Thursday, 27 October 2011

Tens of thousands flee as floods sweep Bangkok

 Tens of thousands of Thais are fleeing flood-threatened Bangkok after the city's Governor ordered official evacuations for the first time since the crisis began. Floodwaters bearing down on the city have killed 373 people nationwide since July, causing damage that will cost billions to repair and shutting down Bangkok's second largest airport. Satellite maps of Bangkok last night showed a city almost entirely surrounded by wat...

Monday, 26 September 2011

The Teewave AR.1 uses Toray carbon fiber for its chassis, crash structures, body, and interior.

This concept sports car was built, from initial sketches to working prototype, in just nine months.(Credit: Gordon Murray Design) Creating a new car can take years of development, but Gordon Murray Design put together a running prototype electric sports car in just nine months. The Teewave AR.1 was commissioned by Toray Industries to show off its carbon fiber production.Toray says that its process can make carbon fiber components in just 10 minutes. The Teewave AR.1 uses Toray carbon fiber for its chassis, crash structures, body, and interior. Other Toray materials make up interior surfaces and components of the car. Gordon...

MINI COUPE

It was quite a good idea for Mini to make a coupe version as the fifth body derivative in the model line-up because the earlier variations basically covered the widest customer expectations possible.If you loved the Mini for what it has always been, you'd easily go for the classic Hatch. Want more fun and there's the Convertible. Need to be a little pseudo and the Clubman awaits you. Crave for family practicality and the Countryman's yours.But if you needn't any of those values but want a genuinely good looking and driving Mini for yourself, the Coupe is the perfect choice.The removal of the compartment for rear passengers has allowed Mini to...

Thursday, 15 September 2011

Thailand launches new campaign to fight drug crimes

 The golden triangle region where Thailand, Laos and Myanmar join has been the centre of drug production and trafficking for a long time. Drug situation in Thailand has deteriorated since 2007 when about 400.000 were arrested on drug related ground. National statistics show that in 2011 the number of persons implicated in narcotics has attained 1.3 million across 80.000 villages. A reason enough for the new government to approve a new anti-drugs campaign that pledges to be inflexible with traffickers and help addicts through rehabilitation programs. Few days ago, a military border force seized 3.4 kilograms of heroin and 95 kg of crystal methamphetamine, worth US$33 million, the drugs were smuggled from Myanmar, where it is believed that ethnic minorities are major heroin and methamphetamine...

Wednesday, 7 September 2011

British expat arrested in Phuket today was on a list of fugitives wanted by an international division of the UK’s Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA)

Paul Ridden in detention in Phuket. Photo: Lars Goran Dikander.PHUKET: A British expat arrested in Phuket today was on a list of fugitives wanted by an international division of the UK’s Serious Organized Crime Agency (SOCA), the Phuket Gazette has learned.Paul Ridden, 58, was arrested today after being fooled into meeting a friend in front of Chalong Police Station.When he drove into the police station car park, his exit was blocked by other vehicles behind him.“When he pulled up, Tourist Police volunteer Gary Halpin reached in and removed the key from the ignition,” said fellow volunteer Jum Ali Khan.The move to lure Mr Ridden to...

Tuesday, 6 September 2011

Google closes 10 services in 'spring clean'

 The services being closed by Google include Aardvark, a social network-powered question-and-answer search tool, Fast Flip, an experiment in displaying news content online, and Notebook, a note-taking and URL-clipping service. In a post on Google’s blog, Alan Eustace, senior vice president, said: “Over the next few months we’ll be shutting down a number of products and merging others into existing products as features. [...] This will make things much simpler for our users, improving the overall Google experience. It will also mean we can devote more resources to high impact products—the ones that improve the lives of billions of people.” He added: “We’ll continue to take risks on interesting new technologies with a lot of potential. But by targeting our resources more effectively, we...

Giant saltwater crocodile weighing more than a tonne was captured in a remote Philippine village following a spate of attacks on humans

 Giant saltwater crocodile weighing more than a tonne was captured in a remote Philippine village following a spate of attacks on humans and livestock, officials said Tuesday.The 21-foot (6.4-metre), 1,075-kilogramme (2,370-pound) reptile may have eaten a farmer who went missing in July, along with several water buffaloes in the southern town of Bunawan, crocodile hunter Rollie Sumiller said.A crocodile also bit off the head of a 12-year-old girl in Bunawan in 2009, according to the environment ministry.Josefina de Leon, wildlife division chief of the environment ministry's protected areas and wildlife bureau, said it was likely the biggest crocodile ever captured."Based on existing records the largest that had been captured previously was 5.48 metres long," she told AFP."This is the...

