PHUKET: Logos Hope, the world’s largest floating library, is Phuket bound for the first time, Project Coordinator Eunji Lee told the Phuket Gazette. The 132-meter-ship, roughly half the size of the Titanic, will be at Phuket’s Deep Sea Port from August 14 to 22.
PHUKET: Three Thai musicians have been arrested for the murder of 51-year-old American tourist Bobby Ray Carter Jr and the assault of his 27-year-old son in Krabi early this morning. According to one of the suspects, Ratikorn Romin, 27, from Phang Nga, a fight broke out between the three musicians and the Americans, who had joined them on-stage last night at Ao Nang’s Longhorn Saloon Bar, before the evening took a deadly turn. The police were called to the scene at about 1:30am and were confronted with the aftermath of a night of drinking and live music gone horribly wrong.
PHUKET: A crane manipulating a heavy section of concrete pipe toppled over in Phuket this afternoon, demolishing the second floor of two shops, and though no one was injured, the driver fled the scene. “As the crane was lifting a section of pipe, land subsided under the crane arm, causing the operator to lose control,“ said Sumpawat Wannasangkam of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) office at Patong Municipality.
PHUKET: Reckless speedboat captains and tour guides chasing day-trip commissions have been named as the leading culprits jeopardizing tourists’ safety at Koh Racha, a popular day-trip island south of Phuket. Sarit Jandee, president of the Racha Conservation Club, blamed tour guides for encouraging day-trippers to swim and rent water-sports equipment on the west side of the island, which at this time of year has rough surf
PHUKET: A Phuket tourist from the Republic of Belarus was injured on Friday night when she lost control of her motorbike and slammed into a pine tree close to Patong Beach at about 10pm. “The accident took place at the entrance to Lai Mai Beach Resort. The injured woman was Yuliya Kavaliova, a 26-year-old.
PHUKET: Immigration Police say they know who was behind the mass escape of 18 Rohingya from the Phang Nga shelter on July 21 and are closing in to arrest them.
PHUKET: Kathu District Chief Veera Kerdsirimongkol has requested Patong Municipality to clear all vendors – including sun bed operators – from a large section of Patong Beach. The affected area will stretch more than 500 meters from Loma Park to the area opposite the Phuket Graceland Resort and Spa (map
PHUKET: A police officer on his way to work early yesterday morning lost control of his pickup truck on the bypass road and crashed into a tree. Though the impact demolished the front end of his pickup, he narrowly missed a nearby light pole and escaped injury. Police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers responding to a 5:30am call found a pickup straddling the center divider in front of the Premium Outlet shopping complex.
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut rode the new airport bus to Patong on Tuesday, four days after its inaugural run.
Special Report: Thailand has again ranked poorly in Transparency International’s annual report on corruption worldwide, released last week.