08-09-2017

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

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NIGERIAN ARRESTED FOR SHOOTING RUSSIAN > PAGE 3

SILENT NIGHTS POLICE ORDERED TO TACKLE NOISY PETROL HEADS AS NEIGHBOURHOOD PETITION GAINS STEAM

Shela Riva reporter1@classactmedia.co.th

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olice in Kathu as well as the Phuket Provincial Police are cracking down on illegal, excessively loud motorbikes disrupting the peace after a 90-name petition was filed to the Governor of Phuket from a neighbourhood in Kathu.

The action follows a request by the Phuket Damrongtham Centre (Ombudsman’s Office) for Provincial

Police to investigate the issue, resulting in an order from the Provincial Office to tackle the problem of overly loud motorbikes roaring through residential areas.

Local residents fed up with noisy motorbikes in their area in Kathu saw 90 names on the petition in less than three hours, the filer of the complaint, who asked not to be named, told The Phuket News.

In response, Kathu Police Deputy Chief Lt Col Sarawut Chupathit said

on Wednesday, “Last week we began patrolling the area where the complaint was raised, around the Kathu market.

“We are sending police to patrol the area every night, all night. We have been able to catch and fine some of them [offenders],” he said.

“We also conduct body searches for any suspicious items. A few of them have been found carrying illegal drugs, but that is not too common. A lot of them are teenagers,” he added.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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Police across Phuket have been ordered to step up action against noisy, illegal motorbike riders.

Col Sarawut noted that issuing fines for excessive noise was not as straightforward as people might believe.

“Police do not have any soundmeasuring equipment, so we do not fine them based on how ‘loud’ they [exhaust pipes] are – but we are able to fine them [the riders] for other offences, such as illegal customisation of a vehicle, racing or not having a licence,” he said.

Phuket Provincial Traffic Police Deputy Superintendent Lt Col Teer...

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NEWS

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Rights activists lobby for future of ‘Leypang’

LIFE

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Letting a roll of the dice decide the way ahead

SPORT

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Phuket FC’s 2017 season to go down to the last

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Phuket Town brass back after corruption probe PHUK ET PROVI NCIAL Police Commander Maj Gen Teeraphol Thipjaroen has declined to comment on whether three high-ranking police officers, who in May were transferred pending an investigation into allegations of corruption and malfeasance, have been cleared of the allegations against them after The Phuket News learned that the three have been reinstated to their original positions.

On May 29, Gen Teeraphol ordered the transfer of Phuket City Police Chief Col Kamol Osiri and Phuket City Police Deputy Commanders Lt Col Chao Phomna and Lt Col Nat Phromthep after the officers came under investigation for failing to effectively perform their duties, notably failing to protecting (against) and suppress crime and possible involvement in crime.

The transfers were in accordance with Royal Thai Police regulations and were ordered in order to prevent any damage to the government and to ensure a fair investigation, said the order.

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Police probe dog poisonings, burnt bodies at local reservoir > page 5

Rogue croc caught

Activists debate fair future for ‘Leypang’ The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Teeraphol Thipjaroen. Photo: The Phuket News When asked by The Phuket News last Friday (Sept 1) how and why the three were reinstated, Gen Teeraphol refused to comment on the situation.

Gen Teeraphol also refused to comment on whether the three had been cleared of all allegations made against them.

In addition, when contacted by The Phuket News last Friday, Phuket City Police Chief Col Kamol also refused to give any comment on whether he had been cleared of corruption allegations.

“I don’t want to speak about it,” was all Col Kamol had to say.

The Phuket News

A

nimal rights advocates are calling for authorities to provide a natural reserve for “Leypang” the crocodile to ensure that the reptile, caught on Phuket’s west coast last week, is provided appropriate care.

Leypang, named after the beach north of Bang Tao where he was caught early last Friday morning (Sept 1), is currently being kept at the Phuket Coastal Fisheries Research and Development Centre in Pa Khlok.

Immediately after the 200kilo, three-metre saltwater croc’s capture, Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong ordered officials along the west coast to look for other crocodiles in their areas to ensure public safety.

Local crocodile farms and tourist show venues were also checked to confirm no crocodiles were missing.

The future of ‘Leypang’ the saltwater crocodile, caught in Phuket last week, has yet to be decided. Photo: PR Dept To date, no others have been found. To experts, that is not surprising. Saltwater crocodiles for decades have been widely considered to be nigh extinct in Thailand, and any rogues that are found in Thai waters are protected as they are listed as an endangered species in the Kingdom.

However, expert website crocodilian.com notes that wild populations of Crocodylus porosus can be found only a few hundred kilometres

north of Phuket, albeit in Myanmar, but on the Andaman coast across from Prachuap Khiri Khan.

Dr Thon Thamrongnawasawat, Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Fishery at Kasetsart University in Bangkok and who serves as an official advisor to the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR), urged officials to take proactive steps to ensure Leypang is properly cared for – but most importantly he

stressed that whatever decision is made, that local residents support it.

“I know that many people are calling for Leypang to be set free, but this should only happen if there is overwhelming support for it among local residents,” he said, noting that local residents are the ones who would have to live with the crocodile in their midst.

“Officials should exhaust all possibilities of tracking down where Leypang came from and return him to the wild there. I know officials are working hard on this, but if that option is not possible, whatever option is decided must include the opinions of local people,” Dr Thon explained.

Meanwhile, well-known conservationists in Thailand the Sueb Nakhasathien Foundation (SNF) called for Leypang to be moved immediately to a “closed suitable natural place for study and to relieve the crocodile of stress.”

Police move to take illegally noisy motorbikes off the streets Continued from page 1 ...awat Laemsuwan, who was also notified of the petition, explained that police continue to do their best to catch excessively loud vehicles.

“We have always been checking for illegal vehicles, and we are continuing to,” he said this week.

“Traffic officers are on duty officially until about 10pm, however they often stay [out] until about midnight. We are far more likely to catch these offenders when people report them to us,” he added.

“So if you are suspicious that people have illegally customised vehicles that are causing annoyance to others, or other illegal behaviour,

please report it to police. If it is after midnight, call the 191 hotline,” he said.

Col Teerawat explained that by law certain modifications of vehicles, including of the engine, changing the colour of the vehicle, or modifying or replacing the exhaust, must be reported to and permitted by the Phuket Land and Transport Office (PLTO).

“There are other kinds of modifications that do not need to request a permit, such as accessories for convenience including bicycle racks, roll-bars, bumpers, ladders for high vehicles and so on. However, modifications which may affect others

Provincial Traffic Police Chief Col Teerawat points to motorbike with an illegally modified exhaust pipe already seized by police. or change the ability to identify the vehicle, such as altering the exhaust, the engine or the colour must be reported,” he said.

“If offenders are found with

modifications not approved by the PLTO, and hence not entered in the green registration book, we will seize the vehicle and keep it at the police station,” Col Teerawat warned.

“The offender must be picked up by somebody while we withhold their vehicle. The offender must come to properly revert the illegally modified part to its original state here at the station, and it must be approved by an officer, and pay a fine of not more than B1,000,” he said.

“Right now, we have about 50 motorcycles in our possession that have been seized,” he added.

In Chalong, cases like these are not as common as in other districts,

Chalong Traffic Police Chief Lt Col Suchat Singha assured.

“We do not have that many cases of groups or individuals driving excessively loud vehicles, but we do have more in Nai Harn on off-days and during the night,” he said.

“However, from what I know the area with the highest number of these cases is Saphan Hin,” he said.

“Most commonly they are teenagers driving modified motorbikes.

Occasionally, we do find they are in possession of other illegal items. If they do, it is most commonly kratom.

“However, occasionally we find offenders also in possession of ya bah [methamphetamine],” he noted.

Lawyer calls for Thai actor’s island land claim to be revoked MORE THAN A YEAR AFter losing the fight for 24 rai on Koh Naka Noi, off Phuket’s east coast, the lawyer for Phukhaohokluk (Six Mountains) Co Ltd has filed an appeal to the Phuket Land Office calling for one of the land titles of their opponents claiming the same land to also be revoked.

Lawyer Narongrit Naetikiettiwong, representing

Phukhaohokluk (Six Mountains) Co Ltd owner Chanwit Lertkitsiriwattana, last Saturday (Sept 2) handed to Phuket Land Office official Yongyut Kanjananurakto a request to revoke a Chanote title presented by the family of famous Thai actor Puri Hiranprueck covering a portion of the same land on the island.

Land Department Director-

General Apinan Suethanuwong on July 14 last year gave the order to revoke a NorSor 3 Kor land occupancy document presented by Six Mountains claiming rights to state-owned land. However, Mr Narongrit pointed out that the same understanding had yet to apply to the claim by Hiranpreuck family.

Eakkapop Thongtub

Six Mountains Co Ltd lawyer Narongrit Naetikiettiwong presents his formal request to the press. thephuketnews

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Nigerian burglar denies shooting Russian expat

PHUKET NEWS

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Chutharat Plerin thai@classactmedia.co.th

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he 52-year-old Russian woman who was shot in a bungled burglary attempt at her home in Rawai last week has identified the Nigerian man arrested by police as the man involved in the incident – but the suspect still maintains his innocence.

Ru ssia n expat Ele na Kharenko was r ushed to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town after she raised the alarm of the burglary Wednesday last week (Aug 30) by running to neighbours for help at about 2:47am.

She had been shot twice – once in the waist – by a burglar who opened fire at her inside her own home in Saiyuan just minutes earlier.

The next day (Aug 30), police arrested Nigerian national James Chukwunweike Chijioke, 27, in connection with the robbery, and presented him to the press at a conference at the Phuket Provincial Police Station last Friday (Sept 1).

Also presented at the press conference was a second suspect, Sasipha Nakhonthaisong, 33, from Phuket.

Chalong Police Chief Col Prachum Rueanthong said, “Police managed to track down the suspect’s car from CCTV footage from outside of Ms Kharenko’s property.

They then discovered that the second suspect, Sasipha, had used the vehicle to go and send a parcel to Bangkok.

Pannawich presented to police a knife as the weapon used in the incident (left), but not the sword he is plainly seen brandishing in the video clips that went viral (right).

Tourist in tuk-tuk fare row faces the sword

Chukwunweike Chijioke (right) and Sasipha Nakhonthaisong were presented to media last Friday (Sept 1). Photo: Chutharat Plerin “That parcel was intercepted by police who discovered that the parcel contained a notebook computer belonging to Ms Kharenko. “ It a p p e a r s t h a t M s Kharenko was a little confused when interviewed by police at the hospital as she said there may have been two suspects.

However, from CCTV footage we were able to ascertain there was only one suspect.

“Ms Kharenko was today (Sept 1) able to identify that suspect as Chijioke,” Col Prachum said.

Presented at the press conference were 92 items seized from the house in Rawai where police arrested Chijioke.

All the items presented were positively identified by three burglary victims who had already reported to Chalong Police that their

houses had been broken into and items stolen.

Younes Nasre, a Canadian national, told police that his house in Saiyaun was broken into at about 9pm on July 27.

Items stolen from a safe at his property included a Piguet watch, Admiral Cup watch and a Louis Vuitton handbag.

Saruttaya Amornprasert told police that her house in Rawai was broken into at 3pm on Aug 9. Items stolen included a famous Buddha amulet, pack of B20 banknotes, gold pig locket, pearl earrings and another two gold earrings.

Jirawan Vanderland told police that her house in Rawai was broken into at 8:30pm on Aug 10. Items stolen included a famous Buddha amulet, two gold earrings, gold anchor locket and gold butterfly

locket.

Gen Teeraphol noted, “Chijioke still denies any involvement. He was staying in the country illegally and he does not have a job.

“A 6-year-old boy and a 4-month-old baby boy who are the sons of Chijioke and Sasipha have now been put in the care of the Phuket Provincial Development and Human Security Office,” Gen Teeraphol added.

Chijioke has been charged with theft and attempted murder while Sasipha has been charged with theft.

At last report Ms Kharenko was recovering well at Bangkok Hospital Phuket and was about to be discharged from hospital care.

Additional reporting by Eakkapop Thongtub

DSI launches massive land probe A TEAM FROM THE DEPARTMENT of Special Investigation (DSI) have arrived in Phuket to launch an investigative review of 627 SorKor 1 land-use documents being used to occupy protected public land, and especially land within Sirinath National Park.

The review was announced by DSI Deputy Chief Lt Col Prawut Wongsrinil at a meeting at Thalang District Office last Tuesday (Aug 29).

At the meeting were Thalang District Chief Vigrom Jarkthi and Witoon Detpramuanphon, who currently serves as Chief of Sirinath National Park, along with other officials and even local village headmen.

The aim of the campaign is to resolve land problems caused by SorKor 1 land documents, the meeting was told.

“The problem starts with SorKor 1 land documents,” Col Prawut said.

“All genuine SorKor 1 land documents are registered in the Land Department’s database. Just presenting a piece of paper that looks like a SorKor 1 is not proof @thephuketnews

DSI Deputy Chief Lt Col Prawut Wongsrinil announced the ‘SorKor 1’ land probes at a meeting at Thalang District Office. Photo: PR Dept of ownership,” he added.

“The central government has now set up committees to check SorKor 1 land documents throughout the country to ensure they are genuine.

“After that, the owner can use the document to be issued a full land title deed [Chanote] for the land. By doing this, the problem of fake SorKor 1 documents being used to encroach on protected public areas will be solved,” Col Prawut explained.

Col Prawut also called on local communities to help in the fight against

encroachment onto state land.

“People in local communities have to keep an eye out and inform officials of any suspected encroachment onto public land. This is the best way and the strong point of communities in preserving the environment,” he said.

Earlier last month, Col Prawut vowed to continue his campaign to annul any illegally bestowed land title deeds. That promise came in the wake of the Criminal Court in Bangkok ruling that former Phuket Land Office chief Tawatchai Anukul died of suffocation and a ruptured liver after he was struck by a blunt object on Aug 29 last year while in DSI custody.

The campaign also follows the Phuket Court in May this year ordering the Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) and two of its officials to pay a total of B1.9 million in damages for the highly publicised land probe that accused several property owners of encroaching on Sirinath National Park.

The Phuket News

POLICE HAVE RAMPED up the charges against the Patong tuk-tuk driver who threatened a tourist with a sword over a B400 fare early Thursday morning last week (Aug 31) to now include threatening a person with a weapon.

Tuk-tuk driver Pannawich Nakamin, 35, last Friday (Sept 1) was fined B500 for carrying a weapon in a public place after police tracked him down after videos of the incident went viral on social media.

Pannawich told police that he picked up tourists at McDonald’s on Thaweewong Rd at 5am that morning and dropped them off at a hotel on Soi Kebsup. But when they refused to pay the B400 fare, he went and got a “knife” from his vehicle and threatened them.

However, police last Sunday (Sept 3) tracked down the tourist involved in the incident, 35-year-old Mohammad Sami Saad from Lebanon, to confirm he was threatened, Patong Police Chief Col Tassanai Orarigadech told The Phuket News on Monday (Sept 4).

“After police found out

more information from the victim and other witnesses, we decided to press Pannawich with another charge: using a weapon to threaten a person for benefit. He will now have to face this criminal charge in Phuket Provincial Court,” Col Tassanai said.

“The tuk-tuk driver’s behaviour was unacceptable, and it damaged Phuket’s image among tourists. Tuk-tuk drivers must not do this to tourists,” he said.

However, Col Tassanai declined to recognise the difference between the knife Pannawich presented to police as the weapon used in the incident and the sword he is plainly seen brandishing in the video clips that went viral.

Of note is that Section 267 of the Thai Criminal Code stipulates, “Whoever causes an official in the execution of their duty to make any false entry in the public or official document for the aims to be used as evidence, shall be imprisoned not more of three years or fined not more of six thousand baht, or both.”

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The Phuket News

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ol Gen Adul Sangsingkeo, the Minister of Social Development and Human Security, has urged police officers to do their utmost to bring to justice the perpetrators involved in the repeated mass rape of a girl in Phang Nga over at least six months last year when she was 14 years old.

The call to action follows the girl’s mother filing a “fresh” complaint to police in Khok Khloi, immediately north of Phuket, this week.

The girl has attested in her statement to police that she was raped by an estimated 40 men, some several times over and including relatives of the girl, starting in May last year.

“Police received a formal complaint in 2016 but there has been no progress in the case,” Gen Adul said.

“Also, we have found that the suspects have done this crime many times, and that other rape victims had also filed a complaint with police in Takua Thung District.

“I urge officials to find out the facts and can confirm the girl is now under the close care and protection of Ministry of Social Development and Hu-

After taking off on a motorbike immediately after the accident, the taxi driver later presented himself to police and charged with reckless driving. Photo: Kamala Police

Sleepy taxi driver hits parked pickup

Royal Thai Police national deputy spokesman Pol Col Krissana Pattanacharoen said that a team had been assigned to investigate the case. Photo: Royal Thai Police Public Affairs Division / file man Security officials at the shelter in Phang Nga,” Gen Adul added.

