The Phuket News 16 Feb 2018

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

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Brakes blamed for bus crash on Patong Hill

LIFE

RAW SEWAGE FOULS PATONG BAY, EXPOSING THOUSANDS TO HEALTH RISKS

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Chef Pop reveals The Fat Chef’s healthy secrets

A man walks along the section of Patong Beach where the water turned black from untreated raw sewage flowing freely into Patong Bay. Photo: The Phuket News

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A

fter six days of raw sewage flowing into Patong Bay, environmental officials on Wednesday (Feb 14) finally advised tourists to not enter the water within 300 metres of the Pak Bang Canal at the southern end of Patong Beach.

The warning followed Patong Mayor Chalermluk Kebsup publicly admitting last Friday (Feb 9) that a fault in the construction of the upgrade to the Patong Wastewater Treatment

Plant had allowed raw sewage to flow untreated into Patong Bay. However, the following day, Mayor Chalermluk requested patience regarding information on wastewater released into Patong Bay, visibly turning the seawater at the end of Patong Beach black, as officials investigate the source of the problem.

The incident has potentially exposed thousands of visitors at the popular beach to health risks.

Asked how people would know whether the water is safe to enter, Khanchit Soontrakorn of the Regional

Environment Department Region 15 office, based in Phuket, told The Phuket News on Wednesday, “Right now, people are able to decide by the colour of the water.”

Mr Kanchit said he had no knowledge of any people suffering physical effects from exposure to the wastewater. “That is Patong Municipality’s responsibility, and they are working on it right now,” he said.

Regardless, Mr Khanchit downplayed the possibility of swimmers at Patong even developing ski irritations, even though no officials have

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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yet dared to even estimate the volume of wastewater that has fouled the bay.

“If people get itchy, that is from sea lice,” he said.

Mr Khanchit was happy to promote that his office “would be doing something about the problem”.

“Regional Environment Office 15 in Phuket will begin their plan this month to inspect the area and the hotels in the area to solve and reduce the wastewater in Pak Bang Canal by looking to build more wastewater treatment plants and making the wastewater treatment plants in the...

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Officials mark the opening of the Lantern Festival at a press launch at Limelight Avenue in Phuket Town. Photo: PPAO

Chinese New Year comes a little late U N LI K E ELSEW H ER E in Thailand where official celebrations for Chinese New Year will begin on Feb 16, official celebrations in Phuket will not begin until Feb 21.

Meanwhile, the Phuket Lantern Festival, after taking a hiatus last year, makes its return this year taking place from Feb 9-Mar 2.

Last Friday (Feb 9) at 7:10pm at Limelight Avenue in Phuket Town, Phuket Vice Governor Prakob Wongmaneerung presided over an opening ceremony for the Phuket Lantern Festival, or Pang Deng Houi, which began on Feb 9 and continues to Mar 2.

“This year, Chinese New Year is on Feb 16, and New Year’s Eve traditions before Chinese New Year begin on Feb 9,” said the Phuket PPAO in a press release.

“Before the Chinese New Year, every family will prepare with a big home cleaning and buy greeting cards, and lanterns with decorative red colours for good luck, longevity, good fortune and peace.

“The Lantern Festival is a part of Phuket’s Chinese New Year celebration. The brightness of the lantern is the symbol of luck and hope.

Thus, in front of every home and on the roads will be decorated with beautiful lanterns,” said the PPAO. “The activities of the Lantern Invention Workshop, the lantern parade at the opening ceremony of the 19th Chinese New Year festival with Phuket old style will take place on Feb 21 this year, including the ‘Yuan Xiao party’ at the 72nd Anniversary Commemoration Royal Park (Dragon Monument) on Mar 2.”

This event will consist of cultural shows by students, an exhibition of Yuan Xiao history and Confucius classroom, and a party for moonlight gazing and eating sweet glutinous rice balls, added the PPAO statement.

“However, the Lantern Festival has not been organised in a long time. Thus, Phuket wants to continue the heritage with decorating lanterns by cooperating with Limelight Avenue Phuket, Phuket Municipality, together with Phuket Cultural Network to organise this activity,” they said.

“In addition, this festival will be set annually… The purposes are to revitalise the way of life and the Chinese culture of Phuket,” they added.

The Phuket News

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Notorious Nai Harn luxury residences halted over dubious land claim > page 4

Environment boss orders action on illegal hotels Continued from page 1 ...area work effectively and properly,” he said.

That definition of action to be taken flew in the face of a direct order by Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment Permanent Secretary Dr Wijarn Simachaya, who only four days earlier stood on Patong Beach – with Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong present – and ordered the Regional Environmental Office to target illegal hotels in Patong dumping untreated wastewater into the canal.

“Officials from the Environmental Department’s Region 15 office in Phuket will come to work with Patong Municipality to solve this problem. They will look for the points where illegal hotels are releasing their wastewater into the sea,” Dr Wijarn said on Sunday (Feb 11).

“Those hotels will be charged according to the law,” he added.

A bastion of common

Black water flows into the Pak Bang Canal from a pipe that leads directly to the Patong wastewater treatment plant. sense, Dr Wijarn advised, “We should fix this problem with the cooperation of hotels in Patong who are not connected to drains feeding the wastewater treatment plant.

“Some hotels in Patong should even consider treating their own wastewater so that it can be reused,” he added.

However, he war ned, “Right now we are responsible for this issue together. If we do not respond then the consequence is an effect on marine life and the tourism

industry.”

Meanwhile, Patong Municipality also on Wednesday reported that it had “solved” the problem of the sands at nearby Tri Trang Beach turning black from the volume of contaminants washed ashore.

The simple solution was to drive backhoes onto the beach and bury the black sand under cleaner, light-brown sand.

Supakorn Meekeaw, Acting Head Engineer at Patong Municipality’s environmental department, told The Phuket

News on Wednesday, “The black sand on Tri Trang Beach was taken away from the beach this morning. We then pumped all the wastewater away too.”

Exactly how the wastewater could even be pumped away from the area, which opens directly onto the rest of Patong Bay, and to the Andaman Sea, Mr Supakorn did not explain.

In a stunning statement, Mr Supakorn also said, “Right now I cannot confirm where the wastewater was released from or the cause of the wastewater at Tri Trang Beach.”

However, he did admit, “The Patong wastewater treatment plant is always a problem. It is possible that hotels or business illegally released wastewater into the canal.

“We are finding out if there are any hotels releasing their wastewater into the sea, If we find any hotels doing so, we will definitely charge them, but so far we have not found any hotels illegally releasing wastewater,” he added.

Kamala hotels threatened with temporary closure HOTELS IN K AMALA face temporary closure if they are found releasing untreated wastewater into the Ketnee Canal.

“We have been informed of the untreated wastewater appearing at Kamala Beach, which appears to be flowing from the Ketnee Canal. I have asked Phuket Provincial Public Health Office to inspect the area,” Kamala Tambon Administrative Organisation

(OrBorTor) Deputy Chief Executive Nopporn Karuna said on Monday (Feb 12).

“I believe the cause of this problem is hotels and rental houses in the area releasing untreated wastewater into the canal. However, it will take about 15 days for us to clarify this,” he said.

“In the past we have had untreated wastewater problems at both the Ketnee and Pak Bang canals, however, the

problem at Pak Bang Canal has already been solved,” he explained.

“If hotels in the area are found to have been releasing untreated wastewater into the canals, and if they do not stop doing so within seven to 15 days, they will be required to temporarily close and solve their wastewater treatment issues… That is just the initial penalty,” he concluded.

Pakin Intajak

Photos sent to The Phuket News show the wastewater being released at Kamala Beach. Photo: Supplied

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Under pressure MaAnn tested on Supreme Court beach evictions The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

M

aAnn Samran, chief of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor) has come under direct pressure about his ability to carry out Supreme Court evictions on 178 rai of beachfront land at Layan and Leypang beaches, on Phuket’s west coast.

The final warning for the evictions was handed down in an order made public at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall on Tuesday (Feb 13), when occupiers of the beachfront plots were given until March 5 to vacate their plots or face having their businesses demolished.

The vendors, mostly beachfront restaurants catering to tourists, were first warned to vacate the beachfront plots by official notices posted by the DSI on Nov 16 last year. Those notices were posted after the Supreme Court handed down its ruling on Nov 1 last year.

Testing Mr MaAnn on his conviction to carry out

Mr MaAnn points specifically to which areas at Layan and Leypang are to be vacated

by March 5. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot the evictions on Tuesday was Wanchat Choonhathanorm, a senior prosecutor at the Phuket Public Prosecutor’s office, which operates under the Office of the Attorney General.

Mr Wanchat has been tasked with overseeing and ensuring the Supreme Court evictions are carried out.

“There have been reports in the media accusing me of taking bribes to not take any action on this issue. That is a [****] lie. I have not taken any bribes. My house does not

need the money,” Mr Wanchat said angrily.

“Mr MaAnn, you have to follow up with this case. I don’t want new people to claim this land. We are still watching this case very closely. We want to see it done.

“It is your responsibility, Mr MaAnn, Can you handle it?” Mr Wanchat asked in full view of the press present at the meeting.

Mr MaAnn admitted, “It is uncomfortable to deal with, but I must do it.”

However, he assured, “If they don’t move, I will knock them (their businesses) down on March 5. Nothing will stop me from doing my job. If officials make no mistakes in their jobs, this enforcement will work.”

Mr MaAnn explained that he had issued an order for the occupiers to vacate the beachfront plots within 15 days from Feb 13.

“They know about this notice and they must move out from the 178 rai,” he said.

PHUKET NEWS

3

Tour bus crashes on Patong Hill

A TH AI WOM AN SUStained serious injuries while four Chinese tourists suffered minor injuries when the brakes on a tour bus failed on Patong Hill on Tuesday night (Feb 13).

The bus, with 35 Chinese tourists on board, collided with a car and a motorbike before coming to a crunching halt when it slammed into a concrete barrier at the final curve on the descent into Patong.

Lt Col Teerasak Boonsang of the Patong Police was notified of the accident at 11pm.

Kusoldharm Rescue workers and Patong Hospital medical staff arrived at the scene to find a white Phuket-registered “Uten Kladnakha” tour bus crashed into the concrete barrier.

Twenty metres away was a badly damaged white Bangkokregistered Toyota Camry with one of its wheels ripped off and a damaged blue Honda Dream motorbike.

A seriously injured unnamed Thai woman was found lying on the road. She was taken to Patong Hospital.

The four Chinese tourists from the tour bus who had suffered minor injuries were also taken to Patong Hospital while the remaining Chinese

The bus came to a stop after hitting a concrete barrier at the final curve of Patong Hill on the descent into Patong. tourists were transferred to the Phoenix Grand Hotel in Patong.

Uten Kladnakha, 46, the owner and driver of the bus, told The Phuket News, “When the bus arrived at the curve, a brake booster exploded and I could not brake. I tried find a place to stop but the bus collided with a car and a motorbike which were heading in the opposite direction.”

Satit Rongsawat, 34, the car driver, explained, “While I was heading up the hill, I saw the tour bus heading towards me. I failed to avoid a collision.

The bus hit the back of my car.

Luckily I was not injured.”

Patong Police on Wednesday said they were continuing their investigating into the incident.

Eakkapop Thongtub

Dangerous speedboats blamed for coral grabbing A DIVE TOUR BOAT OPERAtor has responded to reports of divers holding onto corals off Phuket with the explanation that the divers were forced to take action as speedboats were passing dangerously overhead.

The news broke on Tuesday (Feb 12) when local marine conservation group Go Eco Phuket posted photos online showing the divers touching corals reportedly at Shark Point, also called Hin Musang, off Koh Yao Yai east of Phuket, about halfway to Phi Phi Island.

The photos were reported as being taken at 5:30pm on Feb 7.

The Phuket office of the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources

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(DMCR) quickly responded with enquiries to start tracking down the tour company that provided the tour for the divers.

