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‘THIS IS ONLY THE FIRST COMPANY. WE HAVE MANY MORE TO GO’ Gov suggests zoning laws for island’s migrant labor PHUKET officials are con- sidering implementing regu- lations that would restrict migrant workers from travel- ling outside specific zones Major Phuket tour across the province. company’s director Story on Page 3 arrested as ministries launch investigations BUSINESS

By Kongleaphy Keam

ONE of the largest tour companies on the island is under investigation over financial irregularities, after two of its shareholders and directors were caught with fake Thai ID cards on June 15. Other companies are The luxury car market in expected to face similar legal scrutiny and Phuket is on the rise, says enforcement action. Millennium Auto GM. Tranlee Travel Co Ltd is a well estab- lished, full-function tour service provider, offering all-inclusive packages. The com- PROPERTY pany owns boats, buses, restaurants, souvenir shops and other assets attached to its enterprise in a total of 17 subsidiary companies. Phuket police arrested a senior share- holder and director of the company on June 15. The other director indicted in the case is suspected to have fled the country. Po- lice have yet to confirm the nationalities of either suspect, stating only that neither Phuket to cater to a new is a Thai national. breed of travellers with Under Thai law, foreigners are prohib- next-gen hostel. ited from owning more than 49 per cent of shares in companies registered in Thailand. “This is quite a serious crime,” said LIFE&STYLE Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Com- mander Saman Chainarong. “They did not Tranlee Travel Co Ltd, a major tour company responsible for lining up multiple Chinese tour even hire Thai nationals to hold their shares groups for Phuket, is under investigation. Photo: Gazette file for them, but instead procured fake ID cards in Chiang Rai.” used on their allegedly falsified docu- Following the arrest, officials from the “We believe that the two directors hold ments, as officers are still investigating the Phuket Provincial Police, the Revenue more than 51 per cent of the company’s pair’s true identities. Department and the Phuket Business De- shares, and we are working on proving At this stage, police are only pressing velopment Office (BDO) are investigating that,” Col Saman told the Gazette. falsified document charges against the two Tranlee’s financial records. The Anti- Smart Life explores intelli- Authorities named the men as men, but said they expect to expand the Money Laundering Office (AMLO) in… gent buildings using cloud Kritchakorn Roongmongkolnam and charges as they continue to investigate sharing. Weerachai Kampaiprapankul – the names Tranlee. Continued on Page 4 2 PHUKET GAZETTE June 25 - July 1, 2016 Chinese biker Motorists irate crashes through over bypass Kamala wall Police searching traffic gridlock A CHINESE motorcyclist was ENGINEERS working at the killed on the night of June 20 Bang Khu underpass project when he lost control of his bike said the traffic gridlock at the on Kamala Hill and collided for ‘farang’ thief bypass intersection with with the concrete wall of an Thepkrasattri road would be abandoned house. His female resolved as of press time. pillion passenger suffered se- The construction company vere head injuries in the crash. blamed the heavy traffic jams The crash left a gaping hole on a longer-than-expected lane in the side wall of the house. closure, which was reportedly Police named the rider as Dai delayed by heavy rains. Tao, 27, and his passenger as The Departent of Highways Chen Yufan, 22. estimates that the Bang Khu “The pair were riding to underpass is now about half- Patong from Kamala when way complete, and is ahead of their bike skidded into the schedule. The department esti- house, crashing through one of mates that the Samkong its walls and landing in a ditch. underpass project, near the Both sustained head injuries,” Tesco Extra is about 80 percent said Lt Col Somnuek Dam- complete, running behind kaew of Kamala Police. schedule, while the construc- Police are waiting for Ms tion near Chalong Circle has Yufan’s recovery to question only just begun. her about the incident. – Kongleaphy Keam – Kritsada Mueanhawong Police are hunting for a 'farang-looking’ man who stole 1,400 baht from a donation box outside a mosque in Kamala. The thief was captured on CCTV using tools to break into the metal and glass box attached to a wall at the Boot Ror mosque on the night of June 16. Kamala Police said the thief appears to be a PIA takes gold Thefts of water westerner, aged 30 - 35, and about 160-170cm tall. After he took out the money, the thief reportedly used his clothes to wipe off his finger prints. Police said that the thief fit the description of a man who stole at inter-school meters concern money from a donation box in Patong on June 20. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong swim meet Phuket officials YOUNG swimmers from across THE Provincial Waterworks Kiwi stabbed Officials warn the country met to compete in a Authority (PWA) is warning friendly inter-school contest at islanders of a growing rash of on Kata Beach beachgoers of Thanyapura on June 11. thefts of water meters across A THAI surf board renter is on The swim meet was the fourth the province. the run after allegedly stabbing rip currents session of the Thanyapura Open The thieves are most likely a New Zealander in the back KARON Municipality issued a Swim League at the Olympic- stealing the meters to sell them, with a knife on the evening of knife and stabbed Mr Smith in rip current warning to all swim- sized swimming pool. or to exchange them with other June 20.The incident occurred the back. mers at Kata and Karon Six teams of students aged meters and defraud the water at Kata Beach. Police are checking CCTV beaches on June 16. 5-20 years old competed, in- authority, PWA Manager Pisak The victim, Christopher footage for clues as to Mr Officials said that strong cluding students from St Chonlayut said. Smith, 52, is recuperating at Kittichai’s whereabouts. monsoon winds were causing Gabriel's College in Bangkok, “We’ve been receiving an Phuket International Hospital. – Kritsada Mueanhawong increasingly large waves to the ISS Samui Sharks, the BISP increasing number of reports of Mr Smith’s Thai wife owns wash onto the beaches. They Flying Fish, the Kajonkiet Bar- meters disappearing since last a surf shop near the site of the cautioned beachgoers to be racudas, the Aqua Panthers, month,” Mr Pisak said. incident. particularly careful when vis- and the PIA swim team. The PWA is encouraging lo- Witnesses said Mr Smith Phuket Town iting the beaches, and asked The PIA Swim Team cals to stay vigilant in order to and the suspect, Kittichai visitors to avoid swimming. grabbed first place, followed by deter thefts. Junkaew, 29,i were arguing be- driver shocked Rip tide warnings were pre- the ISS Samui sharks. The – Sukawin Tanthavanich fore Mr Kittichai picked up a viously issued in May following Aqua Panthers came in third. by cat snake 35 rescues in April. – Phuket Gazette SNAKE catchers were called – Kongleaphy Keam out on June 19 to bag a venom- ous two-meter-long snake that had become lodged inside the Doc proposes engine of a car in Phuket Town. Patong knock- Experts said the mangrove smart-access to snake, also called a gold-ringed off shops raided cat snake, had become en- SEVEN shop owners were ar- health records tangled in the engine of a rested in Patong on the morn- A VACHIRA Phuket Hospital Toyota on Luang Phor Road. ing of June 16, and have been doctor wants to incorporate The snake catchers said they charged with selling pirated medical information into the believed the animal had es- goods, estimated at 2 million province’s implementation of a caped from a snake breeder, as baht in value, police confirmed. ‘smart city’ program. the species usually does not A joint team raided busi- The Phuket Smart Health wander out of the mangroves. nesses along Patong’s beach 2020 program would allow The snake was later released road and the OTOP market, re- emergency responders and hos- into a forest near Kathu water- portedly seizing a total of 2,072 pital facilities instant access to fall. pirated items. medical records. – Kongleaphy Keam – Kritsada Mueanhawong – Sukawin Tanthavanich June 25 - July 1, 2016 PHUKET GAZETTE 3 Officials mull putting migrant Gov dines with Rawai workers into segregated zones Muslims THE province is considering implementing regulations that would restrict migrant workers across the province to specific zones. Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada announced on June 17 that authorities are chalking out plans to manage Gov Chamroen (second from left) unskilled migrant laborers joins Rawai’s fasting Muslims. ‘more effectively’. Photo: Saiyuan City “Each local authority should designate specific areas for for- GOVERNOR Chamroen eign workers to live in,” Tipayapongtada, accompa- Governor Chamroen said. nied by other government of- “Those areas should be sepa- ficials visited a mosque in the rate from the main residential Rawai village of Saiyuan on areas where locals live. More- the evening of June 14. over, these areas must have “We’re here to encourage separate master plans for build- and support local Muslims ings, security systems, water during Ramadan, the ninth and electricity.” Migrant workers’ camps are often located near construction sites. Photo: Gazette file month of the Islamic calendar, Gov Chamroen’s statements which commemorates the first would most likely apply prin- that allegedly occured more Westin Siray. “Each municipal- and so on. Inside these areas revelation of the Koran to the cipally to migrant workers frequently near migrant ity would have its own system there are supermarkets, shuttle Prophet Muhammad, accord- from neighboring countries, worker camps. Vice Governor of management, or two munici- buses and other facilities for ing to Islamic belief,” said especially Myanmar. Many la- Prajiad had said that construc- palities in close proximity to their needs.” Governor Chamroen. borers tend to live close to the tion companies that employ each other could cooperate in Gov Chamroen said the pro- The officials joined the construction sites where they many of the workers should be this regard.” posal stems from the need to Muslim clergy for their fast- work. held responsible for the ten- Gov Chamroen cited provide greater oversight to breaking dinner, called Iftar. In April, Phuket Vice Gov- ants’ behavior. Singapore as a country that has migrant worker communities, “This ceremony urges us to ernor Prajiad Aksornthammakul “These measures will make successfully ‘zoned’ foreigners. which already face more strict avoid negative mental and advocated a crackdown on it easier for us to manage the “Singapore has separated monitoring and stipulations on physical acts, and allows us to migrant settlements, citing thousands of foreign laborers residential areas for different movement and activities than express our support for all concerns of increased drug who currently live and work in nationalities into ‘color zones’: other foreign populations in the Muslims during this month,” use, disease and potential con- Phuket,” Gov Chamroen said at blue for Bangladesh, yellow for province. Gov Chamroen said. flict with local communities a press conference held in the Malaysia, green for Indonesia, – Sukawin Tanthavanich – Sukawin Tanthavnich Gov proposes tourist tracking wristbands GOVERNOR Chamroen Tip- proach private investors to fi- ayapongtada announced on nance the project,” Gov June 17 that tourists will be Chamroen said. able to buy ‘smart’ wristbands “Wristbands will prove to be to track their movements as part useful to tourists, particularly of the province’s goal to de- when connected with Phuket’s velop into a Smart City. IT databases, as a part of the “We aim to file a proposal smart city project.” with the government in He also stated that the wrist- Bangkok so that foreign tour- band project would potentially ists visiting the island would be be useful when it came to en- able to pay 10 dollars or 300 suring the safety of tourists in baht for wristbands that would Phuket. allow them to register for their “If tourists get lost in forests hotels and receive shopping or stuck at sea, they could be discounts,” said Governor tracked down and rescued,” he Chamroen. said. The governor estimated that “However, there must be a the wristbands would generate consultation with the govern- 3-4 million baht in annual rev- ment that would ensure privacy. enue, which would be We don’t intend to violate tour- integrated into Phuket’s central ists’ private lives, but instead budget. take care of them during their “If the central government visit to Phuket.” turns us down, we will ap- – Sukawin Tanthavanich 4 PHUKET GAZETTE June 25 - July 1, 2016 Phi Phi boat collision Manhunt victims compensated PHUKET Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada met with the under way family of one of the deceased victims of a Phi Phi boat colli- sion on June 17, to present them with money on behalf of the boat’s insurance company. Two tourists were killed and 20 were injured when two speedboats, carrying 62 passen- gers, collided near Koh Phi Phi on June 8. Governor Chamroen pre- sented the family of the deceased Chinese tourist with 100,000 baht on behalf of the insurance company. The reason for Gov Gov Chamroen presented the insurance check to the victim’s family. Chamroen’s involvement on Photo: Phuket PR behalf of insurers was unclear. The families of the deceased The amount will be trans- gers still remains under medi- will also receive an additional ferred to the other victim’s cal care at Vachira Phuket 2 million baht each from the family as well, as they could not Hospital, while others have insurance companies, officials travel to Thailand to receive it. been discharged. confirmed. – Kongleaphy Keam Col Saman speaks outside Tranlee’s offices. Police say they have been One of the injured passen- investigating the tour group for months. Photo: Kongleaphy Keam