Monday, 5 September 2011

Drug couriers killed in Chiang Rai

 Two drug traffickers were killed and 22,200 methamphetamine pills seized late on Sunday night in a clash with a combined force of police and para-military rangers of the Pha Muang Force in Thoeng district of Chiang Rai province, police said. Pol Maj-Gen Songtham Alapach, the Chiang Rai police chief, said the combined police-ranger force laid in wait near Rom Pho Thong village in tambon Tap Tao of Thoeng district between kilometre markers 56-57 on the road to Phu Chi Fa mountain near the Thai-Lao border after learning that a drug gang would transport speed pills across the border from Laos. Late in the night, the combined force spotted five men carrying backpacks and AK47 rifles walking down from the mountain and ordered them to stop for a search. The smugglers opened fire...

Taiwan busts massive drug smuggling ring

 TAIWAN police say they've busted a drug smuggling ring responsible for transporting $66.06 million worth of narcotics to Australia, New Zealand and Japan. A total of nine suspects have been arrested, including the suspected leader of the ring, 40-year-old Fan Chu-lin, the Criminal Investigation Bureau said on Monday. "This is definitely one of the largest smuggling rings to be uncovered in many years," bureau official Yang Ming-chang said. Over a 10-year period, the group allegedly smuggled hundreds of kilograms of ecstasy and amphetamines from Hong Kong and China to Japan, New Zealand and Australia. It also smuggled large amounts of marijuana from Thailand and Holland into Taiwan. According to preliminary estimates, the drugs smuggled by the group over the 10-year period totalled...

Sunday, 4 September 2011

Kickboxer Lee Aldhouse is to be extradited to Thailand to face trial for the murder on Phuket of former US Marine Dashawn Longellow,

Kickboxer Lee Aldhouse is to be extradited to Thailand to face trial for the murder on Phuket of former US Marine Dashawn Longellow, a British newspaper is reporting. The Daily Mirror says a government source told them: ''The only way he could have realistically avoided extradition is if he would have faced the death penalty if found guilty. But the Thai Government have assured us that he will not.''Aldhouse, 28, has 14 days in which to appeal. The stabbing murder of Longfellow, 23, became a notorious case on Phuket as a manhunt was launched for his suspected killer. Aldhouse was arrested at London's Heathrow airport a few days after the mid-August murder, having made his escape via Cambodia and a flight from Singapore. Prosecution authorities in Bangkok are likely to be delighted with the...

Tuesday, 23 August 2011

Pattaya police catching methamphetamine dealers. Latest drug seller arrest: Middle-aged Frenchman and Thai couple in Soi "PP".

Pattaya August 21, 2011,( PDN) Police Lieutenant Vitsanu Chaisuwan and his team arrests Mr Philipot Vincent, age 40 French citizen in possession 2,000 THB, methampetamine in a clear plastic bag plus drug paraphernelia. Also arrested: Miss Supaksorn Yoriya age 31, address: 71 Moo 5, Tambon Nakornjadi, Lampoon province together with her husband Mr Kampol Kongdaeng, age 32 years old from 37/1 Moo 2, Tambon Lumlukka, Pathumthani province. The suspects were carrying cash 2,500 THB, ya-ice packed in a small clear plastic bag, weight 0.57 grams. They were both detained for further investigation.Police Lieutenant Vitsanu Chaisuwan said since some time they had planned to arrest Mr Philipot Vincent a suspected drug dealer.The plan to capture Mr Philipot to was use under cover police agents pretending...

Phuket drug tip-offs lead to four arrests, 6,000 pills seized

anti-drug squad in Thalang District, which covers most of the north of Phuket, last night nabbed four people for drugs, culminating with the arrest of an alleged dealer with more than 5,000 pills early this morning.The squad, comprising four Thalang Police officers and officials from the Thalang District Office, began the night’s work with the arrest of an 18-year-old at a house in Moo 9, Thepkrassattri sub-district, at about 8pm.The young man was charged with possession of four ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and handed to the Phuket Juvenile Observation and Protection Center.In his statement, the teenager claimed that he bought the drugs from Somboon “Tuck” Pinit, 45.The team moved to arrest Somboon, but while doing the rounds the officers arrested Chanchai “Eak” Phirom, 28, on the Na Nai–Pakrongcheep...