“There is no excuse for this. Just touching corals can damage them, and that damage can spread to other corals,” DMCR Phuket office Director Watcharin Thintalang told told The Phuket News.

However, the boat involved was the North Star, which found itself in hot water just last month after a group of different divers from the boat were caught holding a sign congratulating a Japanese diver for completing 200 dives on a coral head in Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park

near Phi Phi Island, on Jan 26.

In response to the latest report of divers affecting corals, Vivaan Vichaidit, Manager of Happy Star Tour Co Ltd, told The Phuket News, “Although the Facebook user who posted those images, ‘Tom Sorensen’, got the date and the location wrong, we do admit that the divers in the photos were using our boat.

“The incident occurred on Feb 9 and not Feb 7. If you look at the Facebook page of Tom Sorensen, who posted the original images, you can see that he has deleted them due to comments explaining why the divers had to hold on to some of the rocks in the sea.

“All of the accounts of the divers involved agree that this case was a safety measure. The dive occurred at what we call ‘tourism waters’, it is a shallow diving site and at the time the images were taken, speedboats were passing above the divers, which is dangerous.

“Therefore the divers had to get closer to the bottom of the sea for their own safety. It is called a ‘safety stop’,” she said.

“Also, if you notice in the photos, there is some coral, however most of the area is rock. Where the divers are holding on is mainly rocks,” she added.

“However, the divers are prepared

The divers were holding onto corals because speedboats were passing dangerously overhead, said the tour boat operator. Photo: via Go Eco Phuket / Facebook to deal with the case and give their testimonies to the DMCR. “You can’t only care about corals, you have to also care about people’s safety,” she added.

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Three people were arrested in five days for smuggling drugs onto the island by bus.

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Third bus drug mule in a week THA CHATCHAI POLICE on Monday (Feb 12) arrested a 24-year-old Thai man caught attempting to smuggle methamphetamine pills (ya bah) and heroin through the Phuket Checkpoint on a Hat YaiPhuket bus.

The arrest of Chaloemsak Matchawet from Takua Thung, Phang Nga, at 10:30pm on Monday brought the total number of people arrested transporting drugs via bus onto the island to three in just five days, reported Tha Chatchai Police.

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Construction of Nai Harn ‘eyesore’ halted – again Suthicha Sirirat editor@classactmedia.co.th

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onstr uction of the luxury residence at Krathing Cape, overlooking Nai Harn Bay, has been ordered to stop following an inspection on Monday (Feb 12) that deemed the site to be on protected forest land.

The order was handed down after an inspection by officers from the Department of Special Investigation (DSI), the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) and the Royal Forest Department.

Leading the teams were Pol Lt Col Montree Bunyayothin, Director of the DSI’s Bureau of Natural Resources and Environmental Crime, and former Sirinath National Park Chief

Construction of the luxury residences was ordered to a halt again on Monday (Feb 12). Photo: Suthicha Sirirat Cheewapab Cheewatham, who now serves as the Director of the Royal Forest Department’s Forest Protection and Fire Control Bureau.

The inspection, however, began with investigation of the worker’s camp across the

road from where the luxury residences are being built following a complaint being filed against the camp in August last year.

At the worker’s camp the officers found nine huts and a water tank and fence blocking a waterway that once flowed across the site. Rawai Municipality officials confirmed the waterway once served other people in the area.

The huts were home to several families, with women and children living on the site. Officers also found a small pineapple plantation in the area.

One male worker at the

site confirmed to the officers that he worked for Supphachai Boonnan, who the officers called to the site to answer questions.

Mr Supphachai said the land “belonged” to Thanathorn Tienngurn, who he called the “owner” of the construction project that was building the luxury residences across the road.

Mr Thanathorn was then called to answer questions about the construction of the luxury residences.

Mr Thanathorn told officials that he was unable to present the land document to officials, but claimed that he had evidence of “owning” the land via a PorBorTor 5. A PorBorTor 5 entitles a person to occupy land by evidence of paying land tax for the plot, but by law may not be built upon.

Not questioned on Monday was that a Chanote land title, which bestows the registered owner full rights to a plot of land, had already been presented to the DSI in September last year.

At that time the DSI said that the Chanote issued for the land was likely to be illegal.

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Opinion 6

OPINION

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084 307 7408 execeditor@classactmedia.co.th Fifteen years working in news and covering local issues and events in Phuket, with 18-month hiatus spent working for the Brunei Times on Borneo. From Queensland, Australia; 10 years living in the UK before moving to Phuket in 2000. Degree in business management. Spare time spent sailing or with family.

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editor3@classactmedia.co.th Originally from the UK; Has over six years experience as editor and reporter for Phuketindex.com magazine and website, and InPhuket magazine.

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editor1@classactmedia.co.th From Melbourne, Australia, Mark holds a BA from La Trobe University where he completed a double major in Anthropology and Media Studies.

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EDITORIAL

Patong, you’re swimming in it

F

ull praise to Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) Permanent Secretary Dr Wijarn Simachaya for blasting point-blank at the heart of the issue of raw sewage flowing into Patong Bay this week – exposing thousands of tourists to potential infection from a toxic cocktail of faeces and whatever else is dumped into the Pak Bang Canal in Phuket’s busiest tourism town.

Illegal hotels are responsible for the issue and he wants the hotels responsible to be found. Period.

For years Patong and Phuket health officials have tried in vain to publicly dodge the problem with froth and bubble “admissions” that the plankton blooms in Patong Bay have been “naturally occurring” events resulting from elevated counts of phosphorus and nitrogen – as if the average

tourist does not know what the main chemical breakdown components of raw sewage is.

Yes, they know, every time they flush the toilet.

Announcements in the past that environmental officials are monitoring beach water quality anywhere along the Phuket coast, never mind at the island’s most revenue-generating beach, have failed to convince anyone that the readings presented were genuine.

Worse, when the watermonitoring campaign was launched, at the time under one of the most circumspect governors ever to grace this island, having the results made public was a battle. Why would anyone trust a source that does not want you to have full access to their findings? And this no less from a regional government department that is supposedly entrusted with protecting the environment.

Yet Dr Wijarn brings a ray of hope to Phuket in that the true offenders might finally be brought to task. We understand that the issue is massive, and recognise the breakneck pace of development in Patong over the past two decades will not be remedied overnight.

But if you don’t make a start, you will never finish.

It’s high time officials stop trying to save face over an issue that has plagued every high-volume tourism destination in the world. Phuket is not – and has never – suffered any problems that have not been successfully overcome elsewhere in the world.

If we are – or want to be – a genuine “world-class tourism destination”, then let’s start learning from the best before we allow more damage to be caused to ourselves, to tourists and to the almighty revenue that tourism brings.

TOP 10 STORIES ON thephuketnews.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Give us more time to investigate, says Patong Mayor Phi Phi fire leaves nine injured, tourists help battle flames Family appeals against death penalty over Italian slaying in Phuket Russian women reveal details behind illegal Phuket coral possession B40k bail for Russian woman found in possession of dead coral Bitter investors file complaint of millions lost in Phuket Ponzi scheme Phuket ghostriders in the spotlight Phuket Law: Real estate rights in Thailand Kamala hotels threatened with temporary closure over wastewater Raw sewage released into Phuket’s Patong

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HAVE YOUR SAY More work to do

Re: Phuket Gov, Patong Major ordered to quickly resolve Patong Bay wastewater issue Please! I urge the officials to look at the illegal discharges at the north end of Kalim Bay...from White Box all the way up, and all along the coastal road to Kalima.

Actually, the time has come to address this island-wide.

Identify unauthorised/illegal discharges, then require the discharges to stop immediately until the water can be adequately treated. Enough is enough!

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

Weighing the risks

Re: Is blurring licence plates on tourist buses, vans and taxis legal in Phuket?

Very interesting - the response from PLTO would be quite true if there was any enforcement by police officers, but I would guess the cameras are more prevalent than officers so it’s probably less risky to damage the plate than have it visible. You only have to see all the motorbikes roaring around with plates tucked above the rear wheel and

illegal modifications to see how strong enforcement is.

Discover Thainess ..................................................

Legal outlet

Re: 104 street racers and Facebook promoters arrested Why not have a track, on the outskirts, where they can go and do this legally? Keep them off the public roads.

Put a sound-deadening wall around the track or mandate quiet mufflers.

Rich 44 ..................................................

A win for Phuket

Re: Phuket Opinion: In support of sane solutions Here here, if this breaks the taxi/tuk-tuk mafia then it’s a win for tourists and people who live here.

Malczx7r ..................................................

Road to ruin

Re: Raw sewage released into Phuket’s Patong Bay Fifty years ago no tourists and the waters must have been crystal clear, very sad how greed and lack of planning can ruin what was once heaven.

LES

Bad guys out

Re: Police nab Russian Infraud ‘cyber-gangster’ in Bangkok It’s about time the government made a police clearance compulsory for anyone who wants to stay long term in Thailand. Too many criminals are getting into Thailand and destroying the reputation of us genuine honest expats who love Thailand and living here.

Peter Rawai ..................................................

Alternative solution Re: Phuket ghostriders in the spotlight Forcing riders to travel kilometres to do a U-turn due to all the central dividers constructed, instead of only 100 metres to their destination, makes ghostriding almost sensible. If they could turn right, by making more gaps, this would definitely cut down on the number of “ghost-riders”.

Sir Burr ..................................................

Legal overreach

Re: B40k bail for Russian woman found in possession of dead coral in Phuket The legal system facilitates extortion as this case illus-

trates. Is not the law meant for wholesalers who cause much degradation? These unfortunate women made a terrible mistake, likely, and had no idea how environmentally detrimental it is to pick up coral souvenirs and could have been chastened with a warning and a reasonable fine. I hope they have lawyers who will work for, not against them.

Christy Sweet ..................................................

Wildlife rescuers

Re: Phuket rescue workers catch three-metre long python with bare hands Brave job done by the rescue workers. With their hearts in right place for Phuket’s wild animal life. Fantastic.

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

Odd justice

Re: B40k bail for Russian woman found in possession of dead coral in Phuket Very odd justice system indeed.

B40k bail which she’ll never get back but the government in charge of Surin Beach won’t build one toilet forcing people to defecate on the beach, the water and its surrounds.

Informer

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Animal cruelty added to ItalThai tycoon’s case

THAILAND NEWS

7

KANCHANABURI Bangkok Post

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ark officials have added animal cruelty to the charges against construction tycoon Premchai Karnasuta, who was arrested early this month for allegedly hunting wildlife in a World Heritage forest.

Maj Gen Krisana Sapdej, deputy commissioner of Provincial Police Region 7, said officials of the Western Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary filed the complaint of animal cruelty on Monday (Feb 12).

As the whereabouts of Premchai, president of ItalianThai Development Plc, were not known, police would send a summons this week for him to report and acknowledge the new charge, he said.

Cruelty to animals carries a maximum penalty of two years in jail and/or fine of B40,000.

Premchai and three others were arrested on the night of Feb 4 when park rangers also found the carcasses of an endangered black Indo-

@thephuketnews

Long lengths of rubber pipe, thought to be from an oil rig in the Gulf, recently washed up on Bang Bert Beach in Chumphon. Photo: Amnart Thongdee

Oil rig pipes found washed up in Chumphon

Wildlife sanctuary officials in forest camouflage hand over the impounded Toyota Land Cruiser to police at Thong Pha Phum station in Kanchanaburi province on Tuesday (Feb 13).

Photo: Piyarach Chongcharoen chinese leopard, a protected Kalij pheasant and a barking deer near his camp in a nocamping area.

Earlier reports said they cooked and ate the meat. Eight bullet holes were later found in the leopard’s skin. The suspects were each released on bail of B150,000, with no ban on leaving the country, and ordered to appear in court again on Feb 17.

