Phuket News & Events

[Oytopikos]

Police and the Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation were called after hotel staff found Karl Peter Huch, 70, from Berlin, stretched out dead on the bed at the rooming house on Kra Rd.

On a table they found various medicines including a packet of Kamagra, a Thai version of Viagra. One tablet was left in the packet; three had apparently been consumed.

Staff said Mr Huch arrived at the hotel at about 1:30 pm and paid for a short stay. Two hours later a member of the hotel staff came to remind him his time was up. Receiving no response the staffer went into the room and found the German's body.

Police suspect Mr Huch may have died of a sildenafil (Kamagra) overdose but his body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital for autopsy.


http://www.thephuketnews.com/german-dies-in-phuket-of-suspected-viagra-overdose-44500.php#sthash.cMzGP0BG.dpuf

[Oytopikos]

PHUKET: Locals, tourists and officials were shocked yesterday as water at one of Phuket’s most famous beaches turned rancid and black.

The stinking water flowed from Nong Han Canal across Karon Beach and into the ocean at a rate that transformed the color of the sea, Village Chief Winai Chidchiew told the Phuket Gazette.

“I went to see it myself after receiving a report from local people. It was absolutely shocking, the sea was black and there was a horrible smell,” Kamnan Winai said.

Kamnan Winai admitted that he had seen black water trickling from the canal into the ocean before, but had never seen it pouring out in such volume.

“I don’t know know what has caused this much outflow, but I think business operators in Karon dumped a lot of wastewater into the canal,” he said.

Kamnan Winai alleged that the Karon Municipality was aware of the problem, but had taken no steps to fix it.

“The problem must be fixed as soon as possible. So many tourists return to Karon because of its beauty. The more the problem is ignored the worse things will get – it will have an enormous effect on tourism for Karon.”

KaronBeach made headlines around the world three years ago when a German TV crew from a major channel found severely polluted water with high counts of coliform bacteria from human feces

http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2014/Tourists-shocked-as-Phuket-beach-water-turns-rancid-again-in-Karon-this-time-black-25683.html

[Oytopikos]

Phuket Tuk-Tuk Revolt: Patong Drivers Block Roads, Surround Police Station

By Chutima Sidasathian and Alan Morison
Tuesday, March 4, 2014

http://phuketwan.com/tourism/phuket-tuk-tuk-revolt-patong-drivers-block-roads-surround-police-station-19845/

PHUKET: The tuk-tuk drivers of Patong shut down the road system in Phuket's main holiday hub from midnight in an extraordinary protest about what they claim is ''police harassment.''

Blockades in the one-way system's main beach road, Nanai Road and Rat-U-Tit 200 Pi Road and the walking street of Bangla Road began at midnight and continued to 5am, when the drivers moved to Kathu Police Station, which oversees Patong, to negotiate.

About 50 tuk-tuks and 100 drivers blocked the area around the police station as talks continued early today.

According to one source, the tuk-tuk drivers, joined by some ''black'' cab drivers, were unhappy because police have been conducting ''sting'' operations posing as tourists.

The police have discovered that the tuk-tuk drivers are working hand in glove with the illegal cabbies to undermine the legal registered taxi system, according to the source.

Drivers are known to have become increasingly agitated at a police campaign to remove thugs and weapons from the tuk-tuk transport business that is the source of most complaints from tourists.

A campaign to persuade drivers to adapt began with a series of lectures from Phuket Governor Maitree Intrusud and continued with police conducting random raids on tuk-tuk ranks.

Disputes continue to flourish over access of minivans and tour company vehicles to resorts in Patong and all along Phuket's popular west coast.

European Union ambassadors and Chinese envoys have urged Phuket authorities to reform Phuket's primitive transport system or face a bleaker future, with visitors likely to go elsewhere in Thailand rather than be ripped off with excessive fares for poor service.

[halfway inn]

COUNTERFEIT US $...