Monday, 25 July 2011

Busted Phuket Drugs Gang Linked to Bangkok Prison 'Mastermind

series of arrests on Phuket last night has involved the exposure of what appears to be two drugs gangs who were handling thousands of yah ba methamphetamine tablets and in possession of several handguns.It is believed a man who was arrested on Phuket in 2004 and is now serving time in Bangkok's Bangkwang Prison was the mastermind behind one of the gangs. Following on from the arrest in May of a man on Phuket in May with 30,000 yah ba tablets, governor's officers raided a room occupied by Praphan Nammali, 36, finding 17,000 tablets and 150 grams of yah ice. Khun Praphan told them the original size of his cache was 30,000 tablets and 1000 grams,...

Two major drug dealers were arrested

Two major drug dealers were arrested last evening (July 24) and a total of 22,300 pills of ya-ba (methamphetamine) and three quarters of a kilo of ya-ice (crystal methamphetamine), with a total street value of about B7 million, were seized.The first major dealer, Prapan Nammali, 36, had been under suspicion for some time, police said. His arrest at about 8:30 pm came after an undercover policeman posing as a buyer managed to trap Prapan into selling drugs to him.The subsequent search of Prapan’s house in the Sapan Hin area uncovered a haul of 17,300 ya-ba pills and 150 grams of ya-ice.Under questioning, Prapan confessed that he had replaced another dealer at the Phuket end of what appears to be national drug ring. The other dealer, Odd, was arrested on May 12.Odd and he had both received their...

Sunday, 24 July 2011

British Tourist Complains Police Will Not Investigate His Ladyboy Masseur

Briton who was robbed in a hotel in Bangkok says he was told by Thai police to claim on insurance as they were not going to investigate – despite the fact that the thief, a lady boy, was not only caught on CCTV but also left a copy of his ID with reception.Kevin M (name withheld) was robbed on the first night of a Thai holiday in Thailand.  To cap his holiday, shortly before his return home he and his friends were victim of a shakedown by Thai police in Pattaya while riding their hired motorcycles.The young engineer from Manchester had for a long time been a ‘Muay Thai’ enthusiast and came to Thailand to find a ‘Muay Thai’ school. He arrived on June 6th and checked into City Lodge Hotel in Sukhumvit Soi 19 and that night went out with his friend on the town.  They...

Dangers of Pattaya today.

Pattaya now unfortunately has become a war zone of criminal activity. It is not the Pattaya of long ago where the only thing you worried about was the occasional overcharging at entertainment or Food establishments.Today there are many criminal gangs who operate in Pattaya with the sole purpose of robbing Farangs/Tourists of Money or anything of value such as rented Motorbikes, Jewelery, cash, e.t.cThese criminals come from far and wide from many parts of Thailand for these purposes alone.In the process of the many many Robberies that have been committed against Tourists, people have been killed, seriously injured, and left with serious injury and trauma.There are many Robberies of Tourists daily. Tourists often get approached with knives or guns so that they hand over their valuables and...

Two Men Arrested for Sex Crime

Two men, Toi and Koh were brought into Pattaya Police Station on the afternoon of the 16th July, after being arrested and accused of sexually assaulting a young girl under the age of 13. According to the girl’s parents, they had kidnapped the child and molested her at an apartment room in Huy Yai.&nb...

In the 1980s, the Costa del Sol was the destination of choice for many British criminals. Today they head to Thailand

The recent case of the slaying of two young Russian women in Pattaya has highlighted once again Thai culprits involved in crimes against farang. The problem is that it’s very easy to loose perspective in these cases and slight the Thais as being ruthless. However, as this article will show there have been numerous cases of farangs acting badly, among themselves and against Thais. And not just farang troublemakers from the prominent countries, but from virtually every farang country in the West. The farang crimes range all the way from abusive behaviour to murder. Very often, in cases of murder, however, it is a crime of passion, caused not least because of cultural disparity and communication breakdown The first three cases involve Russians acting badly. Recent reports in the local newspaper,...

Pattaya Sex, Crime and Suicide Capital of Asia

Pattaya Sex, Crime and Suicide Capital of A...