The 63-year-old construction tycoon and his three companions already face nine charges – including unau-

CHUMPHON thorised hunting in a wildlife sanctuary, unauthorised hunting of protected wildlife, unauthorised possession of wildlife carcasses and attempted hunting in a wildlife sanctuary.

Other charges were taking firearms into a wildlife sanctuary without authorisation, hiding illegally acquired wildlife carcasses, unauthorised entry into a wildlife sanctuary, unauthorised possession of hunting tools and unauthorised possession of guns and ammunition in the park, along

with attempted bribery.

On Tuesday (Feb 13) officials of the Western Thungyai Naresuan Wildlife Sanctuary handed a Toyota Land Cruiser of the 30th Anniversary edition to police for further examination.

The officials on Feb 6 impounded the four-wheel-drive vehicle Premchai’s group used it to enter the wildlife sanctuary.

Wildlife protection officials continued to search their illegal campsite for more evidence on Tuesday.

FOURTEEN BIG RUBber pipes, measuring 154 metres in length overall, found washed up on a tourist beach on Monday morning (Feb 12) remained unclaimed on Tuesday (Feb 13).

Boonsong Jaruek, Moo 5 village headman in tambon Pak Klong Pathiu, said the pipes washed ashore on Bang Bert Beach.

There were 14 altogether, each 11 metres long and

80 centimetres in diameter.

They had labelling in English, along with the logo “Oil & Marine” and “manuli”.

There was a black tar-like coating on the inside of the pipes, Mr Boonsong said.

Local fishermen had reported seeing the pipes floating offshore recently.

Pathiu district chief Thanon Panpeepas said the beach was popular with tourists, and speculated the pipes might have come from a petroleum production rig in the Gulf of Thailand.

Bangkok Post

THAILAND NEWS

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Thailand a drug transit point

Crackdown confirms country is smuggling route to Malaysia BANGKOK Bangkok Post

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recent major crackdown, in which 250 kilograms of crystal meth (ya ice) were intercepted while being smuggled on a train to the South, has underlined observations that Thailand has become a transit point for transnational drug smuggling.

The gang had previously smuggled the same amount of the drug via Thailand to its destination in neighbouring Malaysia, the arrested suspects told police.

With a street value of more than B250 million, the 250kg of ya ice was seized in an operation jointly carried out by the Railway Police Division (RPD), the Crime Suppression Division and the Highway Police Division.

Prior to the crackdown, the authorities had learnt that a vast amount of the drug had been moved from neighbouring Laos into Thailand by a number of smugglers who had evaded border security checks

An ‘ant army’ of smugglers move drugs across the Myanmar and Lao borders in small amounts, after which they are merged into large consignments like this 250kg package of 'ya ice' seized on a train to the South a week ago. Photo: Tawatchai Kemgumnerd on several occasions by each carrying small amounts of the drug.

The d r ugs were then merged into a single consignment to be taken to Bangkok before being taken south towards Malaysia.

Acting on intelligence reports, the RPD deployed plain-clothes officers on trains heading to the southernmost

station, Sungai Kolok.

On Feb 5, officers on board the direct Bangkok-Sungai Kolok express noticed four male passengers in a carriage behaving suspiciously.

The suspects noticed the police presence and attempted to flee when the train stopped at Ban Pong in Ratchaburi province, abandoning five pieces of luggage and four

rucksacks on the train.

Inside their bags, police found 250 tea packs containing one kilogram each of ya ice.

With the help of local police, the RPD officers later detained three out of the four suspects.

They were identified as Chakphat Phumphuang, 27, from Nong Khai; Wisarut Traichai, 23, from Nakhon

Phanom; and Phonthawat Mala, 20, from Nakhon Phanom.

According to Maj Gen Woraphong Thongphaibun, chief of the RPD, the suspected leader of the gang has been identified as Phatthanan Khansi, 34, and is thought to have hired Phonthawat and Wisarut to collect the consignment from an unidentified man on the bank of the Mekong River in Nakhon Phanom’s Tha Uthen district.

The two men then took the drugs to Bangkok, with the help of Chakphat and Suriyan Bunthiam, the suspect on the run, said Maj Gen Woraphong.

The four smugglers were told to deliver the drug to Phatthanan in Hat Yai district of Songkhla province who would have then taken care of smuggling the drug on to Malaysia.

Phatthanan is still at large.

The detained suspects told the police they were each hired for B20,000 and promised an extra payment if they could successfully get the drug to its destination, the officer said.

According to the suspects, they had already smuggled one previous consignment of 250kg of ya ice to Malaysia, said Maj Gen Woraphong.

Lt Gen Sommai Kongwisaisuk, chief of the Narcotics Suppression Bureau (NSB), said if the drug had reached Malaysia as intended, a portion of it would have been sold locally, while the rest would have been smuggled on to Indonesia, the Philippines, Australia and a group of European countries such as Britain.

Aside from these countries, an emerging destination for drugs smuggled through Thailand is Israel, said Lt Gen Sommai, adding that the street value of the drug will become 10 times higher once it leaves Asia.

The street value of ya ice in Thailand is about B1mn per kg, he said.

Each tablet of methamphetamine (ya bah), for instance, costs only about B10 to produce, but its street value rises to B80 or B100 per tablet when it reaches Thailand, he added.

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

ASIA NEWS

9

Japan’s ‘Insta-gran’ finds fame

Great-grandmother’s goofy photos see her amass 41,000 fans JAPAN Alastair Himmer

A

madcap Japanese great-grandmother armed with a camera and an appetite for mischief has shot to fame for taking side-splitting selfies – many of which appear to put her in harm’s way.

Closing in on her 90th birthday, Kimiko Nishimoto tweaks the nose of fear: she has amassed more than 41,000 followers in just two months since she started regularly posting her hilarious snaps on Instagram.

The goofy photos show the fun-loving pensioner riding a broomstick like Harry Potter or, even more alarmingly, knocked over in an apparent traffic accident.

“I’ve actually never injured myself taking a photo,” Nishimoto said in an interview at her home in Kumamoto, western Japan.

“I’m always focusing hard on taking a fun photo so I really don’t think about the danger too much,” she explains.

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Kimiko Nishimoto in front of her picture on the opening day of her photo exhibition in Tokyo. Photo: AFP Nishimoto, who only took up photography aged 72, reveals she quickly became hooked on the hobby after being invited to join a local class.

“I love my camera,” adds the sassy octogenarian, who has three grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

“I even sleep with it by my bedside, just in case. I always have it close.”

A decade later she secured

her first solo exhibition – held in her home town – but Nishimoto’s recent decision to showcase snaps of her daredevil stunts on social media has now catapulted her to stardom.

Such is her celebrity now that many fans were shut out of her exhibition at a Tokyo gallery in December as it struggled to cope with the crowds.

“At first I didn’t even know that my photos were that

popular,” the former housewife muses with a twinkle in her eye, adding: “It’s not so much that I’m trying to shock people, I just take photos that I find funny. It’s just a bit of fun really.”

Born in 1928 – the year E m p e r o r H i r oh it o w a s enthroned and Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse – Nishimoto is disarmingly young at heart and possesses a wicked sense of humour.

She manages her social media accounts herself through her smartphone, while her son helps her to set up some of the shots.

Many of Nishimoto’s photos show her face contorted in mock anguish.

In one instance she is shown having seemingly fallen off a bike as a car speeds past, narrowly avoiding catastrophe.

In another, she is whizzing along on her motorised buggy while fighting off a flock of angry birds.

In a more risqué image that could pass for a kidnapper’s ransom photo, she is seen wrapped in a garbage bag.

“It’s not like ideas just suddenly pop into my head but wherever I go I think about what it would be fun to dress up as in that place,” she chuckles.

And if you thought modern technology and fancy editing gadgets were for kids, think again. Nishimoto’s mastery of montage techniques has her ‘levitating’ in several pictures – sometimes as a frilly fairy, or while offering a prayer to her late husband’s shrine.

“My husband passed

away five years ago but even today I still show him photos I’ve taken,” explains the rambunctious senior. “He was always so supportive of whatever I chose to do.”

These days Nishimoto lives with a humanoid robot called Pepper, a model sold in Japan to keep the elderly company and bought for her by her son – although she confesses she has little time for the chatty droid these days.

“Oh, I haven’t switched it on for quite a while,” she sniffs, reaching for the power button. “It’s more trouble than it’s worth, the silly thing!”

After fetching her camera from her cluttered home studio, Nishimoto slips into a fluffy one-piece dog suit to take photos of herself in costume chained to a post in her garden.

“To be honest I don’t think too deeply about what photography means to me,” she muses.

“I just want to try and bring joy to people. Taking photos is the secret of my happiness.

I’ll keep doing it for as long as I’m alive.”

AFP

10 WORLD NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Ex-dishwasher gets his star

Former homeless man honoured by French gastronomic bible FRANCE Paloma Soria Brown

W

hen Lebanese chef Alan Geaam first arrived in Paris two decades ago he found himself sleeping on the streets, lost and penniless with hardly a word of French.

Last week Geaam, who began his career as a dishwasher while he was sleeping rough in a Paris park, received his first Michelin star from the French gastronomic bible for his acclaimed new restaurant within a stone’s throw of the Arc de Triomphe.

“I never t houg ht t he Michelin would be interested in someone like me, who was self-taught, who had to sleep in the street at 19 and who began as a dishwasher,” he said.

“I thought the guide was about chefs in big fancy hotels or those trained by the great masters. But it turned out to be the opposite. It’s a wonderful surprise,” said the 43-year-old, who was born to Lebanese parents in Liberia, before they exchanged one war zone for

Geaam poses in his eponymous restaurant ‘Alan Geaam’. Photo: Stephane de Sakutin

another by returning to Beirut.

By then Geaam’s fascination with food was clear, watching cookery shows on television rather than cartoons after school.

He started cooking while doing his national service in Lebanon, and the colonel of his regiment was so impressed he made him his personal chef.

But Geaam never thought we would be able to cut the mustard in France, and only

got his break when the chef of the restaurant where he was washing the dishes was rushed to hospital when he slashed his hand with a knife.

“I worked during the day as a construction worker and at night delivering pizzas and washing dishes. One night the cook cut his hand and had to go to hospital. No one asked me, but I just took over. There were 14 tables and so I just fed the customers and at the

end of the night they were delighted.

“The owner said to me, ‘But you can cook!’ and I said, ‘Yes.’ “The reason I cook is to make people happy,” said Geaam. And he has certainly spread joy among restaurant critics with Michelin’s rival Gault Millau guide raving about his langoustines and chard and its dark chocolatecoloured sauce tinged with

Vietnamese cardamom.

Alexander Lobrano, author of “Hungry for Paris”, was even more effusive, declaring this “gentle, shrewd, selftaught chef as one of quiet men of Paris gastronomy... who has a brilliant future ahead of him.”

Although Geaam delights in bringing the very best of French produce to his table, Lobrano said he also brings the “tender buds of his very personal cooking that makes references to the lost world of a little boy born to a foreign family living in tropical Africa.”

And the influence of his Lebanese roots is never far away either.

One of Geaam’s favourite dishes at the moment is “an escalope of foie gras lacquered with pomegranate molasses served with a tartlette of beetroot and pomegranate.

“I ate a lot of pomegranates when I was a kid,” he said. “I made juice with them, I made lots of reductions with them, and I loved putting this very Lebanese touch with something so French as foie gras.”

Since Geaam got his Michelin star last week his restaurant’s phone has not stopped ringing.

He said his small, tight team of highly-talented chefs – whose CVs he admits look far more impressive than his own – “really feel that something has happened in our lives.

“You can criticise the Michelin guide but I can tell you the effect, a star massively boosts a restaurant.”

Within hours the restaurant was booked up for three weeks. “It is quite something,” he said.

Geaam, who told how his son boasted to his friends at school that his father got a Michelin star, put his success down to his own parents, who “lost everything” in Liberia only to have to struggle again in Lebanon during the civil war.

