Volume 15 Issue 27 News Desk - Tel: 076-236555July 5 - 11, 2008 Daily news at www.phuketgazette.net 25 Baht The Gazette is published Tsunami in association with Ultimatums issued evacuation over illegal billboards drill IN THIS ISSUE By Akbar Khan on July 7 NEWS: Fake ‘doc’ arrested; 2- year work permits being con- CHERNG TALAY: Ma-an By Sompratch Saowakhon sidered; False killer whales Sumraan, Vice-President of run aground. Pages 2 & 3 Cherng Talay Tambon Adminis- PHUKET: At 9:45 am on July 7, INSIDE STORY: Number tration (OrBorTor), has launched all 79 tsunami warning towers crunching tourism figures. a campaign to rid his neighbor- operated by the National Disas- Pages 4 & 5 hood of all illegal billboards. ter Warning Center (NDWC) will Cherng Talay OrBorTor sound their alarms as part of a AROUND THE NATION: Temple officials have started pasting comprehensive tsunami warning kerfuffle has Thais ruffled. warning notices on offending bill- test for the six Andaman prov- Page 7 boards as part of K. Ma-an’s inces. AROUND THE REGION: Play “soft” approach to the problem. Deputy Prime Minister and your cards right with the Krabi The warnings stipulate that Industry Ministry Suwit Kunkitti quiz. Page 8 billboard owners must remove announced the drill on nationwide their billboards or else pay the television at 3 pm on June 26. AROUND THE SOUTH: Train OrBorTor for the cost of pulling Co-ordinating the drill from drama rattles economy. down the billboard in order to get a command center at Saphan Hin Page 9 the disassembled billboard back. in Phuket City will be Governor AROUND THE ISLAND: Clown- Billboards that are not Niran Kalayanamit and Chai- fish still not very funny. claimed by their owners will be Notices from Cherng Talay OrBorTor pasted on illegal billboards narong Kerdsom, chief of the Page 10 sold as scrap metal and wood, K. near Surin Beach. The notices warn the billboard owners to remove Phuket office of the Department Ma-an said. their illegal erections or face being charged for having them pulled of Disaster Prevention and Miti- GOOD LIVING: Wilko goes Initially, the warnings down. gation. mad over meat. Page 12 pasted on the billboards were A4 The drill is scheduled to start PEOPLE: Ink master creates size, now larger A3-size warn- “Most billboards are illegal billboard tax is also often at 9:30 am and finish at 11:30 am. a buzz. Pages 14 & 15 ings are being used, he ex- because building permission was evaded,” he added. In addition to conducting a plained. not obtained for them. In many However, K. Ma-an added, tsunami evacuation drill at SPORTS: Flying Fish nets a The majority of offenders cases, it is obvious because many “A large part of the problem Saphan Hin, the command cen- medal; Surf’s up for annual are real estate companies or the billboards have been erected on seems to have arisen due to the ter will also act as the communi- Kalim comp; Anyone for ten- advertising agencies that they public land, where, in theory, it is lax attitude of government offi- cations center for co-ordinating nis?; ESPN celebs prepare use, he said. not possible to be issued a per- cials who were previously in the siren tests throughout Phang for golf tourney. However, K. Ma-an added mit. power before I came here.” Nga, Krabi, Ranong, Trang, Pages 34 & 35 that he understands that busi- “Many of these billboard K. Ma-an explained that he Satun as well as Phuket.. Residents from Rassada PROPERTY: Construction Up- nesses need to advertise, but he erections are also in violation of will continue with his “soft” ap- date: Rad news for Radisson; would like them to be more so- other laws and regulations, such proach for now. However, later and Wichit and students from Home of the Week; Design; cially responsible in their market- as safety rules that take into con- he might consider informing Phuket Technical College, Property Watch: Show me the ing strategies. sideration where the billboard Cherng Talay Municipality offic- Phuket Vocational College and money. Pages 37-42 “Around 99% of the bill- could be blown over in a storm. ers, who would have the author- Phuket Polytechnic College will boards on the island are illegal in “If permission had not been ity to fine transgressors from join the evacuation drill at Saphan PLUS one way or another,” he said. obtained for an erection, then the 2,000 to 5,000 baht. Hin, K. Chainarong said. K. Chainarong said the QUEER N EWS 6; HAPPENINGS 16; choice of location was not that AMBROSIA 17; LIFESTYLE 18 & Gazette Mobile launches ‘Smart News’ important because all low-lying 19; SPA M AGIC 20; WHAT’S ON PHUKET: After seven months