Immigration Pounce on Prostitute Ring

Chonburi Immigration announced the arrest of an Australian expat and his Thai wife in the early hours of Thursday morning.  Mr. Greg Johnston, aged 54 from Australia and 32 year old Mrs. Yaonita were caught red handed by an undercover agent for operating a prostitution service at a bar in South Pattaya.  After receiving information about the couple’s antics, Immigration set up the operation to catch them in the act.  At the bar, one bargirl Miss Pigoon, fell right into the trap and was arrested, and so after officers identified themselves, all three were taken away for further questioning.&nb...

Surprise Surprise for Auntie Som

Mrs. Sompaen, affectionately called Auntie Som by local residents in Soi Chaiyapruek in the Jomtien area, after receiving a phone call, agreed to visit someone waiting for her near her house to give her some money.  When the 61 year old woman went outside she got the surprise of her life, the young man she met handed her some money and as a thank you she gave him some yaba tablets in return.  Little did she realise it was a set up sting operation by local police.  This not so nice Auntie Som was in fact a local drug dealer, and quite often went about carrying a loaded Remington gun – which was impounded when she was arrested and...

Police Begin to Crack Credit Card Fraud Network

Pattaya Police announced on Wednesday the arrest of an Algerian man, Abdelmalek Boukemara, for possession of fake credit cards.  The 35 year old Algerian had been a part of a network in France that organised a system of hacking online banking and credit card information from unsuspecting victims.  He had accumulated hundreds of cards, and when he was caught he was in possession of 114 fake cards.  The arrest was made after an investigative Police team got wind of the man’s suspicious movements with withdrawing money and sending large amounts of money abroad. His bank records showed that on a regular basis, he was sending nearly a million baht out of the country without any reasonable income source in the country.  The Algerian was apprehended after withdrawing money from...

Tour Company Raided for Operating Counterfeit Empire

ongoing investigation about a long established Tour Company operating illegally by selling prohibited drugs and pirate products, Pattaya Police set about with a warrant to search the premises in question on Tuesday evening.  They entered the Malis Travel and Laundry Service 3 storey building on Soi Buakhao and detained Mr. Nadeem from Pakistan and his employees.  After an intense search of the premises officers found a concealed locked store room, where they discovered a large quantity of drugs such as Viagra, Kamagra and prohibited steroids and contraband cigarettes. At the same time, another team of officers and volunteers were searching another of the Pakistani’s businesses and found 10,000 pieces of counterfeit designer clothing and accessory goods. Now under a full investigation,...

arrest of an American man wanted for crimes committed in the USA.

Superintendent Police Colonel Chusak Panutamporn announced that 60 year old teacher Mr. Dennis Catron from Illinois had fled the country after being bailed for 500,000 US dollars by the US Court.  He had been convicted of paedophilia acts with young boys.  Catron was subsequently sentenced (in abstentia) to 36 years in jail.  It was believed that he had fled to Thailand where he worked as a teacher at a number of schools in the past.  The Royal Thai police were notified and asked to help find the fugitive.  After an investigation and collaboration between the police and the US Embassy in Bangkok, it was revealed that Catron had applied to be a teacher at a few schools in the area and he was eventually traced to two residences, one in Bangkok and the other in Soi Buakhao...

Expat Arrested for Growing Pot

Police raided the home of a dual nationality expat on Saturday night and seized a quantity of marijuana plants growing in the back garden, a loaded gun and other narcotics, and arrested 28 year old David Alexander.   The man was the holder of both French and British passports. He had recently moved to Pattaya from Phuket and after police received information that he was indeed a drug dealer, a court warrant was issued to search the rented house off Thappraya Road.  He claimed that he bought the gun and marihuana seeds from a friend in Phuket and that the yah ice was for his own personal use.  All evidence was impounded and the young man was taken away to face legal proceedings.&nb...

Thai police asked to probe Kirsty Jones murder

Thai Police have been asked to investigate a man named on a Youtube video as a possible suspect in a Welsh backpacker's murder 11 years ago.Kirsty Jones, 23, from Tredomen, near Brecon, Powys, was raped and strangled at a guesthouse on 10 August, 2000.Her murder is unsolved but a video has been posted on the internet naming a man allegedly seen near the guesthouse.Dyfed-Powys Police said it and the Foreign Office had asked Thai authorities to investigate the claim.Despite a number of arrests, no charges have ever been brought over Ms Jones' death.Ms Jones, a Liverpool University graduate, was found dead in a room at the Aree guest house in Chiang Mai, which is north of Bangkok.She was three months into a two-year around-the-world trip."It's painful. We still miss her, always will miss her...