He said working with his father in his grocery shop from the age of 10 gave him a taste for business while his mother “taught me how to love people and how to cook”.

AFP

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

BUSINESS NEWS 11

Explore MontAzure New show suites open at Twinpalms Residences ADVERTORIAL

T

he international developer behind MontAzure, the upscale mixed-use residential resort community set on 454 rai (178 acres or 72 hectares) of mountainside to beachfront land in Kamala, is opening three new on-site beachfront show suites within its award-winning development, Twinpalms Residences MontAzure.

Considered by many real estate experts to be one of the most compelling lifestyle investment oppor t unities on Phuket, the development will be managed and operated by Twinpalms Group, whose team also designed one of the three new show suites to reflect the brand’s signature contemporary tropical style.

Andreas Savvides of Haveli Design, whose pedigree includes several land mark residential developments, including 185 Rajadamri in Bangkok and The Heights on Phuket, designed the other two units, one of which is a stunning penthouse with a rooftop pool and oceanview sun deck.

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“We’re delighted to open these exceptional new show suites as Twinpalms Residences MontAzure reaches completion with its grand opening event scheduled for the end of 2018,” said MontAzure Executive Director Setthaphol Boottho.

“Interested visitors will be able to tour and experience all three of the units and really get a feel for the unique luxury island lifestyle on offer at Twinpalms Residences MontAzure,” he added.

As the first phase of the expansive MontAzure master-planned mixed-use development overlooking

Kamala bay, the luxury beachfront condominiums at Twinpalms Residences MontAzure have attracted lifestyle-driven investors looking for a combination of hotel-based yields and usage time, along with strong capital appreciation due to the rare beachfront location.

The development is sensitively designed as a series of low-rise clusters orchestrated around generous communal swimming pools with intimate views of the beautifully landscaped grounds. One-bedroom units are sized from 69.9 to 249.9 sqm while the two-bedroom units range

from 153.9 sqm to 399.8 sqm. The developers also recently added super penthouses measuring an impressive 798.9 sqm and offering stunning views of Phuket’s idyllic sunset coast. Prices range from THB 15.5 Million (USD 489,000) up to THB 191 Million (USD 6 Million) for sea view super penthouses. Over 50% of the development’s 75 units have already sold.

“Twinpalms Residences MontAzure offers buyers a rare opportunity to own a property within an integrated beachfront resort and residential community just steps from

the pristine sands at Kamala Beach and within walking distance of the island’s popular beachfront venues, HQ Beach Lounge and Cafe Del Mar,” says Henri Young, Director of Marketing at MontAzure.

“T he wider MontA z u re community also includes the new InterContinental Phuket Resort, which will open in 2019, and Kamala Senior Living, an upscale residential village with high-end residences being developed in a secluded hillside location,” he added.

To mark the launch of the new show suites MontAzure is offering buyers a guaranteed return on investment for three years on selected units, as well as free furniture packages worth up to THB 2 Million. Interested parties can join an exclusive preview at Twinpalms Residences MontAzure on Saturday, February 17th, between 16:00 and 19:30. A special sunset party will also be held on the same day with live cooking stations, guest DJ and a lucky draw with fantastic prizes to be won.

For more information or to make an appointment call +66 93 624 8800.

Email kenrak@montazure.com

12 BUSINESS NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

The cost of learning

Who is paying for your children’s university fees?

FINANCIAL THAIMES Wiliam Frisby

A

re you an expat living in Phuket that has a yo u n g f a m i ly, or maybe you are in the planning stages? If you have children, you may already be paying for tuition fees at a local international school, unless you are lucky enough to be on an expat contract with everything included by your employer. Whatever the case may be, when your youngsters are old enough to go to university, there isn’t going to be anyone to help you or your children foot the bills unless you come from a wealthy background.

As a parent, I naturally want the best education for my child, as all parents do.

But after many years of helping my clients save for their children’s education, I have had to readjust my point of view. Currently, my thinking is, “What is the best education

that I can provide for them within my means, without landing my child or myself in a mountain of debt?” This may sound a bit dystopian, but university costs are rising at an astronomical rate and nothing suggests they are going to cool down any time soon.

The US is widely perceived as the most expensive place in the world to send your offspring for a university education, and rightly so.

The top 10 most expensive universities in the world are all US institutions, with Sarah Lawrence College in New York on top with a staggering annual tuition fee of $61,236.

It didn’t always use to be this way. Back in 1971, the fee for going to Harvard was only $200, and this fee hadn’t been raised since 1949. In the fall of 1971, however, under the leadership of John T Dunlop, the fee was increased to $2,600 – a leap of more than 17 times.

America is not the only place that has seen these kinds of jumps in cost. From 2002

Graduation will be one of your child’s most memorable achievements – but who is footing the bill? Photo: Chantelle to 2012 Australia saw a rise in prices of 166%. New Zealand has also seen the rise that other countries are benefitting from and have been quick to move on this.

Germany on the other hand still has free tuition fees for its domestic and international students. Unfortunately for prospective parents, this does not look like it is set to continue after the south-west state of Baden-Wurttemberg reintroduced fees in December of 2016.

What are my options?

This is the only easy part of the equation for the parent: 1. Let your children pay for their own education 2. Pay yourself for all of your child’s education 3. Share some of the costs between both parent and child.

I think most of us will probably sit in the latter two options of this puzzle, as do I. How and where do I save for this?

The answer to this question

depends on your time frame, as it always does with the type of investment that you need to take up to achieve your goals.

If you are fortunate enough to have a horizon of over five years and you do not have a lot of starting capital, then the simplest way would be to save on a regular basis into some form of structured savings account. Savings accounts collect money from your account every month which removes the need to have the discipline to save yourself.

Once the money has been collected, then your cash is invested into a broad range of mutual funds which have exposure to the financial markets. The goal here is to get your savings to work for you so that the growth of your investment can foot a large part of the bill.

If we take the UK as an example, you will need about $100,000 (about B3.14 million) to fund your child through a three-year degree. (These figures have purposely been calculated in dollars for the

simple use of most people).

• $345 at 6% for 15 years Amount invested $62,100 Amount at maturity $100,000 • $610 at 6% for 10 years Amount invested $73,200 Amount at maturity $100,000 • $1,435 at 6% for 5 years Amount invested $86,100 Amount at maturity $100,000 Another option would be to invest a lump of money at the outset and leaving this amount to grow until your child is ready to attend university.

For anything less than a five-year time frame, I would advise that you just put the money in the bank. You will naturally only receive 1-3% growth, which in reality is only securing your purchasing power by keeping up with inflation, but it’s probably the best way to save for the short term.

William Frisby of Hampton Bridge, is a British expat who has been advising clients in the Far East for the past 10 years. To contact him email wfrisby@hampton-bridge.com

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THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

4th ‘Pop Up’ culinary carnival set to excite

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

14

A vivid tale of ritual execution in old Siam

15

CHEWING THE FAT A sanctuary of calm in the bustle of central Phuket, The Fat Chef provides a showcase for Chef Pop’s inventive fusion cuisine

Cured salmon carpaccio with coriander seed, lime and dill. Inset: Chef Narakorn ‘Pop’ Lurtnibuna.

S

Baz Daniel

etting off to review a new Phuket restaurant named The Fat Chef it’s doubtless a cliché to entertain images of a large, smiling, rotund man in a toque, perhaps gaily waving a skillet, in one’s mind. Clichéd as I am, that is exactly the image that floated into what passes for my mind these days as I set off for The Fat Chef.

In fact I’d heard that the restaurant’s fun logo features exactly such a rotundiform, skillet-waving personage and so it was easy to spot amidst the hectic traffic of Thepkrassatri Rd. Upon our arrival we were introduced to the actual culinary guru behind this new venture – Chef Narakorn “Pop” Lurtnibuna. Far from being chubby, Chef Pop is a slim, athleticallyproportioned Thai fellow, who fairly crackles with creativity and energy.

“Aren’t you a little in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Act?” I joked with him as we began to chat.

“These days that old adage, ‘to never

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trust a skinny chef’, should probably be changed to; ‘never trust an unhealthylooking chef’,” he said, “because the world’s tastes have swung decidedly toward the clean, fresh, healthy end of the dining spectrum.”

Chef Pop is very much at the forefront of the charge to healthy eating and the fabulous cuisine we were to dine upon that evening was a grand testament to his vision that, as he said, “You don’t have to sacrifice one iota of taste, flavour and creative flair in order to dine on fresh, healthy cuisine.”

The Fat Chef’s relaxing interior and ambiance belies the hurtling chaos of busy traffic that lies beyond its cool windows. This is indeed a sanctuary, an oasis of good taste (in every sense) amidst the clamour, and is situated near the entrances of both The Boat Lagoon and Royal Phuket Marina – a great catchment area for diners who seek new and exciting culinary adventures.

Presently, The Fat Chef is one of the few Phuket restaurants that encourages diners to bring along their own grape-

based liquid refreshment to complement their wonderful food. This benign BYO policy is a terrific opportunity to bring along some great fermented grape juice without paying through the nose for it and we seized it with delight!

Chef Pop brings a wide-ranging and highly impressive breadth of experience to The Fat Chef and it shows. From cooking school in Melbourne, to broad experience gained over 12 years around the United Kingdom and even in bonnie Scotland, to managing a hotel chain back in Thailand, Chef Pop has garnered an eclectic repertoire that manifests through his exciting fusion of Thai-Asian and European cuisine that delights both for its creativity as well as its magnificent taste.

It all starts each morning with Chef Pop hunting through the markets for the finest, freshest produce for that day.

He changes many of the menu’s dishes according to the best available produce charming his customers through the range of creative offerings he unearths.

Our own magical experience embraced such treasures as crab meat

salad with pineapple cream, red bean and macaroon salad, three-day-cured Norwegian salmon with lime, chilli, peppercorn and brown sugar served with salad and crisp bread and a bountiful fruits de mer with pineapple and orange dressing.

Jazz notes bounced off the wellplumped furnishings and the contents of our chilled bottle of BYO worked its magic making the busy evening traffic outside seem a universe away as we continued with wanton soup with shiitake mushrooms, spicy pumpkin and Thai prawns, then consommé infused with ginger poured, appropriately enough, from a transparent Mad Hatter’s teapot!

A finale of bread and butter pudding, no less, sealed it for me. Chef Pop is not just a fit chef he’s a super-fit artist creating each dish with all the care and flamboyance of a work of art and I recommend that you pay a visit to this fit-fat chef as soon as you can!

For information and bookings call 076 609 298 or visit: thefatchefthailand.com

14 EVENTS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Action from last year’s ‘Pop Up’ event – an annual highlight for foodlovers in Phuket.

Pop in for Phuket’s best cuisine Phuket Has Been Good To Us to host fourth ‘Pop Up’ culinary carnival The Phuket News editor1@classactmedia.co.th

G

et ready for year four of Pop Up! The popular foodie event in support of Thai children’s charity Phuket Has Been Good To Us (PHBGTU) is back with incredible food sponsors from around Phuket “popping up” for one night only at Boat Lagoon’s White House Marquee! Clear your calendar for Saturday, March 17 at 7pm to enjoy fabulous food from 15 of the best chefs on the island along with free-flow beverages, prizes, entertainment and more – all in support of children’s education.

Pop by this exclusive event to enjoy a vast selection of mouth-watering dishes from the talented chefs at Anantara Layan Phuket Resort; Anantara Vacation Club Maikhao Phuket; Bodega & Grill at Angsana Laguna Phuket; DeDos; Firefly at The Pavilions; Café Del Mar Phuket; Kata Rocks; Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket; Nommy’s Frozen Yogurt; Metzo’s Bistro & Bar at Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort; Novotel Phuket Surin Beach Resort; Panache at Angsana Villas Resort Phuket; SALA Phuket Resort and Spa; Two Chefs Bar & Grill and Vanilla Sky Bar & Gastro Pub at Cape Sienna Gourmet Hotel.

