Phuket Gazette - Daily News

Gaping hole in Patong street blocked off, partially filled

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 19:32:07 +0700

PHUKET: Despite what the Director of the Department of Rural Roads Phuket office told the Phuket Gazette yesterday (story

US Embassy consular outreach in Phuket

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 16:52:16 +0700

PHUKET: The Consular Section of the American Embassy in Bangkok will hold an Outreach Visit at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort in Karon tomorrow, June 20.

Consular staff will be available from 8am to midday to provide services on:

� Passport renewal applications (US$110 or 3,300 baht for adult passports, US$105 or 3,150 baht for a child�s passport).

� Notarial Services and Certified Copies (US$50 or 1,500 baht), includes income affidavits for retirees in Thailand.

Rough surf serves up bluebottles at Phuket beach

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:20:00 +0700

PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) has confirmed that the stingers found washed ashore at Surin Beach this week are bluebottles, also known as Portuguese man o� war.

The stingers found so far are juveniles, reported Phuket Gazette reader Daren Jenner.

�The presence of these bluebottles on the west coast started about five days ago with the onset of strong southwest monsoon winds blowing them in from the Indian Ocean,� he said.

Aussie envoy thrusts weapons in Phuket into the spotlight

Wed, 19 Jun 2013 10:53:31 +0700

PHUKET: The Deputy Head of Mission at the Australian Embassy in Bangkok, Jonathan Kenna, yesterday placed the carrying of weapons on the streets of Phuket into the spotlight at a meeting with the Phuket Governor.

�I told the governor that the safety of the tourist is the most important issue,� Mr Kenna, speaking in Thai, told the press following a closed-door meeting with Governor Maitri Inthusut at Provincial Hall this morning.

�Governor Maitri and the Australian Embassy agree that we need to work together to protect the life and property of Australian expats and tourists during their stay in Phuket,� he added.

Chinese tourist drowns off Phuket

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:49:06 +0700

PHUKET: A Chinese tourist on holiday with friends in Phuket drowned this afternoon while on a day trip to Koh Racha Yai, about 25 kilometers south of Phuket.

Capt Wuttiwat Liang-boonjinda of the Chalong Police named the victim as Li Ran, 28.

Ms Li was travelling with five friends who joined about 40 other tourists for the trip to Racha Yai Island, a popular tourist day-trip destination.

Video Report: Man in pink raincoat robs Phuket Family Mart

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:23:30 +0700

PHUKET: A man wielding a knife and wearing a pink raincoat jumped over the counter of a convenience store in Thalang early this morning and made off with the contents of a cash register.

Police responding to a call at 3:45am found the two female employees unharmed at the Family Mart at the entrance to Baan Lipon School in Srisoonthorn.

One of the women, Wanna Ketkeaw, 28, explained that in addition to the raincoat, the man had been wearing a black helmet and shorts, said Capt Patiwat Yodkwan of the Thalang Police.

Phuket storm topples marquee at festival, man crushed by speakers

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 16:18:58 +0700

PHUKET: A Phuket Town motorbike taxi driver died after strong wind toppled a marquee covering the stage at Saphan Hin last night, sending speakers crashing down on him.

Police and rescue workers arrived at the 10th Annual Southern Prison Products Fair (story

Phuket�s DJ Doris out of ICU

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:02:00 +0700

PHUKET: Paul Norris, Phuket�s renowned �DJ Doris� on Phuket Island Radio 91.5FM, is out of intensive care and recovering at Bangkok Hospital Phuket.

Mr Norris suffered a head injury in what is believed to have been a motorbike accident in Patong early Saturday morning.

Police continue search for missing Rohingya children

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:33:43 +0700

PHUKET: Police continue to search for the missing 22 Rohingya children who have run away from the Phuket Shelter for Children and Families on Koh Sireh. The children have been missing since early April, says Phuket City Police Chief Sermphan Sirikong.

�I have notified the investigation team, and from time to time we patrol Muslim areas to look for them and ask villagers if they have seen any of them recently,� Col Sermphan said.

Elephant smugglers caught at work in Phuket

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:18:22 +0700

PHUKET: Thalang police seized three elephants being illegally transported into Phuket this morning.

Nine people were arrested in the early-morning raid and the two trucks transporting the elephants were seized.

Suspects told police that a �Piang Sala-ngam� had sent his son-in-law Sa-ngad Padphai down with the trucks from an elephant camp in the northeastern province of Surin.

PHUKET VIDEO REPORT: Infamous Black Hole of Patong may not be fixed for weeks

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 20:00:00 +0700

PHUKET: After two motorbikes plunged into a giant pothole in the back streets of Patong early yesterday morning, Phuket authorities say they will not be able to start fixing the road until at least next week.

A video posted on YouTube shows a foreigner having to dive into the huge puddle � measuring at

Phuket python chokes the chicken

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:59:00 +0700

PHUKET: A three-meter python was found choking a Phuket resident�s chicken late last night.

�I was asleep in the house when I was awoken by the sound of a chicken,� said the owner of the fowl, Pairoj Denmalai.

�I came outside to find a large python strangling one of my chickens, and immediately contacted Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers,� he said.

V-Phuket braves wild weather to stage anti-government protest

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:15:59 +0700

PHUKET: Hundreds of V-Phuket protesters, wearing their iconic Guy Fawkes masks, braved the strong wind and lashing rain in Phuket Town yesterday afternoon to continue their protest against the Pheu Thai government under Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

The rally in Phuket was held in concert with other �V for Thailand� protests in at least 22 provinces, as well as in Bangkok (story

Young American dies in Phuket motorbike crash

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:36:00 +0700

PHUKET: A 27-year-old American man died instantly on Saturday when he was hit by a Chang beer delivery truck on Wiset Road, in Rawai.

�According to witness reports, American Nicolas Javier Solis exited Soi Kok Ma� onto Wiset Road, heading to Rawai Beach,� said Lt Wuthiwat Leangboonjinda of the Chalong Police.

�As he exited Soi Kok Ma, he was struck by a six-wheeled beer truck, which was northbound, heading toward Chalong Circle [map

Iraqi wrestling coach dies of heart attack in Phuket

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 12:04:05 +0700

PHUKET: A coach with the Iraqi wrestling team in Phuket for the Asian Junior Wrestling Championships died of a heart attack on Saturday night while returning from a night out on Phuket�s renowned Soi Bangla.

Kadee Abes, 44, from Iraq, was pronounced dead at 1:28am yesterday, Dr Patrinee Thammasrisawat of Patong Hospital told the Phuket Gazette.

�We tried for about two hours to save him, but failed.