Lt Kitipoom Tinklang of the Khok Kloi Police told The Phuket News on Wednesday (Sept 6), “This case is still under investigation. I need some information to be clearer.

“Some information cannot be revealed to the public,” Lt Kitipoom said, without providing any details.

So far three men have been indicted over the mass rapes, reported the Bangkok Post.

The three suspects alleg-

edly took the girl to a beach and then drugged and raped her. They were indicted last month and reportedly released on bail.

T he mot her said she learned about her daughter’s ordeal early this year after noticing the girl was easily startled, showed anxiety and cried at night.

The girl started telling about the attacks, little by little. But not until she was placed under the care of social workers did she reveal there were more than three attackers.

A 33-YEAR-OLD FRENCHman is safe after the Phuket taxi he was travelling to Patong in slammed into a parked pickup truck in Kamala on Monday morning (Sept 4).

The tourist suffered only scratches across his stomach, confirmed Capt Prasert Thongpong of the Kamala Police.

Earlier reports noted that the Frenchman had also suffered injuries to one of his legs.

“The man is okay. He has already left the hospital, but I have not had the chance to question him,” Capt Prasert said.

The taxi slammed into the parked pickup in front of the Siam Commercial Bank branch on the main road through Kamala at 9am. The taxi was emblazoned on its doors as part of the taxi fleet operated Phuket Maikhao Saku Co Ltd, which serves tourists at Phuket International Airport.

Despite reports citing wit-

nesses seeing the taxi driver absconding on a motorbike immediately after the accident, Capt Prasert Thongpong of the Kamala Police told The Phuket News that the driver “did not flee the scene”, but did not name the driver.

“I have already spoken with the taxi driver, who said the accident occurred because he had fallen asleep at the wheel,” Capt Prasert said.

“He said he was in shock after the accident and he ran to borrow a motorbike at a coffee shop nearby to go see the owner of the taxi for help.

“The driver didn’t try to escape, and he has admitted to pay for all damages from the accident,” Capt Prasert said.

“The driver has been charged with reckless driving causing damage to other people’s property, and we are still continuing our investigation,” Capt Prasert added.

The Phuket News

Pregnant buffalo in fatal motorbike crash unclaimed THE RIGHTFUL OWNER OF THE pregnant buffalo that was involved in a fatal motorbike collision which left a 25-year-old motorcyclist dead on August 20 has still yet to come forward, as the animal continues to struggle to heal from its broken legs and multiple wounds The buffalo, which has not been claimed by any owner, is being looked after by various volunteers, and is receiving donations from the community and public, one of the caretakers, Prasittichai Promduang, confirmed to The Phuket News on Monday (Sept 4).

“We’ve been seeking a vet to help the buffalo but there’s no livestock vet in Phuket,” he said.

“The buffalo has been named ‘Boonrod’ (or lucky survival) after nobody claimed her. She remains pregnant, now at 6 months. Buffaloes

normally carry their offspring for 10-11 months,” he said.

Mr Prasittichai is a volunteer who heard of the buffalo’s situation and wanted to help by raising funds for the animal, he said.

In his latest Facebook post, Mr Prasittichai said, “Today I had a lot of time with [her], which made me see more clearly. Firstly, we have encountered a new problem under the belly near the front, she has rather severe wounds. This is from the use of support straps in the first period of recovery, and then the wounds were soaked in mud for too long. It is a new problem and needs to be solved urgently.

“Second, she cannot do exercises for her front legs because she needs to heal severe wounds first.

“Third, inspecting the left leg, which is badly broken and I can see

The buffalo was hit by a motorcyclist on Aug 20 and is still recovering from her injuries. that treatment is difficult. Because the condition of the leg is very deformed and since the accident to today, she has not been able to walk.”

Mr Prasitchai also thanked those who have donated and contributed their time to look after ‘Boonrod’ in the past weeks.

“Fourth, the friendship of her friends called ‘humans’. The first group is a group of elderly people who

took care of her. Women and children who did not mind mud, foul odour, or dirt. They helped with their hearts and for nothing in return, except only the hope that the creature in front of them will be alive on this earth as long as possible.

“The next group is the donors who have contributed to help [Boonrod] at this time, which is a lot of people that I both know and don’t know.

Your kindness is a very good thing.

Every baht sent will be used to benefit [Boonrod] as much as possible.

“And most important is Mr Potikorn Pipat. He is the one behind the scenes and in the centre of helping her at this time. He really does everything to help others. Our society still needs a lot more people like this, especially within the new generation like us,” he added.

Eakkapop Thongtub thephuketnews

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FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Reservoir dogs

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Police investigate dogs poisoned, bodies burnt Shela Riva reporter1@classactmedia.co.th

P

olice are investigating the deaths of four dogs whose scorched remains were found near Ban Bang Niew Dam reservoir in Srisoonthorn last week.

Witnesses have reported that they earlier saw the wellknown dogs suffer from what seemed to be poisoning.

The news came to the fore on Tuesday (Sept 5) when Brit expat Natasha Eldred filed a complaint with the Thalang Police.

The four dogs had been found dead of unnatural causes, while three other puppies and two dogs remain missing, Ms Eldred told The Phuket News.

“On August 25, I found that many dogs had disappeared. Staffers from Soi Dog Foundation and I began searching for them,” Ms Eldred explained to police.

“On August 30, four dogs’ bodies were found in the rubber tree forest about 30 to 50 metres from where we used to feed them. They had burns on

Four of the reservoir dogs were found dead, with their bodies partly burnt. Photo: Natasha Eldred their bodies. However, there were also witnesses that saw the dogs dying of what was likely to be poisoning.”

The four dogs had been dumped at the Ban Bang Niew Dam site around March 2015, and had joined an existing “pack” of two parent dogs and three puppies already at the dam, said Ms Eldred.

“Two of the dogs went missing a month ago… Then, four more dogs went missing, whose bodies were found on Aug 30. Three puppies remain missing. We’re hoping that

they’ve just wandered and gotten lost,” she added.

Police investigating the scene on Tuesday, however, were confronted with the problem of three of the four dogs’ bodies being removed.

Lt Suporn Muangkhai of the Thalang Police told The Phuket News, “We went to the site, however only one of the dogs’ bodies was still there.

It did not have burn marks on it. But, I did not see the other bodies as they could not be found.

“The grass looks freshly

Slow loris saved from power wires A SLOW LORIS FOUND climbing along high-voltage power cables in Phuket Town last Friday night (Sept 1) has been safely captured and handed over to wildlife officials for care and protection.

Local residents called Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers at 11pm to report that a slow loris was climbing on overhead electrical wires on Anuphas Phuket Karn Rd. The rescue workers arrived but called in the Phuket Provincial Electric Authority (PEA) to help recover the protected mammal with cherry picker.

But the slow loris was too quick for the PEA workers, and while they trying to catch the animal, it moved from the power cables to branches of a tree that had grown through the overhead cables.

“The PEA workers used a wooden stick to force the slow loris out of the tree, but the slow loris panicked and climbed down from the tree,” rescue worker Poonsap Saeeung told The Phuket News.

“We tried to catch the slow loris but it went up the tree again, so PEA officials got back in the cherry picker and tried to force it out of the tree again,” he added. @thephuketnews

The slow loris was safely caught and handed over to wildlife experts. Photo: Kusoldharm Foundation “Finally rescue workers caught it when it came down from the tree again,” Mr Poonsap explained.

The rescue workers handed over the wide-eyed mammal to wildlife officials from the Khao Phra Thaew NonHunting Area conservation centre in Thalang, where it was released back into the forest, Mr Poonsap added.

Local experts have expressed their concern over ever-expanding development across greatly reducing the natural habitats of Phuket’s indigenous wildlife.

“We are very worried for the slow loris in Phuket because the forest that is its natural habitat is being

cut down to make way for more and more buildings,” Pongchart Chouehorm, Director of the Khao Phra Thaew Non-Hunting Area Office, told The Phuket News in March this year.

“We are finding more and more slow lorises that are lost and entering resident’s homes and buildings. The lucky ones are returned to their native habitat, but some are taken and kept in cages as pets, and others are taken and used by people to charge tourists to have their photos taken with them.

“Other slow lorises are killed by electricity cables or hit by vehicles,” he added.

Eakkapop Thongtub

cut, so the land owner might have removed them,” he said.

Lt Suporn said that police were continuing their investigation into the deaths.

Meanwhile, Ms Eldred stressed that the Prevention of Animal Cruelty and Provision of Animal Welfare Act came into force on December 27, 2014.

“The law is there to be used and if residents are too scared, despondent or have little trust in the police, then animal welfare will never change.

“The police at Thalang were very good, they were attentive and took the complaint lodged seriously,” she added.

Ms Eldred has rescued two other dogs from the area to save them from danger, and is now seeking homes for them.

“Hudson is around 5 years old, male and neutered and Beauty is between 2-3 years old, female and spayed. They love people and are extremely affectionate,” she said.

Ms Eldred urged people interested in adopting Hudson or Beauty, or both, to call her at 084 188 8445.

Phuket’s lifeguards have already safely rescued 265 foreigners and 29 Thais so far this year. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot

Boy, Chinese tourist add to drowning toll THE 7-YEAR-OLD BOY rescued and revived at Nai Harn Beach last month has died and a Chinese tourist whose body was recovered more than 10 kilometres from where he was last seen in the surf at Karon have brought the island’s death toll by drowning this year to seven.

The boy, Kietmondej Traiyuang, was unable to recover from extensive brain damage and died about one week after the incident, Phuket Lifeguard Service President Prathaiyut Chuayuan told The Phuket News last Thursday (Aug 31).

Kietmondej was in the care of Vachira Phuket Hospital after he was pulled from the water, albeit unconscious and unresponsive after lifeguards performed CPR.

However, just hours after Mr Prathaiyut spoke to The Phuket News, lifeguards at Patong Beach recovered the body of 24-year-old Yang Junzhe from Henan, China, who was reported as missing from heavy surf at Karon Beach, more than 10 kilometres away, two days earlier.

Before the death of Mr Yang had been confirmed, Mr Prathaiyut pointed out on Aug 30 that there had been 294 safe rescues by lifeguards recorded this year – less than half of the 761 rescues recorded in 2016.

Mr Prathaiyut also confirmed that there had been six deaths at Phuket beaches since the beginning of the year. Mr Yang’s death the total to seven.

Shela Riva and Eakkapop Thongtub

Opinion 6

OPINION

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EDITORIAL

Time to send a message

he recent arrest of a Patong tuk-tuk driver who threatened his passengers with a sword (see story on p3) has served once again to reinforce the perception of tuk-tuk drivers as thugs and rip-off merchants.

Patong Police Chief Col Tassanai Orarigadech’s condemnation of the driver’s behaviour as “unacceptable” seemed appropriate enough, but so far the punishment meted out does not square with Col Tassanai’s strong words.

The driver, Pannawich Nakamin, 35, was fined B500 for carrying a weapon in a public place and will face a criminal charge of using a weapon to threaten a person for benefit at Phuket Provincial Court.

“The tuk-tuk driver’s behaviour was unacceptable, and it damaged Phuket’s image among tourists. Tuk-tuk drivers must not do this to

tourists,” said Col Tassanai, and The Phuket News agrees with this statement wholeheartedly.

We urge Col Tassanai to press any and all other possible charges against Pannawich, including section 267 of the Thai Criminal Code on falsifying evidence – due to the fact that the driver did not hand over the actual weapon used in the altercation.

“Whoever causes an official in the execution of their duty to make any false entry in the public or official document for the aims to be used as evidence, shall be imprisoned not more of three years or fined not more of six thousand baht, or both,” states section 267 Thai Criminal Code.

Police should also strongly recommend that the court impose a custodial sentence on Pannawich if he is found guilty, in order to send a strong mes-

sage to other tuk-tuk and taxi drivers that thuggish behaviour like this will not be tolerated.

The initial B500 fine issued by the police is almost comical, considering that the violence broke out due to an argument over the B400 fee Pannawich was demanding of his passengers for taking them from McDonald’s on Thaweewong Rd to Soi Kebsup – a distance of about 1.5 kilometres.

Clearly, this paltry fine will have no deterrent effect on drivers who considering resorting to violence and threats during disagreements with passengers.

An example needs to me made.

Given the recent army crackdown on tuk-tuks usurping public car parking spaces in Patong, now is the perfect time to further reinforce the message that tuk-tuk drivers are not above the law and will be held accountable when they break it.

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Visit thephuketnews.com for all the latest news

HAVE YOUR SAY Lacking diversity

Re: Phuket Hotels Association launches beach cleanup drive Sheesh! Look at all those white men.

Jsrit ...................................................

A common crime

Re: Phuket police investigate ‘reservoir dogs’ killings These poisonings happens all the time with dogs and cats and nothing is ever done about it. It’s rarely reported to police as Thai people know they won’t investigate.

Sam Hayman ...................................................

Time to get tough

Re: Patong tuk-tuk driver charged for threatening tourist with sword I’m still at a loss as to why the police, while they’re manning their “Farang Rip-off Checkpoints”, why they don’t search every public transport vehicle for weapons.

Nearly all of them carry something… a bat, golf club, knife, sword, gun, etc. And everyone knows it. Even the taxi driver I use for guests is a really nice guy, but he still

has a bat under his seat. I guess the reason they never check is that the police just don’t care.

Well, of course they don’t care… right vs wrong is not a concern here.

Since the taxi/tuk-tuk/ mini-van mafia is the biggest scourge to Phuket, maybe the Army should step in and purge them of their weapons, and make it a serious offence to be caught with any sort of weapon in their vehicles. After all, I thought the NCPO was going to get tough on those low-lifes.

Ben Pendejo ...................................................

Bounty for Boss

Re: Activist to sue police over ‘Boss’ Just go to the next F-1 event and find “Boss” in the VIP section. Offer a decent bounty and someone will turn him in. Unless, of course as it’s increasingly becoming clear, he’s already secured getting away with murder.

Christy Sweet The Thai law on the statute of limitations should be void the moment a suspect becomes a fugitive. By the way, the

Red Bull Heir was spotted in Monaco.

Kurt ...................................................

Facing the facts

Re: Let it flow: Patong wastewater to get worse before treatment plant upgrades kick in As the mayor said, “many hotels in Patong are not being connected to the drains that feed the wastewater-treatment plant”. This is the first time I have read that a government official actually acknowledges this fact.

Much of the new construction, as well as many of the old hotels, simply have septic tanks for solid waste while all the “grey” waste water from toilets, kitchen sinks and showers flows directly into the sea. This will get much worse before it gets better.

Vegasbaby ...................................................

Social power

Re: Phuket Opinion: Opening the door to genuine progress Whilst the consul meetings have, at times over the years, appeared to produce actual results, I would argue that the

emergence of social media has driven far more change than any meetings of committees of politicians ever have. It seems to only need one post to go “viral” before every official for miles is scrambling to be seen to be doing something about it.

If Phuket wants to start hosting tourists for free then your argument will hold true.

But as long as people are parting with substantial portions of their annual income to bring their families here on holiday then they have every right to complain. What’s more you can be sure that they’ll do so with enthusiasm in those same social media arenas that our local administrators seem to fear so much.

Captain Jack 69 If a person is asked a question, and they decline to comment, it would suggest they were not proud to answer the question and a suggestion of guilt or wrong doing would be implied.

Where I come from a high ranking police officer would be compelled by duty to answer such a question. The answer is within the answer.

Chris 007

Have an opinion? Comment on stories at thephuketnews.com thephuketnews

THAILAND NEWS

8

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Forces tight-lipped on tips Police update on Yingluck’s escape, those involved to face charges BANGKOK Bangkok Post

P

olice have given information involving those who helped former prime minister Yingluck Shinawatra flee the country to the military, says deputy national police chief Srivara Ransibrahmanakul.

“It depends on the military, if they lodge a complaint against the person,” said Gen Srivara, without elaborating.

The general, who leads the search team trying to find Yingluck, on Tuesday (Sept 5) said that investigators are making steady progress, adding the information police have sent to the military is consistent with that of the armed forces.

Gen Srivara declined to reveal the details of that information, saying it is securityrelated and should be left to the military to explain.

But the information should be made available when the military files a complaint asking police to take legal action against those involved

Former Thailand Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra greets supporters as she leaves the Supreme Court in Bangkok on July 21. Photo: Jiji / AFP in helping Yingluck escape, he said.

Those involved in helping Yingluck flee the country will face charges of violating the immigration law, said Gen Srivara.

“Ms Yingluck’s whereabouts will be known only when the military lodges a police complaint,” he said.

He did not specify if the military now knows where she is likely to be.

Gen Srivara said the information has also been given to Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwon, who oversees national security.

Police only support the military by providing in-

formation and it is up to the military whether and when to lodge complaints, he said.