From Page 1 nominee shareholders. “Foreign investment is great …Bangkok was also invited to for Phuket,” said Phuket BDO join the investigations on June 21. Chief Nimit Kangkajit. “It pro- “This company earns more motes higher employment than 160 million baht annually, rates, financial development but their financial records show and economic flow. However, more than 150mn baht in ex- these investors must comply penses. This amounts to only a with Thai law.” few million baht of income, and Mr Nimit said the majority thus only a few hundred thou- of investment in Phuket is cur- sand baht in taxes. That alone rently coming from the British is highly suspect and impos- Virgin Islands. The amount of sible,” Col Saman said. cash flowing in from the well- The arrest and on-going in- known tax haven exceeds vestigations come after investment from England, Tourism and Sports Minister Hong Kong, Russia, Malaysia Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul and China, respectively. called for increased operations Investigators also told the Ga- against Thai nominees. zette that they suspect Tranlee’s The Phuket BDO estimated shareholders may try to alter their in November that more than land ownership documents in or- 3,000 companies failed to sub- der to throw off authorities. mit their annual financial “We have already sent a let- reports, with the majority of ter to the Land Department’s them having foreign sharehold- Phuket office requesting that ers on their boards. they do not approve any trans- Minister Kobkarn said that actions for people related to this Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o- case,” Col Saman said. “That cha had instructed ministries to will help investigators check increase enforcement against the real assets of the company businesses suspected of being and its shareholders.” illegally operated by foreigners “We’ve been hearing ru- at a cabinet meeting on mors that they are trying to February 23. create a new committee to reg- The Prime Minister’s com- ister as a new company. ments had been interpreted as Therefore, while we are inves- a nationwide order, Ms tigating Tranlee, we have Kobkarn said, and Phuket – as requested that the BDO take a large tourism province – set precautions on its registrations up a committee to monitor le- of new businesses,” Col gal firms and accounting Saman said. “This is just the offices connected with busi- first company. We have many nesses suspected of using Thai more to go.” June 25 - July 1, 2016 PHUKET GAZETTE 5 Krabi officer dead Monks arrested after decor dispute POLICE are hunting for a gas station manager who allegedly shot dead a Krabi volunteer po- lice officer on June 20, after an argument over who left on the water to an artificial waterfall. Lt Anuwat Raksakyot of the Ao Nang Police said he re- ceived a report on the morning of June 20 that a man was shot at the gas station on Petch Kasem Road in Khao Kram sub-district. “The station has a decorative garden and artificial waterfall,” Lt Anuwat said. “When we ar- Immigration officers speak with the abbot of Wat Klang about the rived, there was blood on the deportation of two Cambodian monks. Photo: Phuket Immigration Police ground and the victim, Pha Umat, 57, had already been PHUKET Immigration Police Police said they have ar- taken to Krabi Hospital.” inspected monks at the rested the pair, identified as Mr Police also found two 9mm Buddhamongkolnimitr temple Jantee, 40, and Mr Nad, 35, bullet casings on the ground at (Wat Klang) on June 22, offi- neither of whom had passports. the scene. Mr Pha was pronounced dead after being taken to Krabi Hospital. The cials confirmed. Both monks will be deported “Mr Pha is a volunteer po- volunteer officer had installed the gas station managers’ artificial Lt Col Tianchai Chompoo after being charged with enter- lice officer and was hired to set waterfall. Photo: DMCR and a team of officers report- ing the country without up the garden and waterfall at edly questioned monks at Wat permission. the station,” Lt Anuwat said. fall, when the station manager, Pha lost and was shot.” Klang, after recieving reports “We brought them to the “He was shot three times, once Chaiwinit Kaewsamduang, 54, After the shooting, Mr of two Cambodian monks beg- Phuket Immigration Office, in the head, once in the left came in and blamed Mr Pha for Chaiwinit reportedly fled the ging for food and money from which will send them back to shoulder, and once in the chest.” leaving the water on,” Lt scene in a white pickup truck locals. their home country via the Mr Pha was pronounced Anuwat said. to Ao Luek district. “We arrived at Wat Klang at Aranyaprathet border between dead upon arrival at Krabi Hos- “The two argued and Mr Mr Chaiwinit has been 5:30am and waited for the pair Thailand and Cambodia,” Lt pital. Chaiwinit pulled out a gun, in- charged with attempted murder to leave for their daily alms col- Tianchai said.“They each had “According to witnesses, Mr tending to shoot Mr Pha,” Lt and is currently being sought by lections, which they eventually around 2,000 baht on them at Pha arrived at the station to Anuwat said. “The two struggled police. did around 6:30am,” Lt the time of their arrest.” check on the ornamental water- over the gun until, finally, Mr – Kritsada Mueanhawong Tianchai said. – Sukawin Tanthavanich 6 PHUKET GAZETTE June 25 - July 1, 2016 Krabi locals pray to fossil for lottery luck Farmers protest

Viallgers pray over an estimated 245-million-year-old fossil that was found in a field in Krabi Province. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong

LOCALS prayed over an age- “Our initial examination Palm nut producers drove 10 trucks, carrying an estimated 500 tonnes of their products to a state-run old fossil, hoping to receive determined the fossils to be facility in protest on June 15. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong blessings in the shape of a win- clams or shellfish, about 245 ning lottery ticket early June. million years old. However, PALM nut producers in Krabi or degrade the quality of palm margins, as competition with The fossil, among several we will have officers from the province took a petition to the oil produced. lower-quality producers has others, was discovered when Department of Mineral Re- local Office of Commercial Af- The producers’ petition also driven down the price of palm farmer Wutthichai Rodkoom sources examine them again, fairs (OCA) on June 15, ask- asked that the government pro- nuts, which are refined into was dredging his land with a after which we will decide ing for government assistance vide a minimum profit margin palm oil at the state-sponsored backhoe in Khlong Thapsai, what to do with them,” Mr in buoying the price of their of at least 0.45 satang per kilo- facility. Khlong Thom District, in April. Niwat said. products. gram of palm nuts. Mr Barirak said he would Each stone reportedly weighed Since the find, there has OCA representative Barirak Producers were adamant that bring the producers’ petition to a few hundred kilograms. been no word on whether any Chusit received requests from refineries only purchase higher- the Krabi governor for consid- “I didn’t realize the stones of the villagers actually struck palm farmers, who took 10 quality palm crops, and that the eration. were fossils until some neigh- it lucky in the mid-month lot- trucks, carrying 500 tonnes of government must order extrac- “If we have unqualified bors posted pictures of them tery drawing. palm nuts, to the government- tion facilities to limit their palm oil producers bringing on social media,” said Mr The unearthing of the fossils run Krabi Palm Oil Extraction purchases to only qualified their product to the refineries, Wuttichai. comes after the discovery of facility in protest. palm oil crops. prices will decrease and locals Locals soon arrived with 30-million-year-old petrified Palm farmers in Krabi urged Mr Barirak said the produc- will continue to lose rev- candles, incense and flowers to bones, thought to be vertebrae, officials to enact regulations ers’ petition also asked for the enue,” Mr Barirak said. “I’ve pay their respects, and to ask jawbones and teeth in Klong that would increase the quality government to fix prices on asked for farmers and palm the spirits for winning lottery Paklao, Krabi Province. of palm nuts purchased by re- palm nuts and palm oil, and that cutters not to cut raw palms numbers. Locals stumbled across the fineries. bunches of palm nuts should be in order to maintain quality Niwat Wattanayomanaporn, fossils half-buried in the bank Mr Barirak said the produc- bought at a higher price than standards.” the head of Krabi’s Environ- of a stream, after the water level ers’ demands include: that the fallen palm nuts. Palm nut production has also mental and Cultural Preservation dropped following an extended government- operated refiner- He also added that palm nut been impeded by last season’s Committee, also went to check period of drought. ies not buy raw palm nuts from producers have been complain- drought. the fossil after the news spread. – Kritsada Mueanhawong producers, which could dilute ing of lowered prices and profit – Kritsada Mueanhawong Samui beach vendors told to clear shopfronts KOH Samui officials inspected and sun. the Chaweng beachfront area “The operator suggested that earlier this month, to check for perhaps we could reach a com- vendors hindering paths lead- promise by not having them ing to the beach. within one meter of the beach, “We have warned beach op- rather than removing them en- erators against setting up signs tirely from the area,” said Lt or awnings on the public path Denduang. leading to the beach, as it “However, they must move causes inconvenience for com- their awnings and signs off muters and beachgoers,” said the beach within seven days. Lt Denduang Tongsisuk of the If they persist, we will take Bo Phut Police. Police officers inspect vendors necessary action as per the A vendor, who declined to on Chaweng beachfront in government’s directive to be named, told police that this Samui. Photo: Suchat Hankij clear and beautify our could affect their sales, as tour- would need something to pro- beaches.” ists walking along the path tect themselves from the rain – Suchat Hankij June 25 - July 1, 2016 PHUKET GAZETTE 7 Supplement Bhutan embassy kills young official takes Sikhao woman short cut, gets A 21-YEAR-OLD woman died after suffering an allergic reac- electrocuted tion to an ingredient in a food POLICE are questioning wit- supplement in Trang’s Sikao nesses to investigate the death District on June 18. of an official from the Aiyaornin Adulwibul, her Bhutanese Embassy, who was mother, said that people should found electrocuted on a house view Sataporn Panthong’s case fence in Bangkok’s Wang as a cautionary example and Thong Lang District, June 20. that the prime minister and his Bhutanese finance official government should implement Sangay Dorji, 48, and a friend measures to supervise the stan- had withdrawn cash from an dards of these products. ATM twice on the same day. Mr She died at Trang Hospital Sangay is suspected to have on June 11 after orally taking tried to reach the ATM again by four supplement pills and hav- taking a short cut – climbing ing a serious allergic reaction over his neighbors’ fences. to the ingredient ‘Indian velvet “He grabbed onto a metal bean extract’. Ms Aiyaornin power pole that had a power said her daughter was epileptic leakage, resulting in his death,” since she was a child, and the said Wang Thong Lang super- people who suggested she use intendent Pol Col Thamm- the product told her that there anoon Boonriang. would be no side effects linked to her condition. Autopsy results check a suspicious long-tail Shops up in are expected in 2 months. boat and found locals Halimee Refugees will Hayibilang, 47, and Sorrae flames in Sa Authorities nab Rimad, 52, who were about to return home take six undocumented mi- Kaew market grants hiding in the covered MYANMAR will soon be ready Satun human boat across the border to Ma- to take back over 100,000 refu- A FIRE destroyed shops at laysia. Police are attempting to gees from nine shelters in Thai- Golden Gate Market in Sa traffickers find who hired the two Thais Five arrested, land, as the country moves to- Kaew’s Aranyaprathet District THE authorities rounded up six and whether the men had ac- wards democracy on June 20. on June 20. Myanmar migrants who had complices. pills, meth During the launch of a Four applicance and clothing paid 10,000 baht each to be One migrant found in the boat ‘World Refugee Day’ event at shops were destroyed due to the smuggled into Thailand and told authorities that they lived in seized in bust Ban Umpiem Mai shelter in fire. Investigators believe that then Malaysia. Two Thais who an area bordering Ranong prov- Phop Phra District, Tak Prov- the cause was a short circuit, re- aided them were also arrested ince and were told by Thai and NATIONAL police chief Pol ince, which currently houses sulting in 5 million baht in dam- at the Tammalang Pier in Myanmar agents that Malaysia General Chakthip Chaijinda about 20,000 refugees. Shutaro ages, said Klong Leuk super- Satun’s Muang District on was in need of laborers. announced three drug busts and Omura, political affairs repre- intendent Pol Colonel Seksan June 19. a 5-suspect-arrest on June 20. sentative at the Japanese Wattanapong. Following a tip-off, a police- 2.99 million ya ba (metham- Embassy, presided over the Following reports at 1am, po- army team went to the pier to Thailand mulls phetamine) pills, 52 kilograms launch. Officials from the UN lice found the chambers of two of ya ice (crystal methamphet- High Commission for Refu- buildings on fire. It took about decriminalizing amine), and 50 kilograms of gees also attended. 90 minutes extinguish the blaze. Man believes ketamine were seized. ya ba and more In the first case, Sarawuth Kesornbua, Narongsak Som- cobra is lost THAILAND is considering the boon and Pattama Homlei were decriminalization of some arrested along with 2.09 mil- lover reborn drugs such as methamphet- lion ya ba pills, 52kg of ya ice A THAI man realized that he amine in response to a new per- and 50kg of ketamine in will never be parted from his spective on the issue raised Nonthaburi’s Bang Yai District dead girlfriend, since she was at the recent United Nations on June 18. The arrest followed reincarnated as a cobra. General Assembly Special a tip-off about a drug gang’s de- He has been seen with the Session. livery at a Bang Yai mall. dangerous snake since April “We are now studying the In the second case, Padaedu this year, and the story went concept,” Prime Minister Sribaina and Chalerm Medtho viral when pictures of him Prayut Chan-o-cha said on June were arrested along with accompanying the snake 20 in response to reports that 100,000 ya ba pills in Chiang were shared on social media. his government was preparing Mai’s Hot District on June 16 The ‘couple’ seems to be to remove meth from category in a police sting operation. having a fantastic time to- 1, the most serious level in the In a third case on the same gether, going on picnics and controlled-substance list. day, 800,000 ya ba pills were even sleeping together. The annual special session, seized from a Honda sedan in People have commented attended by UN member states, Suphan Buri’s U Thong Dis- that a cobra is, at the end of called for the rethinking of drug trict. the day, a killing machine, prohibition on a global scale. Police said drug dealers had and he needs to be wary of However, Thailand would abandoned the car in an iso- the consequences of this ven- definitely take into account do- lated alley, after a shootout that omous relationship. mestic factors in deciding allegedly led to one police in- whether to embrace the concept. jury. 8 PHUKET GAZETTE June 25 - July 1, 2016

