Volume 15 Issue 24 News Desk - Tel: 076-236555June 14 - 20, 2008 Daily news at www.phuketgazette.net 25 Baht The Gazette is published in association with Tsunami Maj Gen Apirak drill set for IN THIS ISSUE returns to Phuket NEWS: 1,500 ya bah pills By Janyaporn Morel seized; Still no site for new Bang Tao aquarium; Navy service- PHUKET: Phuket Provincial woman plunges to her death. Police on June 8 held a ceremony By Sompratch Saowakhon Pages 2 & 3 bidding farewell to Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth on his last PHUKET CITY: A tsunami INSIDE STORY: Ao Phuket day of duty as Phuket Provincial evacuation drill will be held at project under the spotlight. Police Commander and welcom- Bang Tao Beach on June 17, Pages 4 & 5 ing back his replacement, Pol Maj Chotenarin Kerdsom, chief of AROUND THE NATION: Anger Apirak Hongthong. the Phuket office of the Depart- as ‘killer wife’ released on bail. Gen Decha has been pro- ment of Disaster Prevention Page 7 moted to commander of general and Mitigation (DDPM), has an- staff at Police Region 8 head- nounced. AROUND THE REGION: Samui quarters in Surat Thani. “All the commanding offic- sea life under threat. Page 8 Among those attending the ers involved in the drill will meet AROUND THE SOUTH: Search ceremony were Phuket Gover- at Laguna Beach Resort on June on for Red Cross Fair bomb- nor Niran Kalayanamit, Vice- 16,” K. Chotenarin told the Ga- ers. Page 9 Governor Worapoj Ratthasima, zette. Phuket Provincial Chief Admin- “Then, from 9 am to mid- CHEAP EATS: Back to basics istrative Officer (Palad) Piya day on June 17, we will have a with Vietnamese noodles. Bharatasilpin, Phuket Tourist tsunami evacuation drill,” he said. Page 12 Association (PTA) President “I have asked the National Former Phuket Immigration Superintendent Gen Apirak Hongtong PEOPLE: Beads bond couple Maitree Narukatpichai and the Disaster Warning Center superintendents of all district po- (pictured) has returned to Phuket to replace Maj Gen Decha [NDWC] to sound the tsunami through thick and thin. Budnampetch, who is now commander of general staff at Police Pages 14 & 15 lice stations on the island. alarms on June 17, but we are Gen Decha was promoted Region 8 headquarters in Surat Thani. still waiting for their answer,” he SPORTS: Ao Por Fishing to Phuket Provincial Police Com- An expert on immigration On his way to take up his added. Championship; Regional box- mander on October 3, 2005, fol- matters, Gen Apirak has served new post on June 7, he stopped However, K. Chotenarin ing roundup; Multihulls com- lowing his assignment as Phang as Phuket Immigration Superin- at the Heroines’ Monument to explained that the June 17 evacu- ing to Phuket; Cricket League Nga Provincial Police Deputy tendent. pay tribute to Thao Thepkrasattri ation drill will go ahead regardless finals loom; Darts. Commander. He served as In 2004, he took a leave of and Thao Sri Soonthorn. of whether or not the tsunami Pages 34 & 35 Phuket Provincial Police Deputy absence in an unsuccessful bid During the handover cer- warning towers sound the alarm. Commander before that. to win a seat on the Phuket Pro- emony, Gen Decha said he would He asked the media to an- PROPERTY: Decor; Home of the Week; Property Watch; Gen Apirak returns to vincial Administration Organiza- continue to use his new position nounce the drill so that locals and Phuket from his previous post- tion (OrBorJor) under the ban- at the Region 8 headquarters to tourists in the area can take part Gardening: Bert shows his ing as Ranong Provincial Police ner of the now-defunct Thai Rak assist law enforcement efforts in and will not by alarmed people backside to the bears. Commander. Thai party. Phuket “in every way possible”. evacuating the beach. Pages 37-42 K. Chotenarin added that the NDWC will hold a simulta- PLUS neous test of all its tsunami-warn- 4 cars destroyed in Toyota Pearl blaze ing towers throughout the six QUEER NEWS 6; AROUND THE IS- By Semacote Suganya ies stored at the garage may have caused the fire, Andaman provinces – Phuket, LAND 10; HAPPENINGS 16; AM- which started at about 3:20 am and engulfed the Phang Nga, Krabi, Ranong, BROSIA 17; LIFESTYLE 18 & 19; PHUKET CITY: Owners of three vehicles waiting row of parked cars. Trang and Satun – on July 7. SPA M AGIC 20; WHAT’S ON 21; for them to be repaired will have to wait a little longer “We are trying to assess the condition of the On July 25 last year, a re- TAKE A BREAK 23 & 24; MO- following a fire at the Toyota Pearl Phuket show- batteries that were stored at the garage. If they were gional tsunami