Thursday, September 2, 2010

Ron Fanelli still at Phuket Prison

PHUKET: Ronald Fanelli, confessed killer of bar hostess Wanphen Pienjai, today blamed local media coverage for being partly responsible for his decision not to surrender himself to authorities before his arrest. Mr Fanelli spoke to the PhuketCafe briefly today from Phuket Prison, where he is being held for the stabbing murder of Ms Wanphen, a 33-year-old bar hostess at the Sweethearts bar in Kata at the time of her death...Full Story

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Australian tourist dies in Phuket swimming pool

PHUKET: An Australian tourist died while swimming in a pool at a well-known Phuket hotel late yesterday afternoon. Kathu Police duty officer Jongserm Preecha identified the deceased as 58-year-old James Bourke. Staff and customers at the Banthai Beach Resort and Spa in Patong told police they saw Mr Bourke go for a swim after eating a meal at about 5pm. During the swim he suddenly sank to the bottom of the pool, they said...Full Story

Thursday, September 2, 2010

More sewage treatment for Phuket

PHUKET: Karon Municipality will levy charges on hotels, restaurants and other small businesses in the area for the wastewater they produce. The scheme, to start in October, will affect hotels and businesses in Karon, Kata and Kata Noi. Restaurants will be charged a flat rate of 5.25 baht per operating square meter, and hotels will be billed at 84 baht per room. The move, in line with "the polluter pays" principle, is an attempt to share wastewater...Full Story

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Phuket’s BIS wins ‘Best in Thailand’ school award

PHUKET: The British International School Phuket (BIS) has triumphed as the “Best Provider of International Education for 2010” in the Prime Minister’s Export Awards. Collecting the prize in person from PM Abhisit Vejjajiva at Government House in Bangkok last week was BIS Headmaster Dr George Hickman. In a recent school newsletter, Dr Hickman explained that the award follows hot on the heels of BIS recording its best International...Full Story

Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Identity of Russian car crash fatality in Phuket revealed

PHUKET: The Russian diplomatic mission in Phuket has identified the foreign woman who died in a car crash near Tesco-Lotus on Thursday as 33-year-old Vera Lovtsova, a Russian citizen who was employed by a tour company in Phuket. For the PhuketCafe’s initial report of the tragedy click here...Full Story

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

50 largest landholders control 14.3% of Phuket

PHUKET: Land ownership in Phuket is highly concentrated in the hands of a relatively small group of wealthy landowners, according to a prominent Thammasat University economics professor. Prof Duangmani Laowakul, a member of the watch-dog committee Policy Watch, said the top 50 largest landholders in Phuket control 14.3% of the island's total area. A report published in Krungthep Turakij, the Nation Group's Thai-language business...Full Story

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

More Dragons for Phuket; Siam Makro expanding

– A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by PhuketCafe editors for Phuket's international community

PHUKET: Dragon Air intends to increase services on its Hong Kong-Phuket route. Cathay Pacific Airways, parent company of Dragon Air, says traffic to Phuket is robust with an average load factor of 90 to 95% over the past seven months. “The airline is assessing demand and whether to increase [Dragon Air] flights into Phuket. Currently it operates 10 flights a week, after an additional three weekly flights were added a few months ago,” says...Full Story

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Two-headed turtle turns one month old in Phang Nga

PHUKET: A two-headed turtle born in late July is thriving under the care of staff at the Royal Thai Navy base in Phang Nga as it celebrates its one-month birthday. The green sea turtle, born in a Thai Navy conservation area in the Similan Islands, was initially earmarked as one of scores of turtles to be set free in Phuket earlier this month as part of a turtle release ceremony to mark Mother’s Day. All that changed when the organizers realized it had two...Ful Story

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Chuan slams money politics

PHUKET TOWN: Phuket leaders and ordinary residents put their heads together at a meeting Saturday to consider how Thailand can reform itself and resolve the ongoing political crisis that caused this year's violent red-shirt protests. The seminar, “Reforming the Country at a Time of Change”, was the fourth of five organized by the National Economic and Social Advisory Council (Nesac) this year. Chairing the event at Royal Phuket City Hotel was...Full Story

