Volume 12 Issue 18 News Desk - Tel: 076-236555 April 30 - May 6, 2005 Daily news at www.phuketgazette.net 20 Baht The Gazette is published in association with Official arrested IN THIS ISSUE NEWS: Satree school laun- ches tsunami book; Patong for B2m aid theft alarm system test ‘a success’. Pages 2 & 3 By Anongnat Sartpisut But he added, “From wit- ness statements and other evi- INSIDE STORY: Hard times PHUKET CITY: Police on the dence, we are sure we have done waiting for soft loans. evening of April 22 arrested the the right thing.” Pages 4 & 5 Chief of the Finance Division of The money, 2.05 million the Phuket Provincial Financial baht, went missing from a metal AROUND THE ISLAND: The Office, Apichart Nooprod, for trunk in a locked room at Phuket healing art for children. the theft of more than 2 million Provincial Hall. Page 6 baht of tsunami aid money, Police theorized that, after AROUND THE REGION: Samui which was reported missing on getting into the room, the thief gears up for the regatta. February 15. sawed through one of the two Page 8 Apichart, from Nakhon Sri lock hasps on the box then used Thammarat, has denied the a bar to lever the lid up far PEOPLE: Thai tennis champ charge, and underwent question- enough to take most of the mon- Tammy talks in Phuket. ing at Phuket City Police Station. ey it contained. Pages 10 & 11 He told members of the The arrest comes after LIFESTYLE: An article that will press after his arrest, “I have more than two months of inves- run and run. Pages 12 & 13 done nothing wrong. I am not tigations, including one by an of- scared because I did not do it.” ficial commission that conclud- GUEST CHEF: No Delhi belly Phuket Police Station Su- ed, oddly, that the money had not with Mr India. Page 14 perintendent Col Paween Pong- Apichart Nooprod arrives at Phuket City Police Station after his been stolen, but had been lost MOTORING: New Mercedes- sirin said the police had been arrest for the theft of the aid money. He denied the charge. due to “poor accounting” proce- Benz M-Class mover. working hard on the case since dures by staff of the Office of Di- Page 16 the theft. He declined to give cause at the moment we have would depend on what was saster Prevention and Mitigation, details of the investigation, say- only one person under arrest.” learned during the interrogation who were reponsible for looking BUSINESS: No takers for 7- ing, “We need to be careful be- He said that the next step of Apichart. after it. seat taxis; Money Talks; On the Move. Page 21 SPORT: FedCup II review; Samui regatta preview; An Britain’s Prince Andrew thanks Thailand epic swim; Darts. By Gazette Staff Pages 22 & 23 PHUKET: HRH Prince Andrew of Brit- PROPERTY: Home of the ain arrived in Phuket on April 25 to Week: Rawai; Bloomin’ Bert thank Thai people and the local British says, ‘Do try this at home, community for their assistance to UK kids’; Doven's trying times citizens in the aftermath of the Decem- when the end is nigh; Update: ber 26 tsunami. Phuket Juvenile Court. The following day he made three Pages 24-27 public appearances. The first was at the Bangkok Phuket Hospital, where he met PLUS staff who assisted tsunami victims. In the afternoon he went to Nai QUEER NEWS 2; AROUND THE Yang Beach to inspect boats donated NATION 7; HAPPENINGS 9; by the Royal Thames Yacht Club and HOROSCOPES 16; KIDS 15; then to the Thai Tsunami Victim Iden- PATTAYA 16; EDITORIAL, LET- tification (TTVI) center in Mai Khao, TERS, ISSUES & ANSWERS 18 & where he met Disaster Victim Identifi- 19; BOOKS, COMPUTERS 20; cation teams for a briefing on their work CLASSIFIEDS 28-35. Prince Andrew receives a garland on arrival and laid a wreath at the Wall of Remem- … and lays a wreath at the Wall of at the Bangkok Phuket Hospital… brance. Remembrance at the TTVI in Mai Khao. 2 PHUKET GAZETTE NEWS April 30 - May 6, 2005 Queer Patong evacuation routes marked and tested PATONG: A tsunami evacuation drill was effectively Patong could be evacuated if an Nga Governor Anuwat Metheeviboonwut due to be carried out at Patong on April 29, earthquake scoring 9.0 on the Richter scale told the seminar that the first evacuation plan News to test the effectiveness of the new evacua- occured 400 kilometers from Phuket, off the in his province, for Takuapa District, would tion route direction signs and maps devised Indian Nicobar Islands, and triggered a tsu- be completed on May 10 and would cover in the wake of December’s tsunami. nami. Nang Thong, Bang Niang, Khao Lak and Inside job As the Andaman coast’s most