To match the impressive range of culinary creations, beverages will be

freely flowing from generous sponsors at Andaman Wine Club Phuket, BB&B, Beervana International, Boncafe Thailand and Wine and Taste!

While the food and drink selections are sure to be stars of the show, Creative Concept will once again wow guests by transforming the venue.

Guests will have the opportunity to bid on amazing silent auction prizes or try their luck at the raffle draw. Some of the generously donated prizes include stays at Anantara Kihavah Villas, Maldives; The Nai Harn Phuket; The Grand Hyatt Beijing and many, many more.

Throughout the evening there will also be live music and the best dance

tunes spun by the one and only DJ Fabuloops!

Don’t miss the best foodie event of the year! The dress code is Beach Blue Chic and entry is by donation of B2,500.

To book now call 076 278 146 or email: info@phukethasbeengoodtous.org All proceeds go to Phuket Has Been Good To Us, a Thai registered charity providing free English education to over 1,200 underprivileged Thai children in Phuket. For information on how to get involved visit phukethasbeengoodtous. org or like the foundation’s page at facebook.com/phukethasbeengoodtous.

Proudly Sponsored by Live 89.5.

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HISTORY 15

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

An execution observed

A vivid account of a ritualised public beheading in 19th century southern Siam HISTORY OF PHUKET Colin Mackay

T

he death penalty can be imposed in Thailand to this day, despite no executions having been carried out for almost a decade due to an unofficial moratorium. The means of execution have varied over the centuries, today lethal injection is the official method, having replaced executions by gun that were used for much of the 20th century.

Before the use of firearms, beheading was a common method and was often carried out in public in a highly ritualised fashion. P A Thompson, an American painter who travelled in southern Siam in the early 19th century, gives us this graphic account of one provincial beheading he witnessed, along with a crowd of some 100 people: “When the condemned man arrived he was handed over to the monks who spent the morning preaching to him, but he appeared to derive little comfort from their words. When this was over he was allowed to ask for anything that he wanted but he only desired a little rice.

“It is said condemned men are often

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This image of Thai ‘Krabi Krabong’ fighters evokes the ritualistic swordplay described in Thompson’s account. Photo: Arjarn Sira given opium, but this man had none… they had planted a bamboo with a crosspiece about two feet from the ground. To this the condemned man was led. He sat cross-legged on the ground with his back to the bamboo and his arms, closely pressed against his sides, were tied at the elbows to the cross-piece.

“Then one of the executioners kneeling beside him, filled his ears with clay and gave him lighted joss sticks to hold.

At times, also, he appeared to stroke the condemned man’s face almost as though he were trying to mesmerise him, but if such were his object it was of

no avail for the joss sticks fell unheeded to the ground. Now the second executioner came out, dressed in red with a red band round his forehead and carrying a sword. He advanced until the condemned man could see him out of the tail of his eye, and there, some twenty yards away on the man’s right hand, he sat upon his heels and appeared to await the moment when he should strike.

“Thereafter the condemned man kept his head turned towards him, looking over his right shoulder. Meanwhile the first executioner had run back and donned the red dress. He now entered

the wide ring of spectators directly behind the condemned man, during his stealthy advance he kept always on his left-hand side… and then raising his hands to heaven he took his sword – a long slightly curved blade broadening towards the point with a thick heavy back and edge keen as a razor.

“He danced out with half a dozen prancing steps on tiptoe and stopped with one foot in the air. His sword was held above his head, one hand grasping the handle and the other fingering the point, so in a series of little rushes varied by extraordinary posturing and twirling his sword, he crept nearer and nearer to his unsuspecting victim, amidst a silence that was painful. At the end his movements were so rapid that we could scarcely follow them. He was well out of striking distance when there came a quick rush, a circle of light in the air and a sudden jet of crimson. He had not paused for the fraction of a second to take aim, but the head was severed with that single blow… then the body was laid in a grave already dug near by while the head was stuck upon a pole and left as a warning to other evil doers.”

Adapted from ‘A History of Phuket and the Surrounding Region’. Available at bookshops and www.historyofphuket.com

16 EDUCATION

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Satree students critical thinking skills developed Active learning trip to Khao Yai a chance to practice knowledge through teamwork Jeffrey Villegas

R

ecently, students and staff from Satree Phuket School – International Program Cambridge (IPC) participated in a three-day conference on critical thinking at Khao Yai in Nakhon Ratchasima.

After flying to Bangkok from Phuket, we travelled to Khao Yai for about three hours and visited some places along the way to relax, have fun and bond with one another.

First we visited Palio, an Italianstyle shopping centre. Here we had lunch, explored the art exhibition and posed for pictures in the Italian-style village. After ninety minutes, we headed to Primo Piazza which also offers a Mediterranean vibe. Everyone enjoyed its lush green fields, vibrant coloured flowers and fed the grace-

ful alpacas. Following the Piazza we visited a local chocolate factory. Students learned the science and art of chocolate making and processing and enjoyed its sweet delights including the factory’s best-selling Cinderella shoe.

At night the staff met all the students and talked about the activities that would take place over the next three days. The next day, all the staff and students from participating schools checked in at Capital J Hotel and registered for the conference organised by Go Study Canada.

Originally, there were four schools that were supposed to be at the conference but only two were present, Satree Phuket School and Yuthinburana School. In total there were 43 students, 29 from the former and 14 from the latter. The activities were facilitated by teacher Rene and his amazing team.

Phuket Satree School IPC students at Primo Piazza in Khao Yai. During the first two days of the conference, students were grouped into teams of six and were all actively participating in many different learning activities, such as talking about individual perspectives on certain issues, answering fact sheets and puzzles and critiquing their contexts. They also played team-building games which were intended to encourage and promote critical thinking. The game was like a ‘one-thing-many-uses’ Scattergories, where students had to collect the items on their list that were scattered across the field, categorise them and then describe the various functions of each item in as many ways as possible.

This helped the students see things differently and it was indeed fun!

On the last day of the conference, the students presented their research on certain issues they began working on from the first night. The topics included social acceptance, college

comparison, time management, career planning, college courses that don’t require Maths and Science, and parental influences on career selection.

In their presentations, several types of information were considered such as internet-based facts, survey results and other relevant information, inferences and personal opinions. They also talked about the different factors that can influence one’s decision when addressing a certain issue, as well as the relative importance of these factors and their possible negative impacts.

Being in Khao Yai was so much fun and educational for everyone. It not only gave students the feel of being away from Thailand, but it also gave them the opportunity to meet and build new friendship with students from another school, as well as learn new concepts and theories which they can use in many aspects of their life.

Satree School Phuket

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

EDUCATION 17

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Thinking globally, acting locally

BISP students’ acts of service make a difference at home and abroad BISP

BISP students feel passionately about the environment.

Mr David Berman is the Extended Curriculum Coordinator at BISP.

O

ver the past five months BISP’s International Baccalaureate students in Years 12 and 13 have undertaken some fantastic projects as part of their course requirement for the Community Action and Service (CAS) section of their Diploma Programme. One of the themes of CAS is to “think globally, act locally” and the students have really taken this to heart through their interactions with the Phuket local community.

Regular weekly activities take place with students from the Koh Kaew SOS village who come to BISP to play games led by senior students in our specially equipped Early Years Playground. Students from the Phuket Sunshine Village also visit BISP and are taught swimming skills and how to have fun, yet stay safe in the water – a skill which is particularly important on our beautiful island. Our High Performance swimmers who represent their countries at international and national level look forward to this opportunity to support our visitors and pass on their skills in this area. Several students, meanwhile, make weekly visits to the Phuket Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) to assist the vets from this well known local charity which supports the care of dogs and cats from across the island.

One of the major undertakings that BISP has been involved with over the years is that of Ixdos, which is the brain child of Patrick Vickers, a previous teacher and long term associate of BISP. With the support of many past and present members of the Phuket community, Patrick has built a yacht completely from scratch, with the long term aim of crewing it with volunteer medical staff to sail around the world to distribute vaccines to children, who, would otherwise

The Regional Round of ‘To Be Number One Idol’ will be held at Jungceylon Shopping Centre on Feb 17.

BISP student campaigns to be ‘Outstanding Youth’ role model

B

ISP would like to congratulate Year 10 student Nitchanan “Cha Cha” Theeraphaphong who was recently selected as an “Outstanding Youth of Phuket” by the Phuket Provincial Public Health Department.

“To Be Number One Idol” is a campaign initiated by HRH Princess Ubolratana Rajakanya and has at its core the reduction of drug abuse amongst teenagers and the removal of narcotics’ effects from Thai society – specifically amongst young people.

After receiving her certificate from the Phuket Governor at Phuket City Hall, Cha Cha will now represent Phuket Province and encourage young people to express themselves in a positive manner and to be proud @thephuketnews

Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong presents Nitchanan with her ‘Outstanding Youth of Phuket’ award certificate. of their abilities.

BISP wishes Cha Cha the best of luck as she competes in the Regional Round next week with the ultimate aim of reaching the National Finals.

BISP

Kids from Koh Kaew SOS village love spending time at the BISP Early Years Playground. have been unable to get access to this essential treatment. BISP’s CAS students have shown an exemplary attitude by raising money for the project through activities, and, by putting in long hours of love; painting, sanding, and building the boat.

The newest project undertaken by our CAS students is to support the Lvea Village School in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

This school offers free English tuition by volunteer teachers to over 400 students.

CAS students recently put on a talent show and raised enough money to build a third classroom, whilst also making it the only classroom at the school to have four walls. Along with financial support to the school, eight BISP students also went to Cambodia over the recent holiday period to teach English lessons.

For many of the village children, this was their first interaction with native English speakers, and all students enjoyed playing with each other and formed strong bonds by the end of the trip.

BISP students feel passionately about the environment and recently discovered a program called the Happy Green World which consists of a book, board game and activity guide created to teach children how to be more conscious with waste and recycling. A group of BISP students decided to use their CAS to focus on this project by creating a Thai version, whilst working alongside the authors of the product. The result is an educational tool which will be distributed to local schools in Phuket, and pending sponsorship, all over Thailand.

18 ISLAND SCENE

The scholarship presentations took place at the Phuket Rajaphat University campus.

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

From left: Sudarat Masaman, Natthaphol Hendee, Le Meridien GM Julian Lowry and Chanunchida Reangthanasakdee.

PHUKET HOTEL ASSOCIATION PRESENTS HOSPITALITY SCHOLARSHIPS Phuket Hotels Association representatives Wolfgang Meusburger, Julian Lowry, Sumitha Soorian and Bart Callens on Monday (Feb 12) presented scholarships to Sudarat Masaman, Chanunchida Reangthanasak and Natthaphol Hendee. The three recipients are students of Phuket Rajaphat University’s Hospitality Program and received the scholarships after an intensive selection processes undertaken in conjunction with the Phuket International Women’s Club (PIWC).

From left: Lyn, Wansida and Carole.

The PIWC ladies took a trip back in time to the swinging sixties.

PIWC MEMBERS AND FRIENDS GET GROOVY FOR ANNUAL FUNDRAISER Everything got groovy on Saturday night (Feb 10) at Le Meridien for the Phuket International Women’s Club annual fundraising dinner. PIWC members and friends donned their best psychedelic ’60s outfits for the blowout bash which raises money for the PIWC Scholarship Fund.

Ruthless Mafia bosses Don Calamari and Al Mascarpone met to make peace.

THE CODFATHER MYSTERY DINNER THEATRE BRINGS INTRIGUE TO THE GREEN MAN

Some snazzy dames also dropped by to pay their respects to the Codfather.

The Green Man and Theatrix threw their audience back to the roaring ’20s as The Codfather murder mystery dinner theatre rocked the venue last Saturday (Feb 10).