Phuket Police arrest man with counterfeit US$10,000 ‘Nan Francisco’ bank notes



PHUKET: -- Phuket Tourist Police last night arrested a man who tried to exchange counterfeit US$10,000 bank notes that read “Nan Francisco” and totaled more than 157 million baht.

 Wachirawich Janjaroenchaisin, 40, was arrested during a sting operation after police received a tip-off that someone was trying to exchange US$10,000 bank notes on the island.

“Officers pretended to be exchange brokers and made an appointment with the suspect at Black Canyon in Central Festival Phuket,” said Deputy National Commander Supaset Chokchai of the Tourist Police.

 After the suspect presented 482 US$10,000 bank notes, the police revealed themselves and examined the bank notes.

They quickly noticed that the bills named the Northern California city of “San Francisco” as “Nan Francisco”.

“We contacted the United States embassy for additional help.

The embassy confirmed that the notes were counterfeit and that the US$10,000 bill had not been produced for public use since 1936.

Its only use today is for bank-to-bank transactions,” explained Col Supaset.

Mr Wachirawich said he was exchanging the money for someone else for a fee of three baht per dollar.

“This is the first time we have found US$10,000 bills in Thailand,” said Col Supaset.

The suspect was charged with possession and use of counterfeit US dollar bank notes. Police are now searching for more suspects.

The case was transferred to Wichit Police Station, said Col Supaset.

Phuket Gazette 2014-03-03

[thailandgr]

Ship bursts into flames off Phuket



First reports say all on board were safely rescued. Photo: Marine Police

PHUKET: -- A ship carrying cargo was engulfed by flames near Koh Naka, off Phuket's east coast this afternoon.

Phuket Marine Police were notified of the incident at about 4pm by a speedboat captain.

First reports are that all on board the ship were safely rescued by the passing speedboat.


form : http://www.phuketgazette.net/phuket_news/2014/Breaking-News-Ship-bursts-into-flames-off-Phuket-27777.html

[halfway inn]

ILLEGAL DRUGS

DSI and FDA officers seize B10mn of illegal drugs with fake FDA labels



PHUKET: -- Illegal hormone drugs worth about 10 million baht targeted at the Chinese tourist market were seized by Department of Special Investigation (DSI) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officers yesterday.

DSI officers declined to give details of the alleged effects of the traditional Chinese medicines, stating only that they were for “improved sexual performance”.

However, at least one drug, Tiao Jing Wan, regulates women’s menstrual cycles to help improve fertility; it also claims to ease complications of menopause, prevent hyperplasia of mammary glands (which can cause breast cancer) and cure endometriosis and ovarian cysts.

“We were informed by tourists and locals of fake drugs claiming to contain snake parts and other elements of traditional Chinese medicines being sold in Phuket,” said DSI Region 8 Director Udom Phetcharakut.

“There were people dressed like pharmacists claiming that the drugs boost sexual performance.”

The team raided Discovery Park New Treatment Co Ltd in Wichit and Royal Park Phuket Co Ltd on Chao Fa Road.

At Discovery Park New Treatment, which offers a snake show, officers seized more than 30 boxes of the drugs, Mr Udom said.

“There was no Thai language displayed on the drug containers, which is an infraction of FDA regulations.

Also, the drugs had counterfeit FDA certifications,” Mr Udom said.

The drugs were being sold in small bottles containing 80 pills for 3,100 baht and larger bottles containing 180 pills for 5,800 baht.

“The drugs did not contain all the ingredients they claimed to,” he noted.

At Royal Park Phuket, officers seized more than 50 large boxes of drugs.

“These drugs did have Thai language on them. However, their Thai FDA certifications were counterfeit,” he said.

The company owners were charged for selling traditional medicines without a license and for selling drugs that had not been FDA approved.

These infractions can both carry a penalty of up to three months imprisonment, up to a 5,000 baht fine, or both.