Gen Prawit said on Tuesday that investigators were stepping up efforts to examine footage from security cameras to piece together the details regarding Yingluck’s escape route.

Gen Prawit, also defence minister, reiterated that no police officers had a hand in Yingluck’s flight from justice.

Army chief Chalermchai Sitthisad on Tuesday also said there has been progress in locating Yingluck.

Investigators working on the case need some time to check footage from dozens of security cameras which recorded several vehicles which are suspected to have been used in Yingluck’s flight, said the army chief.

Asked if Yingluck had already left the country, Gen Chalermchai said there is no clear evidence confirming her escape.

The Supreme Cour t’s Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions issued

an arrest warrant for the expremier after she failed to show up to hear the verdict in her case on Aug 25. It also confiscated her B30-million surety.

The court has rescheduled the final ruling to Sept 27.

Yingluck, who is on trial for ignoring alleged irregularities in the rice-pledging scheme during her tenure, is widely speculated to have fled the country, possibly via Singapore to Dubai, where her older brother Thaksin, himself ousted in 2006, is known to reside.

Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai on Tuesday said that the Foreign Ministry will wait for the court to deliver its ruling before moving to revoke Yingluck’s passport.

His comments were made in response to Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva’s call for the government to explain why it has not yet revoked Yingluck’s passport, as it is not necessary to wait for a court ruling or confirmation that she is not in the country.

BMA tells Khao San traders to relocate from the paths to the roads BANGKOK CITY HALL HAS INSTRUCTED street vendors in Khao San Rd to move their stalls from pavements onto the road for a seven-day trial period starting Tuesday (Sept 12).

The plan was discussed at a meeting between the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) and street vendors from the Khao San area.

According to the BMA’s Phra Nakhon district chief Wutichai Bunyasit, the meeting was held to minimise tensions between the state sector and street vendors, and come up with a suitable solution

that will satisfy both sides.

Mr Wutichai said the plan to move the street stalls in the Khao San area is part of a government initiative to “return all footpaths to the people”.

“We want to listen to the street vendors, to see if the proposed solution to move their stalls onto the road will work,” Mr Wutichai said.

After an hour-long discussion, the meeting concluded the BMA will give the plan a one-week trial starting Sept 12.

Under the trial, each stall is required to move from the footpath onto the road and vendors are allowed to sell their wares from midday to midnight.

The size of each stall must be no

Street vendors line the pavements in Khao San Rd area. Photo: Robert Brands / Flickr more than two metres long and one metre wide.

“If the trial period tells us that our solution isn’t effective enough, we will have to develop a new strategy in the future,” Mr Wutichai said.

He said past attempts to regulate the Khao San area have not been suc-

cessful because the authorities “did not try to understand the problems of those who are affected by the reorganisation”.

Charatsaeng Silanon, who has been selling clothes in the area for over 20 years, said Khao San’s street vendors did not want to move their stalls from the footpaths onto the roads.

“Obviously, we would rather stay where we are,” she said. “Khao San isn’t an open road like Chinatown, and no buses actually come into the road.”

She said the government wants to reorganise Khao San Rd because it has always been a popular spot for tourists to visit.

According to her, street vendors in the area are already cooperating with government policies, by providing garbage bags for visitors to throw away waste and not allowing vendors to block the road’s entrances.

Mrs Charatsaeng also said moving street vendors onto roads could become a problem if vendors relocate to areas that are normally occupied by taxis and tuk-tuks.

She said the meeting between the street vendors and BMA did not address this issue.

“If we move into their places, how are we supposed to avoid conflict? I am sure problems related to this will surface in future,” she said.

Bangkok Post

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

ASIA NEWS

9

The end of the line

Days are numbered for Cambodia’s home-grown ‘Bamboo Train’ CAMBODIA Sally Mairs

W

ith a wooden platform jerry-rigged to a small engine, Cambodia’s one-of-a-kind “Bamboo Train” delights tourists as it clatters through bucolic countryside – but its days are numbered as the Southeast Asian nation plans a railways overhaul.

The bamboo-lined flat trolleys are a testament to Cambodian creativity and enterprise in an impoverished nation with little infrastructure.

They were first invented as part of a home-grown, unofficial transport system to make use of the country’s abandoned colonial-era train tracks but later morphed into a popular tourist attraction.

“It was good to finally have some breeze happening (on) my face,” exclaimed 25-year-old Swedish tourist Josefin Strang, after completing a ride on the rickety cart under a blazing tropical sun.

“I’m actually happy that it

@thephuketnews

With a wooden platform jerry-rigged to a small engine, Cambodia’s one-of-a-kind ‘Bamboo Train’ delights tourists as it clatters through bucolic countryside. Photo: Tang Chhin Sothy / AFP was the bamboo train and not an ordinary train, because that track was not in good shape,” she laughed.

But the hallowed site in northwestern Battambang province will soon be no more as a government project to refurbish the country’s dilapidated rail system inches closer.

That is especially worrying news for the community of drivers, ticket-takers and

snack vendors who live off the proceeds from the unique attraction that has become a fixture on the tourist circuit.

“We are very worried about how we will make a daily income good enough to feed ourselves,” said 49-year-old Soy Savuth.

He is one of several drivers who spend their days shuttling a trolley up and down the seven-kilometre track, charging

foreigners $5 (B166) a ride.

Built under French colonial rule, Cambodia’s railroads once ran from the southwestern seaport of Sihanoukville, then known as Kompong Som, to the capital and up north to the Thai border.

But decades of civil war and neglect left vast stretches of track in ruins or overgrown with weeds.

With cars a luxury of the

rich and roads in similarly bad shape, Cambodians started building their own small bamboo trolleys in the 1980s to ferry people and goods across the countryside.

The earliest versions were hitched onto the rail tracks and simply pushed along by a bamboo pole.

Then they started using small petrol engines that connected to a fan belt that spins one of two axles, propelling the carts along at about 15km/h.

As Cambodia’s roads improved, locals started moving away from using the bamboo carts – known in Khmer as “norries” – to transport goods.

Tourists filled the demand gap, with savvy operators in Battambang charging backpackers to hitch a ride on a unique piece of Cambodian railway culture.

On a recent Sunday the dusty site was billowing with foreign and local tourists, eager to pile on for the windy trip through rice fields and over small creeks.

But Chan Samleng, director of the Railroad Department, said

the Bamboo Train operators will soon need to clear the area so that builders can start restoring the line for a train service.

“They have no right to run on the railroad any more,” he said of the drivers. “They can look for other jobs.”

While Cambodia remains one of Asia’s poorest nations, it is also one of the continent’s fastest growing.

In recent years the government has turned its attention to its railways.

In April 2016, the line from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville was reopened to passenger trains, displacing dozens of bamboo trolley operators.

Previous deadlines to close down Battambang’s Bamboo Train operators have passed without consequence in a country where projects are routinely hampered by delays.

But Soy Savuth and the other drivers are worried that the latest threat is real.

“If there are no rails to drive on, it will be hard to find a job because this is the only skill I have,” he said.

AFP

10 WORLD NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Zoot suit tradition still alive

Mexico’s delinquent ‘pachucos’, baggy pants, bling and all MEXICO Yemeli Ortega

D

ecked out in baggy suits, their watch chains swinging to the mambo as feathers bop atop their wide-brimmed hats, Mexico’s “pachucos” are keeping alive the tradition of the zoot suit – and the defiance it represents.

Born in Mexican immigrant communities in the United States in the 1930s, pachuco culture started out as the gangsta style of its time – complete with criminal associations, baggy pants and bling.

It was a time of deep prejudice in the American south and west, where restaurants often posted signs reading “No dogs, negroes or Mexicans”.

In a show of defiance of the dominant white culture, young Mexicans joined urban blacks in sporting the zoot suit – long jackets, baggy pants tapering to a peg at the ankles, Oxford shoes, dangling watch fobs and splaying hats.

It was “a proto-movement of social and cultural resistance,” says Manuel Valenzuela, a sociologist at Mexico’s College of the Northern Border, in Tijuana.

These “pachucos”, as the Mexicans called themselves, were portrayed as dangerous delinquents in the media, and were singled out for discrimination and violent attacks.

In 1943, white soldiers sta-

A group of ‘pachucos’ pose for a picure at the Cultural Poliforum Carranza square in Mexico City on August 27. Photo: Yuri Cortez / AFP tioned in southern California went on a rampage against young Latinos, triggering a series of ethnic clashes known as the “Zoot Suit Riots”.

Fast forward 74 years, and the zoot suit has long faded from fashion. But in the age of US President Donald Trump, Mexican-American relations can still look a lot like they did back then.

And pachuco style remains alive and well in Mexico, cultivated by a small but fervent group of aficionados who gather at a series of legendary Mexico City ballrooms to dance the mambo and the cha-cha, f launt their zoot suits, and keep the flame of

defiance burning.

“Today, being a pachuco means being part of a culture. You’re carrying on what came before, so the tradition won’t be lost,” says Ricardo Zamorano – alias “Pachuco For Ever” – a 55-year-old devotee.

The Mexican poet and Nobel Prize winner Octavio Paz called pachuco style “an embodiment of liberty, of disorder, of the forbidden”.

Those keeping it alive in Mexico see it as the inheritance of a nobler time.

“What’s beautiful about it is reviving the elegance of the past,” says Roberto Romero, a 73-year-old tailor

who specialises in zoot suits.

“People used to dress well back then... like gentlemen,” says Antonio Fernandez, a haberdasher who has made pachuco hats since the 1950s.

Zamorano’s house is a monument to the pachuco universe, his closets overflowing with zoot suits in patterns ranging from purple to plaid to gold with Swarovski crystals.

He also has a large collection of hats, feathers and other accessories.

“Pachucos were the first metrosexuals,” he says.

“Me, I start my Tuesday thinking about what clothes I’ll wear to go dancing on Saturday.”

On one recent night, Zamorano sashayed across the dance floor in a canary yellow suit alongside his girlfriend, Paola Tiburcio, 55.

“I would have loved to be alive back then, with the twirling dresses and everything. I feel like I’m in a movie,” says another dancer, Concepcion Valenzuela, 42, dressed in red from head to toe.

Pachuco women were rebels, too, says sociologist Valenzuela.

“Pachuca women were figures who radically broke with the traditional, submissive woman’s role. They went out, they drank, they smoked, they fought,” he said.

Pachuca women’s towering hairdos originally hid knives inside – just as the men’s heavy watch chains were once used as weapons, he says.

Unlike those rowdy youths, today’s pachucos are an ageing bunch.

Roberto Reyes, 19, is one of the few young people keeping the tradition alive.

“To me, wearing this suit is a symbol of pride. It means sincerity, respect, self-esteem,” he says.

“The pachuco says, ‘Look at me, I exist. Respect me’,” he says, his face gleaming with sweat, before returning to the dance floor.

AFP

Polish grandpa in third Atlantic kayak odyssey POLAND A POLISH GRANDFATHER LAST Sunday (Sept 3) completed his third solo trans-Atlantic kayak crossing, arriving on the French coast 111 days after dipping his paddle into the waters off the US state of New Jersey.

“Hello! This is France, it’s Aleksander Doba, and I officially took my first steps on dry land in Europe at 12:25”, the bearded 70-year-old said in a video posted on his official Facebook page.

“I feel great... and I’m very happy that I finally reached Europe!” a jubilant Doba said after arriving in Le Conquet, a town about 30 kilometres from the French city of Brest on the Brittany coast, where he was greeted by the applause of several dozen fans.

Doba started his third trans-Atlantic crossing on May 16 from Barnegat Bay, braving high seas and saying that he even “patted a shark” during his 6,680km journey across the north Atlantic.

“I felt completely drunk although I

Aleksander Doba sails during the start of his translatlantic kayak adventure. Photo: Eduardo Munoz Alvarez / AFP was totally sober... I was a bit off-kilter, but I’m fine, alive and well!” Doba added, describing how it felt to set foot on solid land after months rolling on the waves.

The successful crossing came after Doba was forced to give up an attempt in June 2016 because of strong waves off the US coast at Sandy Hook, New Jersey, that had pushed him back ashore.

A star in Poland, the gray-bearded Doba gained global attention when he was named a National Geographic adventurer of the year in 2015.

At that point, the retired engineer – also an avid rock-climber, parachutist, glider pilot, sailor and yacht skipper – already had two solo Atlantic kayak crossings under his belt.

The first, between October 2010 and February 2011, took him from the Senegalese capital Dakar to the Brazilian city of Acarau.

The second saw him set off from Lisbon in October 2013 and arrive in Florida in April the following year.

AFP thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

BUSINESS NEWS 11

Refuse tops hotels’ agenda Phuket Hotel Association pushes environment as top priority SUSTAINABILITY The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

T

he Phuket Hotels Association consortium has re-confirmed its stance that a “clean Phuket” is among the top priorities for leading hotels across the island.

The affirmation came at the association’s members’ meeting at the Twinpalms resort last Wednesday (Aug 30), where it was announced that members will continue with their island-wide cleanup campaign, punctuated with a Hearts with Hands, Keep Phuket Clean beach clean-up event on Saturday, Sept 16.

The association’s Environmental & Sustainability Working Group recently launched the island-wide initiative in support of the International Coastal Clean-Up Campaign, which will see millions of volunteers across the globe unite to fight ocean pollution.

The event is fully supported and endorsed by the local government along with

@thephuketnews

The Phuket Hotel Association has launched an island-wide initiative, with support from the Phuket Governor, to clean up the island and the tourist-popular beaches. the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), and member hotels are championing individual beaches by sponsoring equipment and supplies for volunteers.

Phuket Hotels Association President Anthony Lark will be joined by Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong and Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket Office Director Kanokkittika Kritwutikon to officially open the event

at Karon Beach, where the clean-up will be overseen by staff from Le Meridien and Hilton Arcadia hotels.

“We are focused on three main areas: Phuket branding, local education and environmental protection. By cleaning up our beaches we are promoting Phuket as a global beach destination brand, we are also educating local communities, tourists and island businesses on the need to take care of

the island’s natural assets, and we are preserving the environmental health of the ocean,” Mr Lark explained.

Plastic is choking the world’s seas and putting marine life in danger. Some 46,000 items of debris now occupy every square mile of ocean and plastic is found in 62% of all sea birds and 100% of sea turtle species tested after their demise, the association noted in announc-

ing the clean-up drive.

“The Phuket Hotels Association recognises the need for action and is lobbying local community groups, schools, residents, expatriates and tourists to join forces and clean up garbage from the beaches around the island before it reaches the sea,” it added.

The association has over 60 members comprising small boutique hotels to large international chains who have joined together to promote the island as Brand Phuket, to raise money to educate local Phuket residents through the association’s scholarship fund, and also assist and educate with the environmental best practices to reduce any harmful impact that tourism has on the island.

To that end, the meeting last Wednesday also saw members drive on with an environmental-awareness training module for hotel staff in English and Thai and confirmed that its “Plastic Ocean” documentary now has Thai subtitles.

T he a s s o c i a t io n h a s reached out to schools, beach

clean-up groups, Green Clubs and media for their participation and local municipalities have been requested by the Gov Norraphat to give their full support in manpower and resources.

At the meeting in person, Gov Norraphat noted, “I am very happy to learn that there is a unified voice in the hotel industry especially one that pertains to Phuket. I fully support Phuket Hotels Association’s three very strong objectives which are Environment, Education and Destination Marketing (promoting good news stories).

“Today I would like to take the opportunity to share with you some of my top priorities this year. In line with the Phuket Hotels Association’s objectives, Environment - going green and taking care of our environment stays very close to my heart.

“I fully support and endorse the next project carried out by the association to Clean-Up Phuket Beaches in honour of the International Coastal Clean-Up Day on September 16.”

12 BUSINESS NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

In the lap of progress

CEO Olivier Chavy defines Mövenpick’s future EXCLUSIVE The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

M

övenpick Hotels & Resorts late last month revealed a new 240-room resort to open in Phuket’s northern beach area of Mai Khao next year as among the key “cluster” strategies in the global hospitality operator’s drive to expand throughout Southeast Asia.

In revealing that news Mövenpick CEO Olivier Chavy told The Phuket News in an exclusive interview how important that move was to the company.

“It’s a new era for Mövenpick. We are growing big time, and we want to focus as a strategy on five KPIs [key performance indicators], including best in class, geopick conversion, among others,” Mr Chavy said.

Also central to the strategy is succession planning, Mr Chavy said. “We want to attract the right talent and we want to do the right thing with our current talent, so we do a lot with our HR,” he added.

“We will come back to Pattaya or Phuket in three weeks for what we call the Mövenpick Business Academy for trainees internships.”

Social media and communications, naturally, ranked high. “We want the world to know who we are and what we are doing,” Mr Chavy said pointedly.

“The fourth one is growth – and this brings us back to what we are doing in Phuket,” he said.

The fifth area of focus was defined as “guest experience of the product”.