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

High-tech drug detectors too expensive for Phuket

PHUKET: Top provincial officers have balked at a plan to install a drug-detecting “X-ray machine” at the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint after learning the cost would run well over 250 million baht. The drug problem was the main topic at the monthly meeting of the Phuket Provincial Peacekeeping Committee chaired by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday. Phuket Provincial Police on August 11 dispatched a team of...Full Story

Monday, August 30, 2010

Phuket attempted murder suspect arrested

PHUKET: A man suspected of an attempted murder in Phuket last year was arrested by Lampang police on Saturday after more than a year on the run. But it wasn't all woe for the suspect, 41-year-old Bangkok resident Prasop Homhuan. Prasop told officers escorting him to Phuket from Chiang Mai that despite his arrest he was very excited – at the prospect of flying on an airplane for the first time in his life. Prasop is wanted for the attempted murder of...Full Story

Monday, August 30, 2010

Blackout in Rawai, Phuket tomorrow

PHUKET: Residents of Rawai be warned: the Provincial Electricity Authority has announced a scheduled blackout in parts of the municipality from 9am to 4pm tomorrow to work on high-voltage power lines. The affected area includes Saiyuan Road, from Wiset Rd to Nai Harn Beach, including Soi Khok Yang, Soi Hua Pru, Soi Khok Makham and Soi Naya. Much of Saiyaun Road has been in a sorry state lately as Rawai Municipality continues its...Full Story

Monday, August 30, 2010

Arson considered in Phuket pawnshop blaze

PHUKET: Police have not ruled out arson for a pre-dawn blaze that gutted a Phuket pawnshop warehouse today. No one was reported as injured in the fire, although it took five firetrucks 30 minutes to extinguish the inferno on Sri Sena Road in Rassada. An initial investigation suggests that an electrical short circuit might have started the fire, but the shop had been the target of arson attempts in the past, said Phuket City Police duty officer...Full Story

Monday, August 30, 2010

Osotspa Saraburi down Phuket FC, 2-1

PHUKET: FC Phuket were unlucky to be beaten 2-1 at home by Thai Premier League side Osotspa Saraburi in the opening round of the Toyota League Cup. The first leg of the pairing, which took place at Surakul Stadium yesterday, was a big step up in opposition for FC Phuket, currently two divisions below their opponents. It was Osotspa Saraburi who got the better of the opening exchanges, but with Diarra Ali an increasingly influential presence in midfield...Full Story

Monday, August 30, 2010

Chuan Leekpai defends democracy at Phuket seminar

PHUKET: Former prime minister Chuan Leekpai said in a speech in Phuket on Saturday that Thailand's political crisis stems not from flaws in the democratic system, but from the self-serving actions of some individuals. Mr Chuan, a senior advisor to the Democrat Party, was speaking at Royal Phuket City Hotel at a seminar entitled “Reforming the Country at a Time of Change”. The event was organized by the National Economic Advisory...Full Story

Sunday, August 29, 2010

OPINION: Should Phuket be more of a colony?

PHUKET: Consider the humble ant. Ever industrious and capable of astonishing engineering feats, she comfortably air conditions her entire polity, maintains traffic control so no one ever experiences a fatal collision, and supports avidly the concepts of sufficiency economy and Gross Domestic Happiness. She lives in a crime-free, environmentally friendly colony, without recourse to burning hydrocarbons. On Phuket, we too are highly industrious and...Full Story

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Phuket respects hungry ghosts

PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality hosted the annual Por Tor festival this week (August 26-27) to appease spirits said to be visiting families and roaming the streets of the island throughout their month-long reprieve from the spirit world. The festival – chaired by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop, his wife Taisika, Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupapana and Phuket MP Raywat Areerob – took place at the new, yet-to-be-opened wet market on Ranong...Full Story

Sunday, August 29, 2010

OPINION: Should Phuket be more of a colony?