“There are other places selling these kinds of drugs on the island, so we will continue our campaign,” Mr Udom said.


Phuket Gazette 2014-03-21

[halfway inn]

RUSSIAN GANGSTERS LOAN SHARKS / WANTED

Phuket kidnappers 'were Russian loan sharks'


The two wanted Russians: Novichkov (left) and Boychuk.


The Blue Garden Resort, where the nightmare took place.

PHUKET: -- Police are still not sure whether missing Russian expat Alexei Slabinskiy is still alive, but more details of the nightmare emerged this morning (March 21) at a meeting at Kamala police station.

Pol Maj Gen Witsanu Muangpraesri, Deputy Commissioner of Police Region 8, chaired the meeting, which heard that Mr Slabinskiy’s girlfriend, Yana Strizheus – who was found injured in the Blue Garden Resort & Spa, between Bangtao and Surin Beaches, last Saturday (March 15) – had told investigators that the kidnapping was related to money Mr Slabinskiy had failed to repay to loan sharks.

Police are working on two theories: That the couple were kidnapped by the loan sharks to make Mr Slabinskiy pay up; or that Mr Slabinskiy himself was in on the kidnap plan, the aim being to extort money from Ms Strizheus.

The second theory was lent credence by the fact that police picked up a signal from Mr Slabinskiy’s mobile phone days after the kidnapping. When the location was triangulated, officers rushed to the place the signal was coming from, but found nothing. The signal disappeared.

The story told by Ms Strizheus, however, tends to support the first hypothesis. Still under guard in Vachira Phuket Hospital for her own safety, Ms Strizheus told investigators that she and her boy friend were kidnapped by three men who came to their villa in Kamala.

They took the couple to a bungalow in the secluded Blue Garden Resort. There, the trio beat Mr Slabinskiy and slashed him with a broken bottle to force Ms Strizheus to go to an ATM to withdraw money they said they were owed.

Accompanied by one of the gang, she went to an ATM in Cherng Talay and withdrew more than B300,0000, all she had in her account.

The kidnappers, however, were offended. The money owed to them, they said, was B1 million. They beat Mr Slabinskiy again.

Ms Strizheus said that in despair, and believing that her boyfriend was dying, she stabbed herself in the throat with the broken bottle that had already been used on Mr Slabinskiy.

The gangsters wrapped the bleeding Mr Slabinskiy in a couple of bedsheets and bundled him into the back of a pick-up truck, leaving Ms Strizheus bleeding in the bungalow.

Ms Strizheus told investigators that from what she had seen of the violence inflicted on her boyfriend, he was being taken somewhere to be dumped, and she believed he must be dead by now.

Police checked the camera at the ATM and collected footage of her withdrawing money, closely watched by the man now known as Oleksandr Boychuk, aka Andrei, a Ukrainian citizen.

Gen Vitsanu said that the case is becoming clearer now and the police are convinced that the kidnapping was genuine. The question is whether Mr Slabinskiy was involved in the plan or not.

If he was involved, then the beating was presumably staged and he is now hiding somewhere in Phuket. If he was not, then investigators agree with Ms Strizheus, that he is most likely already dead.

Ms Strizheus told officers that Mr Slabinskiy had borrowed from Russian loan sharks. He was waiting for his family to send him money, but it did not arrive, causing him to miss two deadlines for repayment of the loan with interest.

This was why the loan sharks kidnapped the couple and forced her to withdraw money from the ATM.

She said she survived because the trio saw her stabbing herself and, believing she had inflicted a deadly wound on herself, left her to die.

Police have so far been unable to identify one of the trio, but have issued arrest warrants for the other two: Boychuk for kidnapping and extortion and Russian national Aleksandr Novichkov for kidnapping and attempted rape. The latter charge was not discussed at today’s meeting.

Police believe the two men are still in Phuket, and are trying to track them down.