“We want to reinvent Mövenpick as a picture. We

Mövenpick CEO Olivier Chavy. have [the resort at] Bang Tao in Phuket and now plus this one [in Mai Khao]. We want to take care of our current portfolio, but we are discussing as well with some potential development,” Mr Chavy said.

Asked about the modernday conundrum about whether Mövenpick enjoyed brand loyalty with guests, Mr Chavy admitted, “Yes, and no. I’m not sure Millennials and the new clients are very loyal to brands… but I say yes because they are loyal to an experience.

“And we are building all our marketing strategy on CRM [customer relations management] on guest recognition – and are they loyal to the experience: yes, with experience being food and beverage, the way we personalise the guest’s experience and so on “Are they loyal to a brand?

I would love to think yes – but are you loyal to your car

brand? Not anymore…” Mr Chavy said.

“This is a very valid point, we have to a adjust ourselves to our guests’ expectations and we have to deliver the guest expectation – not below and not above, otherwise you create needs,” Mr Chavy pointed out.

“When I was at Cornell University a lecturer gave the definition of quality as the custom delivery of guest expectation. If you deliver above expectation you create a new expectation, a new need, a new cost – and then you’re done,” he said.

Citing the legendary example of hotels placing a wrapped chocolates on guests’ pillows, Mr Chavy explained, “This was the idea of a maid in a hotel in New York in 1965.

This is now a $2.5 million cost [a day] for a group like Marriott today because this became the expectation of

the client.

“What was the guest’s original expectation? Just to have a good night’s sleep in a good hotel, then the complimentary chocolate, though small it is by itself, became the norm,” he noted.

“This is what we are aiming for: consistency versus wowing. This is because if you are consistent – I like to say – for every client, for every minute, for every touchpoint – it is much more powerful than wowing the client at 10 o’clock in the morning and disappointing the client at 11 o’clock that night.

“This is what we call luxury – custom delivery of guest expectations,” he said.

“And we’re Swiss – we like consistency,” he laughed.

Bringing the core strategy to the modern tech-savvy guest has seen Mövenpick overhaul its core executive team to now include an “ExCom Y Committee”, Mr Chavy explained.

“We have nine people who drive the company, but we recently boosted that from nine to 20,” he said. “I specifically created 10 positions for ExCom Y. These positions are for Millennials only, five young men and five women.”

The 10 ExCom Y members joined the ExCom’s two-andhalf-week “Grand Tour of Asia” to meet colleagues, hotel owners and key partners in Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines and Indonesia, with the tour wrapping up this week on Wednesday (Sept 6).

The ExCom Y members are from around the globe and

at the heart of Mövenpick’s drive to create brand awareness and presence online.

“One of them works as a front desk member in Pattaya. I have another guy in Karachi, and another guy in Dubai. There are six from the company and four from outside,” Mr Chavy explained.

“Do you think they would let me not be social-media oriented? These kids really push hard on the digital front and we had to create some key positions lately thanks to this ExCom Y and to these young leaders of the company,” he said.

Social media was “driving everything”, Mr Chavy revealed, noting that the new domain reigned on “the corporate level and regional level”.

Critical to successful management of digital strategies were the setting of only “guidelines” and empowering company representatives to adjust and respond appropriately to whatever the regional and situational factors required, he explained.

“You can’t frame digital interaction today, because I would not speak to you the way I would speak to him and him and him,” Mr Chavy said, pointing around the room.

“If you frame it, you become ‘corporate digital’ – and it goes nowhere. The staffer in Bangkok knows better than me how to speak to you, based in Bangkok and running a global business. So it’s framed in terms of branding and guidelines – and that’s it,” he said.

The rapid pace of techno-

logical innovation was also shaping the changing face of guest interaction at a very personal level, Mr Chavy noted.

“We are using geosocial software,” explained Andrew Langdon, Chief Development Officer and Mövenpick’s Senior VP Asia.

“What this does is that within a defined area of our hotel in real time we capture anything anyone posts on Facebook and Instagram and some other social media websites that mentions the word ‘Mövenpick’ “So we have a guest who takes an Instagram shot around the pool – saying it is a hot day I would love some ice cream... our social media people who are sitting here see it in real time and then can send a message back...

We empower them,” he said.

“We’ve actually had this, and had a staffer turn up and say here is your vanilla ice cream. We are trialling this in three hotels – in a Pattaya hotel, in a Phuket hotel and in one of our hotels in Dubai,” Mr Langdon said.

The benefits of such service are compelling, Mr Chavy added.

One woman recently posted on Instagram a photo saying how much she loved the sushi she was eating.

“She got back to her room and there was a knock on her door – and here’s your sushi,” Mr Chavy recounted.

“She then took a photo of that and said, ‘Wow - that is service!’ What was the cost of that? A couple of dollars?

This woman shared it on Instagram, where she has 25,000 followers, and that’s not counting the Likes she got,” he added, “We are one of the first hotels in Phuket to run this geosocial software and it takes it to the next level. This is changing so fast, and that’s when ExCom Y members – all under the age of 30 – are telling us what the future is,” Mr Langdon noted.

“And the beauty of Movenpick is that because we are not a large monster like many of our actual competitors are, we can react very, very fast – and that is what we are doing: we are trying to get ahead of the pack by innovating,” he added.

The Phuket News thanks Delivering Asia Communications for the opportunity to exclusively interview Mr Chavy and Mr Langdon. thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Venice rolls out the red carpet for Clooney

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

16

A hearty breakfast is the cyclist’s best friend

17

ROLLING WITH IT What happens when you live and travel by a roll of the dice?

Issac Simonelli set out from Phuket on his motorbike with no plan other than to go where the dice took him.

T

Issac Simonelli

here’s total silence in the taxi to Hanoi International Airport. It’s the kind of silence that reminds you that there’s normally something humming or creaking or chirping or playing in the background.

The young taxi driver, with a band-aid on his forearm, is clean cut. He doesn’t have his phone out to chat. He doesn’t make an attempt at conversation with me. He doesn’t turn the radio on.

The silence is loud enough. I’m leaving Asia. In the last five years, I’ve left Asia once. That was for two weeks to be the best man at a wedding. That was more than three years ago. Now I’m leaving with no intentions of returning. Is there anything I left at my friend’s place that might prevent me from leaving? Slowly, my mind goes through the possibilities, hopeful but aware that there isn’t anything. I have my passport. I have my drone. I have my dice. I have everything.

A month before pure chance dispatched me to Vietnam, I threw a die across the green felt of a dirty pool table in Chiang Mai. If it were an even number, I’d pick up a motorcycle and face the frozen Gobi Desert of Mongolia in the dead of winter. If it were an odd number, I’d pack my bags and head for the red, scorched expanse of the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. @thephuketnews

How did I get here? How did I get to a point in my life that the friends I make, the women I fall in love with and the adventures I stumble into are being jostled by gravity, torque, friction and kinetic energy acting on a single tumbling die? This roll deciding my fate – Mongolia or Kenya – wasn’t the first. In fact, I’d been on the road with little more than my dice and my trail-beaten Honda CB500X motorcycle for nearly five months.

The die came to a stop. It was a one. I was headed to East Africa.

Unlike most trips, where you start with a budget and a time frame, my Dice Travel adventure started with a simple premise: allow the fickle whim of a dice role to determine the majority of decisions I would face while motorbiking across the globe on a limited budget for an entire year. It would be 365 days of testing fate, courting serendipity and abandoning free will – if such things exist at all.

The project could be written off as a premature mid-life crisis: I quit my job as editor of a newspaper in Phuket, sold everything I owned, broke up with my beautiful Russian girlfriend and rolled the dice on my life. However, this wasn’t a sudden, rash decision. The catalyst was five years ago.

It was 2011 and my fiancée Jackie and I had just moved to Phuket with visions of our soon-to-be charmed lives swimming through our minds.

Then, without warning, the entire

foundation for my future life, my guiding star if you will, didn’t simply shift, but vanished entirely... we broke up.

With no money, no familiar faces and no focal point in my life, I was a train wreck, battling suicidal thoughts with noontime beach runs in the tropical heat. Without getting into the details, I should be clear, it was my fault… entirely my fault.

This knowledge piled guilt on top of anguish, but now it was too late and none of it mattered.

With Jackie no longer a guiding force for my life, any energy expended in making a decision felt like energy wasted. Equal happiness would be gained from striking out and becoming a war correspondent in some dustblown hell-hole as it would be from becoming a PADI dive master on Koh Phi Phi. I just didn’t want to have make a choice, I was exhausted.

This moment in my life planted the seed that five years later would bloom into the idea of Dice Travels. It was born out of a theory of decision fatigue. What decisions really matters in the long run? All of them? None of them? Maybe just some of them?

So, what’s the difference between Mongolia and Kenya when it comes to the experience? The small details, of course, are vastly different, but the reality of it is that the pleasure of travel always comes back to who we meet along the way. If a person goes to Turkey and meets terrible people, they condemn the entire country. If

they go to Poland and meet amazing people, they sing its praises to the hills. That’s all there is to it. At this fundamental level, Mongolia and Kenya have equal value – and who knows who I’ll meet? But the die had spoken. I was going to Africa.

With one US$100 bill still clutched in my hand after finding out that nobody is working the exchange booth at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, I’m instructed by a customs officer to unzip my drone backpack.

“How much did it cost?” the official asks.

“About 1,200 dollars,” I say proudly, as it is the most valuable possession I own at this point.

“It’s 500 dollars to bring it into Kenya, as a bounty fee,” he says.

“What? Why? I don’t have 500 dollars.”

“You must have permission to bring it in,” he says, stonefaced.

Fifteen minutes later, we come to a private arrangement – there goes the $100 I’d hoped would keep me afloat in Kenya for the first couple of days.

A month later – after a seemingly endless search for the only halfway decent motorcycle left in Nairobi – the dice and I are back on the road. Before long, I’m rolling down into the Great Rift Valley, zebras appear… first one herd, then another and another. Some are too far away to clearly make out, while others are as close to the road as the decidedly less exotic...

Continued on page 14

14 TRAVEL

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Isaac stops for a photo with some local children in Vietnam.

Isaac with his motorbike ‘Rafiki’ in Tanzania.

Living one dice roll at a time Continued from page 13 ...but equally common, goats. I’m headed toward Mount Elgon, as dictated by the dice. I nearly slide out of my saddle as I pass a pair of unruly hitchhikers I wouldn’t have picked up for a king’s ransom – two long-faced baboons standing next to the road.

Beyond the valley, I gain altitude; there are fewer and fewer candelabra succulents, with their thick bunches of cactus-like arms stretching up to the forever-blue sky. The sparsely distributed, yet ever-present, acacia trees giving the landscape the worn-out look of a dish scrubber long past its prime. The ridge peaks and then falls back down into a valley, hills standing like an ominous wall on the distant horizon.

A day later, I arrive in Mount Elgon, rising up between Kenya and Uganda. After basking for a time in the heart-felt local hospitality of the people living in the shadow of this ancient volcano, I start the four-day trek to the top of Mount Kenya. The panoramic views of this ancient landscape – the cradle of humanity – are ample reward for the arduous ascent. Feet battered from return hike, I’m reunited with Rafiki, as I have dubbed my plucky Yamaha.

Next, the dice send us to Tanzania. Rafiki breaks down. And then runs out of gas. With a bank account rapidly approaching zero, we cross into Tanzania and then hole up at the House of Giggles – a hippie permaculture project that feeds and houses volunteers in Zanzibar. Spending less than two dollars a day, finances are stretched to the point that

we can get back on the road again.

There’s less than a month left for the project.

On the way back to Kenya, Rafiki breaks down. And then runs out of petrol: she rocks, and bucks, then rocks, and rolls, and then… after a kilometre of this nonsense… becomes silent.

There isn’t a vehicle on the long stretch of road in front of me or behind me. A few passenger vans appear, honk their horns and then disappear. We’re in the middle of Maasai land. There is nothing but arid red desert and thorny acacia scrubs. Approaching this section of the drive, I’d mused how it was exactly the type of place where someone wouldn’t want to run out of gas. I was right.

I push Rafiki. It’s flat ground, easy pushing. Up ahead two young Maasai boys swaddled in bright chequered cloth watch me slowly approaching them. A trucker hurls a mostly empty bottle of water out of his window at the boys. They rush to it. The faster of the two gulps down the warm water.

No matter what their age, the nomadic Maasai people in Kenya and Tanzania can be found with their hands out as you drive through their desert homeland.

I’d assumed they were hitchhiking. I’d assumed wrong. They were begging for water. The young boys wave to me to give them water as I trudge past. I hesitate for a moment. There are only a few big gulps of water left. Given how far I’m going to push the bike, I probably need it. Oh well… I toss the bottle of water to them.

No petrol, no water and no money. I’d spent my last Tanzania shillings at a petrol station, hoping to put in enough fuel to get me into Kenya. It wasn’t. To compound issues, the sun’s glow is taking on more and more vibrant hues of orange as it loses intensity and sinks below the horizon. A small sedan pulls up next to me. The driver, Solomon, is headed to the border.

“Do you want to put it in the back of the car?” he offers. “I drove past you a few minutes ago. Then I turned around. I couldn’t leave you out here.”

With everything in the car, Rafiki’s front wheel poking out of the back, I climb into the passen-

Stunning views in Vietnam.

The dice that would determine his course. ger seat.

“You don’t want to get left out here. This is Maasai land. It’s all nature reserve,” Solomon explains.

“I agree. It was a less than ideal situation, but I’ve completely run out of money. What kind of work do you do?” I ask.

“I’m a government official,” Solomon explains.

“You do have all your paperwork, right?”

Solomon expedites the processing at immigration. I’m back in Kenya. A month later, with Rafiki sold, I find myself on the porch of a luxury tent resort in the famed Maasai Mara reserve. There’s a hyena whooping in the distance, and then maybe a lion – I’m not sure.

But one thing is certain... Dice Travels is over.

People ask if I’m ready to go back home, to the US. The answer is no. Then they ask if I love Kenya, if I want to stay here longer.

The answer is no. Then they ask if I will move back to Thailand. The answer is no. I don’t really want anything. I think that’s part of the ennui that sets in at the end of a long period of travelling.

There is part of me that is afraid that when I go back to

Tough going on muddy wet-season tracks.

A Massai man helps fix Rafiki.

America I will be crushed. In a few days, I’ll be getting on a plane to New York City. I will land with $45 in my pocket, no savings and no credit cards. I’ll be 31 years old, going on 32, and I’ll be living in an extra room in my parents’ house.

Staring through the electric fence between me and the wild bush sprawled out on either side of the river inside the Maasai Mara Conservatory, I’m struck with a sensation of trepidation that I am about to cross into the real world.

As if the closure of Dice Travels is pushing me out of a fictional world I’ve carefully woven over the last 31 years. As if, in fact, Dice Travels was not a story in itself, but the last chapter of a long and illustrious childhood. thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

GARDENING 15

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

The proof is in the potting

Your choice of container is as crucial as your choice of plants GREEN THOUGHTS Patrick Campbell

A

ny professional horticulturist will tell you that flexible black grow-bags are the cheapest plant containers available.

They are light, durable and easy on the pocket. Substantial ones can even be buried in the soil wherein small palms and large shrubs can be contained and yet still draw on the surrounding nutrients and moisture.

Only slightly more pricey are rigid plastic pots which come in a huge range of sizes and shapes. Typically, they have lots of drainage holes, and both heat and cool quickly, so essential micro-organisms are not easily damaged, even when the pots are in sunny locations. The smaller sizes are especially convenient for seeds, seedlings and annuals. But as petroleum products, they are not environmentally friendly. And they are utilitarian rather than aesthetic. One reason why they are so often concealed inside socalled “cachepots”.

Unglazed terracotta containers are a step up. Visually appealing, they both look and are natural, and for those who like such ornamentation, can be bought with raised decorative patterns. But they do tend to break easily, especially during the tricky process of re-potting, so avoid large sizes. And they are porous, which means that they draw moisture from the potting mix, and consequently dry out more quickly. Evaporation is a real issue.

My preference, and that of most people, is for glazed ceramic pots. They are much stronger and have the important advantage of retaining moisture better than terracotta containers. Stacked high in most garden centres, the commonest type here in Phuket is khakicoloured with a rudimentary etched pattern. Personally I prefer plain pots with a dark brown matt finish. Prices vary from about B120 to B400 for really gigantic ones.

On the other hand you may feel it worth expending a few more pennies on pots fired in a range of colourful and glossy glazes – of which the blue ones are perhaps the most aesthetically appealing. They are considerably more expensive, but look elegant, especially indoors. Personally I avoid ceramic containers with garish designs: they threaten to upstage the flowers.

Rectangular concrete containers are elegantly slim and modernist.

They are extremely solid, usually come @thephuketnews

in a muted and attractive shade of grey, and will not topple over in high winds. They can be purchased in much larger sizes too, so they are suitable for large shrubs and even small trees such as palms. Self-stacking, modular concrete planters are also available on the market. One drawback: they contain lime which can be toxic to certain plants such as azaleas, heathers and hydrangeas. So wash them thoroughly before use.