PHUKET: Consider the humble ant. Ever industrious and capable of astonishing engineering feats, she comfortably air conditions her entire polity, maintains traffic control so no one ever experiences a fatal collision, and supports avidly the concepts of sufficiency economy and Gross Domestic Happiness. She lives in a crime-free, environmentally friendly colony, without recourse to burning hydrocarbons. On Phuket, we too are highly industrious and...Fulll Story

Sunday, August 29, 2010

Another Phuket drug bust: more than 6,000 pills seized

PHUKET: Phuket's governor and top police brass held a press conference at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday to announce the arrest of a four-man drug ring and the seizure of over 6,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills. The arrest was the result of an investigation ordered by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop and spearheaded by Lt Col Sutthirat Thochampa, who heads the Provincial Narcotics Suppression Unit. Also present at the conference was...Full Story

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Phuket newborn dead in a dump truck

PHUKET: A garbage truck driver came across the dead body of a newborn baby while separating trash in the back of his truck in Pa Khlok this morning. Thalang police were notified of the grim discovery by a Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization (TAO) officer around 8:30am. “The baby was wrapped in a T-shirt and pieces of newspaper and put inside a plastic bag. It was picked up from the trash put out near the remote-controlled airplane grounds...Full Story

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Phuket maid murder re-enactment sparks outrage

PHUKET: Emotions ran high in Thalang yesterday afternoon as local villagers and relatives of Sunee Premprasert, the maid whose throat was slashed by an intruder on July 22, reacted angrily to the re-enactment of her murder. Mrs Sunee, 43, was stabbed some 80 times before her throat was slit and she was left to die bleeding on the floor at the home where she worked, said the police report. The attack was captured on CCTV cameras inside the...Full Story

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Media menaced in Thailand

PHUKET: Press freedom in Thailand, especially for broadcast media such as community radio stations and Web boards, has "palpably deteriorated" over the past six years, says Roby Alampay, outgoing executive director of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa). "The Internet over the past six years has played a crucial role in allowing people to debate and air their views," Alampay said, adding that things had become "more personal" when users...Full Story

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Snake removed from Norwegian's Phuket bungalow

PHUKET: Rescue workers from the Phuket Ruamjai Kupai Foundation yesterday removed a large snake from the home of an elderly Norwegian tourist. Chalong Police received a report at 11:30am that a large snake had entered the man's bungalow on Soi Suki in Chalong Village 9. When workers from the foundation arrived, they found the 78-year-old Norwegian standing inside the dwelling. After asking him to leave the premises for his own safety, they...Full Story

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Phuket Police sting meth dealers

PHUKET: Chalong Police nabbed two alleged ya bah (methamphetamine) dealers in a sting operation in Phuket yesterday. Rawai resident Sanchai “Mack” Phetphlanurak, 21, and Kriangkrai “Krai” Sukprasert, 37, from Nonthaburi, are in police custody and are being charged with possession of a Class 1 narcotic with intent to supply. Chalong Police led by Superintendent Wichit Intorrasorn announced the arrests at a press conference at Chalong...Full Story

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Girlfriend helped Aldhouse escape from Phuket, Thailand

PHUKET: The girlfriend of fugitive murder suspect Lee Aldhouse played a key role in helping the Englishman escape Thailand, Phuket Police said earlier today Chalong Police Inspector Jaran Bangprasert said the girl, a native of the northeastern province of Udon Thani, disappeared with Aldhouse from their shared room on Soi Khok Makham in Rawai soon after the murder of 23-year-old American Dashawn Longfellow was reported on...Full Story

Saturday, August 28, 2010

US Ambassador's daughter dead in fall

– A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by PhuketCafe editors for Phuket's international community.
The 17-year-old daughter of Eric John, the US Ambassador to Thailand, accidentally fell to her death from the window of an apartment block near the Empire State Building in New York. The Daily Telegraph reports this morning that Nicole John fell from a 25th floor flat where she was attending a party and was killed instantly, according to police. Miss John was believed to have been part of a group at a private party at the Herald Square...Full Story

Friday, August 27, 2010

247kg woman rescued, may be bound for Phuket

PHUKET: Overjoyed that she got to leave her apartment for the first time in three years, 40-year-old Amnuayporn Thongprapai, who weighs 247 kilograms (544 pounds) said she was confident that doctors at Central General Hospital would help her to walk again. Bangkok Governor Sukhumbhand Paribatra, who was present while the woman was being helped out of her apartment yesterday, said he'd like to help in arranging for her to gain entitlement to...Full Story

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Phuket tourism: UK growth in 2nd Q augurs well for Phuket