Protecting tourism The recent arrest of a businessman for allegedly faking a Thai national identification card is just the latest development in the seemingly never-ending battle to protect the Thai tour- ism industry from illegal foreign opportunists. Thai authorities are, of course, correct to prosecute, to the full extent of the law, any foreigner who would resort to forg- ery in an attempt to carve out a slice of the lucrative Thai tourism pie. We hope, however, that future enforcement as it pertains to guides adheres to the true intent of the law – oth- erwise it could serve as a high-capacity vehicle for extortion, collusion and nationalist-driven folly. As has often been pointed out in this space over the years, existing Thai Labor Law is intentionally vague when it comes to defining what exactly constitutes work. The mod- ern classic ‘Working of Alien Act (2008)’ defines work as follows: engaging in work by exerting energy or using knowledge whether or not in consideration of wages or other benefits. Indeed, under such a broad definition, one could conceiv- ably run afoul of the Act simply by getting out of bed in the morning, or, in the more specific case of ‘guiding’, simply by directing a spatially-confused foreigner to the nearest bank, bus stop or brothel. Well done Phuket police, officials Fortunately, reports of authorities taking undue advan- tage of the indeterminate wording of the Act have been fairly Re: Tour company director ar- weather, they would be able to few and far between. However, a few high-profile cases, such rested, another on the run, Jun sound the correct sound signal. as the arrest of volunteers here to assist in the aftermath of 15 Are the boats set up to have the 2004 tsunami disaster and the arrest of a foreigner I don’t know the details of a means to sound the correct caught ‘red-handed’ working on a boat in his own back- this case at all but I wouldn't Do you have an opinion to voice? signal? yard, serve to remind all of our friends in the expat be a bit surprised if the direc- Email [email protected] Ken community just how tenuous day-to-day life can be here – tors are Chinese and they’ve Gazette forum especially if one has managed to rub someone in a position been helped by their friends. of authority the wrong way. Good work by the police and dreading the headlines for the Of course, with each emerging inbound market, there are congratulations. next few days and the Chinese Need relief from corresponding outcries from legally-registered guides who see seht1912 bodies that will be pulled out underpass traffic their turf, quite literally, being encroached upon. First, it was Gazette forum of the ocean when they ignore the warnings. the South Koreans. After that, the Russians. Now we are seeing Re: Island View: If it ain’t similar cries of foul over the mainland Chinese, who comprise Simon Lomas Facebook broke, why fix it?, Jun 21 the last and greatest final frontier of Phuket tourism. Hotels need to take Well written. The same goes The Gazette supports any and all efforts to root out foreign for the road from British inter- guides working commercially on the island, but we also hope concrete steps for Zoning strategies national School to Kathu and that authorities will continue to enforce the law for the benefit sustainability near Phuket Gazette. There of the Thai people – and not to their own, selfish ends. may affect us all they have started working on the road again. Re: Gov urges sustainable Re: Officials eye plans to zone This road was practical re- building in Phuket, Jun 17 migrant workers, Jun 20 lief for the construction of the We have just seen a hotel in One man’s zone is another underpasses near Toyota, Boat Kamala have a renovation that man’s ghetto. Lagoon and Tesco Lotus. tripled its size and turned its If it works well for the au- Just seems like lack of coor- existing car park into more thorities with the laborers from dination. rooms. Burma, they may roll out this Now buses clog the streets Puzzled strategy into the general for- Gazette forum to disgorge passengers and eigner population. cars wait and wait while burn- Mark Stelzner ing fuel. Facebook Maintenance is usu- The amenity of the neigh- borhood with buses making ally ignored here ridiculous u-turns is worse. Boats need to be No government age-ncy equipped with the Re: Opinion: Putting the seems to have done anything public’s safety first, Jun 19 so far to prevent this from right type of signal Good points, but sadly the happening. putrid drainage ditches, now Chob Re: Safety regulations reviewed covered with grates, don’t stop Gazette forum after fatal Phi Phi boat colli- the excrement stink from reach- sion, Jun 14 ing the noses of visitors or I would like the people in- locals. Dreading news of vestigating this to please check The problem in Asia gener- if the drivers of the boats know ally is that maintenance is not future drownings what is in the International a consideration until something Regulations on Preventing Col- needs repair… and then it’s of- Volume 23 Issue 26 Re: Rip current warning issued lisions at Sea and if they would ten too late. for Kata-Karon, Jun 17 be able to quote Rule 6 Safe Keith Tanner Great to warn everyone. But Speed. As it was in adverse Gazette forum June 25 - July 1, 2016 PHUKET GAZETTE 9 Planning Phuket Bay

