Artikel posted in 2014

  • Phuket Drive Thru: Woman blames car for surging into 7-Eleven

    Phuket Drive Thru: Woman blames car for surging into 7-Eleven

    PHUKET: A woman parking her car outside a 7-Eleven in Phuket Town this afternoon ended up inside the store when the vehicle suddenly surged forward, injuring a 12-year-old girl in the process. Orathai Kaikong, 31, had pulled into a gas station on Phun Pol Road in Phuket Town with her boyfriend to buy snacks. “I was braking while pulling into a parking space, but then the car suddenly raced forward,” she said.

  • Patong elections set for April 26, bringing another weekend alcohol ban

    Patong elections set for April 26, bringing another weekend alcohol ban

    PHUKET: The Patong by-election has been set for Saturday, April 26. After former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin was found guilty of electoral fraud on March 7 (story

  • Phuket’s B120mn road to Freedom Beach inches forward

    Phuket’s B120mn road to Freedom Beach inches forward

    PHUKET: The controversial new road planned to provide access to Freedom Beach, south of Patong, took a step closer to becoming reality as the project passed its third and final public hearing on Friday. About 80 of the 100 participants who joined the hearing, held at the Patong Merlin Hotel, voted to approve the project, rebounding from a 64 per cent approval vote from the 50-plus attendees at the second hearing on October 15 last year (story

  • Phuket national park encroachment investigation in full swing again

    Phuket national park encroachment investigation in full swing again

    PHUKET: The plot thickened in the ongoing investigation into encroachment onto Sirinath Marine National Park yesterday as five former park chiefs were accused of signing documents allowing encroachment. “After reviewing several land titles from owners in the area, we discovered that five chiefs signed their names, making it legal for landowners to build on land that is part of Sirinath National Park,” said Samak Donnapee, Director of the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP). The five park chiefs accused – Thanapong Apaiso, Somkiet Soonthornpitakboon, Sukkhee Kamnuanslip, Jaruai Injan and Nontawit Jaturabanthid – worked at the park between 2005 and 2011, but are all now retired, Mr Samak said.

  • Blackout strikes third of island as Phuket sees year’s first rain

    Blackout strikes third of island as Phuket sees year’s first rain

    PHUKET: A blown transformer was responsible for a two-hour blackout in parts of Phuket on Saturday afternoon, said an official at the Phuket Provincial Electrical Authority (PPEA). Electricity shut off in Chalong, Rawai, Kathu, Patong, Kathu and some areas of Phuket Town at about 3pm

  • Police post bodyguard for Russian ‚kidnap‘ victim

    Police post bodyguard for Russian ‚kidnap‘ victim

    PHUKET: Police have posted an around-the-clock guard outside the hospital room of the Russian woman who was found injured yesterday after having disappeared for nine days. Friends say the woman, Iana Strizheus, 22, may have been the victim of a kidnapping. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Ong-art Phiwruangnont visited Ms Strizheus at Bangkok Hospital Phuket last night.

  • Special Report: Phuket’s stolen passports shine light on illegal migrant corridor to Europe

    Special Report: Phuket’s stolen passports shine light on illegal migrant corridor to Europe

    Special Report Passports stolen in Phuket that were used to board ill-fated Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 have placed Phuket in the center of an international maelstrom. Thousands of passports are reported lost or stolen in Thailand each year, and the region is gaining a reputation as a gateway for international asylum seekers to reach Europe. The Phuket Gazette’s Saran Mitrarat and Amy Sawitta Lefevre for Reuters in Bangkok report.

  • Phuket Opinion: Casting aside modern conveniences for an island dream

    Phuket Opinion: Casting aside modern conveniences for an island dream

    PHUKET: With the seemingly endless parade of new condo developments springing up like mushrooms all over the island, it’s clear that quite soon, the majority of Phuket’s residents will be living in high density housing. When I first moved here, I too found it convenient to move into a modest, reasonably priced apartment block. I considered it a stop-gap measure.

  • Letter from the Phuket Governor: Creating unity in a time of discord

    Letter from the Phuket Governor: Creating unity in a time of discord

    Maitri Inthusut arrived on the island to take up the position of Governor of Phuket in October 2012. With a master’s degree in political science from Thammasat University, he joined the National Security Council, rising to the position of NSC Secretary-General, before taking up the position of Chief Secretary for Secretariat of the Cabinet. He has also served as Governor of the provinces of Trang and Phayao.

  • Phuket Opinion: Preventing passport malpractice

    Phuket Opinion: Preventing passport malpractice

    PHUKET: The revelation that two passengers aboard the ill-fated Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 were travelling on passports stolen in Phuket (story