PHUKET: Police have admitted they are powerless to prevent motorcycle and car rental operators from holding foreign tourists’ passports as collateral against potential damage to rented vehicles. The news comes as the island’s top police officers try to stymie the fallout from international news reports branding Phuket a key source for stolen passports in the wake of the mysterious disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 last Saturday (story
PHUKET: The driver of a Phuket tour bus avoided a serious accident on Patong Hill this morning by running the bus off the road before driving down the steep slope on the east side of the hill. Bus driver Sutthichai Pohad was ferrying about 20 Chinese tourists from Patong to Phuket Town at about 8am when he realized the brakes were failing, explained Sakchai Chunyong of the Thung Thong Police
PHUKET: Customs officers at Phuket International Airport on Tuesday arrested a drug mule attempting to smuggle 7 million baht of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) from China into Phuket. The 37-year-old woman, Pornphat Wattanachaisen, was on a watchlist for possible involvement in drug smuggling when she departed Bangkok to China, said Phuket Airport Customs Director Montira Cherdchoo. “We learned that Ms Pornphat left Hong Kong on Tuesday via AirAsia Flight 2965.
PHUKET: Photos posted online of a foreigner killing a small shark at Kata Noi Beach prompted outrage, but the act was legal, a marine official said.
PHUKET: Phuket and Bangkok police arrested more than 30 people for gambling on football in Phuket Town last night. About 30 officers took part in the raid at a shop near the Nimit Circle (also called the Seahorse Circle), said Phuket City Police Superintendent Sermphan Sirikong.
PHUKET: The annual Battle of Thalang festival begins at Victory Memorial Field tonight, marking Phuket’s stand against Burmese invaders at the site 229 years ago. The Victory Memorial Field recently received a 26-million-baht makeover and welcomed the addition of 2.5-meter-tall statues cast in bronze honoring the Nine Heroes (story
PHUKET: The human remains found in a Chalong pine forest last December are those of missing 7-year-old Nong Dear, police confirmed today. “The Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok unofficially confirmed on Monday that the DNA of the body parts found in Chalong matches those of Nong Dear’s parents,” Capt Thada Sodarak of the Chalong Police told the Phuket Gazette.
PHUKET: A resort employee in Karon who was helping tourists cross the street was struck and killed by a Russian motorcyclist on Friday morning.
PHUKET: Island tour boat operators met in Phuket on Friday to discuss forming a club to help combat what they say is customer-poaching by illegally operated, foreign-owned companies. The group’s ire is focused mainly on Chinese and Russian companies that they claim are set up using a Thai nominee
PHUKET: Police are investigating how two passports reported stolen in Phuket were used by persons unknown to board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370, which disappeared over the South China Sea on Saturday (story