Phuket Governor Cham- roen Tipayapongtada has held his current position since PROPOSALS to build an ar- September 30, 2015. He is a tificial island off Phuket have Phuket native with a master’s Street food stalls are peppered all over the roadsides in Phuket, so been on the table for almost degree in political and you will always be spoilt for choice. Photo: Takeaway 10 years. The plans for a Phuket Bay marina-style is- administrative science from land were conceived as a the National Institute of venue for international meet- Development Administration. Eat as the locals do ings, but such an undertaking Here, he shares his A FRIEND of mine, who in- requires immense planning tends to visit Phuket shortly, and is not as straight forward perspective on plans for the asked me what the street food By Sahar Aftab Paliwala as it may seem. 63-billion-baht Phuket Bay project – a 3,000 rai here was like. Being a picky Most importantly, we must artificial island proposed as a host venue for eater and mostly cooking for Do you have an opinion to voice? thoroughly consider the kind of international conferences. myself at home, I realized I Email [email protected] impact such a project would hadn’t tried much in the way of have on the local community. street food for the year that I’ve expecting. More in the style of The Marina Bay Sands in to extend the land by about Ultimately, the project been in Phuket. crepes, with banana stuffing and Singapore, for example, was 1,000 rai. would bring many long-term Armed with dozens of rec- soaked with your choice of top- built at a cost of about 200 bil- As for deciding on the best benefits to Phuket. The area ommendations from friends pings, they were a delicious lion baht. It has a casino way to develop Phuket Bay, that could also fit in with plans for and colleagues, I set out on my surprise that I will definitely be aimed at entertaining foreign very much depends on how the Phuket to become a ‘smart first street food adventure last returning for. visitors, but locals, especially private sector proposes to man- city’. week. My intention was to try Next was pineapple stuffed children, are restricted from age this project. However, the Forming public-private as many varieties as possible, rice. The combination of sweet entering the area so that they priority is to ensure that the de- partnerships (PPPs) is the while minimizing the number and savory isn’t something I are not ex- mands of the local ideal way to bring about such of diarrhea medicines con- relished the thought of (did I posed to these community are mega projects to fruition, sumed. As it turns out, the two mention I’m a finicky eater?) vices. This Phuket cannot met, and that there which will allow us to better are mutually exclusive, but that but I stuck with it nevertheless. means that the continue to rely on is no damage to compete with other emerging is a story for another day. The first few bites are confus- area becomes ‘ the environment. countries and tourist destina- Street food hawkers being ing, as you try to decipher the an exclusively the island’s natural If locals do tions. If the Phuket Bay had peppered on every commercial various bursts of flavor being private zone. beauty as a tourist agree to the actually taken off ten years and residential roadside in thrown at you. Once your Moreover, attraction forever project, I believe ago, we would be at a great Phuket, the choices are endless, tastebuds have gotten over the the province there will be pri- advantage over our neighbors and in my case, agonizing, as I initial shock, you can’t wait to would have to vate investors by now. can potentially spend hours de- – Phuket Governor’ go back for more. Needless to provide water Chamroen willing to partici- However, the priority is to ciding what to eat. Wanting to say, I didn’t know what I’d and electricity Tipayapongtada pate, which would ensure the satisfaction of the start out safe, the first item I been missing. utilities for the be essential, as the local community. Whether the tried was chicken satay, some- For fear of turning this into project, which billion-baht price go-ahead is given for each of thing every foreigner is familiar a menu, I will cut my remi- is not an option. Also, construc- tag is simply too much for the the proposed mega projects with. Definitely a smart choice niscence short here. However, tion of such a large project public sector to foot. depends on the voice of the – it was delicious and gave me there is one thing I would like would mean hundreds of heavy Even the proposed Patong Phuket people. the courage to carry on. to add. Perhaps it’s declining vehicles trucking in sand and Tunnel, which would be just Nonetheless, Phuket cannot On day two of my adventure, marginal utility, or perhaps cement to create the artificial 3.5km long and cost about continue to rely on the island’s I chose pancakes, or roti pan- the finicky eater in me just has island. 10bn baht, is still a long way natural beauty as a tourist at- cakes, as they are better known to find some fault, but I no- Interestingly, although Sing- from becoming a reality, traction forever. We need to be here. I’m surprised it wasn’t my ticed that the same food, from apore is a tiny state, expansion whereas Switzerland has just able to offer man-made land- first choice, being hopelessly the same vendor, tastes differ- was made possible by enlarg- completed the 57km-long marks and attractions for addicted to desserts and all things ent on different occasions. Or ing the island to cover a total Gotthard Base Tunnel under tourists, otherwise we will end sweet. These were definitely a maybe that’s just the way it is of 700 square kilometers. the Alps. If they can do it, why up being neglected against glo- long shot away from the tradi- in Thailand; you never know Penang, as well, has managed can’t we? bal competition. tional breakfast food I was what to expect. Words from the Wise Which authority can help with mosquito problem? “I have realized that the past and future WE LIVE next to an aban- replies: somebody in the area is diag- are real illusions, that they exist in the doned house under construc- Unfortunately, we have no nosed with dengue fever, we present, which is what there is and all tion, with a swimming pool full power to get inside the house will cooperate with Srisoon- of rotting garbage and mos- without the express permission thorn Municipality to spray the there is.” quito larvae. Thus, there is a of the owner. However, in case area with mosquito repellent. – Alan Watts constant threat of dengue fever. We don’t use the spray ordi- The owner refuses to deal narily, as mosquitoes become with the situation. Which local resistant to it, making it ineffec- “Forget the past – the future will give you or provincial authority can we tive for future use. We urge locals plenty to worry about.” contact to get some real and to protect themselves and keep urgent action? their water containers upside- down and empty. – George Allen, Sr. Ms Thidaporn Thepparat, For further inquires, contact Public Health Officer at Srisoonthorn Health Center at Srisoonthorn Health Center 076-617 795. 10 PHUKET GAZETTE June 25 - July 1, 2016 Defining a financial advisor I am not the one to say what a fair compensation is, but just keep that in mind when exam- ining fees. I often use funds with IF YOU haven’t yet seen it, high fees because the underly- there’s a great episode of John ing managers consistently Oliver’s ‘Last Week Tonight’ outperform, and that is some- that covers the financial ser- thing I am willing to pay for. vices industry in America. Of course, index funds are an While it is a different beast in alternative for those who are not Southeast Asia, there were so investment savvy, and he rec- many points he brought up that ommends those on the show. If are very relevant to expats in you read my articles regularly, the region. Go onto YouTube you know I also recommend that and search for it if you haven’t route, but he fails to mention seen it yet. ‘how’ to invest in those. The first part he mentions is So, for those of you who haven’t been following, my ar- that in America, basically any- Mr Oliver explores several serious topics during the comedy routines on his TV show. Photo: Steve Jennings one can claim to be a financial ticle next week will explain again advisor regardless of education. ciary and an ordinary advisor. in Singapore deals with you. means you need to be an in- how to do just that, for those of This is true – they only need to Most financial advisors in the However, if you use a regu- formed consumer of any type you who wish to save for retire- pass a very simple licensing US are not even required by law lated jurisdiction, such as of financial service. ment in the markets without exam that has nothing to do with to act in your best interest. Here, Singapore, Hong Kong or Ma- In John Oliver’s segment, he using a financial advisor. understanding finance. I know only Thai people are actually al- laysia for international advice, also mentions heavy, sometimes this because I passed that exam lowed to be financial advisors. you are still just as likely to re- hidden fees. Of course, he kind David Mayes, MBA, resides in many moons ago, and I also However, they are not regulated quire ‘luck’ to land someone of does advisors an injustice by Phuket and provides wealth studied finance up through my to advise on international juris- with an ethical backbone, to neglecting to address that many management and life coaching MBA. I say that not to brag ei- dictions, only Thai securities. look after your best interests in- of them work without salary, services to expatriates around the ther, as neither has stopped me Many people mistakenly stead of some insurance spend most of their working globe, specializing in UK pension or my clients from being preyed think I’m a financial advisor, company or bank. hours giving advice that turns out transfers. He is a regional on by greedy Wall Street but in Thailand I’m only al- Basically, this is pretty much to be free, and have often spent representative of Faramond scumbags in the past. In hind- lowed to provide service the situation all over the world, a fortune on their education to Group, located in Kuala Lumpur, sight, I think these horrible linking policy holders to our regardless of the regulations or do so. There is a huge opportu- Malaysia. Faramond UK is experiences have probably been regulated office in Malaysia. legal frame work. This does not nity cost for someone who could regulated by the FCA to provide the ‘real’ education in my life. This is similar to the service mean you should bury your earn a nice cushy salary in a big advice on pensions and taxation. What is more concerning is you could get in Thailand when money in the sofa and never company that chooses to offer He can be reached at 085-335 the difference between a fidu- a representative of your bank trust anyone. However, it just you financial advice instead. 8573 or [email protected] Sea-shy fishermen New amendments may bring in cash in on seashells investments as much as B450bn FISHERMEN, unable to take AS PART of the drive towards their nets in the tumultuous the ‘Thailand 4.0’ era, the seas during monsoon season, Board of Investment (BOI) in- have turned to the province’s troduced an amendment to the beaches to earn money. BOI law on June 15, to allow Phang Nga locals are now the investment promotion gathering beach shells called agency to grant personal in- ‘Hoi Lak Kai’ to sell for 20-25 come tax exemptions to foreign baht per kilogram. The edible researchers and experts. mollusks are a key ingredient Edible seashells are an easy Secretary-general Hiranya alternative to fish. Photo: The Nation in many local dishes, and fetch Sujinai said that to promote good prices. Lower-quality walk along beaches to collect human-capital development to shellfish are sold for less. them, many of them picking facilitate the next stage of eco- Baan Bang Niang, Koh upto several kilos per day. nomic development, the BOI Kokhao and Takuapa locals – Chutharat Plerin has agreed to go beyond ex- tending corporate-tax privile- Investments by Japanese and Chinese companies remain the highest ges to granting personal income in Thailand. Photo: geralt tax exemptions as well. She Thai investments. “We have 14 229 billion baht. “The BOI’s stated that the amendment overseas offices to help attract full-year target is 450bn baht,” would enable the BOI to attract foreign investments in Thai- she added. ‘world-class researchers and land, but don’t have any offices According to a survey by experts’ on a case-by-case to assist Thai investors abroad,” the BOI, however, actual in- basis. Ms Hiranya said. “The Japa- vestments totalled 107bn baht A draft of the law is currently nese remain the largest in the first quarter, since most under consideration by the investors in Thailand, followed of them were applications ap- Council of State. by Chinese investors.” proved a few years ago. The BOI also announced the Uptil now, the BOI had ap- “We will follow the situation opening of its first two overseas proved 504 projects with a closely to reach our target.” offices to promote and support combined investment value of – The Nation June 25 - July 1, 2016 PHUKET GAZETTE 11 R&D hub Luxury trends rising set to open By Zohaib Sikander in Thailand THE exponential increase in BOSCH, a German-based mul- the number of cars – particu- tinational engineering com- larly high-end ones – in Phuket pany, plans to set up a research in the last decade alone, war- and development facility in rants a closer look at some of Thailand to enhance automo- the factors that make this multi- tive and mobility solutions for billion-baht business tick. Mil- gasoline systems. lennium Auto, one of the new- “Thailand is a strategic loca- est luxury car outlets to open tion for Bosch Group, and is on the island, gave an exclusive playing a key role in the growth account of the ins and outs of the Asean region,” said Jo- of the business to the Phuket seph Ngo Hong, managing Gazette. director of Robert Bosch Ltd The first choice that any (Thailand). brick-and-mortar business is “The country is the largest faced with is where to locate automotive market [in Southeast their premises. Factors such as Asia] and is an automotive hub accessibility, business image, in the region, thanks to its stra- parking space and costs, are tegic location. Bosch already some of the important consid- has a lot of investment capital erations for choosing a final Luxury-car sales are on the rise in Phuket despite constant traffic jams and year-long bypass constructions in the country. With 1 billion location. Trends in relocating that have made the roads ‘undrivable’ even for an everyday car. Photo: Zohaib Sikander baht in investments, Bosch’s businesses in Phuket has fuel-injection manufacturing changed due to several factors took over the showroom opera- within just one year.” that companies must differen- facility reflects the company’s – for Millennium Auto it was tions last year. Business image is also a vi- tiate themselves from others by confidence in the country.” the lack of customers. “The decision to shift our tal consideration for businesses providing exceptional support Bosch representatives said “Our showroom was origi- operations to another location such as Millennium Auto, functions, in addition to merely that the automotive and electri- nally located at the Outlet Mall, yielded positive results. We which cater to high-end clients. offering a product or service. cal engineers will come from but we weren’t getting the traf- started operations at our current “We have a number of big “We have an additional body diverse backgrounds. fic we needed – the resulting location the same week that names under our umbrella, such repair and paint business, for Bosch currently has seven sales figures were mediocre. construction on the Bypass as Rolls Royce, Aston Martin, which we sent our technicians fuel-injection factories world- We only sold 40 units during Road started,” said Mr Viraj. BMW and Mini. This is why it to England to train” said Mr wide including in China and our time there,” Millennium “Despite the continued is important for us to maintain Viraj. “It is important for us to Japan. The plant in Thailand Auto General Manager Viraj bottlenecks from the bypass our service standards and ensure evolve the way we do business will be capable of producing a Thanissranont told the Gazette. construction, there was an that it is unmatched by any other in this industry.” million fuel-injector units every Master Group Corporation enormous increase in our company in Phuket,” he said. “Due to such factors and year, and is expected to gener- Asia (MGC-Asia), the holding group’s annual sales, which The dynamic nature of mod- more, our customers fight the ate more than 800 jobs by the company of Millennium Auto, shot up to about 10,000 units ern business also necessitates traffic jams and still show up.” end of 2017. – The Nation Lanna expo kicks off next month TOURISM officials from ince,” Mr Samroeng said. northern provinces are hoping “That way, money will flow all that a scheme to circulate tour- over the country.” ists within the country will lead “Phuket is in the middle of to better trade connections be- the rainy season now, but in the tween Chiang Mai and Phuket. north, it’s spring. Fruits and Samroeng Chaisen, head of vegetables are growing well, the office of Strategy Manage- and it’s a great time for tourists ment Upper Northern Provin- to visit Chiang Mai. In contrast, cial Cluster 1, Supawan Teera- we’re encouraging tourists to rat of the Thailand Convention come to Phuket from Chiang and Exhibition Bureau, and Mai during the summer sea- other relevant officers, met on son,” Mr Samroeng said. June 16 to promote the Fourth The government hopes that the Lanna Expo will encourage tourists to The event will be held June Annual Lanna Expo, to be held travel across Thailand on a more domestic level. Photo: Lanna Expo 30-July 6 at the Chiang Mai In- in Chiang Mai next month, in is to promote the locale, as well expect to build more connec- ternational Exhibition and which they expect to garner an as the entrepreneurial stimulus tions between the north and Convention Center. “This estimated 3 billion baht for the products that fall under the Andaman this month,” Mr year’s theme is Lanna Health northern province’s economy. One Tambon One Product Samroeng said. and Wellness under the slogan Officials said that an esti- (OTOP) subsidies,” said Mr “We want the spa businesses ‘Lanna, Endless Charm’, and mated 2,000 visitors from the Samroeng. in Phuket to attend, as they’ll will feature cosmetic and Andaman area will travel north Officials said Phuket is the have more products to choose herbal spa products, herbal for the Lanna Expo this year, major target of the expo, as from.” nutrition and medications, and also expect 1bn baht to be spas and hotel businesses in “The new policy of the gov- handicrafts, OTOP products, earned in spa and wellness Phuket are major buyers of ernment is to spread tourists and other tourism services,” he commodities. northern wellness products. across the nation, by promoting added. “The purpose of this event “However, with this expo, we unique elements of each prov- – Kongleaphy Keam 12 PHUKET GAZETTE June 25 - July 1, 2016

Air traffic controllers French beauty products awarded for quarter arrive for urban beauties American cosmetics brand Urban Dacay opened a satellite store at Central Festi- val Phuket on Jun 17. Local beauty queens Miss Grand Phuket runners up and Miss Multimedia were at the opening, showing off three makeover styles that can century pushing tin be achieved with the new lines of beauty products such as lip gloss, eye liner and nail colors, as well as other face and body products. The Urban Decay brand is a Four long-serving air traffic controllers were awarded tie clips and gold rings for subsidiary of French cosmetics company L'Oreal and is situated on the 1st floor their 25 years of dedicated service at Phuket International Airport’s Air Traffic of the shopping center. Control Center on June 14, which is operated by the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Co Ltd.