evacuation drill TORING, TSOWNDINGS 26; BOOKS, room and garage on Thepkrasattri Rd on June 7. very dry or leaking, it is possible that a spark from was hailed “hit and miss” as a THAI 101 27; EDITORIAL, LET- Initial estimates put the damage caused by one of the batteries could have started the fire,” said number of Phuket’s warning tow- TERS 28; FIRST PERSON, ISSUES the fire at about 4 million baht after the fire dam- Maj Pitakpol Somphong of Phuket City Police. ers failed to sound. There was & ANSWERS 29; ANDAMAN R ANT, aged seven vehicles awaiting repairs, completely The security guard on duty on the night of HOROSCOPES 30; COMPUTERS also concern that the sirens destroying four of them. 31; BUSINESS AND M ONEY 32 & the fire said that there was strong wind and rain would not be loud enough to alert 33; CLASSIFIEDS 43-55. Police said they have not found any evidence just before he heard an explosion in the mainte- people in busy nightspots in ar- indicating arson. Police believe that old car batter- nance area. eas such as Patong. 2 PHUKET GAZETTE NEWS June 14 - 20, 2008 Tawee still 4 nabbed, 1,500 pills seized in ya bah raids By Pathomporn Kaenkrachang Nonthawat for 500 baht. After his arrest, near Villa Dowrung, also in Wichit, where the Karon they had Nonthawat call Soontorn and ar- fourth suspect was arrested. PHUKET: Following a three-day investiga- range to buy 50 pills for 10,000 baht at a All four of the suspects were taken to Mayor tion, the Muang District drug suppression unit home in Moo Baan Irawadee Ketho, in Phuket City Police Station for questioning and on June 8 arrested four men and seized a Kathu, he said. to be charged. None of them are Phuket na- total of 1,572 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills Also taken into custody in the subse- tives. By Pathomporn Kaenkrachang is a series of sting operations. quent arrest was a 17-year-old boy found in The three adult suspects are now at Officers identified the suspects as possession of 210 pills. Phuket Provincial Prison, while the minor was KARON: In the Karon munici- Nonthawat Intawanti, 19; Soontorn Boon- Soontorn confessed that the rest of his sent to the Phuket Juvenile Observation and pal council election on June 8, in- junkong, 24; Wannachai Kongsonpet, 24, and ya bah stash was at a home on Chao Fa East Protection Center. cumbent Mayor Tawee Tong- a minor aged 17. Rd Soi 10 in Wichit, where officers seized Also seized by police during the arrests cham, running unopposed, re- Muang District Palad Teerapon Sitta- 1,300 pills. were an unlicensed shotgun with two car- ceived 20% of the votes to re- boot told the press that undercover officers Soothorn then arranged to buy 11 more tridges, two mobile pones and a Honda mo- claim the mayoral seat. arranged to buy a single ya bah pill from pills from Wannachai in front of the 7-Eleven torcycle. Voter turnout was just over 60% of the 4,601 eligible voters – 2,269 voted for Tawee. Eleven of the 12 regular Megaquarium council seats went to members of Tawee’s “Tong Thin Kao PMBC fights to site still Nah” (Local Progress) team. In Karon Voting District 1, not chosen the winners were Sompote Muk- BANGKOK: Plans by Minor In- tieb, Sawat Pattakor, Pornchai ternational Plc to build a 2.1-bil- Fai-ngam, Jaran Srisawat and lion-baht aquarium in Phuket are Anurak Yamklai, all from Local save marine life still in the land-acquisition and de- Progress. Pratum Yodkaew also By Sompratch Saowakhon sign phase, and the company won a seat. & Semacote Suganya does not expect to finalize plans District 1 turnout was or announce the project site until 62.9% of 2,112 eligible voters. CAPE PANWA: A green sea some time later this year at the There were 36 spoiled ballots and turtle rescued from a fishing net earliest. 21 “no votes”. in Satun had a badly inflected flip- In July 2007, Minor Inter- District 2 winners were per amputated at the Phuket national Plc announced its inten- Jorranat Sa-nguanporn, Settha- Marine Biological Center tion to build Southeast Asia’s larg- wut Tammawat, Meechai Nawin, (PMBC) on June 6. est aquarium as part of its plan to Kane Chulak, Kobkoo Pattakor PMBC veterinarians led by expand its entertainment and re- and Pairote Sangkaew – all from Sontaya Manawattana said that tail property holdings in Phuket. Local Progress. the “flipperectomy” was the only According to initial reports, Voter turnout was 57.9% of way to save the animal, an oth- Minor International would enter 2,489 eligible voters, with 57 erwise healthy 20-year-old fe- into a joint venture with Ripley spoiled ballots and 34 “no votes”. male.