Tuesday, 12 July 2011

Two Melbourne school teachers have had a narrow escape after armed bandits fired upon their car in Thailand.

The female teachers from Ringwood Secondary College were on a school trip to the northern city of Chiang Mai when their vehicle was sprayed with bullets on Sunday.A Department of Education spokeswoman said one of the teachers suffered a small cut in the shooting and was taken to hospital for treatment.Advertisement: Story continues below ''The teacher underwent tests and has been given the medical all-clear,'' the spokeswoman said.She said the students were at their home-stay accommodation in Chiang Mai at the time and were not under threat.The teacher who was injured in the attack is believed to be Lynda Cody, the international student coordinator at Ringwood Secondary College.The assistant principal at Ringwood Secondary College travelled to Thailand yesterday to provide support to the teachers,...

Friday, 1 July 2011

1 injured in drive-by shooting at East Pattaya Internet cafe

One woman was injured in a drive-by shooting at a Soi Nernplabwan Internet cafe.Kuladee Sainak, 26, suffered a cut to the cheek when a teenager on a motorbike fired into the NOS Online shop around 3 a.m. June 21. She was treated at Banglamung Hospital and released.Naruepol Yimyai, 19, said he and some friends were taking a break from late-night online gaming when a teen identified only as “Pon” drove up. The cyclist inquired whether one of Naruepol’s friends nicknamed “Ae,” was inside. When Naruepol replied that he wasn’t, Pon drove away.Sometimes it not even safe inside an Internet cafe.However, the cyclist returned 10 minutes later with a gun and fired once through the Internet shop’s plate-glass window. Teenagers inside scattered while the owner called authorities to tend to Kuladee, who...

Wednesday, 29 June 2011

Ukrainian and two Turkish nationals, accused of being part of a gang of credit-card thieves, were arrested in Bangkok's Siam Paragon shopping mall yesterday.

Police say Andrew Salkosky, 40, from Ukraine, and Kardial Karamen, 33, and Oske Gildiarim, 28, both of Turkey, were taken into custody along with 40 credit cards and some brand-name products. They are accused of belonging to a criminal gang that stole credit-card information and copied it on to blank cards, some of which they sold on the black market.Police allege the three men also carried the cards to buy brand-name goods in various countries to resell products for cash. Police said the credit cards had details for cardholders in Spain with Bt300,000 on each card - a potential loss to banks of Bt12 milli...

Thursday, 23 June 2011

Three young Frenchmen were arrested in Pattaya on Friday for "stealing several ATM cards"

Three young Frenchmen were arrested in Pattaya on Friday for "stealing several ATM cards" and allegedly withdrawing more than five million Baht from many ATM machines around Pattaya. The police identified the three suspects through surveillance cameras at the ATM locations.After police tracked the trio down, Kasmi Ali Faycal, 33, Beldilala Nabil, 21, and Khayyou Fares, 22, were arrested at the Sheraton Pattaya resort in Pattaya. Police also seized "several items at the resort including ATM cards ... and T-shirts as recognised on surveillance cameras."The three suspects were charged for "stealing and using stolen ATM cards, although they denied all accusations&nb...

Indian Tourist Drugged, Robbed After Last Night Out in Pattaya

An Indian tourist who was due to return home on Wednesday was drugged and robbed by a Thai woman he had met at a South Pattaya disco during his last night out on Walking Street.In the early hours of Wednesday morning, Mr. Sarath Chandra Karroti, 28, and a friend had gone to Mixx Discotheque at the Bali Hai Port in South Pattaya, where they met two unidentified Thai women who later accompanied them back to their separate rooms at the Markland Hotel in North Pattaya.The Indian tourist reported "consuming many cans of beer" in the room but remembered "nothing else until he woke up just after midday and realized his female companion had stolen his money and other valuables." The stolen items include two gold necklaces, 15,000 Indian Rupees, 1,500 US Dollars and 1,000 Baht in cash. His friend reported...