Provincial and Facilities Administration Vice President of the Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Ltd Waravuth Raphiphan (middle right) and Director of Phuket Air Traffic Control Center Wichai Kasornchandra with (from L-R): Facilities Engineering Manager (Provincial Center) Youngyut Bamroongrat; Air Traffic Control Manager (Provincial Approach Control) Pittaya (From L-R) Urban Dacay Retail Manager Panjarat Limpinon; Central Department Store (Phuket Jamgrajang; Senior Air Traffic System Engineer (Provincial Center) Prasit Timthong; and Branch) General Manager Thanamet Pongpornkullapak and Marketing Manager Supreeya Sutthichai Narktong, Senior Facilities System Engineering (Provincial Center). Jitrawiparat; and Urban Decay Business Development Manager Pattra Wongkijchinda.

Looking for a place to stay? See more classified ads at www.phuketgazette.net June 25 - July 1, 2016 PHUKET GAZETTE 13

Renaissance hosts Global Day of Discovery The Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa encouraged guests and members of the local community to indulge in locally produced F&B products for an ‘unforgettable evening’ featuring Chalong Bay Factory. The event was the fifth annual ‘Global Day of Discovery’, which was held simultaneously at nearly 170 Renaissance Hotels around the world on June 16.

(From L-R) General Manager of Chalong Bay Rum Thibaul Spithakis; Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa Director of Beverage & Food Adthapong Visuyothapibal; Co-Founder, Managing Director of Chalong Bay Rum, Marine Lucchini; along with Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa’s Beverage Renaissance Phuket Resort & Spa Beverage Manager and mixologist Philip Augustin Manager Philip Augustin; Director of Sales & Marketing Porntita Bheungnoi; Executive Chef Billy stirs up creative cocktails for guests. Costoglou; and Assistant Director of Beverage & Food Kriangsak Chokkue. 14 PHUKET GAZETTE June 25 - July 1, 2016 Unemployed primate returns to wild By Chutharat Plerin Pom performed his duties from 8am to midday, after POM, an eight-year-old mon- which he had a rest. key who was raised by a Bang “Sometimes we took him Jo couple since he was two, has shopping with us, so he could been released into the jungle, enjoy the change of scenery as his owners could not bear to and see new people,” said Ms see him depressed due to be- Safia. ing unemployed. She added that Pom had to Pom used to work as a co- be tied at all times, otherwise conut picker and also helped to he would escape. peel coconuts at his owner’s “If he ran loose, villagers coconut oil factory. A few would be scared of him or hurt months ago, coconut prices him, maybe even kill him. It is shot up and the owners could very normal in the south to have not afford to buy coconuts for monkeys working in planta- their business. tions. My husband is old and “We used to buy mature co- cannot exert himself anymore. conuts at 5-7 baht each for It was good to have Pom years. This year, prices in- around to help us pick coconuts creased to 15-20 baht each. so we could earn a little extra However, we had to keep sell- income,” said Ms Safia. ing coconut oil at the same “I do not think this counts as price, about 300 baht per kilo- abuse, as he lived in an open Pom used to work as a coconut picker and also helped to peel coconuts at his owners’ coconut oil factory, gram. So I decided to stop which closed down due to financial constraints. Photo: Chutharat Plerin area, never in a cage. I feel producing coconut oil a few more pity for animals in the months ago, said 61-year-old working in the rubber planta- who was the only one able to nanas or other fruits. He loved zoo,” she said. “We fed him, Safia Manabutra, who raised tions; making coconut oil was command him. We loved him drinking milk, Ovaltine and kept him clean and treated him Pom after buying him for 8,000 an additional source of income and shared a bond with him. I juice, explained Ms Safia. He as a part of our family,” Ms baht. for us. During the rainy sea- believe he understood us was trained to pick coconuts by Safia added. “This year we faced a co- son, even the income from when we talked to him. How- his former owner. “I left Pom in the care of the conut crisis, so not many rubber plantations has been ever, he was not really good “We could not afford to send Livestock Office. I hope he is coconuts were grown, and no- limited, explained Ms Safia. with strangers.” him to a monkey training school happy and able to find food for body hired us to gather “Pom got along better with Pom was fed three meals a in Surat Thani, which costs himself, as he was raised by coconuts. My main job is my husband, Hem Manabutra, day, usually rice mixed with ba- about 10,000 baht,” she said. humans since he was a baby.” Couples ‘Thai’ the knot during 109-year-old granny traditional wedding ceremony oldest person in Krabi SIX couples tied the knot during a mass traditional ‘Baba Yaya’ wedding ceremony at Hongyok mansion in Phuket Town on June 19. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office, along with local government of- ficials, organized the event. ‘Baba’ and ‘Yaya’ are an- cient terms for male and female respectively, used for the de- scendants of the late 19th century Chinese immigrants to Plaipraya district chief Paisarn Srithep with Pliaw Petchpuang, the Phuket. oldest living person in Krabi. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong “The Baba Yaya wedding has become an annual event PLAIPRAYA district chief She has no medical dietary and this is the eighth mass wed- Paisarn Srithep visited the old- restrictions, but avoids all kinds ding ceremony we have est living person in Krabi on of meat. Her favorite food is This was the eighth mass Baba Yaya wedding ceremony organized organized. The event has a 200 by the TAT. Photo: Woranut Pechdee June 21 and was delighted, yet vegetables with Thai-style year tradition of couples getting surprised, to find her in good salad and fish. married in this unique style, and A parade was also held in the Thai Peranakan Association. health. “She also showed us her ID in recent years it has become evening, along Thalang Road, Ms Orasiri said the Baba Yaya Pliaw Petchpuang, 109, was card, which confirms that she increasingly popular,” said to the Thai Hua museum, where ceremony was also open to born in 1907. was born in the era of King Anoma Wongyai, director of couples obtained their marriage couples who are already married, “We were surprised to find Rama V. It is astounding that the TAT Phuket Office. registration licences. but wanted to renew their vows that Ms Pliaw is in great health, she has lived through the reign The couples included the “This year, we presented par- or celebrate their anniversary. able to walk unassisted and of five Thai Kings. Her hear- Phuket Vice Governor ticipating couples with a The event was aimed at pro- keeps herself busy,” said Mr ing and vision are both strong, Kajornkiet Rakpanitmanee and traditional ancient Chinese mar- moting Phuket as a wedding Paisarn. and she has no serious medi- his wife Pitima Rakpanit- riage certificate – a ceremonial and honeymoon destination, Ms Pliaw stays with her chil- cal issues. She is a great manee, as well as two other document, not a legally-binding and boosting local tourism and dren and grandchildren. During inspiration for us all,” said Mr Thai couples and three Chi- marriage certificate,” said Orasiri the economy. the day, she prefers to clean the Paisarn. nese-Taipei couples. Ruktaengam, secretary of the – Phuket Gazette house, rather than sleep. – Kritsada Mueanhawong June 25 - July 1, 2016 PHUKET GAZETTE 15 Smart buildings of the future Connecting sensors to share information in real-time once it is in the cloud. Think how easy it is to manage your files with Dropbox, rather than the old hard drives you had to transfer the files between. You PICKING up from my last ar- simply log in to a new device ticle, the retail application is and the software handles all the just one example (and a rela- synchronization. It’s a game tively simple one at that) of a changer in terms of managing high value application, that re- information. lies on internet connected de- Thirdly, once it is aggregated, vices (in this case the beacons), you can learn from it. The eleva- smartphones and cloud soft- tor system can learn the ware to provide value to the occupancy patterns that result in consumer, information to the calling an elevator specifically to vendor, and be a major part of each floor. This aggregation and this beckoning tech revolution. learning is another big part of the It is but one of many pieces, but revolution. It’s called ‘Big Data’, one that is perhaps easy to un- and we will go into that into more derstand and relate to for the detail in future articles. average consumer. The revolution comprises Another significant piece of many different concepts that are the revolution is the concept of coming together to change our connected sensors, which, to- world. The main specific concept gether with the beacons, form presented here was the IoT, We can connect sensors to the internet in order to share the information to a variety of real time systems, the important concept of the and aggregate information to learn more about what is being measured. Image: jeferrb which is essentially a connection Internet of Things (IoT). So of devices, such as beacons and why connect sensors? formation between related, but system needs to get that infor- one system to directly interface sensors, to the Internet. The next We have had sensors for a difficult to connect systems. mation via occupancy sensors. with another, mostly for com- article will describe some of the long time. The difference here There are a multitude of systems The elevators can, of course, mercial, rather than technical more complicated applications to is the concept of connecting in a building: lighting, security, use this information too – they reasons – there are many light- the smart city, and describe some them to the internet in order to elevators, HVAC, and so on. can get elevators ready as they ing systems and many elevator examples of bottom up and top share the information to a vari- These systems are typically see people approaching the lift systems and there wasn’t really down approaches to creating ety of real time systems, and quite stand-alone by their na- lobby on a particular floor. This an accepted way to interface smart cities. aggregating the information in ture, that is, the elevator system results in less waiting time for between the systems. Until order to learn more about what- operates independently of the elevators, and fewer elevators now, that is. The internet is be- Danny Bishop is an entrepreneur ever is being measured. lighting, and all other systems. required per building, saving coming that accepted way to and engineer enthusiastically However, they can both ben- money and floor space. interface. If the occupancy sen- working on ‘data drive solutions’. He INTELLIGENT efit from accessing information So there is value in sharing sors and the elevator system are is the co-founder of www. BUILDINGS about occupancy. The lighting occupancy information with the connected to the Internet, a organicresponse.com and is case is obvious – switch the elevator system, but why cloud to cloud interface will focused on energy efficiency, and This serves as a good ex- lights on when someone is internet connectivity? Well, allow them to communicate. efficient occupancy utilization of ample to show that the Internet around, and switch them off there are a number of reasons. Secondly, all this information commercial offices, universities, is the obvious way to share in- when you leave. The lighting Firstly, it is very hard to get can be very easily aggregated hospitals, schools and data centers. Organic farming urged ENVIRONMENTALISTS and academics are strongly recom- mending farmers and consum- ers to turn to organic foods, as studies indicate alarming lev- els of chemical residue in com- mon produce. The Thailand Environment Institute held a seminar on the sustainability of Thailand’s ag- Experts found excessive levels of riculture last week, where pesticides in random samples of specialists brainstormed ways produce. Photo: kur0shiro to promote green farming. farming and food safety. Randomized testing found He added that chemical-free pesticides in excess of standard farming should be expanded to levels in samples of several urban areas, so that city dwellers types of produce. can avail themselves of healthy Thanawat Jarupongsakul, alternatives, which can improve president of the Thailand Envi- the quality of life of both con- ronment Institute, called for sumers and producers and lead relevant bodies to raise aware- to sustainable agriculture. ness of the importance of organic – NNT 16 PHUKET GAZETTE June 25 - July 1, 2016 Large trimarans making a splash Following their first competi- tive race in Singapore, they will take part in the Multihull Solu- tions Regatta Phuket followed by Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket MULTIHULL sailing isn’t Raceweek, then it will be to something new to Phuket. In Malaysia for the Raja Muda fact, some would argue Selangor International Regatta multihulls are the ideal boats for followed by the Phuket King’s Phuket’s waters. With their shal- Cup Regatta. Back to Malaysia low draft they can more easily for the Royal Langkawi Inter- access some areas as compared national Regatta in January, to their monohull cousins. followed by the Nongsa Regatta While everyone has different and Neptune Regatta in Indone- tastes in terms of size, brand and sia before heading back to two hulls or three, what is rela- Thailand’s Gulf Coast for the tively new to the local multihull Top of the Gulf Regatta and sea- scene – specifically the sailing son-ending Samui Regatta. scene – is the larger trimarans. “After one year on the re- On the racing front, the The 43-foot trimaran Tantrum Too is set to take the local racing scene by storm. Photo: MarineScene.asia gional circuit we will see how small Phuket-built fleet of Fire- Tantrum Too is doing. In the fu- fly 850 Sport catamarans bought a Beneteau First 44.7 what he saw, he bought her and the West Coast of France from ture we may look to enter some kick-started the multihull rac- cruiser/racer in 2008 to compete not long after had her shipped 2011-2013 where she per- of the offshore races in Hong ing scene quite a few years ago in local regattas, and named her out to Asia. formed well against the top Kong, such as the China Sea and while still turning out for Tantrum. As the regional fleet Built by Auriga Yachts with all-carbon boats at that time. Race and Hong Kong to Viet- local regattas with strong sup- grew, and with it the number of bat’kar as architect, Krysalid – Set up for single-handed rac- nam Race,” added Robert. port from a core group of professional sailors taking part, as she is believed to have first ing, in 2014 she competed in As a new addition to the lo- owners, Phuket has started to Robert decided to sell Tantrum been named – was built as a pro- the Route du Rhum – the trans- cal multihull racing scene and see the average size of and move on to different things. totype in 2006. Designed as an atlantic single-handed yacht still a relatively unusual sight, multihulls increasing, to the Following an invite from a oceangoing racer/ cruiser, built race between Saint Malo, expect to see more 40-plus-foot point where Phuket recently friend, Robert crewed on the from epoxy on foam and with France and Pointe-à-Pitre, trimarans along the Andaman welcomed it’s second 40-plus- Corsair Zhuka in Pattaya and no discernible interior, she was Guadeloupe – skippered by Coast and down to Singapore foot trimaran. while doing 20 knots in 25 durable and reliable – built to Julien Mabit. However, after as the fleet continues to grow. The first was Adrenaline, a knots of breeze, he was sold on cross the Atlantic, not for luxury. experiencing two low pressure trimaran of pedigree and vintage trimarans. On another friend’s “After she was launched, the fronts in a row and sustaining Duncan Worthington is a long – more of that in a future col- advice, Robert headed to Brit- yard went bankrupt, I believe, equipment damage, Julien had time Phuket resident and through umn – but this latest edition is tany, France, to look at the large and they only built the one. She to pull out of the race. Infinity Communications the ‘new’ 43-foot Tantrum Too number of trimarans there. was subsequently bought out of Still set-up for single-handed (www.infinity-comms.com) owned by Robert van Paridon. “I was like a kid in para- the bankruptcy and set-up by racing, a few tweaks and modi- consults to leading consumer An amateur sailor most of his dise,”' said Robert. her first owner for racing,” said fications have been made and brands, hospitality and marine life, Robert has sailed everything He took out for two days Robert. Robert and his crew of up to clients in Thailand. In his ‘spare from dinghies to superyachts what is today known as Tan- Gildas Ludot, President of four will be campaigning Tan- time’ he runs the marine portal and, after relocating to Singapore trum Too, and also raced her in the French Multihull Associa- trum Too on the local scene this www.MarineScene.asia. from the US in 2006, Robert a local French regatta. Liking tion at the time, raced her off season. #OnDeckPhuket Ao Taled declared protected Aussie ends Thai area on World Oceans Day winning streak AO TALED in Nakhon Sri AUSTRALIAN Scott Hend Thammarat was declared an lifted his second straight Asian internationally protected area Tour title on Thai soil this year, on June 8 to mark World defeating young local Gunn Oceans Day. Charoenkul at the Queen’s Cup The Department of Marine Bangkok Airways-SAT Samui and Coastal Resources Golf Tournament held at (DMCR) organized marine re- Santiburi Samui Golf Club on lated activities under the theme June 19. ‘Healthy Oceans, Healthy The 43-year-old Queens- Scott Hend celebrating his Planet’with the aim of raising lander also won the Euro- second straight Asian Tour title awareness of sustainable pres- pean-Asian Tour co-sanctioned victory. Photo: The Nation ervation and management of Thailand Classic in Hua Hin marine and coastal resources. three months ago, gaining his had brought home the cup each Watcharaphong Sakulrat ninth Asian Tour crown. year since 2011. from the DMCR said the area Mr Gunn, 24, from Phang A stroke behind at joint third needed protection for the turtles Nga, turned pro in 2011 and were Thailand’s own Pavit that lay eggs there, as well as had his previous best finish as Tangkamolprasert and Prom being home to a diverse ecosys- sixth place in the 2013 Solaire Meesawat, along with South tem of aquatic animals and Open in the Philippines. Korean Jeunghun Wang and corals reefs. Nakhon Sri Thammarat has been declared a protected area for its The Aussie ended the five- American Paul Petersen. – NNT diverse marine resoures. Photo: Joergelman year domination of Thais, who – The Nation June 25 - July 1, 2016 PHUKET GAZETTE 17 Thailand aims Picking the perfect palm to limit global warming to 2pc