Two ruthless Mafia bosses, Don Calamari and Al Mascarpone, met at the Four Deuces Speakeasy to make peace and unite their areas of Chicago. But all was not well and someone ended up dead. With the aid of the audience the crime was solved before the evening’s end. Great fun was had by all and justice was done… once again. Don’t miss the next murder mystery evening from Theatrix!

From left: Khun Wiroon of Novotel Phuket, Khun Rudy of Class Act Media, and Khun Wutti, GM of Novotel Phuket Resort.

Hawaiian shirts were de rigueur at the Novotel Phuket Resort's thank you party.

NOVOTEL PHUKET RESORT HOSTS HULA-THEMED THANK YOU PARTY Novotel Phuket Resort hosted its “Hula Hula”-themed thank you party for customers and associates last Friday (Feb 9). Guests donned their best Hawaiian shirts for the laid back luau and enjoyed delicious drinks and food as they took in the sea views from the resort’s balcony. thephuketnews

20 EVENTS

FRI

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

16 FEB Meeting - Rotary Club Patong

Mussels night @ Shakers 1.2kg mussels served with French fries, your choice, your style: natural, marnière, Provençale, garlic and cream or Thai style. Reservations recommended B295 P/P. shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

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 Millennium Resort in Patong. Please visit www.rotarypatong.org for additional information.

Chinese New Year Gala Buffet Dinner Curry Cravings in Karon Come to Navrang Mahal in Karon Sea Sands Resort & Spa for an authentic Indian Feast every Friday in Karon Beach. Try out some of our delicious appetizers and mains such as: Aloo Tikki, Samosas, Chicken Tandoori, Aloo Gobi, Navrang Korma, Butter Chicken, Lamb Vindaloo, Naan, Rice, Salads, Chutneys / Achars, Gulab Jamun, Fruits, Onion Bhaji, Bomay Potatoes, Dal Makhini, Ice-cream etc etc. (Menus subject to change and variety). For only B499/- nett and special reduced prices on drinks. Booking: 076 286 464 Ext 4.

SAT

17 FEB

All you can eat BBQ night

Come join us for our WEEKLY BBQ EVERY FRIDAY served ALL DAY & ALL NIGHT at Two Chefs Kata Center, Karon, Kata Beach and Patong. Indulge in All You Can Eat BBQ Pork Ribs, Chicken and Sides for ONLY 445 BAHT! Our BBQ is famous at Two Chefs!

Come try us out and enjoy our mouthwatering pork ribs, flavor-bursting chicken and more! Join us for Live Music from 8-Late Performed by Our Famous Two Chefs Band! Come for the FOOD www.twochefs.com

SUN

18 FEB

Come to celebrate Chinese New Year’s Day with us!

At SALA Phuket Resort and Spa, to enjoy complimentary cocktail party, Sino-Phuket night market, dance performance and starlight cinema on the lawn. All this just 1,750++ Baht/person. For reservations and more information, please contact events@salaphuket.com or +66 (0) 76 338 888.

Premium main courses including imported steaks and whole lobster, accompanied by a buffet of delicious appetizers. Every Sunday from 6:30pm with live music performed by the ‘Colin Illy Hill Band’. Pricing B1,700++/person and B3,200++/couple. For more information visit www.salaphuket.com or contact SALA Phuket Resort and Spa by email at fbphuket@salaphuket.com or call 076 338 888.

All you can eat Sunday Roast Buffet Sunday Roast All Day All Night 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 445 Baht! Enjoy a Large ALL YOU CAN EAT selection of your favorites!

Featuring: Roast Aussie Beef, Pork Loin and Chicken.

Roasted or Mashed Potatoes. Roasted Mixed Vegetables Flavored with Thyme and Garlic. Yorkshire Pudding and Red Wine Gravy. Enjoy Live Music from 8-Late Performed by Our Famous Two Chefs Band!

Come for the FOOD - 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 076-344914

Traditional Sunday Roast 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 B320. Includes a Free Glass of House Red or White. See: www.otoolsphuket.com

Go Live Sunday Seafood Brunch Chinese New Year Celebration at Sala Phuket

Sala Steak & Seafood Sunday Grill

Amazing Gala Dinner seafood, international buffet dinner 888++ THB per person, celebrate the Lunar New Year or the spring festival with ‘Lion Dance’ and live band performances, give envelopes wishing guests health, growth and good studies in the coming year.

For more information contact the Diamond Cliff Phuket at 076-380-050. Email: rsvn@diamondcliff.com

6pm – 11pm: Beef, Pork, Chicken, Burgers, Sausages, Prawns and Squid, Salad buffet, Choice of potatoes and sauces, bread, buns and garlic bread. Reservation recommended. B395 P/P. shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

ALL YOU CAN EAT BBQ RIBS

Sunday Seafood Brunch

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 service, live jazz and tranquil surroundings, The Banyan Tree Brunch has something for everyone! Every Sunday 12pm 3:30pm, Prices start from B2,800 net per person. For reservations email: fb-phuket@banyantree.com or call 076 372 400.

Indulge yourself in a Sunday Seafood Brunch, with fresh seafood on ice including oysters, prawns and New Zealand Mussels. Followed by sumptuous grilled meats, other seafood and much more. Complete the delightful meal at the dessert stations serving both Thai and international favourites. For food not inclusive of beverage packages. SPECIAL PROMOTION: BUY 1 GET 1 FREE! until 25th February. To reserve your seat, please contact us: fb@crowneplazaphuket. com. Located at 8/88 Moo 7, Sakdidech Road, Vichit Sub-District, Muang, Phuket 83000 Thailand. Email: fb@crowneplazaphuket.com or call 076 302 900.

Beef, Pork and Lamb – Cauliflower, Broccoli, Peas, Carrots, fried mushrooms, grilled tomatoes – Yorkshire pudding – roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes – gravy, mushroom sauce, mint sauce. Reservation recommended B350 P/P. shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

MON

19 FEB

All you can eat BBQ night 6pm – 11pm: Beef, Pork, Chicken, Burgers, Sausages, Prawns and Squid, Salad buffet, Choice of potatoes and sauces, bread, buns and garlic bread. Reservation recommended. B395 P/P. shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

WED

21 FEB

SURF & TURF NIGHT EVERY WEDNESDAY @ TWO CHEFS The Pool Linner at Hyatt Regency Join us the experience a fun culinary adventure: “The Pool Linner” with six full hours of free flow drinks, buffet and live cooking station, fun live charity auction, DJ and live music, complimentary shoulder and neck massage and access to pool and sun loungers. At the pool bar. Pricing B1,950/person includes free flow fruit juices and soft drinks, B2,850/person includes full beverage package. For reservations contact: fnb.phuhr@ hyatt.com or call 076 231 234.

ALL YOU CAN EAT! GRILLED AUSTRALIAN RIB EYE STEAK, TERIYAKI MARINATED CHICKEN AND GRILLED TIGER PRAWNS WITH BBQ SAUCE, RED WINE SAUCE AND BEARNAISE SAUCE CEASAR SALAD AND HERB SAUTEED POTATOES. ONLY 495 BAHT. Two Chefs Live Band on stage from 8 pm until late. WWW.twochefs.com Karon 076-286-479, Patong 076-344-914, Kata Beach 076-333-370, Kata Center 076-330-065 COME FOR THE FOOD | STAY FOR THE FUN!! Reservations, TWO CHEFS KARON – PATONG – KATA CENTER.

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

WED

SAT

21 FEB

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 295 baht P.P. shakersphuket@ gmail.com, 081 891 4381.

THU

EVENTS 21

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

22 FEB

Wine Dinner at Dusit Thani Laguna Phuket Price: B2,500++ per person. Time: 6-10:30. Venue: Award-winning Italian restaurant “La Trattoria”. Dress Code: Smart Casual. Special Offer! Enjoy 20% OFF when booking for four persons or more. Email: dtlpfb@dusit.com or call +66 (0) 7636 2999 ext.7303.

FRI

23 FEB

Thailand Yacht Show 2018 Phang Nga Bay plays host to the third edition of the region’s premier experiential yachting event, the Thailand Yacht Show. Returning to Phuket’s Ao Po Grand Marina from 22-25 February 2018, visitors have the opportunity to climb aboard and trial some of our onwater displays. Contact: info@thailandyachtshow.com Opening Hours: 22 February (Thursday) - 5 to 9 pm 23 February (Friday) - 3 to 9 pm 24 February (Saturday) - 3 to 9 pm 25 February (Sunday) - 3 to 9 pm Get your free tickets at: https://ticketing.igo.events/e/95

THU

8 MAR

Meeting - Rotary Club Patong Thailand Yacht Show 2018 Phang Nga Bay plays host to the third edition of the region’s premier experiential yachting event, the Thailand Yacht Show. Returning to Phuket’s Ao Po Grand Marina from 22-25 February 2018, visitors have the opportunity to climb aboard and trial some of our on-water displays. info@thailandyachtshow.com Opening Hours:

Curry Cravings in Karon Come to Navrang Mahal in Karon Sea Sands Resort & Spa for an authentic Indian Feast every Friday in Karon Beach. Try out some of our delicious appetizers and mains such as: Aloo Tikki, Samosas, Chicken Tandoori, Aloo Gobi, Navrang Korma, Butter Chicken, Lamb Vindaloo, Naan, Rice, Salads, Chutneys / Achars, Gulab Jamun, Fruits, Onion Bhaji, Bomay Potatoes, Dal Makhini, Ice-cream etc etc. (Menus subject to change and variety). For only B499/- nett and special reduced prices on drinks. Booking: 076 286 464 Ext 4.

EVERY DAY

Taste the traditional

Eleanor Conway’s WALK of SHAME – Sex, sobriety and the modern addict. Doors open 7pm, show starts 8pm. Tickets B500 in advance (includes 1 drink) B700 on the night (includes 1 drink). Drinks & Co – Lagoon Plaza, Boat Lagoon, Cherntalay (opposite Skye Lake Club). Tickets: 083 720 5586 and phuketticketmaster. com

Experience Thai tastes, the way intended, with our choice of traditional tasting menus. Share in a selection of seven of our favorite dishes, encompassing the many flavours of one of the world’s most popular cuisines. Visit www.salaphuket.com for more information, or contact event@salaphuket or 073 338 888 for reservations. SALA Phuket Resort and Spa.

FRI

9 MAR

CHEF PABLO’S DEGUSTATION MENU Celebrating our Thailand Tatler’s BEST Restaurants Award: Come and indulge in a succulent 5 course tasting menu including foie gras, pumpkin soup, Alaska scallop, slow cooked duck breast and Baba au Rhum.

“Grape juice” pairing available! B1,390++ Reservations and full menu: dedos-restaurant.com 076 325 182 8 Lagoon Rd, Laguna, Cherng Talay.

The morning tea at Sienna Rocks, Cape Sienna Hotel in Kamala in January was deemed such a success by the people in attendance that another one is being planned for 10am, Thursday 22 February at the same fabulous cliff top location. All welcome. info@ piwc-phuket.com

ALL YOU CAN EAT BBQ RIBS

@thephuketnews

For one night only, sample 15 of the best restaurants in Phuket ‘popping up’ at Boat Lagoon’s White House in support of Phuket Has Been Good To Us! For a B2,500 donation try culinary creations from the many amazing chefs and enjoy free flow from our beverage sponsors. The evening will also feature fantastic silent auction prizes, great music, dancing, and more!

Don’t miss Phuket’s best foodie event of the year!

Book now at: phuketticketmaster.com, by email at info@phukethasbeengoodtous.org or call 076 278 146

Drinks & Co presents Live Comedy – Walk of Shame

PIWC Coffee morning in Kamala

All you can eat BBQ night

Pop Up 4 at The White House at Boat Lagoon

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 Millennium Resort in Patong. Please visit www.rotarypatong.org for additional information.

