phuket Town Municipal council, and Thai law requires that the selling and distribution of all alcoholic beverages in town be…
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Two die in separate suicides
PHUKET: A 32-year-old katoey (transsexual), Patcha Jitbantad from Bangkok, jumped to his death from the top floor of the Sky Condo in Patong on July 15. A suicide note found in his apartment stated that he was depressed because he was suffering from AIDS. Pol Lt Col Saguan Maungtam of the Kathu Police Station said that at 5:10 am the…
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Father drowns at Kata Beach
PHUKET: A Thai man drowned on Tuesday (July 18) while swimming with his nine-year-old daughter in front of Club Med at Kata Beach. Pol Lt Teerawat Leamsuwan of Chalong Police Station said that Mana Sakulpakdee, a 54-year-old educational supervisor at the Office of Educational, Religious and Cultural Development, drowned while playing in the sea with his daughter Naruecha. Mana and…
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Suspect grabs officer’s gun, fires shot
PHUKET TOWN: A 20-year-old Phang Nga native was arrested on Monday after a fierce struggle with police, during which he grabbed an officer’s gun and fired a shot. Pol Capt Wisan Magnadsare of the Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that he and Pol LCpl Supachai Pongsuwan were patrolling on their motorbike at around 3:30 am when their suspicions…
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Issues & Answers goes online
PHUKET TOWN: Issues & Answers, the column in which residents and visitors to Phuket can pose questions to government officials and business managers, is now available on line at https://thethaiger.com/issuesanswers/index.asp The questions, often quite challenging, are brought to the attention of the responsible government departments or businesses by Gazette reporters, and the answers provided are published along with the name…
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Council sets up P.O. box, invites letters
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has set up a new P.O. box to receive comments and questions from local residents. Dr Prasit Koysiripong, president of the OrBorJor, told the Gazette that the purpose of the new P.O. box is to make it easy for people to ask questions or make suggestions on how to improve Phuket. “Every…
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Dutchman arrested at scene of road accident
KATHU: Johannes W. Wisser, a 53-year old Dutchman currently on trial for assault, found himself in more hot water when he was arrested early yesterday morning for several traffic violations, including reckless driving that caused injury to another motorist. Wisser, who police say has resided in Phuket for eight years, was also charged with drunken driving and attempting to flee…
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Island-wide blackout set for July 25
PHUKET: The entire island will be without power for nine hours on July 25, the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced. The blackout, from 7 am to 4 pm, is necessary because of work being done by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT), which is replacing the main power line into Phuket. The new line will be able…
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Sri Lankan envoy thanks Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Sri Lanka’s ambassador to Thailand, Karunatilaka Amunugama, visited Phuket Governor Charnchai Soontharamut today to express his country’s gratitude to Phuket officials for their investigations into possible Tamil Tiger activity in the province. He also visited the mini-submarine found by Gazette reporters in a Koh Sirae shipyard last month. “The Phuket authorities have been very helpful and concerned about…
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Fed-up elephant kills teaser
PATTAYA (AFP): An elephant hired to give tourists rides gored and killed his mahout’s brother, who had teased the animal for years, police said today. “They were not getting along very well and the elephant was very unhappy whenever the victim went near him,” said Pol Maj Thanakrit Larpinpisant of the Pattaya police. It was the second fatal attack by…
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