Anyone sighting them is urged to call Lt Col Prawit Engchuan at 081 415 8668



Phuket News 2014-03-22

[Oytopikos]

 
Tourists Sex Act on Tour Bus Angers Thailand’s Transport Ministry Officials

PHUKET – The Land Transport Department has ordered a probe into a video clip featuring two foreign passengers having sex in broad daylight on a tour bus.

The 1.30-minute video, uploaded on YouTube by ”Thammarat Su Su” went viral and drew much criticism from online users. The unidentified pair having sex on the lower deck of a double-decker tour bus was videotaped by a motorist from another car who witnessed the act. The clip showed a woman with blonde hair astride her male partner while having sex.

Department director-general Asdsathai Rattanadilok na Phuket yesterday said he has ordered a probe into the clip and the bus on which the sex act was performed.

A preliminary investigation showed the vehicle, with a yellow and black licence plate, was a bus operating on an irregular route, said the department chief. An investigation would be conducted to find out the operator of the bus.

Having sex on a public bus violates the Transport Act for disturbing other passengers. Violators are liable to a fine of up to 5,000 baht each and they will face criminal action for performing an obscene act in a public area as well.

The department will seek cooperation from bus operators to install closed-circuit cameras on their buses.

Some bus operators had installed CCTVs on more than 800 buses, Mr Asdsathai said

chiangrai times

[thailandgr]

Flood chaos on Phuket’s main artery as first rain falls

PHUKET: Heavy rain for the first time in months caused flooding and traffic jams in Thalang last night (March 31).


The rain flooded Thepkrassattri Rd, the island’s main north-south highway near the Thai Watsadu store. With water up to one metre deep in places, cars stalled, blocking the road, and causing delays for tourists trying to get to the airport.

Rescue teams from the Kusoldharm Foundation and Baan Nai Klam volunteers were called in to help clear the traffic.

Local politician Chalermpon Kerdsab blamed the flooding on local people filling low areas in a bid to avoid flooding in their homes. This, he theorised, obstructed run-off routes for water.

Municipal staff and volunteers spent more than three hours clearing the stalled cars but even then traffic flow was still slow. By morning, however, the floods had cleared.

The Thai Meteorological Department predicts more storms and heavy rain today, tomorrow and Thursday, and again at the weekend.   





- See more at: http://www.thephuketnews.com/flood-chaos-on-phuket%E2%80%99s-main-artery-as-first-rain-falls-45450.php#sthash.fUWmlfDK.vFSu6l5c.dpuf

[thailandgr]

Bangtao’s polluted water causing skin rashes, scaring Phuket tourists away




The problem is worse than the one that has attracted so much attention recently in Karon, where black water has also been spilling into the sea from a klong.
In Karon, Governor Maitri Inthusut recently waded into the black water and washed his hands in to demonstrate that the outflow there, though unattractive, is not necessarily unhealthy.
But the Bangtao outflow is not just smelly and unattractive; it is also causing skin rashes in fishermen and boatmen who go in the water, and infecting any cuts in the skin.
Tourists simply do not go to that end of the beach and long-tail boat club members have to stand watch on the beach and warn local children not to go in the water. Contact with the water, the boatmen said, results in itchy skin.
Yesterday (April 10) the boatmen invited media to see for themselves just how bad things are.
They said the filthy water comes from the local community along the klong, which includes hotels and restaurants. During the dry season, with little or no water in the klong, the filth has been accumulating. Now that the rains are back, that filth is being washed down to the sea, black, smelly and thoroughly unhealthy.
Along the shoreline, the waves churn the outflow into a strange unnatural foam.

Tourists staying in the hotel nearby walk to this point on the beach and then, when they hit the wall of smell, turn around and walk away.
Long-tail boatman Apisit Panan-Long said “This bad water is seriously affecting the environment, and the tourists who wanted to go out to the islands [by boat] don’t want to go in the water.
“Many of the fishermen have rashes, and open wounds go rotten. Anybody who has touched the water has to take a shower right away, especially in the past few days when there has been a lot of untreated water [flowing down the klong].”