22 February (Thursday) - 5 to 9 pm 23 February (Friday) - 3 to 9 pm 24 February (Saturday) - 3 to 9 pm 25 February (Sunday) - 3 to 9 pm Get your free tickets at: https://ticketing.igo.events/e/95

6pm – 11pm: Beef, Pork, Chicken, Burgers, Sausages, Prawns and Squid, Salad buffet, Choice of potatoes and sauces, bread, buns and garlic bread. Reservation recommended. B395 P/P. shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

17 MAR

Come join us for our WEEKLY BBQ EVERY FRIDAY served ALL DAY & ALL NIGHT at Two Chefs Kata Center, Karon, Kata Beach and Patong. Indulge in All You Can Eat BBQ Pork Ribs, Chicken and Sides for ONLY 445 BAHT! Our BBQ is famous at Two Chefs!

Come try us out and enjoy our mouthwatering pork ribs, flavor-bursting chicken and more! Join us for Live Music from 8-Late Performed by Our Famous Two Chefs Band! Come for the FOOD www.twochefs.com

Boat Lagoon Weekend Beats & Bites Music & Food & Fun. 9-10 March, 2018 from 6pm till 10pm at Lagoon Quay. Phuket Boat Lagoon. For more information call 095 012 2442 / 076 239 888 ext. 618.

22 TIME OUT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Crossword by Myles Mellor & Sally York 1. Who was the wife of Zeus?

2. What is the largest island in the world?

3. What is the name for a dog created by crossing a Labrador Retriever and a Poodle?

4. Which famous American musician was fatally shot by his father on April 1, 1984?

5. Who was the first and remains the only Thai to drive in Formula One? Answers below, centre

SUDOKU

Easy

Across wolfsbane 1. Dummy 58. Make a deal 4. A ship’s officer 61. ___ flu 9. Swear words 63. Addams Family 14. Wee one member 15. Clear, as a disk 64. Great deal 16. Puffin family bird 65. “Divine Comedy” 17. He wore #4 for the writer Bruins 66. Terra __ 18. Swift snake (brownish red) 19. Disgorge 67. Operate 20. Fast food features, 68. Manet often contemporary 23. Fan 69. Twisted leaf tea 24. Cane 70. Signature piece?

27. Bunch 28. “___-Team” Down 31. Swing about 1. Butting heads 32. Historical period 2. Reddish brown 35. Gas brand 3. Aspire 37. Manage, with “out” 4. Special Forces cap 38. File transferring 5. Speak pompously aids 6. Bag 41. Close friend 7. PC operator 43. Manner 8. Much-loathed 44. Position horizontally emperor 45. Tour de France 9. Last of a series downfall 10. Round numbers substances 11. Types of bridge 47. False collective 12. Mins. and mins. belief 13. Put in position 49. Object of devotion 21. Consonant’s 53. Cave partner 55. Monkshood or 22. Essential RNA

component 25. Razor-billed ___ 26. Formerly known as 29. Lacked, briefly 30. Lapse 33. Zodiac animal 34. Foundation series writer 36. In vitro items, perhaps 38. Basement nightmare 39. Attention grabber 40. Checking out 41. Place to hang your hat 42. Interest rate 46. Layers of rock 48. Dresses 50. Broadband ancestor 51. Idle 52. Pertaining to the pre-Easter period 54. Deer antlers 56. Main division of a long poem 57. Keyboard with pipes 59. Make permanent 60. Seaman’s shout 61. Baking term 62. Envelope type

Solutions to last week’s puzzles:

Answers to this week’s Pop Quiz: 1) 1) Hera; 2) Greenland; 3) Labradoodle or labrapoodle; 4) Marvin Gaye; 5) Prince Birabongse Bhanudej Bhanubandh (also called Prince Bira or “B. Bira”)

GOT YOUR NUMBER

ISLAND VIEW

This week in history

1

Feb 16, 1998 China Airlines Flight 676 crashes into a road and residential area near Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taiwan, killing all 196 aboard and seven more on the ground.

20

Feb 17, 1867 The first ship passes through the Suez Canal.

in 5 women buy Valentine’s gifts for themselves.

baby girls in the US were named “Kindle” in 2013.

6,000

cell phones, 3,500 digital cameras and 18,000 hats are handed in to “Lost and Found” at Walt Disney World each year.

Feb 18, 1977 The Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle is carried on its maiden “flight” on top of a Boeing 747. (Photo: Nasa)

40 million

Feb 19, 356 AD Emperor Constantius II issues a decree closing all pagan temples in the Roman Empire.

Feb 20, 1933 Adolf Hitler secretly meets with German industrialists to arrange for financing of the Nazi Party’s upcoming election campaign.

Americans have tattoos, and 17% of those people are figuring out how to get them removed.

10 billion

doughnuts are consumed by Americans every year.

Source: Uberfacts

Feb 21, 1952 The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to “set the people free”.

Smiley mushrooms on a Sunday morning. Photo by Anton Makhrov Got an unusual or particularly beautiful picture of Phuket?

Email it to execeditor@classactmedia.co.th

Feb 22, 1632 Galileo’s Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems is published.

Source: Wikipedia thephuketnews

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Jobs

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24 CLASSIFIEDS

Jobs

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The Phuket News @thephuketnews

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Trades & Services

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

ADVERTISING SERVICES

CLEANING SERVICES

CONSTRUCTION SERVICES

EDUCATION

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HOME IMPROVEMENT

HOME IMPROVEMENT

MARINE SERVICES

MARINE SERVICES

MOVING SERVICES

PERSONAL SERVICES

PERSONAL SERVICES

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Trades & Services

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

classifieds@thephuketnews.com

POOL SERVICES

PROPERTY SERVICES

PERSONAL SERVICES

PROPERTY SERVICES

OTHER

ADVERTISE HERE

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CLASSIFIEDS 27

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Buy & Sell

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

BAR, RESTAURANT Bar staff wanted

nt rge

Blondie Bar 2 at Otop Market Patong U requires Bar Staff. Thai nationals only. Good salary and room provided.

Phone Mick: 081 087 6114.

BOATS, YACHTS FOR SALE t sa n e rg

le

Boat For Sale

72' (22m) Thai Trawler partially-converted U as Tour Boat Business. Rebuilt from top to bottom three years ago (spent just over 1MB) including engine as was planned to use for a tour business, owner had to return to the UK unable to return (very ill son). Some weather damage and need some repairs. Engine has only done only 6 hours, has new 12 kua generator. Currently in Hua Hin. Viewing can be arrange. Must sell within the next few months. Open to all reasonable cash offers. Contact Shayne on 093 418 9529 or shayne.inbox@gmail.com

CONSTRUCTION Operation Wanted

Operations Staff Required Job duties: Drafting shipping’s contracts Good command of English, written and spoken / Computer skills Salary: B20,000 - B25,000 call 076 352 015.

BUSINESSES FOR SALE SURIN: LUXURIOUS BAR-RESTAURANT SALE

Totally renovated, Italian design & furniture, all-new imported kitchen & bar equipment, ready to operate. Large Bar, DJ booth, garden lounge, rooftop. Seats 50 indoors, 50 in garden, 40 rooftop. Pablo: 080 143 5541.

HOME IMPROVEMENT Flat roof waterproofing

We do flat roof waterproofing with 20 year warranty by installing quality four layer slate spotted bitumen torch foil + crack repair! office@tcm-asia.com, 086-9439834, 076-385081.

MOTORBIKES FOR SALE Kawasaki Z300 ABS for Sale

Kawasaki Z300 ABS for sale. Good condition, from owner. Year: 2015. Colour: yellow and black. Price: B150,000. Bo in Cherngtalay/Pasak, email: cherngtalay@gmail.com or Call 076 615 810 or 076 615 811.

OTHER Loch Palm Golf Club

Lifetime family membership for sale, Annual fee 2018 paid. B300,000. Contact Mr Mons Billgren: monsbillgrenl@gmail.com or call 086 275 3493.

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

PROPERTY FOR SALE Single house for sale

Located the way to Yamu Pakrok, from the main road 500m, 55 SQW, 3 bedrooms, 2 restrooms, with modern kitchen, 2 cars parking, free space 140 SQM. 3.5 Million Baht, K. Suwit: suwitlap5@gmail.com, 081 895 6969. @thephuketnews

PROPERTY FOR SALE

PROPERTY FOR SALE RPM owner direct

Unique luxury condo 2 bed, 2 bath, 155sqm. Foreign FREE HOLD. Architect remodel. New Jacuzzi. Views to lake, mountain, marina, pool etc. Completely furnished to a high standard, toothbrush only required. Owner leaving Thailand. Priced at 16MB for quick sale. Contact Brian (Owner) 089 054 4354, 076 360 943. bggvirgo@gmail.com RoyalPhuketMarinaCondos.com

sa nt e g r

U

le

Babylon Sky Garden Condominium

New Rawai Sea View Freehold Condominium with roof-top garden and 2 swimming pools. Rental Guarantee Program available 7% x 3yrs or 5% x 5yrs Starting price 3.5 mil THB. Email: sales@babylonskygarden.com or call 099 406 7068.

28 CLASSIFIEDS

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Buy & Sell

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

PROPERTY FOR SALE Building for Sale

One unit building for sale in business area Boat Avenue near Villa Market Laguna. Three and a halfstorey, 24 square wah. Khun Mhee (owner), 49/23, Cherngtalay. Email: anmehee@hotmail.com or call 095 545 0017 or 086 346 2622.

Chalong Office, Workshop/Store

300sqm office on 2 floors with all services incl.3 phone lines + 300sqm undercover workshop/store with 4m ht & 3 phase.

Chanote 0.5rai. B12,000,000, Simon Jupe, 29/4 Soi Nayai, Chalong, Phuket 83130. Email: simonj@ cscoms.com or call +66 (0)87 883 2542

Freehold studio at low price

Freehold 36m2 studio, opposite the Lotus Tesco hypermarket of Phuket Town, freehold condominium; perfect for long stay or for investment B1.9 million. Email: mguillien@gmail.com or call 097 920 2339.

80m2 freehold condo in Patong

Freehold 80m2, 2-bedroom apartment in quiet condo with swimming pool in Patong. Ideal investment in most active tourist area in Phuket. B5.9 million, Michel GUILLIEN, Andaman Beach Suites, Unit 1604, Patong, Phuket. Email: mguillien@gmail.com or call 097 920 2339.

KOH MAK ISLAND

3 rai with 50 metres of beach, 2 floor bungalow with 4-bedroom and living room. Very good/nice view from bungalow. About 2km from James Bond Island» only 4.4 million baht, Jostein Pedersen, KOH MAK ISLAND. Email: jospeder@live.no or call 089 872 6895

5-bed pool villa, 1.2 Rai

3 detached buildings, L-shaped open plan living, Western kitchen, guest suite, pool 11mx5m, quiet residential area. 1.2 rai plot. THB19,750,000. Contact Mrs Simpson by email: thaivillaonline@gmail.com or call 084 447 7248. More info at: thaivillaonline.com

PROPERTY FOR RENT OFFERED ON LEASE - BUY CONTRACT A profitable and intimate 20 room garden resort situated in KOH LANTA at the end of Long Beach just a two-minute stroll to the sea. Set in lush gardens, the bungalows are tastefully finished each with their own full-length verandas. Ideally located in Phra Ae Village, with many amenities in the immediate area.

The resort offers and benefits from: • A delightful swimming pool (guest use only) • Car-park • Free-WIFI throughout the resort • Room-service • A combined restaurant and bar adjacent to the pool with state-ofthe-art Western kitchen • A beautiful tropical garden • private manager’s accommodation (screened from the resort) • staff quarters • Private electricity supply • Ample water supply and storage For further information, please email: gardenisland.pp@gmail.com. For the attention of Ms Chorladda CHUANCHOM with the following details: 1 - Full name of potential Lessee/Buyer. 2 - Full contact details, inc. mobile phone number 3 - Brief explanation of experience (if any) in the service industry The Vendor is genuine and the terms very appealing to a LESSEE – BUYER. Genuine inquiries only please.