Stores such as Index or Home Pro and trendy nurseries may offer plastic or resin “faux” versions of these containers. These realistically simulate textured concrete without possessing its heaviness. If money is no object, you might even consider high-grade, imported stainless steel. Such containers are tarnish-proof and indestructible. Personally I would consider wood only for “cachepots”, since the material deteriorates quickly in Phuket’s humid climate.

You need not be limited to circular or square shapes. Troughs are more suitable for narrow patios and balconies, along window sills, or lined up at the base of a wall. In general and because they hold less soil, they are best suited to smaller plants such as bulbs, annuals and herbs.

Two things are worth bearing in mind. Check to make sure your pots or troughs have a hole in the bottom – unless you are choosing a watery home for a lotus or a water-lily. Plants require a balance between water retention and good drainage. Saturated by moisture, most will literally drown, or suffer root rot.

Secondly, use a waterproof saucer or plate under each container. It will prevent any staining of your precious “sailang” or tiling, and will offer a rough pointer when the soil in your pot is getting dry. Plastic saucers, if you can find them, have certain advantages. Not only are they cheaper than ceramic ones, their slippery bases allow heavy pots to be easily moved around.

Without the hassle of having to become a weight-lifter.

Since there is inevitably not much soil in a single pot, it needs to be of good quality. And as I know to my cost, most soil tends to compact when constantly watered, especially if it contains clay. So it is better to mix one part of ordinary loam with one part compost [the stuff in white bags] or one part of coconut husk or coconut fibre.

Silica-loving cacti and succulents will need some sand or perlite as well.

Such potting mixtures retain more water, and, being both friable and porous, will allow the roots some freedom to

Choosing the right containers for your plants can really bring your garden to life.

expand in their new environment. A proprietary fertiliser can be applied at regular intervals (15-15-15 is okay), but it is important not to overfeed, especially when the soil is dry. Over-feeding and over-watering are anathema to most pot plants.

Don’t neglect them, but equally, don’t kill them with kindness.

Patrick has been writing for ten years about gardening in Phuket and allied topics. If you have horticultural or environmental concerns, please contact him at drpaccampbelll@gmail.com. Many of his earlier creative and academic publications can be found at Wordpress; Green Galoshes.

Succulents shine in colourful glazed pots.

16 ENTERTAINMENT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Dark side of Suburbicon Clooney’s new film strips ‘golden age’ 1950s suburban America of its gleam Angus Mackinnon

G

eorge Clooney was back in the Venice limelight last Saturday with Suburbicon, a toxic depiction of 1950s America he says he was inspired to make after listening to Donald Trump’s election rhetoric. Speaking at the official world premiere of his film at the Venice Film Festival, Clooney revealed that the concept for the new film, which was developed from an old Coen brothers script, came to him around the start of the US presidential campaign, when he started hearing “speeches about building fences and scapegoating minorities”.

And with race, post-Charlottesville, once more in the foreground of US politics, his sixth film as a director has acquired more contemporary relevance than he and his co-writer Grant Heslov ever anticipated.

“I grew up in the South in the 1960s and 1970s at the time of the civil rights movement and we thought we were putting those issues to bed, that segregation was going away,” the 56-year-old told a packed press conference.

“Of course we weren’t and we still have these eruptions every couple of years that tell us we still have a lot of work to do from our original sin of slavery and racism.”

Clooney, who has a house on nearby Lake Como, is a Venice regular and Suburbicon is in the running for this year’s Golden Lion, the top prize at the

US actor George Clooney arrives on a taxi-boat at the 74th Venice Film Festival. Photo: AFP world’s oldest cinema festival.

The Suburbicon of the title is an idyllic small town suburb of neat back yards lined by wooden fences and a Chevrolet or an Oldsmobile on every drive.

But this familiar cinematic territory located in an age of optimism also hosts a darker side of cruelly-enforced racial segregation and mob loansharking that provides the backdrop for the blood-splattered plot. There is, literally, poison in the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches enjoyed by Suburbicon resident Gardner Lodge and his family.

Lodge, played by Matt Damon, lives with his wheelchair-bound wife Rose,

her sister Margaret and their son Nicky (Noah Jupe). Gardner has money worries, Rose blames him for the accident that left her disabled and Margaret envies her sister’s life.

But these secret tensions aside, nothing hints at the grisly mayhem which ensues after two mobsters chloroform the family during a bungled break-in, killing Rose. Gardner’s world soon begins to unravel completely in a sequence of events driven by a typically Coenesque cocktail of lust, greed and stupidity, and seen mostly through the eyes of Nicky.

Meanwhile, the Meyers, an African-

American family, have moved in next door. Nicky is thrilled to have a new friend, their son Andy, to play with but the rest of the town is not so welcoming.

Soon the family are under siege in their new home, hundreds of protestors banging drums around the clock in an effort to force them out.

Clooney said he had wanted to puncture rose-tinted views of a time in American history that is frequently seen as something of a golden age of prosperity and hope.

“When you talk about ‘Making America Great Again’, the time when America was great, everyone assumes, was the Eisenhower 50s,” Clooney said, in a reference to one of Trump’s core election slogans.

“It was great probably if you were a white, straight male but other than that it was not so great. So it is fun to lift up that curtain and look under that thin veneer and see some of the real problems of our country that it has yet to completely come to terms with.”

The director took inspiration from what happened when the real-life Meyers became the first black family to move into Levittown, Pennsylvania in 1957. By the evening of their first day in their new home, they had 500 people on their lawn, Confederate flags on their house and a cross burning next door. Clooney uses contemporary news footage of the harassment.

“Sometimes you have to see the real stuff to make it really land,” he said.

AFP

A 130-year-old story for our times

G

rouchy, greedy and constipated: nobody could accuse Stephen Frears of kowtowing with his portrayal of Queen Victoria in his new film Victoria & Abdul, which premiered in Venice last Sunday. The director, who won a string of awards for The Queen, his 2006 depiction of Queen Elizabeth II in turmoil at the time of Princess Diana’s death, returns to royal questions in a tale of the current British monarch’s great, great grandmother’s

friendship with a young Indian Muslim, Abdul Karim, in the final years of her long reign.

Set at a time when the British Empire was at its peak and India was its “Jewel in the Crown”, Frears’ script lampoons the pomposity, arrogance and ignorance of the Imperial age. But, he says, the convention-defying, crosscultural relationship at its heart has resonance today.

Abdul, played by Ali Fazal, is a In-

dian Muslim prison clerk picked out, on the strength of his height and Victoria’s liking for tall men, to be sent to London in 1887 to present the queen with a gold Mughal coin as part of her golden jubilee celebrations.

It is supposed to be a fleeting visit on which, he is repeatedly told, he must above all avoid looking directly at his Empress, played by Judi Dench.

It is an instruction Abdul flouts and having caught the sovereign’s eye he is soon ensconced in the royal household, to the fury of her son Bertie, the future Edward VII, and a toadying clutch of buttoned-up courtiers who surround and stifle the monarch.

Indian actor Fazal said he had delved into history books to get a grasp of Abdul’s unique experience.

“That time was so different and so essential to this fantastical little world that these two created at the middle of this massive British Empire,” he said.

The Victoria Abdul first encounters is frail and unhappy, a morbidly obese compulsive eater. Soon though she has recovered a glint in her eye as Abdul’s presence gives her a new lease of life.

Dench said the offer to play Victoria again had been an “irresistible proposition”.

“It is very, very complex her attitude to Abdul: not just a feeling of love,

Dench has portrayed England’s queen in three films. but the delight of being relaxed with someone without anyone around or any standing on ceremony.”

Abdul’s story, and the remarkable fact that Victoria, who initially knew so little of India she had to ask him to describe a mango, went untold for over a century, largely because of the efforts Bertie went to to destroy all evidence of it.

Frears’ film was shown outside of competition at the Venice festival where the director was due to receive a lifetime achievement award at a gala ceremony last Sunday.

AFP thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

EXPLORE 17

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Baron Dinte and his Thai partner Saranya ‘Wa’ Sukhom run the Coffee Cycle cafe in Chalong.

Wheel around to the Coffee Cycle BLAZING SADDLES

S

Baz Daniel

itting in the lovely little cafe called Coffee Cycle, in the strangely-named Click Plaza, just off the Chalong Pier Road, as I am right now while writing this, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d found the perfect cyclists’ breakfasting spot in all of Phuket. Eating is a close and necessary bedfellow of regular cycling and many of the health benefits of pedalpushing are derived from the sociability and companionship of your passion for the sport with like-minded, Lycra-clad, souls, and where better to do that than in a convivial cafe over a well-earned hearty breakfast?

You can’t fail to recognise Coffee Cycle as you turn into the broad swathe of Click Plaza with its bars and shophouses, as it has an array of bike racks out front and a large tromp l’oeil mural painted on the wall outside, portraying palm fronds over a dreamy beach scene.

A beguiling outdoor patio with huge TV screens welcomes you, which when I arrived were showing, appropriately enough, a vertiginous hill climb from the Tour de France. Alternatively, you can choose to sit inside in the air-condi-

Baz sits down to a hearty post-ride breakfast.

Healthy and filling poached eggs with salmon. @thephuketnews

tioning and gaze out at the quiet little plaza and its scratching soi dogs.

Coffee Cycle is the brainchild (or possibly branchild) of Baron Dinte and his friendly Thai partner Saranya “Wa” Sukhom who runs the cafe and welcomes you when you arrive. They saw the niche for a cycling-orientated cafe in southern Phuket and given their passion for the sport, decided to launch Coffee Cycle targeted at fellow cyclists and those who just enjoy great food in a convivial setting.

Baron is a remarkably strong and accomplished Aussie cyclist, now 66 years young, who grew up on beautiful Bribie Island just north of Brisbane off the Queensland coast. The son of a fisherman, it is perhaps no coincidence that Baron has chosen another island (almost) called Phuket upon which to settle for his golden cycling years!

Like many Aussies, Baron was an active sportsman for most of his life, but only took up dedicated cycling after the age of 48. Then, when aged 55, he undertook his first Sydney to Gold Coast group bike ride of over 1,000 kilometres in just seven days, raising funds for several children’s charities while he did so. This has now become almost an annual event for Baron who has completed eight such rides, raising over $15,000 for charity, and hopes to complete ten of them before he turns 70!

He has also completed five annual Around-the-Bay events in Melbourne raising funds for the Smith Family charity, and on the wall of Coffee Cycle itself you’ll see an autographed cycling shirt that Baron recently acquired through a bid of $3,400 for Father Chris Riley’s “Youth Off The Streets” charity. Certainly Baron is a man who has turned his passion for pedal-pushing into a wonderful way of supporting worthwhile causes and doing good.

Coffee Cycle opens daily from 7am until 8pm and the menu features such alarmingly healthy pre- or post-ride faire as French toast with berries, mango, or strawberries; fresh seasonal fruit plate with yogurt; various bacon and egg combinations; muesli with fresh seasonal fruits and yogurt; tuna or egg wraps; croissant with scrambled eggs.

Personally, I love their ‘healthy breakfast’ option of poached eggs, smoked salmon, whole grain toast and a big crunchy salad… for my money the best post-ride meal in Phuket!

Lunch and supper offer such temptations as chicken salad, super-grill

of chicken breast, veggies and poached eggs; burgers; or Asian dishes like tom yum goong, or pad Thai, curries and stir-fry’s. And don’t miss out on their daily fresh-baked selection of cakes and muffins. I can personally vouch for how absolutely wonderful the carrot cake plus their world class coffee is after a bike ride when you know that the slight naughtiness of the cream and icing embellishments are absolutely justified by the ardent pedal-pushing you have just completed!

Baron Dinte is a terrific example of a man who has turned his passion and hobby into a means of doing good, not to mention bringing good nutrition and good times to the cyclists of southern Phuket, Drop by Coffee Cycle and say “hi”, you won’t be disappointed.

“Bicycling” Baz Daniel fell off his first bicycle aged three... a case of love at first slight.

Since then he has spent a further 65 years falling on and off bicycles all over the world, but his passion endures. When not in traction, he found time to become Senior VP of the world’s largest advertising and communications group, finally retiring to Phuket in 2006. He has been penning his Blazing Saddles column, chronicling his cycling adventures in Phuket and beyond, since 2013.

18 ISLAND SCENE

From Left: Daniel and Maciek

From left: Luc, Jonathan and Tony

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Michael Nurbatlian, Director of Marketing for Kata Rocks (right) and friends.

From left: Cherry Issarolarn and Yin Praewprawlin

KATA ROCKS COLLECTIVE SERIES 10 MIXES IT UP WITH ALL-STAR MIXOLOGISTS Last Saturday (Sept 2), over 100 guests enjoyed Phuket’s most highly-anticipated event of the summer, Kata Rock’s Collective Series 10 ‘Best of Mixology’. The evening saw an all-star crew of Asia’s best mixologists from 28 KongKong Street, Singapore; Mandarin Oriental and Bamboo Bar, Bangkok; Kata Rocks; Brand Connect and also legendary bartender Michele Montauti. Guests also got to enjoy live music performances as they dined on canapés prepared by Chef Laia.

From Left: Urs Aebi of CCC Hotels & Resorts, Claude Baltes of Sunsuri and Rose and Hajo von Keller of Mangosteen.

Phuket Vice Governor Snith Sriwihok (third from left) and Palad Nikul Pimol-Ekaugsorn (second from left) were the guests of honour for the event.

THE MANGOSTEEN RESORT & SPA CELEBTATES OPENING OF NEW VILLAS The Mangosteen Resort & Spa last Friday (Sept 1) celebrated the opening of its eight new superior jacuzzi villas, teakwood sala and large rock waterfall. To mark the occasion, The Mangosteen, in conjunction with the Rawai / Nai Harn Business Community and local health businesses, hosted a health and wellness day. The full day program featured health and wellness workshops followed by a buffet dinner with live music.

Guests enjoyed a sumptuous buffet and live music.

Chaowalit Chaichompoo, Sompop Rinchompoo, Hajo and Rose von Keller and Sommart Kampa.

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

ISLAND SCENE 19

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Thanyapura staff had a busy morning organising the runners and riders.

A few of the competitors that came to vie for the title of ‘King of the Mountain’.

KING OF THE MOUNTAIN TRAIL RUN AND MOUNTAIN BIKE CLASSIC 2017 Over 800 runners took part in the Thanyapura Health and Sports Resort’s annual King of the Mountain Trail Run last Sunday (Sept 3). The trail run was a sold-out event, and the inaugural Thanyapura Mountain Bike Classic, which began at 11am right after the trail run finished, featured a challenging course through the Khao Phra Thaeo Wildlife Sanctuary. The success of the first annual Thanyapura Mountain Bike Classic pinpointed the rising demand for more competitive mountain biking events in Phuket. The Phuket News and Khao Phuket were proud sponsors of this event.

Free copies of The Phuket News and Khao Phuket were on hand.

From left: Phuket Hotels Association President Anthony Lark, Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong and Director of Tourism Authority of Thailand, Phuket, Ms Kanokkittika Kritwutikon.

The team from Siam Commercial Bank were also on hand with bottled water for the competitors.

GMs and other representatives of the member companies of the Phuket Hotels Association gathered for its 4th Members Meeting at Twinpalms Phuket.

PHUKET HOTELS ASSOCIATION HOLDS 4TH MEMBERS’ MEETING AT TWINPALMS The Phuket Hotels Association held its 4th Members’ meeting at Twinpalms Phuket last Wednesday (Aug 30). During the meeting the association announced a “Hearts with Hands, Keep Phuket Clean” beach clean-up event which will take place on Saturday, Sept 16. Members also discussed the application process and timeline for the group’s hospitality scholarship program. Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong opened the meeting and the new Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) Phuket office, Ms Kanokkittika Kritwutikon, was also welcomed by the association’s members.

MINISTRY OF SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT AND HUMAN SECU R IT Y HOSTS ASEA N MEETINGS IN PHUKET

Mr Maitri Inthusut, the Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and former Phuket Governor (centre) presided over the press conference.

@thephuketnews

Mr Maitri Inthusut, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and former Phuket Governor presided over a press conference on the Asean Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children, the Asean Committee on Women and related meetings, which took place over September 4-8 at the Phuket Marriott Resort & Spa, Merlin Beach.

20 EVENTS

FRI

8 SEP

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

SUN

10 SEP

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

with BBQ sauce, red wine sauce and Bearnaise sauce, Caesar salad and herb-sautéed potatoes.

Only 495 baht. Two Chefs Live Band on stage from 8 pm until late. www.twochefs.com Karon 076-286479, Patong 076-344-914, Kata Beach 076-333370, Kata Center 076-330-065 COME FOR THE FOOD | STAY FOR THE FUN!