Another boatman, Yusup Panchalart, said, “I touched the water and got itchy. I could not sleep even though I had already taken a shower.
“This bad water must come from the hotels and businesses. Over the past several months the water was clear, it didn’t smell and there were fish swimming in it.
“But last week the water started to get bad. It turned black and smelly, and a lot of the fish died.
“In the past two days it’s got really bad; the water is a deep black and the shallow corals have died, and the tourists have disappeared. We really need the officials to solve the problem.”
The polluting of Klong Bangtao is by no means a new problem. A year ago, when the Pheu Thai Party was still firmly in power, its spokesman Phrompong Nopparit inspected the filthy canal after a complaint was made direct to the Prime Minister’s Office.

That complaint, filed by village chief Kecha Kroahlek, indicated a certain lack of confidence in the ability of provincial or municipal authorities to solve the problem.
“We have to solve the issue urgently,” Mr Phrompong said, “so that it will not destroy our tourism image, the quality of life for local people, and also marine life.
“Phuket is the window of Thailand, and the local quality of life affects the whole country’s economy.
“I have heard there are many places in Phuket that have similar problems, not just Bang Tao. This will be a model for others to start making Phuket’s water clean.”

The following month the canal was dredged. During a meeting with 50 local businesspeople and residents, Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak warned that everyone who lives around Klong Bangtao must co-operate with authorities to help preserve the canal, and stop dumping sewage in the waterway.
“We have invited you here today to ask for change,” he said. “Whoever is still draining sewage into the canal, please stop it. This is the last chance – the third step for those who continue to ignore our requests will be prosecution. We will knock on your door and follow the law.”

Bangtao’s supposed “model for others to start making Phuket’s water clean” seems a long way from being realised.
V/Gov Somkiet today told The Phuket News, “I have just heard about this from reporters. I will go to the bad water site soon with Ma’an [Samran, President of Cherng Talay Tambon Administration – OrBorTor] to solve this problem.
“Since last July, we have gathered the names of the illegal businesses who should be fined, have their permits cancelled or be closed down. But we have to take this step by step according to the law.”
“This bad water problem is the direct responsibility of the [Cherng Talay Municipality]. There are a lot of hotels that should be fined or closed down.
“We used to send inspectors to check their water treatment systems but if we fail to follow up or we don't check for a while, then the problem starts again. If we are careless about fixing the problem then it will soon come back again.

He said the OrBorTor, the Health Department and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment are responsible for fixing this problem.
Mr Ma’an vented his frustration when The Phuket News called him. “Why don’t you talk about good things in the newspaper?” he asked.
“The problems stem from the people, hotels and businesses who dump all their garbage in the water.
“We called them to a meeting to get permits to install waste water treatment machinery, but no one came.

He said water treatment plants might not be working properly, and that officials had already been sent to look at the problem.
“But if the people continue to dump [untreated waste] into the water, we are going to continue to have this problem.”

[halfway inn]

ACCIDENT - HIT & RUN

Dead boy's family in Phuket 'mob' against Russians



PHUKET:  A large group of Thais gathered outside the Villa Market in Chalong yesterday (April 9) to protest over the death of 16-year-old Thananbavorn “Lotus” Durongpan, who was killed just after 1am on Saturday (April 5) when he was hit by a car as he rode his motorbike along Patak Rd from Chalong Circle.

The incident has sparked anger at the Russian woman driving the car, at her friends and, by extension, Russians in general.

The Phuket News’ Russian-language sister paper Novosti Phuketa contacted Russian police volunteers who reported that the driver, known only as Larisa, allegedly made a U-turn on Patak Rd next to the Shell filling station, knocking the boy – who was travelling in the same direction – off his bike. He was not wearing a helmet.

Larisa drove away.