PHUKET: Despite the current woes of the pound, new economic statistics and forecasts for the UK lend credence to the Thai Tourism Authority's recently stepped up efforts to market Phuket in that country. With growth hitting a nine-year high, The Mail Online reports this evening that Britain's economy expanded at a faster pace than first thought in the second quarter of the year. The Office for National Statistics said the economy grew by 1.2 per cent in the...Full Story

Friday, August 27, 2010

Phuket murder suspect Lee Aldhouse arrested at UK airport

PHUKET: Fugitive murder suspect Lee Aldhouse has been detained by airport authorities while trying to enter the UK, the PhuketCafe has learned. Lt Col Anukul Nuket, investigating officer in the case, confirmed that Chalong Police received the news from British officials yesterday. Aldhouse is said to have departed Thailand from a small border crossing in Khlong Yai, Trat province, on August 17. Thai Immigration at that tiny checkpoint along the border with...Full Story

Friday, August 27, 2010

Phuket roads claim another victim

PHUKET: A motorcyclist died early this morning after his motorbike collided head-on with a pickup truck on Chao Fa East Rd in Chalong. Police identified the deceased as Chaiya Choatang, 29, originally from Takua Tung District in Phang Nga. Mr Chaiya’s motorbike collided with the pick-up, truck driven by Chalong resident Kitti Lukchan, at about 3:30am. Driving southbound at the time of the crash, Mr Chaiya is thought to have died instantly from...Full Story

Friday, August 27, 2010

Bullish on Phuket; Pedophilia suspects nabbed

– A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by PhuketCafe editors for Phuket's international community.

Foreign investors find Phuket a lucrative spot in which to do business due to its international appeal as a beach destination, its eye-catching natural beauty and year-round tropical climate, says Allan Zeman, owner of the five-star Andara Resort & Villas which opened on the island earlier this year.Zeman, a property developer with over four decades of experience, noted that Phuket, unlike Bangkok, hasn't experienced any major political instability which...Full Story

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Woman dies in Phuket car crash

PHUKET: A young woman died of injuries sustained in a high-speed car crash on the bypass road near Tesco Lotus early this morning. Phuket City Police were informed of the crash at 4:20am. The accident occurred in the southbound lane, in front of the Tesco shopping complex. Arriving at the scene they the found a red Toyota Vios overturned on the median strip, the entire front of the driver’s side smashed in. The car’s only passenger, a young...Full Story

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Korean firm ready to invest in Phuket tunnel

PHUKET: Representatives of a Korean firm are the latest potential East Asian investors to meet the Phuket Governor to discuss involvement in a Phuket transport mega-project, this time the proposed Patong Tunnel. Accompanied by Phuket MP Raywat Areerob, a delegation from the AZ Worth Trust Company was received by Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop at his office in Phuket Provincial Hall at 11am today. CEO and chairman Kyung Keun Hong told...Full Story

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Phuket car crash fatality was Russian

PHUKET: The woman who died in a high-speed car crash collision on the bypass road in Phuket earlier today was a 30-year-old Russian, police have confirmed. For our previous report of the accident, which took place near Tesco-Lotus at 4:20am, click here...Full Story

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Phuket Software Park announces "Tech Talk" schedule

PHUKET: Software Park Phuket has announced the schedule for its “Tech Talk” seminars for September as follows: September 2: “Blogspot: An easy way to create a website,” by Phuket Innovation Incubation Center, Software Park Phuket. Thai-language presentation. September 23: “Creating a blog with Wordpress,” by Kudos Technovation. Thai-language presentation with English-language slides. September 30: “Business on Facebook / Fan Page,” a...Full Story

Thursday, August 26, 2010

50 foreigners dead in Phuket this year

PHUKET: More than 50 foreign tourists have died in Phuket so far this year, according to statistics released by the island's top police officer at this week's consuls' meeting. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong said 52 foreigners died between January 1 and August 17 this year. By contrast, just 28 deaths of foreigners were recorded in all of 2009. Although most of the deaths were from natural causes or accidents, the figures...Full Story

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Phuket firm wins national award

PHUKET: The Phuket Software Factory has won a Ticta Award for its iPP health-information software. Ticta is a national software competition jointly organized by Thailand's Information and Communications Technology Ministry and the Association of Thai ICT Industries. The Phuket-developed iPP is used as a clinical tool to generate information ranging from personal health data to overall medical data. The data are displayed in graphic...Full Story