Drug dealers arrested in Rayong

The Royal Thai Navy Narcotics Unit, based in Sattahip, busted yet another mid-level drug dealing gang, centred on Rayong, in a couple of raids which took place on Wednesday afternoon and evening. As per usual, the operation began with the arrest of a drug user at his residence in Rayong. He was told to phone his supplier and request a delivery of 50 Yabba tablets, a prohibited Class 1 narcotic. The main dealer, aged 26, arrived in a late-model sedan and was accompanied by a 30-year-old male. After entering the premises of the user, the dealer and his friend were arrested by the undercover drug squad officers. A search of the man’s vehicle uncovered the 50 Yabba tablets. The arrested man was then instructed to take police back to his residence. Here, a further 110 Yabba tablets and...

Suspected drug dealer caught with loaded firearm in Jomtien

A random check on a man acting suspiciously in Jomtien late on Tuesday Night resulted in his arrest and the seizure of a loaded firearm and narcotics. Police were on routine patrol in Soi 5 off the Tepprasit Road when they spotted the man sitting in his Black Chevrolet pick-up truck. He saw Police and appeared nervous which prompted the check. Khun Boonkon aged 21 was taken to Dongtan Police Sub-Station on Jomtien Beach where he reportedly confessed to possession of the firearm and 20 Yabba Tablets which he intended to sell-on to customers around Pattaya. Because of this admission he was charged with possession of a firearm and possession with intent to supply a class 1 drug and is currently on remand pending court proceedings.&nb...

Thai 'Girlfriend' Masterminds Armed Robbery of South Korean 'Boyfriend'

Following the "carefully planned" car-jacking of a vehicle owned by a South Korean expat living in Pattaya, police were able to quickly arrest two of the suspects. One of them was found to be the victim's 27-year-old so-called Thai "girlfriend," identified only as Miss Benjapan, who is thought to be the mastermind of the robbery, and to have "planned everything." The 19-year-old accomplice, Khun Komsan, who is thought to have carried out the car-jacking, was also arrested. However, a 13-year-old girl also involved in the robbery plot was able to escape.Pattaya police explained that Mrs Benjapan had "devised a plan to steal Mr. Jun Hak Baer’s [the South Korean expat's] car." Mr. Komsan was used to "intercept the car in a remote area and - at gunpoint - Mr. Baer was forced out of his car which...

Thai Police Arrest Two Germans Wanted for Fraud, Tax Evasion

Thai police have arrested two Germans, one of them in Pattaya, who face arrest warrants in their homeland on fraud and tax evasion charges, media and diplomatic sources confirmed Friday.Acting on a request from the German Embassy in Bangkok, Thai immigration police arrested the two fugitive men, Elmar Anton Schorosch, 50, and Ralf Dotterweich, 51, in two separate raids on Monday, the Manager newspaper reported.Mr Schorosch was arrested in his home in Si Sa Ket province, where he had been living for years with his Thai wife. He faces an arrest warrant issued by a Wuerzburg court for fraud.Mr Dotterweich, who faces an arrest warrant in Wuerzburg in connection with a 500,000-Euro tax evasion case, was arrested in Pattaya.The arrests were the latest of several involving German nationals wanted...

Thai police have arrested five Iranians and charged them with drug smuggling and trafficking, an offence that carries a maximum punishment of death

Thai police have arrested five Iranians and charged them with drug smuggling and trafficking, an offence that carries a maximum punishment of death, officials said Thursday.Authorities said a total of 5.8 kilos (12.8 pounds) of "ice" crystal methamphetamine, worth about half a million dollars, was found in the luggage of the suspects, who arrived on the same flight from the United Arab Emirates."We believe that they are in the same gang but we cannot prove it," said Police Major Ronnakorn Sukmongkol.The suspects -- three men and two women in their 20s and 30s -- all admitted that they were paid to take the drugs to Malaysia, police said.Thailand, along with other countries in the region, has seen a marked increase in seizures of methamphetamine as the world opiate trade declines.Although drug...

Sunday, 19 June 2011

Patong Gangland Slaying Adds to Spate of Phuket Shootings

Patong gangsters knocked two Mafia loan sharks from a motorcycle in Patong early today then opened fire with a handgun, killing one man and putting the other in hospital in a coma, police say. The blazing volley of shots at 3.10am in Soi Nanai was the third savage killing involving gangs on Phuket in as many weeks. It was the climax of a feud between groups that hated each other, said Patong Superintendent Colonel Arayapan Pukbuakao, of Kathu police station.He said that earlier in the evening, Nart Narkpecht, 33, the owner of Nina Karaoke, spotted two of his bitter enemies on a motorcycle outside his karaoke and figured they were going to kill him. So he hopped on his own motorcycle and sped off to recruit pals Somnuk Suwamthanu, 29, and Bhuchit Bhukam, also 29. The three men returned to the...