THERE’S a maxim in the so- called ‘noble art’ that states that a good big ‘un will always beat a good little ‘un. But what is true about boxing will not nec- essarily be true for the in- habitants of your plot. Small gardens require small trees and shrubs – indeed, they tend to look lost in a grand environ- Officials at the climate change ment. However, if you are conference. Photo: The Nation lucky enough to have a large spread with wide paths and ex- IF THAILAND fails to tackle panses of lawn, then majestic its climate-change challenges it palms will certainly enhance won’t be able to get out of the the splendor of your tropical middle-income-country trap, setting. according to the Office of Na- One of my personal favorites tional Economic and Social is the foxtail palm. Not the larg- Development Board (NESBD). Deputy secretary-general of est – coconut and royal palms Palms enhance the splendor of any tropical garden. Photo: www.lifeofpix.com are much loftier, while the Bis- the NESBD, Ladawan Kumpa, marck palm is more substantial. tail palms when I planned my so distinctive is its brilliant – almost reach the ground. Al- highlighted this fact at a climate Nonetheless, it is beautiful in garden: instead I went for yel- scarlet leaf sheaths which ex- though it comes from change forum held on June 17. its own right, with a crown of low or golden cane palms tend down most of the stem. Madagascar, where it is inciden- Thailand signed the Paris fronds on which the feathery around my pool. Unlike fox- More temperamental than the tally now rare, Bismarkia Agreement in April, in support leaves or petioles radiate from tails, cane palms (dypsis cane palm – and incidentally nobilis thrives in Phuket’s cli- of the long-term goal of limit- all sides – much like a fox’s lutescens) grow in bushy more expensive – it needs a mate. Impressive either as an ing global warming to well brush. Most palms produce fan- clumps with relatively thin steady supply of water and ornamental specimen or ar- below two degrees centigrade. shaped fronds: the foxtail is a trunks and masses of attractive plenty of sun. Nice work if you ranged as a substantial screen, “We have to pay attention to notably neat exception. fronds which start about half- can get it. As with the yellow its greatest glory is the color of climate-change issues if we Wodyetia bifurca has other way up the stem. In strong cane palm, propagate by means its foliage – an arresting shade want to enjoy sustainable charms. The trunk is attractive, sunlight, these fronds can in- of offshoots. of almost luminous blue-gray. development and transform a smooth grayish bole with deed be golden in color. Use it The Bismarck palm certainly Pamper it by giving it plenty of into a rich country,” she said. symmetrical rings. And since as a screen, but don’t expect demands oodles of space. I have space and a position where it The forum was jointly pre- the bushy crown is right at the much to grow under its canopy. two and need to keep them in can enjoy full sun. sided over by Martin Hart- top, grass and smaller plants More unusual, with its viv- check by cutting off some of the Hansen, deputy resident repre- will readily thrive beneath its idly colorful stems, is the lower leaves. Left to its own If you have gardening or environ- sentative at the United Nations filtered shade. Tolerant of sealing wax palm. Like its yel- devices, this palm develops into mental concerns, contact Patrick Development Program Thai- drought, a tree-lined avenue of low cane cousin, it grows as a a largish tree with a wingspan at [email protected]. land, and Jatuporn Buruspat, foxtails off Chao Fa East Road group of slender trunks to about of maybe 20 feet. The semicir- Many of his creative and academic deputy permanent secretary of is somehow managing to cope three or four meters, each with cular canopy of huge fan-shaped publications can be found at his the Natural Resources and with the recent aridity. its own complement of bright leaves – up to a meter across and website: Green galoshes Environment Ministry. I wish I had opted for fox- green leaves. But what make it sprouting from a massive trunk Wordpress. – The Nation Tip of the week: Climatic Conditions