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Nude, Rude in Phuket; Isaan air link; Phuket leads recovery

– A daily digest of news about Thailand from around the world, compiled by PhuketCafe editors for Phuket's international community.
Phuket is to host a fashion runway show to benefit the 'Phuket Has Been Good To Us' foundation, a children’s education charity. The event will debut ‘Nude is Rude’, the new label from Hong Kong-based designer Marisa Zeman. Local and international fashionistas will join media on Sunday...Full Story

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Phuket Police identify body of suicide jumper

PHUKET: Police have identified the woman who committed suicide yesterday by jumping from a Phuket condominium block. The woman was Thai, not Korean as initially speculated. Phuket City Police Duty Officer Yongyuth Krongmalai identified the deceased as Nantanut Meenoy, 25-year-old owner of the Image Design clothing store on Phun Pol Road Soi 7 in Phuket Town. A native of Petchaburi province, Miss Nantanut was living on...Full Story

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Chinese interested in Phuket light rail project

PHUKET: The island’s dream of having a reasonably-priced, efficient public transport system took a small step forward on Monday, when representatives of a Chinese construction conglomerate confirmed their desire to build a light rail network for Phuket. Phuket MP Raywat Areerob on Monday brought representatives of the Ershisanye Construction Group for a second meeting with Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngob. It was the second visit this...Full Story

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Phuket Airport expansion on track: AoT

PHUKET: The 5.8-billion-baht expansion of Phuket International Airport will increase annual passenger traffic capacity to 12.5 million by 2013, Airports of Thailand (AOT) officials confirmed at a meeting on Monday. AOT President Serirat Prasutanond said the expansion is needed to cope with steadily increasing air traffic and to cement Thailand’s status as a regional air hub. Mr Serirat was speaking at an open meeting at Central Festival Phuket attended by...Full Story

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Phuket Tourism: Thailand Fan Club launched

PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand is setting up the Thailand Fan Club in Europe to help draw tourists to Phuket and other key destinations in the Kingdom, including Bangkok. "The TAT feels confident the club will encourage tourists from Europe to return to Thailand this peak season," TAT governor Suraphon Svetasreni said yesterday. More than 5,000 tourists from major source countries including France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden and...Full Story

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Shotgun ends Phuket rooftop brawl

PHUKET: A morning drinking session on a Karon guesthouse rooftop today resulted in a bloody brawl that ended only after someone fired a homemade 12-gauge shotgun into the air. Chalong police arrived at the Medi Cerrino Guesthouse on Taina Rd after receiving a report called in about 10am. On the roof level of the three-story guesthouse officers found Joseph James Patrick, 34, from Canada, covered in blood. Strewn across the roof were...Full Story

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

South African military chief vacations in Phuket

PHUKET: South Africa’s top military commander arrived in Phuket today on an unofficial visit. Gen Godfrey Nhlanhla Ngwenya, Chief of the South African National Defense Force, was welcomed upon arrival at the Naval Section runway at Phuket International Airport by Vice-Admiral Chumnum Ajwong, Commander of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area. General Godfrey, 60, and his wife Busisiwe Portia arrived at 10am aboard a Royal Thai Navy aircraft...Full Story

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Death plunge victim probably Korean: Phuket Police

PHUKET: Police suspect that a woman who apparently fell to her death from a condo block in Wichit earlier today was Korean. The body of the woman crashed through the corrugated zinc roof of a Burmese construction worker’s camp at the base of the seven-story Pornsawan Condotel, located on Chao Fa East Road in Wichit. The death was reported to Phuket City Police Duty Officer Yongyuth Krongmalai at 10:30am. The deceased was light-skinned,...Full Story

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Dengue fever now at 230 new cases a day

PHUKET: Seven people died from dengue fever last week, two of them from Phuket's neighboring province Krabi. The other five fatalities came one each from Chiangrai, Phetchabun, Lop buri, Chachoengsao and Nakhon Si Thammarat. The new fatalities bring to 70 the number of dengue fever deaths recorded across Thailand to date this year, it was announced by Public Health Minister Jurin Laksanawisit yesterday. Some 60,000 people have caught...Full Story