PHUKET: Phuket police are waiting for Region 8 Forensic officers to arrive before starting to sift through the demolished SuperCheap structure for signs of those who may have died in the enormous blaze that started last night and continued well into today. “When the team arrives, officials can start their investigation and the search for bodies,” Phuket Provincial Police Commander Ong-art Phiwruangnont said.
PHUKET: A man borrowed his girlfriend’s motorbike on Tuesday, snatched two purses and rode home, only to be arrested a few hours later. Watchara Sornsud, 25, first grabbed the bag of Russian tourist Anastasia Zabello as she was walking in Soi Bang Yai behind Big C on Tuesday morning, said Wichit Police Superintendent Chaowalit Petchsripia. Ms Zabello noted that he was riding a Blue Honda Wave and remembered the license number, which she reported to police.
PHUKET: Patong’s flood problems will be 85 to 90 per cent solved by the middle of next year, Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut predicted this week. In addition to the 19 million baht gate that will be added to the canal at the south end of Patong, (story
PHUKET: Flames continued to ravage Phuket’s renowned SuperCheap megastore this morning, stifling any efforts to search for victims caught in the inferno that broke out at the huge shopping facility last night. Fresh reinforcements of firefighters arrived early today to relieve those who battled the flames throughout the night
PHUKET: The main SuperCheap in Phuket burst into flames tonight, turning into an unstable inferno and sending a cloud of black smoke over a kilometer into the air. Every fire truck in Phuket was called to the scene on as well as trucks from nearby provinces. Fire fighters have yet to control the flames but are focusing on containing the fire and preventing the flames from igniting neighboring signs and trees.
PHUKET: Leading Patong figure Preechavude ‘Prab’ Keesin responded yesterday to the inspection that singled out his family’s resort by expressing his willingness to take down any structures found to be encroaching on the beach. Mr Prab, whose father is Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, told the press fears of erosion had led to sea walls being built on the beach in front of the resort.
PHUKET: A framework to deal with longstanding problems at Racha Yai Island, particularly coral damage and wastewater, was drafted at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday morning. To prevent boat operators from damaging corals by dropping anchor on them, 20 more moorings will be added, though their locations have yet to be determined, said Tanet Munnoy, director of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources. The move is in response to video taken in early October which documented anchors wedged against corals (story
PHUKET: Patong business owners – tired of inaction by Phuket authorities in tackling corrupt officials collecting an estimated 50 million baht a month – have filed a complaint directly with Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra. “I handed the complaint personally to Suranand Vejjajiva, the Secretary General to the Prime Minister of Thailand Yingluck Shinawatra,” Phuket businessman and adviser to the Thailand Trade Organization Chart Chindapol announced today. Speaking to the press this morning, Mr Chart alleged that formal complaints filed to the “highest-ranking government official on the island” had yielded no response.
PHUKET: Police last night arrested a drug runner at the Tah Chat Chai Checkpoint who confessed to smuggling drugs from Surat Thani and selling them in Phuket Town. Acting on a tip-off, police stopped and searched a Honda Jazz being driven by Sitthichai Chusang, 39, at about 8:30pm while he was trying to leave the island.
PHUKET: The government’s self-branded “anti-mafia” campaign continued yesterday as Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Pureesrisak led local officers to inspect the Patong Bay Garden Resort on Patong Beach for suspected encroachment onto public land. The resort, owned by Patong Mayor Pian Keesin and his son Prab, was the only resort along Patong Beach that was inspected yesterday. However, the raid yielded no results, despite officers being armed with a land document for the site.