PHUKET: Stevie Rochelle Bamford, the 21-year-old Australian tourist who
PHUKET: Security measures taken at Phuket International Airport to prevent airport service staff, such as illegal taxi drivers, from taking advantage of tourists were declared successful yesterday by Airport Director Prathuang Sornkham. The announcement follows Police joining forces to
PHUKET: A 19-year-old Chinese tourist drowned last night at Patong Beach, on Phuket’s west coast, after going for a night swim with a female friend. Sakhon Chaithong, chief lifeguard at Patong Beach, told the Phuket Gazette that two Chinese tourists were pulled from the surf near Laem Petch, at the north end of Patong, at about 7:30pm. Foreign tourists spotted the two Chinese in distress and rushed out to pull them back to shore, he said.
PHUKET: The handing down of the court sentence to the driver of a refrigerator truck that killed four Swedish tourists and their Thai driver in Phang Nga early in February, has been deferred for the second time, the Phuket Gazette has learned. The driver, 27-year-old Muhummadyukee Jehyusoh, turned himself in to Khok Kloy Police on February 3, two days after the refrigerator truck he was driving crossed over a median strip in Khok Kloy District and crashed head-on into a compact car driven by 26-year-old Wichit Phromluang of Udon Thani. It is still unknown what caused Mr Muhummadyukee to lose control of the vehicle; he was en route to Phuket with a shipment of fish when the tragedy occurred at 7am.
PHUKET: Australian Ambassador to Thailand James Wise today called for police to launch an island-wide crackdown on weapons, including those carried by tuk-tuk drivers.
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Court has issued an arrest warrant for the prime suspect in the
PHUKET: Four Indonesian men were arrested in Haad Yai, southern Thailand, yesterday while heading for the Malaysian border after stealing 2 million baht from a Phuket policeman. Tedi Usman Bin Husin, 43; Yusuf Anwar, 30; Aldi Pratama, 27; and Muhammad Amid, 34, were presented a few hours later at a press conference presided over by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul Sen Sgt Maj Boonyung Punsawat, an investigator with the Phuket Provincial Police, cashed a cheque for 2 million baht at Siam Commercial Bank in Rassada yesterday morning, explained Maj Gen Chonasit. Maj Gen Chonasit did not explain what the 2mn baht in cash was for, or how Sgt Boonyung had come into possession of it.
PHUKET: Two monks in the Northern province of Kamphaeng Phet were defrocked last month after getting drunk and beating each other black and blue.lao khao (rice wine) was lying nearby. Officers separated the two holy men and took them to be defrocked at Wat Bo Sam Saen in Nongpaling Subdistrict.
PHUKET: Last week I talked about the likely increase in the
PHUKET: Two suspects wanted for the stabbing murder of Australian travel agent Michelle Smith are in custody in Chumphon province and are expected to be returned to Phuket later today, the Phuket Gazette has learned. News of the arrests came from Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha this morning during a meeting with local officials and tourism industry representatives. The meeting, also attended by members of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization, was held to arrange a much larger gathering, scheduled for Wednesday, to discuss tourist safety issues in Phuket.