Artikel erschien August 2013

  • Phuket drug suspect found with ’stolen‘ visa

    Phuket drug suspect found with ’stolen‘ visa

    PHUKET: A Thai visa sticker believed stolen from the Thai Embassy in Malaysia has been found in the passport of a suspected drug smuggler in Phuket, according to an informed source. The suspect was arrested by Phuket Immigration police yesterday morning on charges of possessing an undisclosed amount of cocaine. „Further checks reveal that he entered Thailand with his passport containing one of the visa stickers that had been reported missing,“ the source said, adding that police were investigating the case further in a bid to nail down all accomplices.

  • Phuket man denies being multi-million-baht extortion artist, blames official

    Phuket man denies being multi-million-baht extortion artist, blames official

    PHUKET: A Phuket businessman and adviser to the Thailand Trade Organization turned around allegations of being a Patong extortion artist today, pointing his finger at a government official. However, Chart Chindapol was unwilling to name the official, who he claimed raked in 50 million baht a month, pocketing 3 million for himself. A letter accusing Mr Chart of “distressing, threatening and persecuting local entrepreneurs” was sent to the Phuket Media Association on July 23 and signed off by the Association for Honest Patong Entrepreneurs.

  • Officials tackle Patong Beach’s ‘big brown’ water problem

    Officials tackle Patong Beach’s ‘big brown’ water problem

    PHUKET: An order was made to review operations at the Patong Wastewater Treatment Plant following tests of the seawater at Patong Beach this morning.

  • Phuket land probe: officials receive protection of anonymity

    Phuket land probe: officials receive protection of anonymity

    PHUKET: The Department of Special Investigation (DSI) yesterday declined to name anyone under investigation for allegedly issuing land titles for plots within Phuket’s Sirinath National Park. The news came as Chief of the DSI’s Consumer and Environment Protection Office Prawuth Wongsinil, publicly announced that his office will investigate only two of the 11 resorts identified by former Department of National Parks (DNP) chief Damrong Phidet as allegedly encroaching on Sirinath Park (story

  • Phuket Immigration on the lookout for stolen visa stickers

    Phuket Immigration on the lookout for stolen visa stickers

    PHUKET: The theft of 300 visa stickers from Thailand’s embassy in Malaysia has put Phuket Immigration on high alert. Phuket Immigration was notified about four days ago to be on the lookout for stickers bearing the stolen numbers, Phuket Immigration officer Angkarn Yasanop said.

  • Decommissioned warship bursts into flames – again

    Decommissioned warship bursts into flames – again

    PHUKET: The decommissioned warship RTMS Lanta burst into flames yesterday while workers were repairing damage caused by a previous fire that broke out at the tourist attraction on July 3 (story

  • Officials baffled over dead Koh Racha Yai fish

    Officials baffled over dead Koh Racha Yai fish

    PHUKET: Several dead reef fish collected from the dozens of dead fish found at the popular dive destination of Koh Racha Yai were brought to the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) earlier this month after local fishermen, villagers and divers voiced concern that they may have been poisoned, perhaps by cyanide.

  • VIDEO REPORT: HM the King’s historic visit may bolster Phuket sea gypsy land rights

    VIDEO REPORT: HM the King’s historic visit may bolster Phuket sea gypsy land rights

    PHUKET: As part of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) probe to establish how long Phuket sea gypsies have been living at Rawai Beach, officers have discovered movie footage of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej visiting the community in 1959. The footage may prove critical to the sea gypsies’ fight against court-ordered evictions based on land claims by private investors, the Chief of the DSI’s Consumer and Environment Protection Office, Prawuth Wongsinil, told the Phuket Gazette today.

  • Rohingya play ‚pity card‘ for media: Deputy Interior Minister

    Rohingya play ‚pity card‘ for media: Deputy Interior Minister

    PHUKET: Deputy Interior Minister Wisarn Techathirawat says the presence of the media encourages Rohingya refugees to “act-up in front of the camera” in order to get sympathy. Mr Wisarn was at the Phang Nga Immigration center yesterday to inspect the facility, following a Rohingya riot there earlier this month. “The media often knows that the Rohingya are arriving even before the police do,” he said.

  • Copper thief copped at Phuket checkpoint

    Copper thief copped at Phuket checkpoint

    PHUKET: Police arrested a man carrying 100,000 baht worth of stolen copper wire concealed in fertilizer sacks at a routine checkpoint in Thalang yesterday . Eakkapan Pinthong, 22, a construction worker at the Karn Keha public housing estate in Srisoonthorn, appeared nervous as he approached the checkpoint on Baan Don Road shortly after midnight yesterday, police said. “He was riding a motorbike without a license plates, and carrying fertilizer sacks,” said Thalang Police Deputy Superintendent Amnuay Kraiwutthianun.