under construction, all priced at 39 baht per month, and all offering a coastal areas are at risk and need 21; TAKE A BREAK 23 & 24; Gazette Mobile has launched “Smart News”, a 10-day free trial. advance warning. FEATURE 26; BOOKS, WORD mobile information service focused on Phuket. The For subscription information and other details All tambon administration COURT 27; EDITORIAL, LETTERS product is substantially different from any other about Gazette Smart News, visit www.phuket organizations (OrBorTor) and lo- 28; FIRST P ERSON, ISSUES & AN- mobile news model currently available in Thailand. gazette.net/mobilenews cal municipalities have been asked SWERS 29; END OF THE LINE, Subscribers to Smart News have the ability Gazette Mobile is a joint venture of the to co-ordinate evacuation drills in HOROSCOPES 30; COMPUTERS 31; to choose both the frequency and nature of the Phuket Gazette, AIS, DTAC and True, in partner- their respective areas, he added. BUSINESS, MONEY T ALKS 32 & information they wish to receive. There are three ship with The Nation and Thailand’s largest En- The drill will be televised 33; CLASSIFIEDS 43-55. information packages, or “News Bags”, on offer – glish-language newspaper, Daily Xpress. live on NBT. 2 PHUKET GAZETTE NEWS July 5 - 11, 2008 Labor Office mulls 2-year work permits PHUKET: The Ministry of Labor is con- permit will be independent from the per- those used in other countries. “It would be The current work permit renewal sidering issuing work permits valid for two mit to stay. much better than it is today,” she added. fees are 750 baht for periods of up to three years, Janya Yingyong, chief of the Work “For example, even though you have However, K. Janya explained that months; 1,500 baht for periods of three Permit Section at the Phuket Provincial been issued a permit to stay valid for three the concept is still in its infancy and much months to six months; 3,000 baht for peri- Labor Office (PPLO), has confirmed. months, you might be issued a work per- has to be considered before longer work ods of six months to a year; and any com- Under the current system, work per- mit valid for one year,” K. Janya ex- permits are approved. “Even if the Minis- bination of these for periods longer than mits are valid only as long as the holder’s plained. try of Labor intends to issue longer work one year. permit to stay, which is issued by Immi- The extended work permits would be permits, we would not expect to see them Another officer at the PPLO told the gration. available only to businesses approved by being issued for about two years,” she said. Gazette, “We have received good feed- “The visa and work permit will be the Board of Industry (BoI), she added. K. Janya added that under the cur- back from hotels on this because they hire based on the type of business of the K. Janya said the move would help rent proposal, a two-year work permit many foreigners.” applicant’s employer. However, the work bring work permits in Thailand closer to would cost 20,000 baht. – Semacote Suganya Evicted hotel tenants seek top-level redress ‘Doctor’ arrested PHUKET CITY: After being told son of any nationality that the by Kathu Police that their forced foundation believes has been un- at Bang Tao clinic eviction is not a police matter, fairly treated. long-term tenants of the Vises K. Prapan immediately pre- Hotel in Patong on June 27 filed pared a complaint against the By Sompratch Saowakhon fully recover and he is still at a complaint with the Phuket Con- hotel, which was signed by Pro- Vachira Hospital,” Dr Paisarn sumer Protection Board at Pro- vincial Office Chief Rapeepat Na CHERNG TALAY: A so-called added. vincial Hall. Nakorn and then by Vice-Gov- doctor at a clinic in Bang Tao has “His family is not wealthy, The tenants were met by ernor Smit Palawatvichai on be- been charged with practicing so they asked Vachira Hospital Prapan Chansaeng, who ex- half of Governor Niran Kala- medicine without a license after for help with the cost of the boy’s plained to them that, by law, a ho- yanamit. allegedly administering an injec- treatment. That’s when we tel can rent rooms only on a daily The complaint has now tion that resulted in a local boy checked with the Ministry of basis, despite the victims having been forwarded to the Provincial nearly losing the use of one of his Health for a profile of Dr been granted long-term tenancy Attorney. legs. Tassaneeporn Kachane but could agreements. K. Prapan said that the Cherng Talay Police ar- not find any record of her,” he K. Prapan said the Con- management at Vises Hotel has rested Tassaneeporn Kachane, said.