Traditional Sunday Roast Angus O’Tool’s Karon Beach Lunch or dinner served from 2pm. Your choice of either roast beef, chicken, loin of pork or leg of lamb served with roast and boiled potatoes, three fresh vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy. Only B350 per person which includes a free glass of house red or white. Opposite Centara Karon Resort. See: otools-phuket.com

MON

Pool Competition at Expat Sports Bar Competition starts at 9pm - Expat Sports Bar at the Expat Hotel Soi Taipan Patong. See map at www.expathotel.com

11 SEP

Go Live Sunday Seafood Brunch

Mussels night @ Shakers 1.2kg mussels served with French fries, your choice, your style: natural, marnière, Provençale, garlic & cream or Thai style. Reservations recommended 295 baht P.P., shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

- September - New Zealand Black Shell Mussel. The Banyan Tree Brunch experience offers a generous selection of live fresh, local and imported seafood with exceptional Lobster dishes, Japanese starters, mouth-watering meats, Asian wok and Western grill treats. Gourmet cuisine exceptional services, Live Jazz and tranquil surroundings, The Banyan Tree Brunch has something for everyone! Prices start from THB 2,800 net per person. Reservations, Banyan Tree Phuket, fb-phuket@banyantree.com, 076 372 400.

All you can eat Sunday Roast Buffet Austcham Phuket Sundowners & Panel discussion All welcome, panel discussion on the “Outlook for the Phuket Marine and Hospitality industries” starts at 16:30 in the Boat Port meeting room, followed at 18:00 with the Sundowners held on the deck of the Anchor Building. Members - THB 400 and non-members - THB 800. Includes Aussies meat pies, cocktail style food and drinks. office@austchamthailand.com Location : Phuket Boat Lagona.

SAT

9 SEP

Live Sports at Expat Hotel NRL, AFL, Soccer, Rugby Union. Any live sport, we will show it. Expat Hotel, Soi Taipan, Patong. www.expatsportsbar.com

Beef, Pork & Lamb – Cauliflower, Broccoli, Peas, Carrots, fried mushrooms, grilled tomatoes – Yorkshire pudding – roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes – gravy, mushroom sauce, mint sauce. Reservation recommended 350 baht P.P., shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

THU

Sunday Roast All Day All Night

14 SEP

All you can eat BBQ night 6pm – 11pm: Beef, Pork, Chicken, Burgers, Sausages, Prawns & Squid, Salad buffet, Choice of potatoes and sauces, bread, buns and garlic bread. Reservation recommended. 395 baht P.P. shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

TUE

12 SEP

Chalong Bay Experience by Marriott Resort Phuket Merlin 1,950 THB net price per person. 3pm - 5pm, leaving at 2pm. Including transportation, distillery tour, cocktail class and Thai pantry dinner with Chalong Bay. Reservation at 076 335 300.

FRI

15 SEP

Afraid of public speaking?

Toastmasters can help.

Looking to develop your public speaking and leadership skills? Ignite your career? Join Toastmasters Phuket and start making yourself a leader today! Meetings held the 2nd and 4th Tue of every month at Mövenpick Resort Bangtao Beach Phuket. Contact Jason on 086 479 7471 for more info. phuketprofessionals. toastmastersclubs.org

Come enjoy a Traditional Sunday Roast EVERY SUNDAY at Two Chefs Kata Center, Karon, Kata Beach and Patong.

Indulge in our Traditional Sunday Roast ALL DAY & ALL NIGHT for ONLY 395 Baht! Enjoy a Large ALL YOU CAN EAT selection of your favourites! Featuring: Roast Aussie Beef, Pork Loin and Chicken. Roasted or Mashed Potatoes. Roasted Mixed Vegetables Flavoured with Thyme and Garlic. Yorkshire Pudding and Red Wine Gravy. Enjoy live music from 8pm-late performed by our famous Two Chefs Band! Come for the FOOD - Stay for the FUN! RESERVE Your Table Now Online at bit.ly/TwoChefsReservations Check out more details on our website at bit.ly/ TwoChefsEvents Reservations, Two Chefs Kata Center, Karon, Kata Beach and Patong. Kata Beach 076-333-370; Kata Center 076-330-065; Karon 076-286-479; Patong 076-344-914.

All you can eat BBQ Ribs night 6pm – 11pm: All you can eat BBQ ribs served with salad buffet, potato salad & choice of sauces. Reservation recommended. 350 baht P.P. shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

WED

13 SEP

Meeting - Rotary Club Patong The Rotary Club of Patong Beach cordially invites guests and prospective members to attend its regular meetings. The cost for non-members is THB 500 and includes lunch. The meeting begins at 12 p.m. at the Days Inn in Patong. Please visit www. rotarypatong.org for additional information.

DAILY EVENT UPDATES ON SURF & TURF NIGHT EVERY WEDNESDAY @ TWO CHEFS All you can eat! Grilled Australian rib-eye steak, teriyaki-marinated chicken and grilled tiger prawns

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRI

EVENTS 21

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

15 SEP

BISP looks forward to welcoming students from other schools in Phuket and Phuketians in general who are interested in the event. BISP Media, British International School, Phuket, counsellor@bisphuket.ac.th, 076 335 555.

Darren Sanders

Thailand Property Awards 2017 Returning for a landmark 12th year held at Plaza Athenee Bangkok. With a professionally run awards system supervised by BDO, the world’s fifth largest auditing and accountancy firm, the PropertyGuru Thailand Property Awards is the biggest and most prestigious real estate event in the Kingdom, with the top and emerging names in real estate celebrating the best developers, projects and designs. Proudly sponsored by The Phuket News.

SUN

Veteran comic and TV chat show host Darren Sanders. Live stand-up comedy in Phuket at Underwood Art Factory. Advance: B600. On the door: B800. At comedyclubbangkok.com and Underwood Art Factory. Chris, Underwood Art Factory, Chris@comedyclubbangkok.com, 095 721 9563.

SUN

24 SEP 2nd FALDO Series Thailand Championship - South

17 SEP Run to Give 2017 Marriott hotels in Andaman area will hold the 7th Run to Give charity event on September 24, 2017 at Bang Wad Dam Kathu. The event aims to raise funds for Pun Fun Pun Yim and HRH Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Children’s Foundation. There will be 21km, 10km and 3km runs. Check their Facebook official page, Run to Give 2017, Phuket.

CHILL OUT SUNDAY!!

Two Chefs UNFORGETTABLE Backyard Sessions, Sunday 17th September Only in Two Chefs Karon with all-girl performers for one of a kind acoustic experience, From 8 until late. And all you can eat, Sunday Roast Dinner, 395 baht!!! All day and night from 1pm. Lots of food & fun, games & prices. Make your reservation: www.facebook.com/TwoChefsThailand/ www.twochefs.com Karon 076-286-479 COME FOR THE FOOD | STAY FOR THE FUN!!

FRI

29 SEP

INSPIRED PHUKETIANS Darrin Scherbain Held monthly, and open to the public, this event gives an opportunity for well-lived people to share their life experiences. Inspired by the famous TED Talks, it’s a great way for people to really connect with authentic ideas that will benefit their well-being and happiness in general. All of the speakers are chosen because of their ability to share an idea that connects with and inspires people. Limited to 55 seats only and priced at B350/pax/net including one drink and pass around canapé. Register now by email to sales@skyelakeclub.com. Skye Lake Club, Cherng Talay.

MON

25 SEP

Welcome all junior golfers aged 12 - 21 years old.

Entry fee THB 5,000 per junior golfer, includes - 2 rounds of green and caddie fees (Sep 30 and Oct 1), Unlimited practice range usage, Practice workshop with PGA Pro’s, Lunch voucher (Sep 30) and prize giving ceremony lunch (Oct 01). Hosted by Laguna Golf Phuket and supported by The Phuket News & Live 89.5. 076 324 350 - golf@lagunaphuket.com

SUN

1 OCT

@thephuketnews

Do an afternoon cooking class with Nan and discover why the Halfway Inn has been rated in the Top 10 Thai restaurants in Patong on TripAdvisor for the last 4 years running. Classes can be booked any time between 2pm till 6pm any day of the week. Google Halfway Inn, Patong’ for more details or call Nan to arrange a very fun and unique Thai culinary experience. Line:+66(0)852533278. Khun Nan, Halfway Inn Patong, halfwayinnpatong@hotmail. co.uk, 085-2533278.

10th Anniversary Millennium Charity Run In aid of Phuket Panyanukul School – Engaging with Autism – The 10th Anniversary Millennium Resort Patong Phuket Charity Run 2017 is a run-for-charity organised by Millennium Resort Patong Phuket (MRPP) in conjunction with its 10th year celebrations. “Engaging with Autism” has been chosen as the theme for this marathon. More info at gotorace. com/event/millennium-charity-run/. Proudly sponsored by The Phuket News and Khao Phuket.

EVERY DAY

3rd ACCOR HOTELS Heartbreak Hill Mini Marathon 2017 To create an annual fundraising event which supports the improving education and well-being of underprivileged children within the community we live and work. Our priority is to raise funds for local schools in Phuket and nearby provinces and support to Accor Yim Kids Project, which is a part of ACCOR HOTEL’s Corporate Social Responsibility.

More info: tel. 076602544 (Thai) 076 602 541 (English) or Facebook: HeartBreakHillPhuket. Venue: Khao Kad, Panwa Cape. Proudly sponsored by The Phuket News and Khao Phuket.

Cooking Classes Every Day

La Gritta’s Discovery Menu Take your taste buds on a culinary tour through some of the finest Italian flavours. Chef Patrizia has created a six-course discovery menu consisting of the appetiser, main course and dessert, priced at 1,590 THB++ per person. The terms and conditions are subject to change without prior notice. Reservations, lagritta@amari.com 076 292 697.

7 Nights 7 Themed Dinners at Rim Talay Mana Smokehouse University Fair - Hosted by BISP British International School, Phuket is hosting the largest ever University Fair in Phuket with over 100 visiting Universities from 17 different countries this September, on Monday the 25th at 11.45am to 1.30pm.

Traditional American BBQ/smoked and slow roasted, along with TEX MEX tacos, Burritos, Quesadillas etc etc. Open 7 days a week, all day dining. Best ribs in town. At the front of BEST WESTERN Patong Beach.

Promotion everyday i.e 399B all you can eat A La Carte, Mondays come 4 pay 3, Live music. Heart of Patong. Free parking. Reservation, 076-360-220.

Make each night unique! Enjoy our themed dinners with the cool sea breeze. Phuket Night Market @690 THB++, Thai & International buffet @790 THB++, Seafood Night @980 THB++, Ribs, Wings & Rings @770 THB++, Butchers Night @market price, Surf & Turf @950 THB++, Thai Seafood Gala @980 THB++ The terms and conditions are subject to change without prior notice. Reservations, rimtalay@amari.com, 076 340106-14 #8027.

22 TIME OUT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Crossword by Myles Mellor & Sally York 1. What percentage of Earth’s atmosphere is nitrogen?

2. Duxelle are what vegetables, finely chopped, cooked in butter with shallots and wine?

3. Which New Zealand city is named after the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh?

4. How old was President John F. Kennedy when Marilyn Monroe sang ‘Happy Birthday, Mr. President’?

5. British singer/actor Harry Styles of One Direction features in which acclaimed war film?

Answers below, centre

SUDOKU

Medium

Across 52. Spain and 1. “60 Minutes” Portugal network 54. Vegetables 4. Decline 58. Cornell of Cornell 7. Airport posting, abbr.

University 10. Chance 61. Pool division occurrences 62. Game fish 12. “C’est la vie” 63. Drift 14. Auspices 64. Europe’s highest 15. Leaning volcano 17. Half man, half goat 65. Decree 18. Awfully long time 66. Balderdash 19. Cream 67. Ballpark fig. companions 68. Kitten’s cry 22. Couch 23. The human soul Down 27. Coast Guard 1. Gliding dance step officer, for short 2. Strip to hold 28. Call, as a game something firm 30. Vacation locale, 3. Spouts with “the” 4. Call at first 31. Lord’s Prayer start 5. Wing-shaped 32. Fruity dessert 6. Wild cattle 35. Kind of truck 7. Grade A item 37. Blood-typing letters 8. Bit of business 38. Inits. on a rocket attire 39. Laundry accessory 9. Chucklehead 44. End 11. Bed support 45. Affairs 13. Concealed 46. Ace sharpshooter 47. Communications 14. “No problem” authority 16. Annoying fellow 50. Bedded down, in 20. Page Britain 21. Biblical twin

24. Corn castoffs 25. Kind of skirt 26. Word used before now 29. Warning signs, when red 30. Inside info 32. Bristle 33. Diminish 34. Kind of pie 35. Chamber group, maybe 36. “My bad” 39. Would contraction 40. “Eureka!” cause 41. Small knot 42. Seed coat 43. Automaton 47. Fold of a membrane 48. Gang 49. Kind of nut 51. Ponzi scheme, e.g.

53. Pitcher 55. When repeated, like some shows 56. Lodges 57. Exploit 58. Answer incorrectly, e.g.

59. Animal house 60. Deserter

Solutions to last week’s puzzles:

Answers to this week’s Pop Quiz: 1) 78%; 2) Mushrooms; 3) Dunedin; 4) 44 (his 45th birthday was 10 days later); 5) Dunkirk (2017)

GOT YOUR NUMBER

ISLAND VIEW

This week in history

1

Sept 8, 1966 The landmark American science fiction television series Star Trek premieres with its first-aired episode, “The Man Trap”.

20

Sept 9, 1939 Burmese national hero Sayadaw U Ottama, a Buddhist monk from Arakan State (or “Rakhine State”) , dies in prison after a hunger strike to protest Britain’s colonial government.

average American consumes the same amount of resources as 32 Kenyans in a year.

percent of women experience foot pain after just 10 minutes of wearing high heels.

25

dollars is all Lynda Carter had in her bank account when she was cast as Wonder Woman in the 1970s series.

453

Sept 10, 2008 The Large Hadron Collider at CERN, described as the biggest scientific experiment in history, is powered up in Geneva, Switzerland. (Photo

by Maximilien Brice.)

grams of grasshoppers is almost as nutritious as a pound of beef.

2010

Sept 11, 1609 Henry Hudson discovers Manhattan Island and the indigenous people living there.

was the year, specifically on October 3, that World War I officially ended.

Sept 12, 490 BC Battle of Marathon: The conventionally accepted date for the Battle of Marathon. The Athenians and their Plataean allies, defeat the first Persian invasion force of Greece.

2 million cases of diabetes could be avoided if Americans stopped drinking soft drinks every day, says one study.

Source: Uberfacts

Diving at the Similan Islands. Photo by Baz Daniel Got an unusual or particularly beautiful picture of Phuket?

Email it to execeditor@classactmedia.co.th

Sept 13, 1985 Super Mario Bros. is released in Japan for the NES, which starts the Super Mario series of platforming games.

Sept 14, 1917 Russia is officially proclaimed a republic.

Source: Wikipedia thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Jobs

@thephuketnews

CLASSIFIEDS 23 The Phuket News @thephuketnews

24 CLASSIFIEDS

Jobs

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

CLASSIFIEDS 25

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Trades & Services ADVERTISING SERVICES

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

CLEANING SERVICES

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

HOME IMPROVEMENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT

MARINE SERVICES

MOVING SERVICES

@thephuketnews

26 CLASSIFIEDS

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Trades & Services

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

classifieds@thephuketnews.com

MARINE SERVICES

PERSONAL SERVICES

STORAGE Reserve Your Storage Space

Call 076 29 29 09

or visit mystorageasia.com

 Sizes to Suit all Budgets  Personal & Business Storage  Motorcycle Storage  Left Luggage Service  We Sell Boxes  Storage Insurance Inclusive

Secure, Clean & Cost Effective Self Storage Jungceylon Shopping Center, Patong, Phuket

TRAVEL DEALS & TOUR

HOME DECORATION

ADVERTISE HERE

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CLASSIFIEDS 27

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Buy & Sell

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

BUSINESSES FOR SALE Restaurant for sale

Located in central Khao Lak. Full equipment and furniture. Price including 1 year payment with 3 years contract, can continue contract. 1.2 Million THB, Mali, Central Khao Lak. Jack.arms@hotmail.com, 087-465-6531 Jack, 081-483-3966 Klaus (German).

BOATS, YACHTS FOR SALE Long Tail Boat For Sale

Ready to go “Long Tail Boat” with or Without Captain (Thai) Get special price, please call 085 781 9167 (English) Bangtao Beach, Phuket, B275,000, giorgionaef@aol.com 085 781 9167.

Boating deal of the year: 7.5m baht (reduced from 10m baht)

Due to serious health reasons, the owner must part with his beloved 80’ tour boat.

New wiring throughout, power outlets, transformer and voltage meters. New upholstery throughout bar and entertainment area. Engines & generator fully reconditioned & serviced. All maintained to European standards. Ideal boat for quality day trip business. beachsando1@gmail.com 080 695 3933.