A man known only as Valentin, thought to be her husband, was following in another car.

He stopped briefly but, deciding that Lotus was dead, he too sped off.

Police failed to find either of the drivers. But witnesses helped officers to track down one of the cars to a rental agency, where they found it had been rented to a third Russian national, named Ekaterina.

She told the police that she was a passenger with Larissa and witnessed the accident, which she described.

But now, apparently, she has left the country, as have Valentin and Larisa.

The main witness – Ekaterina – also disappeared after the police questioning.

Police also interviewed Anna, the host of a party the Russian couple had been to before the accident but she told them she did not know their full names.

The flight of the three Russians has caused bitterness, not only among the boy’s family but also among the frustrated police.

Capt Thada Sodarak, investigation officer at Chalong police station told The Phuket News, “Wherever country people come from, whether developed or not, I believe we all have hearts.

But what these Russians showed is that they are heartless – they don’t care. They just left.

“I asked [Ekaterina and Anna] to tell me the full names of their friends. But they just don’t care.

“I understand the intensity of the feelings of the boy’s relatives. Nevertheless, I have told them not to attack these Russian people. I have also ordered the police to look after the safety of everybody at Villa Market.” (Villa Market is a popular shopping venue for Russians in the Chalong area.)

“Right now we know who is the driver who killed the boy, but we can’t reveal anything.

We just want to have the driver’s full name to advance the investigation. But no one will tell us.

“Of all the [foreigners] who live in Thailand, the Russians cause the most problem. Look: they come to our country, hit our children, and then when they feel like it they [run away].

“I asked them [the Russian witnesses], ‘Look, what would you do if a Thai goes to your country and hits and kills your children? Would you let him go back home?’ They said nothing.”

Som, the mother of the dead boy, told The Phuket News: “Lotus was a good boy.

He worked and took care of his grandmother and his brothers and sisters. On the night he died he had gone out to buy some mosquito repellent.

“I have donated his eyes to the Thai Red Cross Society and already someone has received them.

“I don’t want my son to have died without someone paying for it. I’m ready to forgive because I don’t want [his spirit] to worry, but these Russians [the witness Ekaterina and and the party host Anna] are shirking their responsibility. They are not going to reveal the real name of the driver. It seems they are trying to protect their friends.”

The family were also critical of the police for allowing the witness Ekaterina to leave the country; she apparently flew out to Dubai on Monday (April 7). “How could the police not hold on to her passport?” Mrs Som asked. “She is the only witness.

“The car that hit my son went through a police checkpoint. Four officers were there but no one could catch that car.”

Pim, the boy’s aunt told The Phuket News that the family had done a deal of investigating before the police reacted, identifying the car and even the party venue, where they found one man still drunk, surrounded by empty beer and alcohol bottles.

Police declined to give more details of the investigation, but police volunteers said they would welcome any more details about the two drivers, Larisa and Valentin.



Phuket News 2014-04-11

[thailandgr]

Phuket: Alcohol sales ban for Patong this weekend

PHUKET: -- There will be an alcohol ban this weekend in preparation for the Patong mayoral election.

Alcohol sales will be banned in Patong only starting 6pm tomorrow (April 25) until midnight Saturday (April 26).
Any violation will risk a penalty of six months in prison or a fine of B10,000, or both.
While pubs and bars are not required to close, a large majority usually do.


-- Phuket News 2014-04-24

[thailandgr]

Monks defrocked, get rehab for Phuket garden drug parties

PHUKET: Five monks were defrocked yesterday (April 30) and sent for drug rehabilitation after they were found to under the influence of drugs. Another 11 were disciplined by their abbot for inappropriate behaviour.



The action came after the owner of a garden reported to police that, after doing alms rounds in the early afternoon, 18 monks from Wat Thalang were in the habit of disappearing into his garden. He was suspicious about what they were up to, he told officers.