THE ability for plants to soggy, they will rot. Here in cope with variable climatic Thailand they require a well- conditions is variable. drained, sandy base. They can struggle when Cool climate plants need put in different conditions to periods of chilling to produce what they would expect in flowers and fruits. Hence the their normal habitat. difficulty faced with growing Thus, most tropical apples, plums and pears in plants will not survive the Phuket. slightest frost. When I lived One way plants do survive in southern Spain, hundreds is by adaptation. Two ex- of hectares of avocadoes amples are temperate were wiped out by a single deciduous trees, which dis- night of frost. card leaves and switch off Almost as restrictive are during winter, and tropical the needs of desert plants plants with waxy leaves to such as cacti. If the climate prevent moisture loss under is too wet, and the soil too the tropical sun. 18 PHUKET GAZETTE June 25 - July 1, 2016 Uncertainty can damage market as possible about the dos and don’ts in the local property market. Even to this day, I still hear agents telling their poten- tial buyers that it is ‘easy’ to set I WILL admit, to anyone who up a Thai company and just asks, that consultancy services ‘put some shareholders’ in often involve assisting people there. with the kind of matters for By now though, most people which they should perhaps go should know better. to the authorities to receive as- Ideally, it would be very sistance and guidance. helpful for professionals in the Nevertheless, for one reason property industry to reach a or another, consultancy ser- consensus about the informa- vices often involve providing tion disseminated to clients, to advice to clear up uncertainties avoid confusing and damaging over laws, rules and regulations the market. that are difficult to understand The problem is that regula- and implement. tory measures are difficult to This uncertainty can ad- One of the first principles of contract law is that a contract can be voided for uncertainty. Photo: Unsplash enforce, so many foreigners end versely affect or even up applying their own set of permanently damage the prop- Sometimes I feel that we are shares directly or indirectly in encing an influx of large Thai rules to communications with- erty market. It causes fluctu- living with increasing uncer- a company that becomes their developers investing in land out regard to local rules and ations in the perceived value of tainty. I hope the pendulum in landlord? with a view to building upscale laws, making it difficult to de- the market, even though the Phuket is swinging more towards Is the land I am looking at projects and sell at reasonable tect and filter misinformation. actual tangible market values clarity about what is, and what investing on through purchase prices in order to attract a new Ultimately, the final issue to and assets keep their funda- is not, acceptable under the law. of a property – a townhouse, a wave of potential buyers; inves- deal with is that if you do search mentals as a constant. Property investors surely get condo or villa – based on a le- tors emerging from the tourism hard for clarity and truth, you One of the first principles of many different answers to the gitimate title, or can the title sector and becoming property will find it, but you might not contract law in civil and com- same old questions. I’m quite simply be taken away? investors. Judging by the lan- like the answers you get. mon law jurisdictions is that a sure obtaining clear informa- If I buy a villa near a beach guages options on many of the I do have high hopes for the contract can be voided for un- tion can be frustrating. and restaurants, will the restau- broker websites, Chinese and future of Thailand’s property certainty. You have to define Here are some of the issues rants be bulldozed shortly after Russian buyers are clearly the market, but developing any cer- what you mean before you can of uncertainty often discussed my purchase has been com- target audiences. tainty in it is quite a long way enforce something. That is just around coffee tables and in pleted? These investors will want off. Some investment of time common sense. consultations: These questions never disap- transparent answers about what and energy is, I believe, re- Similarly, if a law is brought Isn’t it illegal for a Thai pear, and the answers always they can and can’t do. They are quired beyond the glossy into effect, and it governs the company that owns property remain illusive and confusing. probably used to getting clear brochures. behavior of citizens and per- and has foreign shareholders to I can’t say that the answers answers in their home countries sons within a jurisdiction, then do business? What happens haven’t changed over the years, but won’t be used to living in a Desmond Hughes has been an that law should be clearly de- when a 30-year lease expires, because they have. As govern- perpetual cycle of doubt. owner and operator of his law firm fined, too. Unfortunately, laws can the renewals [3x30 years] ments have changed, so have The onus is upon all prop- in Thailand for 14 years, and is a can often be vague and uncer- be enforced? the laws. erty professionals to commu- Senior Partner at Hughes Krupica tain, or just really out of date. Can foreign owners take Phuket is currently experi- nicate as honestly and as clearly law firm www.hugheskrupica.com BKK offices go cheap Vintage villas announced ACCORDING to CBRE highest-quality office properties Research’s bi-annual ‘Global rose 2.4 per cent year-on-year. Prime Office Occupancy Costs “Office demands remain Survey’, Bangkok has become strong despite weak economy one of the cheapest-priced of- and this, combined with com- fice markets in the world – pleted new spaces, will ranked 109th on June 15. continue to push up rents,” said A total of 126 countries were Nithipat Tongpun, head of Of- surveyed, including China, Japan fice Services, CBRE Thailand. and India. Among these, Hong “We expect the global Kong (Central) is up in first place economy to keep growing, and at 9,140 baht per square meter the global service sector, the for grade A offices. primary occupier of prime of- Bangkok weighs in at 959 fice properties, will continue to baht per sqm on average rent for expand through periods of the same. The average rent in- volatility,” said Dr Richard crease in Bangkok’s Central Barkham, Global Chief Econo- These limited edition villas will be located on the Bypass Road. Photo: Boat Pattana PR Business District was 6.6 per mist at CBRE. cent year-on-year and is also Asia, on the whole, dominates BOAT Pattana Co Ltd an- Ror 9 Road) near IKEA, start- He added that the project will be ranked 25th in the top annual the most expensive office loca- nounced a new ‘limited edition’ ing at 34 million baht for villas styled using ancient Thai archi- rental increases, yet still ranked tions in the world with Hong high-end villa house construc- ranging 1157.6-1642.92 square tecture, and each villa will have as one of the cheapest prime of- Kong ranked the highest, and tion in progress in Phuket on meters,” said Panupong Krit- an open-air area at the center. fice rental markets in the world. China taking up 3 places on the June 13. chanarat, chief executive “It is currently under con- Global prime office occu- list. CBRE Group established an “The project, named ‘Deva officer (CEO). “Each unit com- struction and will be completed pancy costs that reflect rent, local office in Phuket in 2004. Escape’, will be located on the prises 5 bedrooms and a 15 by January 2017.” taxes and service charges for the – Phuket Gazette Bypass Road (Chalermprakiat meter long swimming pool.” – Sukawin Tanthavanich June 25 - July 1, 2016 PHUKET GAZETTE 19 AP Thailand Lub d hostel to cater to restructures Developer AP (THAILAND) aims to become one of the country’s top three residential developers by 2021, when it hopes to generate revenue of new wave of travellers B50 billion, said CEO NEW Lub d Phuket Patong is Anuphong Assavabhokhin. a new hostel set to open on July To achieve this business goal, 19 with the aim of attracting the listed company has restruc- modern-day back-packing trav- tured its management team from ellers who are looking for a laid a function-based approach – back, affordable and conve- separated into construction, nient travel experience. marketing and administration Although the concept is a arms – to a business group- relatively new one for Patong based approach, he said. accommodation, it is the latest Four business groups have in a line of similar successful been established: one each for hostels in Bangkok: Lub d detached housing and Silom Bangkok and Lub d townhouses, and two covering Siam Bangkok. different segments of the con- “Our target market is the dominium market. kind of travellers who want to Each group will be respon- make new friends and prefer a sible for its own construction, laid back hostel to stay at, and marketing and administration enjoy their time in, as well as operations, he explained. nearby attractions outside the AP (Thailand) currently Lub d aims to attract social butterflies and travellers looking for a laid-back experience. Photo: Lub d hostel,” said Lub d’s Assistant ranks in the top 10 listed prop- Experience Manager Tannapas A total of 187 rooms spread and 25-sqm deluxe rooms. and a long-term storage facil- erty firms in terms of revenue, Thanakijrujiroj. across 5 floors includes a The hostel’s communal fa- ity for left luggage. generating revenue of B4.22 bil- Located on Sawatdirak Road unique ladies-only dormitory. cilities include: a tour desk and Mr Tannapas said the com- lion and net profit of B454.78 in Patong, the hostel’s exterior There are three types of travel information services; a pany plans to expand across million in the first quarter. The design is Sino-Portugese style, rooms available: junior and Muay Thai gym; a co-working Asia with new hostels in Cam- company targets revenue of mixed with a hint of a beach dormitory rooms, each with a space; a large communal swim- bodia and Philippines in 2017. Bt23.7 billion for the full year. resort atmosphere on the inside. floor area of 18 square meters, ming pool; wifi; parking space; – Phuket Gazette – The Nation 20 PHUKET GAZETTE June 25 - July 1, 2016 PROPERTY FOR SALE

PATONG TOWER / NEW KAMALA HOUSE 2-STOREY LAND NEAR ANDAMAN BEACH SUITES For sale new 60sqm house, fully PHUKET VIEW POINT SINGLE HOUSE BIG BUDDHA CONDO furnished with internet, TV and FOR SALE Tel: 080-692 6114 . Email: patong cable. 2.5 million baht. Chanote [email protected] title. Tel: 098-736 9588 (English & Thai).

CHALONG KAMALA PROPERTY BEACHFRONT 3-house property with 520sqm POOL VILLA for quick sale at 8 million baht. Tel: 098-736 9588 (English & Thai). Sugar Palm Condominium, Burasiri Village. Koh Kaew. Over 3 rai. 6.5 million baht Suan Luang. Top floor (11st). Next to BIS. 3 bedrooms per rai. Or smaller plots from Corner unit. Panoramic view. 1.7 million baht. Tel: 081-538 Park, city, mountain and (master bedroom with en- MAI KHAO LAND suite and walk-in closet), 3 4588. Email: info@purimas sea views. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Fully furnished, property.com bathrooms, 2 balconies. 4 aircons, kitchen with se- 96sqm. Unfurnished. Asking parate pantry. Parking for 2 price: 6.9 million baht. Tel: cars. Communal swimming 089-593 8690 (English), THE ROYAL PLACE For sale / rent. 3 bedrooms. pool, garden and fitness. 088-762 3837 (Thai). Email: CONDO - PHUKET Tel: 089-649 9939. Email: ruen_narayan@hotmail. 45sqm. Freehold. Corner room, siri_phuket@changrunner. com 5th floor, 2 balconies (great view), com 1 bedroom, living room, 2 air- cons, fully furnished, swimming Beachfront land in Mai pool, gym. Price: 2.3 million CONDO FOR SALE Khao. East coast. 3 rai-2 baht. Tel: 084-249 0526 (English Rawai. 50sqm, 2 bedrooms, 2 ngan-24sqw. For sale: 45 & Thai). Email: h.jabary@gmail. bathrooms, living room, swim- BUY DIRECTLY million baht. Tel: 081-867 com FROM OWNER ming pool, car park, 24hr secu- 6466. Email: jariya.sung rity. 4.5 million baht only. Contact Apartments at Kata Beach. [email protected] For sale: 6.6 million baht or Pay 30% and move in. Flex- Game. Tel: 076-288988, 093-749 sell down payment: 400,000 ible payment plan available. 2277 (English & Thai). Email: baht. Long-term rent:45,000 HOUSE FOR SALE TOP LAND VILLAGE Tel: 081-618 7295 (English). [email protected] baht monthly, 520,000 baht Email: tvanhole@yahoo. NAI YANG LAND yearly. com QUICK SALE Tel: 089-840 5290 (Thai), Great investment. 8 rai. Prime NICE STUDIO CONDO 094-579 5666 (Thai / Eng.) piece. Nai Yang. Near airport. FOR SALE Road frontage. Chanote. 25 mil- lion baht/rai. Tel: 093-624 7487 LAND FOR SALE (Thai). Email: supha2007@hot 3-minute drive to Surin mail.com Beach. 1.4 rai. 36 million baht. Tel: 081-868 7676. 45sqw. 5 million baht, 2 bed- HOUSE FOR SALE rooms with big living room. Chalong. 36sqw, fully furnished, Convenient area close to 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom bunga- Bangkok Hospital, Phuket 2.5 RAI low. 3 million baht only. Contact International Hospital and FOR 7.5 MILLION BAHT Game. Tel: 076-288988, 093-749 Tesco Lotus Samkong. For In Thalang near Thanyapura 2277 (English & Thai). Email: house inspection please (PIA), beautiful, flat land. Cha- [email protected] 52sqm, sea view, 6 minutes HOT PROPERTY! 7.9 call 086-198 1869. note title. Email: islandsmaker from beach, close to the ac- MILLION BAHT @gmail.com tion in the heart of Patong POOL SEA VIEW VILLA yet very quiet on 9th floor. Fully furnished, 4 bedrooms, 5 Newly renovated only 60,000 bathrooms, 2 office rooms. baht per sqm. 2 pools, gym. Maid’s room, swimming pool. 4- For more details, please car spaces. Urgent sale: 5 mil- call 089-212 5342 (English). lion baht. Nai Harn. Tel: 076-383 Email: nicecondoforsale 488, 081-537 7137. Email: khun [email protected] [email protected]

Luxury villa near beach, Rawai, private pool, built-in PROPERTY SERVICES PROPERTY SERVICES furniture. 2 million baht dropped for quick sale. For more information, please call 081-691 3029. Email: info@ purimasproperty.com

FIRE SALE PROPERTIES We have a number of Fire Sale Properties for urgent sale at bargain price from 1.5 million baht. Most are in Rawai and Nai Harn. Condos, houses and villas. Rawai. Tel: 080-124 1245. Email: kay@phuketandaman realestate.com June 25 - July 1, 2016 PHUKET GAZETTE 21 PROPERTY FOR RENT

SEAVIEW 2-BED APT BEACHFRONT PATONG HOUSE FOR RENT HUGE VILLA PROPERTY SERVICES Fully furnished, pool, kitchen, Located in the Cape Yamu WiFi. 16,000 baht/month. Email: project. 250,000 baht/month. [email protected] Long term. Tel: 086-279 6283.

NEW KAMALA HOUSE POOLSIDE CONDO For rent 60sqm, fully furnished, 2 bedrooms / 2 bathrooms, fully internet, TV, cable. 20,000 baht/ furnished, aircons and fans, month. Tel: 098-736 9588 (En- cable TV and WiFi. Patong. Tel: glish & Thai). 085-792 2815 (English). Email: Quiet location on Chao Fa [email protected] West Road. Short / long- 1-BED BUNGALOW term rental. 2 bedrooms, 2 RAWAI bathrooms, shared pool, Fully furnished, kitchen, WiFi, cable TV, security camera. LUXURY VILLA ONLY quiet. 8,000 baht/month. Email: Tel: 089-724 3669. Email: 39,000 BAHT / MONTH [email protected] [email protected]

CHALONG AREA KAMALA FURNISHED HOUSE CONDO ACCOMMODATION AVAILABLE 1-3 bedrooms. Quiet area. 2 bedrooms with aircons, 2 bath- Fully furnished. Tel: 081-892 rooms, 90sqm, WiFi, cable, 4311. http://palaigreen.weeb maid. 12,000 baht per month. LOVELY HOUSE + POOL HOLIDAY IN NAIHARN ly.com Minimum 3 months. Tel: 084-716 Fully furnished, aircon, TV. Free 2,3,4 bedrooms pool villas avail- 0502. pool, WiFi. Long / short term. able for rent. Tel: 085-787 3046. Has it all, pool in resort. Rawai / Chalong near pier. Lush tropical garden by La- Please call 089-475 1200 (En- guna. Lease. Have another glish & Thai). Email: info@wel 2 HOUSES FOR RENT villa: 25,000 baht / month. come-inn.com, http://welcome IN PATONG Tel: 089-594 4067. inn-phuket.com 1 bedroom: 6,000 baht. 2 bed- rooms: 8,500 baht. Quiet and nice place. For more informa- STUDIO tion, please call 089-650 5135 2 BEDROOMS + POOL (English & Thai). KATA BEACH Special rates in March/April FOR RENT for studio, 2-bed apartments. Special price: 10,000 baht/ Shared pool, WiFi, maid service 8,000 BAHT / MONTH month, 500 baht daily, has included. Starting 9,000 baht/ 4-BEDROOM HOUSE everything, near beach. Tel: month. Also 2-bed pool villa Natural surroundings on sea 086-595 8512. Email: kata available. Chalong. Tel: 086-282 canal near Boat Lagoon. Long [email protected] 6221 (English). term only. Tel: 081-892 4311.