Wednesday, 1 June 2011

Phuket a haven for addicts

Although illegal, over-the-counter sale and purchase of benzodiazepine derivative drug like diezapam (Valium) and alprazolam (Xanax) is common in Thailand, and is even tacitly accepted by many local authorities. However the practice exposes buyers to health risks including addiction or overdose.Last year, a high-ranking source in the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) admitted to The Gazette that his department permitted pharmacies to sell prescription drugs over the counter, despite the fact that it is prohibited under Thailand’s Psychotropic Substances Act of 1974, which outlaws the possession of ‘Schedule IV’ drugs without a prescription.“In Phuket we’re not so strict as this is a tourist place,” he said. “We grant permission to pharmacies to sell the drugs, but they need to report to the...

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

Thai police launched a murder inquiry into the death of a Briton on a Thai holiday island

Police on the Thai island of Koh Samui ruled that Kevin Attew, 57, from Aldershot, Hants, had committed suicide after his Thai girlfriend said that was what he planned to do. Police said he drowned himself in a lake behind the resort area of Chawaeng.Attew's body was found last Tuesday.But today a murder inquiry was launched after pictures taken by his best friend showed that he had been beaten to death first. Also, as the man-made lake was less than 30 centimetres deep – it seemed a poor venue for an allegedly suicidal man when the Gulf of Thailand was only yards away.Londoner Crispin Paton-Smith, a friend of Attew, said: "I was appalled to hear the verdict of drowning. It was a no brainer. Kevin was beaten to death and his body was left on dry land for quite a while before being put in the...

Monday, 30 May 2011

epidemic of car break-ins is alarming police in the inner city.

As many as seven gangs, all of them connected, are thought to be breaking into high-value cars parked in inner Bangkok, and robbing them of their valuables.The problem has become so bad that restaurants in well-off suburbs such as Ekkamai and Thong Lor, where many of the thefts have occurred, now place signs in their windows warning patrons that smash-and-grabs from cars parked in the areas was rampant and not to leave valuables in their vehicles.Apiprat: Fell victim to car break-inPolice are still assessing the extent of the problem, but believe the gangs are stealing millions of baht worth of goods every month.Car break-ins were once lumped in with robberies, but police are now thinking of separating these cases and giving them special attention. They say thefts in this category are taking...

Saturday, 28 May 2011

Thailand arrests American for alleged king insult

Thai authorities said Friday they arrested an American citizen on charges he insulted the country's monarchy, in part by posting a link on his blog four years ago to a banned book about the Southeast Asian nation's ailing king.The man is also suspected of translating, from English into Thai, portions of "The King Never Smiles" -- an unauthorized biography of King Bhumibol Adulyadej -- and posting them online along with articles he wrote that allegedly defame the royal family, said Tharit Pengdith, who heads the Department of Special Investigation, Thailand's equivalent of the FBI.The American has denied the charges, according to the Thai-language prachatai.com news website, which tracks cases of lese majeste, as the crime of insulting the monarchy is known.The 54-year-old Thai-born man lived...

Friday, 27 May 2011

Gunmen attacked the house of a canvasser of a Democrat Party poll candidate in Bangkok's Bung Kum district last night

Gunmen attacked the house of a canvasser of a Democrat Party poll candidate in Bangkok's Bung Kum district last night. The attack is believed to have been politically motivated. Nobody was killed or injured, police said.About midnight yesterday, unidentified gunmen sprayed bullets at the house of Charoen Jaesaman in Klong Rahas community on Serithai Road in Bung Kum district. The assailants escaped after the attack.Mr Charoen is a canvasser for Panich Vikitsreth, the Constituency 16 candidate of the Democrat Party.Mr Charoen, along with his son and his grandson, were sleeping on the second floor when the attack took place. They were unhurt, police said.A number of spent bullet cases and an M16 ammunition magazine were found at the scene.Meanwhile, the Royal Police Office yesterday issued a...

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