heavily The resulting wave could reach Patong Bang Sak beaches. developed tourist district, Patong was cho- within 30 minutes. With 10 minutes needed In some parts of Phang Nga, evacua- BANGKOK: A furniture vendor sen for the pilot project for the National Di- for the warning message to be sent and the tion routes needed to extend as far as two returned to his home in the saster Warning Center (NDWC) warning sys- sirens sounded, the evacuation would need kilometers inland, whereas at beaches backed capital’s Prawes District to find tem, which Center officials say will eventu- to be complete within 20 minutes. by hills, such as in parts of Khao Lak, the that the family safe had been sto- ally cover the entire Andaman coast. The plans for the dry run were unveiled evacuation routes could be as short as 15 len by his 20-year old son and the The drill was intended to discover how at a seminar at the Metropole Hotel. Phang meters, he said. – Anongnat Sartpisut son’s 15-year-old gay lover. Ironically, the theft was re- ported on the second day of the Police still Songkran festival, traditionally a time for young Thais to pay their Satree school launches bamboozled respects to their parents and el- ders. But when 50-year-old Meng Hai Sae-tan returned home after by bomb midnight, there was no lustral book about tsunamis water or respectful wai waiting THALANG: Police remain bam- for him. By Athiga Jundee Rawat Chindapol, whose boozled in their investigation into Instead he found his safe family has donated 500,000 baht the mysterious time bomb that was long gone – as were his son PHUKET CITY: The Satree Phu- towards the cost of publication, was discovered in a quiet residen- Jirawat, 20, and the boy’s lover, ket school has unveiled a book said, “This book will help pre- tial area of Pa Khlok on March identified only as “Ball”. The about the tsunami produced by serve the memories of this tsu- 10. safe had contained over one mil- staff. nami for future generations, plus Police said the device, lion baht in cash, plus jewelry The book, titled Tsunami it is suitable for teachers to use which was eventually destroyed valued at 300,000 baht, he said. Monton Phuket Mahantapai Leu- in class.” in a controlled explosion, con- K. Meng Hai told police ad Yen (Tsunami: Cold-blooded A total of 100,000 copies of sisted of two sticks of C4 plas- that his son had been angry with Killer of Phuket) contains infor- the Thai-language book have tique wrapped tightly in black him after he refused to give him mation about tsunamis, how and been printed and are available insulating tape and connected by money to study hairdressing. why they happen, and advice on from retailers throughout Phuket, wires to a cheap alarm clock. Also spoiling relations was Ball, what to do should another one hit as well as the Phuket Interna- It was believed to have lain who had moved into the family Phuket. Satree Phuket Principal Kiatti- tional Airport, Tesco Lotus, 7- wrapped in newspapers for three home two months earlier, against Launching the book, school sak Pillawart with the tsunami Eleven stores and schools and days next to the wall of a cold K. Meng Hai’s wishes. Principal Kiattisak Pillawart said book. government offices in the prov- storage facility before it was dis- Despite being ordered out he believed so many people lost ince. covered by the father of the of the house, “Ball” stayed put – their lives because they did not cided to write this book, to in- The cost is 150 baht per facility’s owner. until the pair finally disappeared know what to do when the tsu- form people, here and outside the copy; proceeds will go towards Thalang District Police Su- with the family jewels, that is. nami struck. school, about tsunamis,” said K. paying for the education of stu- perintendent Pol Col Chinnarat Source: Kom Chad Leuk “That’s why the school de- Kiattisak. dents affected by the tsunami. Ritthakananont on April 20 told the Gazette that there has been no Fire prevention advice issued Art mart at Central Festival progress in the investigation, but added that he now suspects the PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality has issued fire prevention ad- bomb may have been intended to vice and has ordered its Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitiga- PHUKET: Central Festival Phu- carving, photography, sketching intimidate rather than destroy. tion (ODPM) to be on standby to deal with fires as the dry season ket is to be the venue for an art and painting, cartoon drawing He also said the bomb may drags on.