KATHU GOLF/LAKE VIEW VILLA FOR RENT 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms. On SUGAR PALM CONDO top of a private hill overlooking 92sqm, 2 bedrooms, 2 bath- 2-BEDROOM CONDO Loch Palm golf course. Jacuzzi rooms on 10th floor corner unit FOR RENT on the balcony, big pool, 4km to at Phuket Suan Luang Park with BIS and Headstart International direct park access. Lake, park School, security, quiet, new fur- and sea views, 10 min to Central niture, maid, fiber optic WiFi. Festival, 1 private car park, 20 Long term 85,000 baht/month. min to the beach, fully furnished. Tel: 087-269 8492. Long term: 35,000 baht/month. Tel: 087-269 8492. ZCAPE STUDIO APT Furnished. Close to all ameni- ties. Long term. Cherng Talay. LUXURY HOUSE Email: [email protected] FOR SALE/RENT 22,000 baht/month. Spa- cious (100sqm). Available BEACHFRONT VILLA now. In a friendly (12 unit) FOR RENT development, located be- tween Bang Tao & Surin Beaches. Occupies 1/2 of 3-BEDROOM HOUSE GREAT CONDO LOCATION top floor. Fully furnished. FOR RENT Long-term rent. DCondo Mine, Western style kitchen. 40,000 baht. Quiet location near 6th floor, new fully furnished, 2- Large luxury 4-bedroom Washing machine. Aircon in Wat Chalong. 3 bedrooms. 4 bedroom, 2-bathroom condo house with private pool, all rooms. New 55' Smart TV bathrooms. Secure small es- with kitchen. 100m swimming walled, garden, in Sai Yuan, + home theatre. Shares a tate. Uninterrupted lake and pool, gym, internet, 2 cable TVs, Rawai / Nai Harn area. For large swimming pool area. mountain views. Parking for 3 aircons, washing machine, sale: 12.5 million baht or Internet & UBC available. three cars. Swimming pool. parking, security. Close to all long term rent 45,000 baht, Utilities are extra. Contact Mai Khao Beach. 5 bed- Internet, cable TV, pool mainte- shopping malls. 28,000 baht/ 1 year minimum. Tel: 095- Sean. Tel: 081-8943839. rooms, big garden. Real nance, gardener all included month. Located in Kathu. For 061 2868. Email: l.dewis@ Email: seanmcmahuna@ estate agencies welcomed. in price. Available until November more information, please call hotmail.com gmail.com Email: [email protected] 30th, 2016. Tel: 093-793 4258 081-893 9127 (English), 087-886 (English), 085-696 0078 (Thai). 7895 (Thai). 22 PHUKET GAZETTE June 25 - July 1, 2016 GENERAL JOBS / RECRUITMENT

CLASSIFIEDS MAID NEEDED Maid and nanny for two kids needed, aged 22 to 35 maxi- BUSINESS PRODUCTS & SERVICES mum. Foreigner only. Salary: 15,000 baht with free place to stay, free visa, free food, and bo- nus yearly if do good job. Work- ing days: Tuesdays to Sundays, Mondays off. Located in Kathu. Tel: 081-893 7720. Please con- tact by email only at: michael [email protected]

NEED A VERSATILE HOTEL GM European national, 20+ years hotel/resort GM experience re- quired. Pre-openings resorts + condominiums. Email: hotelier [email protected]

EXPERIENCED SALES REPS Outreach is all via email. No cold calling. Must have minimum 5 years experience and be NES. Located in Rawai. Tel: +1-415- 830 6094. Email: lucygreenway @punchagency.com

FOOTBALL COACH KIS is looking for a coach for our football team. Can be part-time / full-time. Tel: 082-425 0104 (En- glish & Thai). Email: supawat_ NEED A PA? OFFICE [email protected] Pan PA Executive Services. EQUIPMENT If you feel overwhelmed by your business or travel ELECTRICAL ENGINEER needs for your trip to Thai- WANTED land, we offer help and ad- We are a locally based Marine vice to make your stay worry EXECUTIVE Electrical company looking for free and comfortable. At OFFICE DESK an Electrical Engineer. Phuket Bangkok. Tel: 099-431 9776, Chairman executive desk Boat Lagoon. Tel: 081-396 0785. 092-915 4441 (English & (2 leather writing pad areas) Email: [email protected] Thai). Email: panexecutive with 2-drawer filing cabinet [email protected] www.panex (110cm x 244cm). 40,000 ecutivepa.com baht. Tel: 087-895 8160 (En- glish). Email: faserio@go BULLETINS goltd.hk

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES CLUB MEMBERSHIP BAR FOR RENT AVAILABLE BooGaLoo Bar. Soi Patong Re- sort. 4 rooms included. 3-year contract. Only 1.5 million baht. PCC - GOLF No rental fee paid. Tel: 087-280 MEMBERSHIP 6866, 086-273 2392. Urgent sale. Phuket Country Club. Full lifetime membership 2 BARS FOR SALE (family). Paid up membership Playschool a Gogo & Navy Bar. fees until 1 January 2017. In the heart of Patong. Bangla 430,000 baht. For more informa- Road. 4 million baht O.N.O. Tel: tion, please call 081-719 0460 081-083 3231. (English), 080-584 0444 (Thai). Email: grahamsmail@gmail. com REAL ESTATE AGENCY If you are interested in ac- BLUE CANYON quiring a successful, well GOLF CLUB established real estate Membership available: agency in Phuket. Tel: 093- 800,000 baht O.B.O. Email: 346 1491 (English). [email protected] June 25 - July 1, 2016 PHUKET GAZETTE 23 BOATS & MARINE GENERAL AVIATION

SPEED BOAT FOR SALE YACHT FOR SALE Price: US$19,800. 2004. Single 2009 Sunseeker Manhattan 60. grady-white 225 Tournament. Price: US$985,000. Lying in Gasoline. Outboard. Thai flag. Phuket, Thailand. Flybridge mo- Lying in Phuket. Tel: 086-039 tor yacht. Accommodation for 8193 (English & Thai). Fax: 076- 6 guests. For more information, 616071. Email: dcc@maikhao please call 086-039 8193 (En- group.com glish & Thai). Fax: 076-616071. Email: dcc@maikhaogroup. com DIVE BOAT FOR SALE

SPEEDBOAT FOR SALE

Dive Boat Asian Adventure, 18m x 4.6m, 1.7m depth, 1 engine 315hp. 40 passen- gers + 3 crew capacity. Lo- cated in Chalong. Price: 2 Honda 250hp. 15 passen- million baht. Tel: 084-182 gers + 3 crew, 8.10m x 8685. Email: sales@joydive. 2.40m, 1.6 depth. Excellent asia condition, sound system. Located in Chalong. Price: 800,000 baht with an en- gine. For more information, please call 084-182 8685 BENETEAU EVASION 34 (English). Email: sales@joy dive.asia

SELL REGAL COMODORE - 2006 Very good condition, engine 360hp, maintenance on 1981, 50hp Perkings Motor March 2016. Owner moving. Sailer, many extras, best For more information, please state. 800,000 baht. Tel: call 076-222811, 080-826 086-274 6272. Email: nihat_ 4665 (English). Email: md@ [email protected] tourasian.com

WHEELS & MOTORS

MULTIONE COMPACT NISSAN NV MINI LOADER RELIABLE TRANSPORT New battery, alternator, brakes and front tires. Only 95,000 baht. Chalong. Tel: 089-973 6005 (English & Thai), 081-894 8588 (En- glish). Email: BennoB@dive asia.com

Machine only running 50 hours. 1 year old. Includes a CHEVY COLORADO lot of equipment. Tel: 089- 2014. Black. Mint condition. 588 4550. Email: pdhthai 4-door crew cab. 699,000 [email protected] baht. 23,000 km. Expat owned. LTZ Z-71 2.8 diesel. Automatic. Power steering. Navigation system. DVD MAZDA 2 FOR SALE player. Aircon. Tinted win- 2011 auto, 47,000km only, lady dows. Pro bed-liner. Alarm. owner, very good condition. Fold down back seats. Tel: 310,000 baht. Please call 081- 085-617 8441. 892 8208. 24 PHUKET GAZETTE June 25 - July 1, 2016 From the pitch to the court By Kongleaphy Keam years, but my results were very angry, which put me under achiever. His next goal was to finding a way to cope with bad. I was 38th in a class of even more pressure.” become a judge. He quit his pressure. BOONJUAN Panich from 40 students.” Yet, this time, Mr Boonjuan job at the law firm and be- “Don’t put things Trang Province is the current After graduating, Mr Boon- was determined to study hard gan another stint of off and wait for the Deputy Chief Judge of the juan joined the ranks of the navy and get good results. He made dedicated study, reading ‘right time’. There Phuket Court. He is also the at a low level. In his free time, a promise to himself not to re- at all hours and sleeping is no right time. president of the Trang-Phuket he played football for the Navy turn home until after he’d for only four to five hours Whatever it is you Club – a group of Trang na- Football Club. successfully graduated. He a day, and eventually want to do, just do tives living and working in Mr Boonjuan was then in- took school books with him achieving his goal. it. If you keep Phuket. vited to play for Ramkhamkaeng every time he went to play foot- Mr Boonjuan claims waiting, you will Now 49 years old, Mr University’s football team and ball matches in other provinces his recipe for success is never find suc- Boonjuan has achieved much found a new lease on life. With and crammed constantly. facing difficulties cess.” from a humble childhood as the a revived love for the sport, he The effort paid off. After head-on, and second son of a rubber planta- quickly became a popular four years of study, Mr Boon- tion worker in rural Trang. player. However, to gain a per- juan was the proud holder of a “When I was a child, I didn’t manent spot on the university law degree. His parents were pay much attention in school. team, he had to be enrolled at the first to hear the good news I graduated with a grade point the campus, with at least 18 over the phone. average of only 1.1.” credits a year. Throughout his studies Mr Ultimately, it was his love of “This was a turning point in Boonjuan paid his own way football that opened doors for my life,” he said. with the money he earned from him later in life. Mr Boonjuan took this op- playing football. “My grades weren’t good portunity to study for a Once he’d graduated, Mr and my family was not wealthy, bachelor’s degree in law. Boonjuan got a job as a lawyer so I was not able to go to uni- By his second year at uni- at a well-known law firm, versity. However, I passed the versity, he knew he was on a through the many connections entrance exam to study with new path with a brighter fu- he had made during his time as the Royal Thai Navy in Samut ture, so he quit the navy. a football player. He then stud- Prakan Province,” he added. “This was the second big- ied further to become a barrister, “I did not know whether that gest turning point in my life but passing the bar after a year as was a good or bad decision. I at first, I didn’t tell anyone one of the top 20 students out of just wanted to continue study- about my plans, not even my a total of 400. ing without having to spend parents. When they did even- However, there was still much money. I studied there for two tually find out, they were very work ahead for this high