CAR FOR SALE Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8G VVTI

2013 - 35,000km - Automatic White - CD Radio, Air-con, Alloys Excellent Condition, Only used for school runs. 525,000, Duang, Royal Phuket Marina, gavinmullins@hotmail.com 083 093 9724.

2014 Nissan Juke For Sale

2014 Nissan Juke, one owner, full history, leather interior, rear sensors, climate control. Perfect Phuket runabout, only 82000km. 530,000, soiana56030@gmail.com, 0950 924 729

HOME IMPROVEMENT TechWorX Projects

MOVING SERVICES Looking for a Moving Company?

With over 15 years of experience Bigmove Phuket is the number 1 provider of moving and shipping in and out of Phuket Thailand. We provide storage in a state of the art clean, secure, storage facility located centrally in Phuket. www.bigmovephuket.com. Mr Joe: bigmovephuket@gmail.com 081-797-5377.

PETS, BOARDING Dear Pet Seekers

TechWorX Projects now offer a full Electrical Contractor service. This complements our existing offerings of AV, IT, Home Automation, Home Cinema and Security systems. If you are planning a new build or renovation please contact us for a free consultation. Daragh, 393/8 moo 1 Srisoonthorn road, Cherngtalay, Thalang, Phuket 83110, daragh@techworx.asia, 084 443 9863.

I have two great dogs looking for a home.

According to a Vet, 7.5 years old. I’ll update their shots. Please see pictures, both are great dogs. I’m leaving the country. Contact Chris 087-884-8972.

MEMBERSHIPS

Relocation of Major Office

Life Time Family Membership

Blue Canyon: 750,000 THB includes 140,000 transfer fee.

Loch Palms: 425,000 THB includes 72,000 transfer fee.

Tanita, 094 695 3536 / 063 992 3226.

MEMBERSHIPS Phuket Country Club Family Golf membership

2 courses, 9 & 18 hole course 390,000 Thai baht. Seller will pay transfer fee. Contact Chris: 087-884-8972.

Phuket Country Club Golf Membership

Golf membership for sale, includes transfer fee of 60,000 THB. 450,000, David, dsgrabham@yahoo.co.uk 087 881 7545.

Loch Palm Golf Membership

Lifetime Loch Palm Golf membership for sale. 400,000 baht, the Loch Palm transfer fee of 72,000 baht will be shared equally between the buyer and seller. sales@joydive.asia @thephuketnews

PUBLIC NOTICES Phuket Plus Co.,Ltd, Corporate Registration Number 0105549008784 has relocated its head office, originally located at 580/123, Moo 2, Saimai Sub-district, Saimai District, Bangkok, Thailand. The company’s head office is now located at 45/11, Moo 4, Kamala Sub-district, Kathu District, Phuket, Thailand. This announcement is on behalf of Mr Manusanan of Phuket Plus Co., Ltd. 45/11 Moo 4 Kamala, Kathu, Phuket 83120. Contact: rattana65992@gmail.com, 076-525-848, 076-525-715.

PERSONAL SERVICES Rawai Custom Tailor store

Rawai Tailor – Ladies and Gents custom Tailor Store. Serving local and international clients for the past 10 years, get a free shirt for each suit ordered, fully air conditioned, clean environment, friendly staff, parking space, quality materials, good workmanship and money back guarantee. Located within walking distance from major hotels in Rawai, opposite Sea Shell Museum on Viset road in Rawai. Visit us for free consultation, no obligation to buy. www.RawaiTailor.com Thomas Ghimiray, 158/2, Moo 2, Viset Road, Rawai, Phuket. info@RawaiTailor.com, +6681-415-4883.

REAL ESTATE SERVICES Property in Phuket!

Looking to buy property in Phuket?

International Property Advisory (IPA) can help! Give us a call today on 076 604 260/ 098 064 4408/ 080 886 9660 Email : info@ipa. black , utopia@ipa.black Website : www.ipaphuket.com.

Chatta Real Estate

REAL ESTATE & PROPERTY MANAGEMENT Chattha Real Estate and Professional Rental Management in Phuket. SELL-BUY-RENT-MANAGEMENT-MAINTENACE-GAURANTEED RENTAL. Inquire NOW! www.chattha.asia, 076-636-244, 090-179-6635.

Chanapa, Chattha Real Estate Co., Ltd., info@chattha.asia

PROPERTY FOR SALE Apartment for sale or rent

60 Sqm. 1 bedroom + 1 bathroom and kitchen/living room. Rooftop pool and restaurant. See website Absolute Bangla Suite for photos. Absolutely quiet. Terje Hoff, Absolute Bangla Suite, sfrkata37@gmail.com

Condo for sale or rent

Close to Jungceylon Shopping Center.

30 Sqm. Swimming pool and gym. Quiet and cool. Fully equipped. See website The Art Patong for pictures. B3mn. Terje Hoff, The Art Patong. sfrkata37@gmail.com. 081 894 8446.

Condo for sale

Nice Condo for sale in Rawai 27m2, 2nd Floor renovated. Fully furnished. Ready to move in.

300m from the beach. 750,000 THB, Duverne Jacques, Rawai, Eng-061-0686696, Thai-065-0714228.

'New' foreign freehold condo

Totally renovated in 2016, located in centre of Patong. Size of 65 sqm with a common fitness, sauna and large swimming pool. Perfect for living or investment! B5,600,000, guy@sunny-property.com, 0831 052 707.

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Buy & Sell

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

PROPERTY FOR SALE Land: 3 Rai close to Monument

Land for sale in Phuket. 3 Rai close to Monument Thepkrasattri Thalang.

Perfect for apartments. Contact Thai/English 093 619 2323.

12,000,000, supaku1013@hotmail.com, 093 619 2323.

House for Sale in Karon

House for sale the price is negotiable.

3 bedroom, 3 bathroom house in Karon with a salt water pool. Great opportunity to buy in a good location where houses rarely come up for sale.

Good as an investment or a place to call home. 16,000,000 Baht, ณริศรา โคทส์, g-a-coatesy@outlook.com, 063-541-5642.

Royal Place Condo For Sell

Royal Place Condo is located at the center of Phuket Town, opposite the Tesco Lotus, close to international school, 3 minutes to Big C and Phuket International Hospital, 4 Minutes to Central Festival. 45SQM, 5th floor, Corner Room, 2 balconies, 1 bedroom, 1 living room. Before price 2,800,000 Now Available for 2,250,000. Harry: h.jabary@ gmail.com, 084 249 0526.

1 BRM UNITS FOR SALE

Spacious, modern 90sqm luxury European style apartments in a Golf Resort for sale.

For further information please contact 062-019-1421. 4.9 Million THB, Bruno, Golf Resort, brunohaag@yahoo.com, 062-019-1421.

PROPERTY FOR SALE 4 bedroom house in Chalong

4 king bedrooms (one with ensuite, the others with dedicated bathrooms), 5 bathrooms (1 with a bath, the other showers), Living room, Morning room (lounge/diner), 2 studies, Home cinema, 7 seater, DVD/CD library, 2 carports, 3 separate entrances (+ 5 French windows, a total of 8 exits).

Property is at the end of a quiet soi near Big Buddha, no passing traffic. It overlooks a stream and jungle. The garden is 12 years old with bananas, papayas, mulberry bushes, cherry bushes, flowering plants and shrubs and several palm trees. There are frequent bird visitors…2 birdbaths. Just a few minutes drive from Tesco and Villa/Home Pro on Chao Fa West. Only 12 min drive to Central or big Tesco/Big C/Makro. 16.9MB (negotiable). Area of the site: 137.9 square wah (approx 560 square metres). To view, call 081 415 5522 or email m.allen.phuket@gmail.com

COMMUNITY

PROPERTY FOR RENT Kata Beach Apartment for rent

For rent long term (min 1 year). Kata beach nice-clean Apartment 68sqm.

One bedroom close to the indoor pool. B20.000 per month (exclusive electric). For visit tel/sms: 064 532 3637 or email villaonroof@gmail.com

Rawai Naiharn with spa pool

Unique Thai style home, open plan, close to beach and shops, AC, 3-bedroom 2-bathroom with spa pool, must see! Eng: 090 867 4849 Thai: 081 081 9875.

House for Sale/Rent

Locate Baan Saun Loch Palm Kathu. Fully furniture with swimming pool, 3 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms + maid room, 2 living rooms. Large entertainment area. Very convenient location. Close to BIS, Headstart School, shopping centre, Central, Tesco Lotus, 10 min to Patong beach. Easy access to the Airport. Long term lease 65,000/month including pool + garden service. Sale 13.5 millions baht (negotiable). Khun Bea, Loch Palm Kathu, I.thumwong@gmail.com 098 194 9351.

To rent: 1800 m2

To rent: 1800 m2 of concrete slab with 5m high walls + 500 m2 of parking. Heroines Monument area. Roofing may be arranged, long term and serious interest only. Open to ideas, Leo: 081 821 4064. thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

SPORT 29

Thai ‘King’ of the Mountain

Somchock Jangwang takes the crown at Thanyapura trail run TRAIL RUN The Phuket News editor3@thephuketnews.com

W

ith 800 runners taking part, Thanyapura Health and Sports Resort’s annual King of the Mountain Trail Run, the third installment of which was held at 7am last Sunday (Sept 3), remains one of the country’s most popular trail runs.

Some 328 runners participated in the four kilometre fun run, 270 participants ran in the 8km and 202 runners competed in the 15km, all routes of which went across Khao Phra Thaeo Wildlife Sanctuary’s mountainous terrain.

But it was a Thai national who walked away with the title of “King of the Mountain” this year, with Somchock Jangwang completing the gruelling and challenging 15km course in 01:34:28.4.

Crossing the line after Somchock were Thanyapura’s brand ambassador Sasha Gervais (01:38:06.1) and Mon-

thon Ketsuwan (01:38:49.9) who finished 2nd and 3rd respectively.

In the female 15km race category it was Toni Wolinski from America who took the “Queen of the Mountain” crown finishing in a time of 02:03:29.1. She was followed over the line by Leonie Plaistowe in 2nd (02:06:31.3) and in 3rd was Aree Dechochai (02:10:58.2).

Posting on her Facebook page on Monday, Wolinkski said, “I can’t think of a better way to be introduced to Asia’s trail running circuit than yesterday’s King of the Mountain Phuket Trail Run organised by Thanyapura Phuket. Held behind their expansive sports and health facility the 15k race contained some really challenging steep and rolling terrain.

I was extremely impressed by how well this event was managed (registration, packet pick-up, results posting, etc.), especially with how well the course was marked and the quantity of the aid stations which really factored into my performance.

Somchock Jangwang stands atop the podium to be crowned ‘King of the Mountain’ 2017.

“I would like to thank everyone for all their kind words of congratulations that I have received. I also want to acknowledge and give many thanks to my physio Sarunya Samutsarun for fitting me in the day before the race.

Without her correcting some misalignments resulting from some extensive travel leading up to this event I would not

TGA Singha winner:

Congratulations go out to British International School (BISP), Phuket Year 7 student Sasikarn ‘Mint’ Luangnitikul who last weekend walked away as winner of the ‘Class C Girl’ in the Golf TGA Singha Junior Golf Ranking Championships 2017-18.

Head Coach of the BISP Golf Academy, Oliver Bates, said that Mint is showing a great talent and is now reaping the results of her hard-working attitude.

Phukethon 2017:

On Tuesday (Sept 5), a press conference was held at Phromthep Cape to announce further details of the Phukethon 2017, Asia’s major running festival, to be held in Phuket from Dec 8-10. The star of the press conference, in addition to local government officials, was event mascot ‘Nong Kainui’ who provided fun entertainment for all those in attendance. Look out for further details of Phukethon 2017 in forthcoming issues of The Phuket News. @thephuketnews

have been able to perform at the level that I did. Additionally another huge contributor in preparation for yesterday’s event was Darren Scherbain with Old Dawg Coaching.

If you want to achieve your goals, it’s important to surround yourself with the right support team.”

Speaking about the event, Virat Patee, Director of the

Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) Phuket office said, “Thanyapura has been consistent in organising trail competitions each year. This year attracted many trail runners. It benefits health, sports and tourism activities. Phuket is another province that creates successful events to align with the government’s agenda. These amazing activities will continue to build Phuket’s reputation for the tourism industry.”

Paolo Randone, Vice President F&B and Sports of Thanyapura added, “It was fantastic event, this is proof that Thanyapura can organise a great race. I saw a good team spirit from everybody who participated. We went from 80 runners in the first year to 800 runners in the third year – that says it all. Next year, it’s going to be even bigger. We’re going to push the bike race a lot more because a lot of people are interested, especially the kids.”

W hile David Escolar Ballesteros, swimming and cycling coach of Thanyapura commented, “As the director of both races, I’m

proud and happy. We created a trail run in a short amount of time and people can find a real challenge to enjoy and experience Phuket’s jungle.

The Thanyapura Mountain Bike Classic was difficult and the area around it was too wild. However, we were able to build a great course in amazing spots.”

Thanyapura has continued to promote non-traditional, off-road races over the past three years to experienced and beginner trail runners.

The King of the Mountain Trail Run was a sold-out event with a growing number of participants each year.

Next up, on November 12, Thanyapura will hold the “Thanyapura Classic Cycling Race” and on the 25th the “Foremost Ironkids” triathlon. On December 9, Thanyapura will host the “Colour Fun Run” as part of the Phukethon, Asia’s major running festival which is being held from December 8-10.

For f u r ther infor mation about other events happening throughout the year, visit: www.thanyapura.com/events

30 SPORT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Stars beat Patong in Madras 30 Over League CRICKET

Andrew McMillan

Permanent Secretary of the MoTS Mr Phongphanu Sawetrun (centre) during his recent visit to Phuket. Photo: PR Dept

Govt supportive of Muay Thai training MUAY THAI THE PERMANENT SECretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MoTS) is ready to promote Muay Thai as a field of tourism that can generate income for the country and supporting interested foreigners and tourists who are interested in learning the sport.

Permanent Secretary of the MoTS Mr Phongphanu Sawetrun disclosed that he recently visited a popular training facility in Phuket which provides Muay Thai training to foreigners and Thais.

He found out that there are currently many foreigners who are taking Muay Thai classes in Phuket, and adds that this

is an opportunity that can generate large amounts of revenue for the country.

He added that there are an increasing number of foreigners becoming interested in picking up Muay Thai and that this target group is also in the category of quality tourists.

“Each person will spend a long time learning and practising Muay Thai and some of them will stay for about a year, so their spending is usually 50% higher than regular tourists,” he said..

“Thai boxing is a main activity in sports tourism and there is great opportunity in promoting it, as it is another type of tourism that can increase the country’s revenue in the future,” he added.

NNT

T

he Phuket Stars got the better of the Patong Cricket Club in a close Madras 30 Over Cricket League match at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) last Sunday (Sept 3).

After winning the toss, the Stars choose to bat first in sunny conditions. The Patong bowlers received some early punishment from Ali Khan and Iqbal Malik but Shivam Bhattacharya replied in fine fashion for Patong with four wickets before the drinks break.

The Stars were staring down the barrel, short on players, they had just three wickets in hand and 42 runs on the board.

Manish Sadarangani was the last notable batsmen remaining at the crease, he worked patiently with the tailenders to keep the scoreboard ticking over at around four runs per over and Patong out in the sunshine.

Patong managed just one

Andrew MacMillian, batting for Phuket Stars, is bowled

by Patong’s Hico MacDonald. Photo: Michael Way wicket in the second session and it took until the 29th over for Sadarangani to salute with a well earned half century before he was superbly caught

by Jason Robertson at point to end the Stars innings 8/123.

(M.Sadarangani 50, Extras 31, S.Bhattacharya 4/28).

After being bowled out cheaply in their first match, Patong had a patient approach to the start of their innings.

The batsmen saw off the new ball combination of Malik and Sadarangani before a few loose shots brought about three wickets for the Stars.

At drinks Patong still had their work cut out with 94 runs required with six wickets in hand Sameer Khan put an upset victory into play when he went through Hico McDonald’s defences in the first over after the break.

Stuart Hamilton joined Anthony van Blerk in the middle and Patong were on par with the Star’s run rate two balls later. However, the fall of wickets continued and both batsmen were back in the shade before the second drink break. Patong 6/82.

Without captain Seemant Raju, Patong were hoping that Jason Robertson could score the bulk of the remaining runs. Robertson jumped to the task, hitting some well timed boundaries which included planting a Khan delivery on the roof of the Pavilion.

However, Khan had the last laugh with a slower ball wrapping Robertson on the pads and John King’s right finger ending a close and competitive match.

Patong 9/111 (Robertson 33, Hamilton 24, S.Khan 4/29, 2/14).