Police arrived at the garden, close to the airport road. In a tin hut they found cooking utensils and a large number of empty alcohol bottles. Two of the 18 monks managed to escape, but the other 16 were rounded up and taken back to the wat.

There, the abbot, Promprapatsorn, headed the investigation into the bahaviour of the monks, some of whom were apparently woozy from alcohol or drugs.

Police requested urine samples from them all. The “purple pee” results on five of the samples indicated the possible presence of drugs.

The monks said they had only been taking medication for illness, so the police took them to Thalang hospital to check their blood for narcotics. The results were positive, at which point the monks confessed to drug abuse and requested to be sent for drug rehab.

The abbot expelled the five from the monkhood. The other 11 were found not to have committed crimes or contravened the rules of the monkhood in any major way but, because they had been behaving “wrongly” he ordered them to return to their original temples in Isarn for training to correct their behaviour.

All 16 were from Isarn, the grilling revealed. They said they had traveled to Phuket because they could get good money from local people and tourists wanting to make merit. At home, they said, they had hardly any income.

The landlord waived the right to charge them for trespassing on his land.

http://www.thephuketnews.com/monks-defrocked-get-rehab-for-phuket-garden-drug-parties-46033.php

[thailandgr]

PHUKET: A tourist drowned at a lifeguard-less Phuket beach yesterday afternoon, after a budget debacle delayed the signing of the Phuket Lifeguard contract.

Supachet Ngamsong, 26, from Northern Thailand, had just finished dinner with five friends when he went into the sea alone at Karon at about 5pm, said Karon Police Deputy Superintendent Sopon Borrirak.

“He called out for help after getting into trouble in the water. His friends tried to rescue him, but it was too late,” Lt Col Sopon said.

Lifeguards have not patrolled Phuket beaches since April 27, when their last contract ended and a budget dispute that threatened to decrease the number of lifeguards on Phuket’s beaches prevented the signing of a new one (story here).

Though the Phuket Lifeguard Club has subsequently agreed to sign the contract without the asked-for budget increase, the signing was delayed until May 21, as the guards wait for new equipment (story here).

“Working with broken equipment could be dangerous for both the lifeguards and the victims,” Phuket Lifeguard Club President Prathaiyut Chuayuan told the Phuket Gazette at the time.

Mr Supachet’s body was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital.

[halfway inn]

Phuket radio stations fall silent

Phuket Gazette - Sunday, May 25, 2014 8:50:45 PM

Army deputy spokesman Lt Col Winthai Suwaree announced the ban on local broadcasts this morning.

NNT PHUKET: Commercial radio stations throughout Phuket fell silent today after receiving requests from the army to comply with an order issued by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) this morning.

The ban on broadcasting includes local satellite television networks.

Staff at 107.7FM Open Mind received a call this morning from an army officer ordering the station to close, a station executive told the Phuket Gazette.

Popular local radio station Phuket Island Radio 91.5FM fell silent in compliance with the order.

The only Phuket station still broadcasting on Sunday evening was BlueWave 90.5FM, which is operated a under license granted by the Public Relations Department (PRD)."The station is part of the Public Relations Department, and they didn’t really tell me anything," station manager Oscar Chitamitre told the Gazette.

Although all local radio stations and cable television networks were ordered offline immediately after the coup on Thursday, many throughout the country were allowed to resume broadcasting soon after, as the army became more clear which broadcasters were deemed to be disseminating “anti-coup propaganda”.

However, the decision to reinstate the nationwide crackdown was announced this morning.

Army deputy spokesman Lt Col Winthai Suwaree explained that the army was targeting a total of 14 ”community radio stations” and local television networks.

The NCPO was working out solutions for allowing the 14 banned satellite TV stations to resume their broadcasts, he said.

The NCPO was willing to talk to the 14 stations if they had solutions to ensure that broadcasts would not cause turmoil in the country, Col Winthai added.

Phuket Gazette