Rise with the sun, run for the turtles CHARITY JW MARRIOTT PHUKET Resort & Spa in collaboration with the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation and its foundation par tners will host its annual fundraising sports event, the 13th Mai Khao Turtle Fun Run Across the Sea and Mini-Marathon 2017, on Sunday October 8 from 5:30am-7:30am, at the Phuket Gateway.

On this occasion, Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong will be the honoured guest and preside over the race day.

The event is a fun and family oriented affair open to all ages. The race will start and finish at the Phuket Gateway and encompass the surrounding beauty of Had Sai Kaew Beach and Baan Tha Chatchai, and the 10.2 kilometre mini-marathon will take runners across the iconic Sarasin Bridge to Phang Nga province and back.

The event will feature a 2.5km family fun run, normal 5.3km or 5.3km VIP run and a 10.2km mini-marathon.

The 1st to 5th placed male and female of all race categories will receive trophies and

Race participants line up for the start of last year’s event at the Phuket Gateway in Mai Khao. cash prizes. All registered runners will also receive a running shirt and medal, and there will also be numerous trophies for the hotel and running club with the most participants, the heaviest, oldest and youngest runners, the best fancy dress outfit and much more.

The entry fee is B350 per person for the 5.3km normal run and B1,500 for the 5.3km VIP run (guaranteed trophy); B350 per person for 10.2km mini-marathon or B1,200 per family (two adults and maximum two children aged under 12) for the 2.5km family fun run.

The money raised from the event will go towards to The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation, which is

committed to protecting the marine and coastal environment and ecosystems for the well being of sea turtles that nest at Mai Khao Beach and the surrounding areas.

Online booking and registration is available from July 17-September 20, log on to www.maikhaomarineturtlefoundation.org Walk-in registration is also available at The Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation, JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa’s from September 21-30, from 10am-5pm, call +66 (0) 76 338 000 ext.

3309 or email to maikhaoturtlefoundation@gmail.com The Phuket News and Khao Phuket are proud media sponsors of this event. thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

SPORT 31

PREMIER PREDICTIONS: ENTER NOW AT THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

Embarrassing home GP means Ferrari to regroup BOX OF NEUTRALS

The overall competition winner will receive a 3 day/2 night stay in a Sri panwa one bedroom luxury private pool villa including daily breakfast plus a 120 minute spa treatment for two persons. Total prize value: B123,000 The monthly competition winner for September 2017 will receive a B3,000 voucher to spend at Angus O'Tool's Karon Beach.

MONTHLY STANDINGS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

F

OVERALL STANDINGS

LFC444 18 Red Dragon 18 Fitz 17 gamagan 17 sami 17

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

LFC444 18 Red Dragon 18 Fitz 17 gamagan 17 sami 17

English Premier League 2017 - 2018 Team

Winner Lewis Hamilton celebrates on the podium after the Italian Formula One Grand Prix at the Autodromo Nazionale circuit in Monza last Sunday (Sept 3). Photo: Miguel Medina / AFP Scuderia for its woeful weekend, with much of the rest of the team remaining tight-lipped about their struggles.

In truth, it seemed the team was simply caught short when a heavy deluge flooded the circuit last Saturday (Sept 2), depriving it of precious track time to hone its machine.

From last Friday’s (Sept 1) practice, Vettel and teammate Kimi Räikkönen were unhappy with the balance of their cars around the superlow-downforce circuit, a track layout far removed from the team’s preferred slow-speed, high-downforce configurations.

But when heavy rain effectively cancelled final practice last Saturday, Ferrari had to guess how best to address the car’s deficiencies. The results spoke for themselves.

Vettel finished a crushing 36 seconds behind Hamilton after 53 laps of racing and Räikkönen spent much of his race overcoming midfield drivers Esteban Ocon and Lance

HASH HOUSE HARRIERS Run #1649: Saturday August Sept 9 Run Start Time: 4PM Hares: Manneken Pis, Bunntken Pis (VH) Location: Rawai - Kata Directions: From Kamala – Patong, head towards Rawai following the coastline. At Kata Noi head towards Karon Viewpoint.

Go 400 metres past the viewpoint and then turn right onto Soi Laem Mum Nok (HHH). This is the dirt road that leads to Nui beach. Follow the dirt road for 2 kilometres to laager site. If coming from Rawai, head towards Karon Viewpoint.

Go 1.4km past the shooting range and then turn left on Soi Laem Mum Nok (HHH). Follow instructions as above.

Bus pick-up: Kamala @ Black Cat’s Bar: 2:30pm Patong @ Expat Hotel: 3pm More info: phuket-hhh.com

@thephuketnews

MONTHLY SPONSOR

EPL PREDICTIONS

Michael Lamonato michael@boxofneutrals.com

errari left the Italian Grand Prix with its tail between its legs after Mercedes and Lewis Hamilton handed it a bruising defeat on its home turf.

The famous Italian team arrived at the Autodromo Internazionale Monza full of optimism after a strong showing at the Belgian Grand Prix one week earlier, but before its legions of passionate home fans it could muster just the third row on the grid and third and fifth places in the race.

Mercedes, on the other hand, flew, with Lewis Hamilton cruising to victory after claiming Formula One’s alltime pole position record having equalled Michael Schumacher’s previous benchmark of 68 at the previous round.

Hamilton reaped the spoils, too, taking control of the drivers championship for this first time this season with a threepoint margin over Vettel.

“I think we just screwed up,” Ferrari president Sergio Marchionne told Germany’s RTL. “The set-up for the car was wrong. I think we underestimated the circuit.

“We need to go back to the factory and find out which way the car went sideways.”

It was a curt assessment of Ferrari’s biggest race of the year, but it was also the most detailed explanation from the

MAIN SPONSOR

Stroll for fourth place, which was later snatched from him

by Daniel Ricciardo, who recovered from 16th on the grid to win the driver of the day award.

Weekends rarely come more difficult for championship-contending teams, but Vettel told the Ferrari faithful assembled beneath Monza’s famous podium that their team would bounce back in Singapore on September 17.

“Even if this race has been difficult, I know that we have a very, very strong car and we will have a very, very strong end of the season, I’m sure of that,” he said.

The Singapore Grand Prix is expected to suit the Ferrari car as well as Monza suited the Mercedes, but with the Silver Arrows now sitting atop both championship tables – it leads Ferrari by a commanding 61 points in the constructors standings – the ball is in Ferrari’s court to mount a reply.

“Mercedes power is definitely better than Ferrari

power!” Hamilton said on the podium, gleefully throwing jibes to the crowd that made no secret he was not their preferred winner.

“Today the car was fantastic and really a dream to drive.”

Remarkable is that Hamilton’s wins in Belgium and Italy are the season’s first back-toback victories, both signifying the swinging momentum of the season and foreshadowing Mercedes ready to break loose from the pack if given the chance.

“The last two races have been incredibly strong for us as a team,” Hamilton said.

“We’ve just gone from strength to strength and really shown a real strength in depth.

“It’s obviously an incredibly exciting season.”

And it’s a season with plenty more twists and turns to come.

Don't forget to tune in to Live 89.5 each and every Saturday from 9am for the Box of Neutrals radio show.

Live Sports TV Schedule *Times may be subject to change

SPORT START STOP Friday September 8 Rugby League 15:00 17:00 Rugby Union 12:30 14:30 21:55 00:00 Cricket 10:50 18:00 18:00 00:00 Aussie Rules 16:45 19:45 Tennis 23:00 02:00 Saturday September 9 Rugby League 11:55 13:50 16:30 18:30 Rugby Union 14:30 16:30 16:55 19:00 Rugby Union 19:55 22:00 22:25 00:30 Aussie Rules 13:00 16:00 16:30 19:30 Soccer 18:30 20:30 21:00 23:00 21:00 23:00 21:00 23:00 23:30 01:30 Motor Bikes 17:00 21:30 Tennis 23:00 02:00 Cricket 17:00 00:00 Sunday September 10 Rugby League 11:00 13:00 Rugby Union 20:55 22:50 Soccer 19:20 21:30 22:00 00:00 Cricket 17:00 00:00 Motor Bikes 15:30 20:30 Tennis 23:50 02:00

EVENT

TEAMS / INFO

NRL – Q Final 1 Mitre 10Cup Currie Cup Test Match 2, Day 5 Test Match 3, Day 2 AFL US Open, Day 12

Roosters v. Broncos Canterbury v. Southland Pumas v. Sharks Bangladesh v. Australia England v. West Indies Geelong Cats v. Richmond Men’s D Final, Men’s Singles Semis

NRL – Q Final 2 NRL – Q Final 3 Rugby Championship Rugby Championship Currie Cup Aviva Premiership AFL AFL EPL EPL EPL EPL EPL MotoGP US Open, Day 13 Test Match 3, Day 3

Storm v. Eels Sea Eagles v. Panthers New Zealand v. Argentina Australia v. South Africa Western Province v. Cheetahs Northampton v. Leicester Sydney v. Essendon Port Adelaide v. West Coast Eagles Man City v. Liverpool Everton v. Tottenham Arsenal v. Bournemouth Leicester v. Chelsea Stoke v. Man United Qualifying, San Marino MD Final, Ladies Final England v. West Indies

NRL – Q Final 4 Aviva Premiership EPL EPL Test Match 3, Day 4 MotoGP US Open, Day 14

Sharks v. Cowboys Worcester v. Wasps Burnley v. Crystal Palace Swansea v. Newcastle England v. West Indies Grand Prix of San Marino WD Final, Men’s Final

MP

W

D

L

F

A

GD

Pts

1

Manchester United

3

3

0

0

10

0

+10

9

2

Liverpool

3

2

1

0

8

3

+5

7

3

Huddersfield Town

3

2

1

0

4

0

+4

7

4

Manchester City

3

2

1

0

5

2

+3

7

5

West Brom

3

2

1

0

3

1

+2

7

6

Chelsea

3

2

0

1

6

4

+2

6

7

Watford

3

1

2

0

5

3

+2

5

8

Southampton

3

1

2

0

3

2

+1

5

9

Tottenham Hotspur

3

1

1

1

4

3

+1

4

10

Burnley

3

1

1

1

4

4

0

4

11

Stoke City

3

1

1

1

2

2

0

4

12

Everton

3

1

1

1

2

3

-1

4

13

Swansea City

3

1

1

1

2

4

-2

4

14

Newcastle United

3

1

0

2

3

3

0

3

15

Leicester City

3

1

0

2

5

6

-1

3

16

Arsenal

3

1

0

2

4

8

-4

3

17

Brighton and Hove

3

0

1

2

0

4

-4

1

18

Bournemouth

3

0

0

3

1

5

-4

0

19

Crystal Palace

3

0

0

3

0

6

-6

0

20

West Ham United

3

0

0

3

2

10

-8

0

Premier League fixtures (Week 4) Saturday September 9 Match

Time in Thailand

Man City

vs

Liverpool

Arsenal

vs

Bournemouth

9pm

Brighton

vs

West Brom

9pm

Everton

vs

Spurs

9pm

Leicester

vs

Chelsea

9pm

Southampton

vs

Watford

9pm

Stoke

vs

Man Utd

11:30pm

Sunday September 10 Match Burnley

vs

Crystal Palace

Swansea

vs

Newcastle

Tuesday September 12 Match West Ham

vs

Huddersfield

6:30pm

Time in Thailand 7:30pm 10pm

Time in Thailand 2am

Sport

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

editor3@classactmedia.co.th

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 8, 2017

Thai national crowned ‘King of the Mountain’ > p29

BATTLE TO THE LAST

Phuket FC’s Tevarit Junsom (26) is shown his red card. Photo: screengrab

Phuket FC’s league position to be decided in Thai League 4 finale FOOTBALL Matt Pond editor3@classactmedia.co.th

I

t is highly likely that Phuket FC will have to wait until the very last game of the season to see whether they will hold on to 2nd place in the Euro Cake Thai League 4 Southern Zone.

Up until last weekend, Phuket have been in a threeway battle with Chumphon FC and Pattani FC for 2nd place. However, following last weekend’s results it is now Phuket and Pattani who will battle it out for the important position in the league table.

With Satun United having already sealed the top spot, the team that places 2nd in the league table will go into a play-off with the 3rd placed team of the Euro Cake Thai League 4 Northeastern Zone, with the winner of that playoff then gaining a place in the final Champions League stage of the season.

This will see 12 teams battle for two promotion places to Euro Cake Thai League 3.

Ahead of Phuket FC’s game against Surat Thani City FC last Saturday (Sept 2) – a game which saw three goals, two red cards and 10 yellow

cards – Phuket sat at 2nd in the league table on 42 points having played 22 games. Pattani were in 3rd place on 39 points with 21 games played, while Chumphon were in 4th place on 38 points also with 21 games played.

Phuket sealing a good 3-0 win over Surat Thani last Saturday kept them at 2nd in the league table now on 45 points and with one game remaining. Pattani managed to narrowly beat Sungaipadee FC 3-2 last Sunday (Sept 3) leaving them at 3rd place now on 42 points but with two games remaining. Chumphon, however, were beaten 3-1 by league champions Satun last Sunday, meaning they stay at 4th in the table still on 38 points but also with two games still to play.

Phuket FC could have known their final position ahead of this weekend’s final fixtures as the game in hand that Pattani and Chumphon have over Phuket is a matchup between the two teams themselves.

The teams were due to play each other the weekend of Aug 28-29, however, that game was cancelled due to pitch conditions following torrential rain. The game was rescheduled to take place on

Wednesday (Sept 6) when The Phuket News went to print.

If Pattani took the three points from Chumphon on Wednesday that would leave Pattani on equal points with Phuket (45) with just their last games to play.

Phuket will take on Phatthalung – currently 5th in the table on 29 points – while Pattani will take on Satun – league champions currently on 55 points.

A draw between Pattani and Chumphon would leave Pattani two points adrift of Phuket FC and with all to play for on the last day of action.

However, a win for Chumphon, which Andaman Dragon fans will be praying for, will mean that even if Pattani manage to pick up three points against Satun tomorrow (Sept 9) and Phuket fail to pick up any points against Phatthalung, also tomorrow, then Phuket will still seal 2nd place as they have a far greater goal difference – currently seven goals.

It will be a major shock if Pattani manage to pick up that seven-goal difference in their last two remaining games, especially if they pick them up against Satun this weekend.

That will then certainly be an issue to be raised with the Football Association of

Thailand (FAT).

Now back to last Saturday’s action.

The first yellow card of the game came just eight minutes into the action.

Surat Thani’s Weerasak Piemojo (19) was deemed to have fouled a Phuket player.

However, after being shown the yellow card Weerasak protested to the referee. His protest included a heavy push on the ref, who, despite there being a rule which penalises any player touching an official with either a booking or automatic red card, failed to present a second yellow or automatic red for Weerasak.

A similar incident some 20 minutes later, where Phuket’s Tevarit Junsom (26) received a yellow for a foul, and was then was seen to shove the same Surat Thani player saw him immediately given a second yellow and a red and was sent from the park.

But it was Nattapoom Maya (7) who opened the scoring for Phuket just 15 minutes into the game. A nicely taken corner by Andaman Dragon captain Jhanawat Arewansuk (24) found the head of Nattapoom just on Surat’s six-yard box and he made no mistake heading the ball home.

P

W

D

L

GD Pts

1

Team Satun United

23

17

4

2

27

55

2

Phuket FC

23

13

6

4

18

45

3

Pattani FC

22

13

3

6

11

42

4

Chumphon FC

22

11

5

6

7

38

5

Phatthalung FC

23

7

8

8

-3

29

6

Hat Yai FC

23

7

6

10

-6

27

7

Yala United

21

7

4

12

-5

25

8

Surat Thani City FC

24

4

3

17

-23

15

9

Sungaipadee FC

23

2

5

16

-26

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That was Nattapoom’s 13th goal of the 2017 campaign, and he is now joint leading scorer in the whole of the Thai League 4.

Phuket’s second goal came in the final moments of the official 90 minutes. A nice piece of individual play from Porncha Rodnakkaret (25) saw him turn a Surat defender on the left flank and race towards Surat’s penalty area, he put in a nice pass across Surat’s goal and Sutipong Yaifai (9) slid in to make it 2-0 to Phuket.

Phuket brought the score to 3-0 in the fourth minute of additional time.

This time it was nice individual play from Somsak Chonket (15) that led to the goal. He put a nice cross in towards Surat’s six-yard box

and a heavily marked Porncha somehow managed to cleverly back-heal the ball into the net.

But the action wasn’t quite over yet, as Surat’s Weerasak, who the ref failed to give a red card previously, picked up his second yellow of the game and was sent back to the changing room in the dying seconds of the game.

Somehow, after The Phuket News has seen sight of the official’s post-match report, although Weerasak’s second yellow is marked, the fact that he was awarded a red wasn’t.

So now it’s all down to Phuket’s last official game of the season tomorrow. The game, against Phatthalung FC, will be played at the Phatthalung Provincial Stadium with kick-off set for 4pm. thephuketnews