PROPERTY FOR RENT Property 5 Mins Ao Po Grand Marina.

Very big house 750 sqm, Land 4,000 sqm, available 15 June, 5 bed rooms, 6 bathrooms, swimming pool, jacuzzi, close to UWCT school, including pool/garden/service/wifi-tv/sat. Google map: tiny.cc/deltaho, Contact owner (Alain): mrdupouy@ yahoo.fr. Long term 145,000/Month, Email Alain: mrdupouy@yahoo.fr or call 081 893 5270.

COMMUNITY

PROPERTY FOR RENT New Modern Villa 5 Mins Ao Po Grand Marina.

200 sqm, land 500 sqm, 3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, swimming pool, close to UWCT school. Including: pool/garden/wifi/TV.SAT/ services. Google map: tiny.cc/deltaho. Contact owner (Alain): mrdupouy@yahoo.fr. 65,000/ month, Alain, 57/3 Moo.3 Soi Ban Bang Pae,T. Paklok, T. Talang, Phuket 83110. Email: mrdupouy@yahoo.fr or call 081 893 5270.

JOBS

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

SPORT 29

All close at top of PPL

Ting Tong, Hole in One close gap on Natalie Bar in Patong Pool League POOL Matt Pond editor3@thephuketnews.com

I

t was a “dark” 8th round of the Patong Pool League (PPL), sponsored by Thailand Pool Tables, last Thursday (Feb 8) with the games at Caddy Shack and Hole in One bars, both played in Kathu, being disrupted by a power outage and having to be played by candlelight.

But reports coming in say that the outage and candlelights gave the matches a more of a romantic atmosphere – The Phuket News will leave that to readers’ imaginations!

It now appears that following the outage in Kathu last week and rain stopping play at Wombat Bar the week before, all players now have to be prepared for any eventuality in the PPL. Back to the action, and despite Hole in One getting

WCGC Q1 Winners: Congratulations to the two

winning teams from The Blue Horizon World Corporate Golf Challenge Q1 held at Laguna Golf Phuket; Prime Real Estate and The Nai Harn Beach Boys.

@thephuketnews

off to a slow start this season they have started picking up pace in recent weeks.

Last Thursday saw them placed against PPL leaders Natalie Bar and with Natalie not having lost a game this season it was a real test of their nerves.

But Hole in One was well up for the task and took a convincing 8-3 win over the table toppers.

The other match played “in the dark” was Caddy Shack versus Martin Swiss. The visitors were represented again by four of the Thai-Swiss family, but Caddy Shack triumphed 6-5 in a close battle.

Elsewhere, Wet Dreams hosted Wombat Bar, with the visitors prolonging their good run of the last few weeks taking a good 4-7 victory.

Happy End played at home against Red Light and both teams saw their “star” performers, Teacher Tak and Scott Griffin return to the table.

Despite Tak and Scott being the best of friends off the table, during play it’s a very different matter and in last week’s action it was no

Nong Fern plays for Happy End and is always sure to make for a beautiful picture. Fern started as a mascot for the team but has become an important player this season. different. After a blistering start in the singles where Scott almost 7-balled Tak, and with Tak knowing that if that had happened he would have been reminded about it for years to come, he did manage to fight back but didn’t manage to take the win.

However, Teacher Tak got his revenge in the doubles match meaning the pair finished the night level pegging at 1-1.

But with Happy End leading 5-3, and probably expecting to win the match, Red

Light showed great spirit and finally won the game 5-6.

Meanwhile, second placed Ting Tong were up against Simon & Oil, with the latter playing by far their best match of the season. Before the beerleg Simon & Oil led by 5-4 but there was a surprise in store for them.

In the 3rd match of the beerleg, Ting Tong took back control of the game and ended up walking away with a narrow 6-5 win.

Last weeks results have certainly intensified this year’s

League Standings Natalie Ting Tong Hole in On Caddy Shack Happy End Wet Dreams Wombat Martin Swiss Red Light Simon Oil

58 57 51 45 44 42 42 40 35 26

competition with Natalie Bar now just one point ahead of Ting Tong, but Hole in One are also making up ground on the two.

30 SPORT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

Dominant Performance At The 2018 Senior Games!

W

ell done to all playe rs and co a c h e s a t the British International School, Phuket, (BISP) who took part in the Senior Games in Pattaya against 10 international schools from Thailand and Malaysia.

Winning gold in both the girls and boys football, they kept up a solid defence and kept the opposition scoreless in every single game!

On attack they showed great ball movement and teamwork, producing a total of 49 goals.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Pickleballers play at The Village in Florida. Photo: Creative commons

Pickleball comes to Phuket

In the basketball, the BISP girls won gold aga i ns t l as t yea rs’ champions Uplands Penang. In the third qua r ter they found themselves down by 9 points, but were stirred on by the BISP support crew to snatch victory

in the final minute. The boys team also qualified for the playoffs for the first time in four years and won bronze, a ver y respectable achievement.

By Jamie Blake, BISP PE Teacher and Basketball Coach.

What’s on at the ACG Date

Time

Activity

Sat Feb 17

All day

Available for field sports

Sun Feb 18

All Day

Natures Playground

Wed Feb 21

5 pm

Children’s Cricket Coaching

Fri 23-Mon 26

All Day

Last Man Standing Four Day International Tournament

Sat Mar 3

2 pm

Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort Touch Rugby League

Sat Mar 24

Midday

Phuket Masters vs Tigers Aussie Footie Tournament

PICKLEBALL Gene Van Lyuk

B

efore we get to the details of just where and when you can play Pickleball here in Phuket, we realise that many of the expats, retirees and locals are not familiar with Pickleball.

So let’s first just learn a little about the game.

So just what is Pickleball?

It is the fastest growing racquet/paddle sport in the world.

It is literally taking over tennis courts in many locals and in many tennis courts in hotels in resort cities such as Las Vegas. Not only are the USA and Canada having a revival of this sport, that originally started over 30 years ago, but it has exponentially progressed to become a wildly popular sport phenomenon in the last five years worldwide. Here in Thailand there are groups in Chiang Mai, Pattaya, Bangkok and now here in Phuket in Rawai.

The game is a combination of tennis, badminton and ping-pong. It’s played with a

paddle about twice the size of a ping-pong paddle, but much sturdier, a tennis type net and a court size similar to a badminton court. Balls used are similar to a US size baseball but made of plastic with a number of holes in it, similar to a whiffle ball.

Pickleball can be played by all ages from teens through your golden years both male and female. In one club, a 92-year-old was playing a very decent game with people half his age. It is a very healthy sport, requiring some eye hand coordination, much less movement than tennis and most importantly, the only thing you really need to play well is a good attitude and a little practice. It can be played indoors and outdoors. Plus it’s great fun.

To get a good look at the game, just go to YouTube and search it and you will see tournaments, court size, rules and playing strategies.

You can see age group play as well as open play. YouTube is a great introduction for those new to the game.

The PPA (Phuket Pickleball

Association) has started operation as a non-profit group to promote the sport in Phuket.

They have a core group of 12 who play every Tuesday and Thursday from 4pm to 6pm and on Sunday morning from 9am to 11am at the Phuket Sports and Tennis Club in Rawai. Equipment is provided at this point but as new people join and like the game, it is expected that they will get their own paddles and balls.

Basic rules and lessons are given and a play-as-you-learn approach is taken. As they develop and increase their numbers they will add and adjust regular playing times to meet most needs.

Anyone interested should email: pickleballgene@yahoo. com or singaporegene@yahoo. com or text/phone 065 809 8565 for more information, or just stop by the Phuket Sports and Tennis Club in Rawai any Tuesday, Thursday or Sunday at the times given earlier.

Wear tennis shoes/trainers and they will get you in a few games and hopefully get you into the PPA as a regular player. Let’s Go Pickleball!

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

SPORT 31

PREMIER PREDICTIONS: ENTER NOW AT THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

Questions over name, vice president walks

Continued from page 32 ...The President of former Thai League 4 side Phuket FC, Pitipol Nukulpanichwipat, announced the termination of the eight-year-old club on Nov 28, 2017 due to the amount owing from lawsuits filed by ex-players against the club’s previous owner, Pramookpisitt Achariyachai, Founder and President of Kata Group Resorts.

In an interview conducted with The Phuket News on Dec 4 last year, Kanissanan “Ole” Srisamer, who was then Vice President and General Manager of what was then to be named as Phuket City Football Association but has since walked away from the club, said, “The people behind Phuket City Football Association want to bring fun back to Phuket football, to bring a team to Phuket that people want to cheer.

“With an initial budget of B9 million from various sources, including sponsors, we will be able to start off this new football club by the start of 2018,” Mr Kanissanan said.

“The team is already licensed with the Football Association of Thailand (FAT), as we have bought the club and position from another team, whose name we will not disclose at this stage.

“So the licence is already obtained, we just require documents of proof to be sent to us.

Everything is basically ready,” he said.

At around the same time a Facebook page was created going by the name of “Phuket City Football Club”, which was touted as being the “official” name of the new Phuket Team.

However, the official Thai League website currently does not mention, and hence does not recognise, any team registered

@thephuketnews

It is not clear why former Vice President and GM Kanissanan 'Ole' Srisamer walked away from the club. as Phuket City FC. Oddly, however, Banbueng FC remains listed as competing in Thai League 3 in the coming 2018 season.

A full listing for Banbueng FC remains on the Thai League website, even stating the club’s registered players and the upcoming six league fixtures for the team.

The six upcoming fixtures listed for Banbueng FC were as follows: Feb 10 vs Chamchuri United, home at Surakul Stadium Feb 18 vs RPC (Rajpracha), away at Thonburi Stadium Feb 25 vs WUNKS UTD (WU Nakhonsi United, or “Walailak University”), home at Surakul Stadium Mar 3 vs SRTFC (Suratthani FC), away at Surat Thani Provincial Sports Stadium Mar 10 vs RNUTD (Grand Andaman Ranong United), home at Surakul Stadium Mar 17 vs ARMY FC, home at Surakul Stadium The six fixtures are identical to those posted on the “Phuket City FC” Facebook page as the first six matches for Phuket City FC. Meanwhile, a Wikipedia page for Phuket City FC currently states: “Founded 2016; 2 years ago, as Banbueng United 2018; 0 years ago, as Phuket City.” The alleged launch date

given notably precedes the demise of Phuket FC and the public launch of Phuket City FC. When contacted via the self proclaimed “official” Facebook to clarify the confusing issue of what the club was actually registered as and would it be “Phuket’s team”, Phuket City FC would only confirm, “We are Banbueng FC from club licensing”.

A Facebook page for Banbueng FC has very little information on the club in the English language. However, in Thai there is a Wikipedia page that states that Banbueng FC plays in Chonburi province.

The Phuket City FC wiki pages notes that the “Phuket” club was based at Banbueng Municipality Stadium for the 2016-2017 season and moved to Phuket's Surakul Stadium for the 2018 season.

The Phuket News attempted to confirm the legality of the new club by sending emails and other communications to both the Thai League and the Football Association of Thailand (FAT).

Communications with the Thai League and FAT began on Jan 26 and to date The Phuket News has received no reply to the questions raised.

On Tuesday last week (Feb 6), The Phuket News contacted

Thapanick “Nick” Chalermsuk – who carries a business card identifying himself as Phuket City FC’s Club Secretary – to ask for an email address where The Phuket News could send some questions regarding the club.

Although the business card Thapanick carries displays the contact email address as “Phuketcityfootballclub@ gmail.com”, he advised The Phuket News to send emails to snoopynick69@gmail.com.

The questions, sent in Thai language, last Tuesday were as follows: 1. Is the official registered/ licensed name of the club Banbueng Football Club?

2. Please can you explain why the club is registered/ licensed as Bangbueng FC (Chonburi)?

3. Are the FAT/Thai League aware that the club is playing under the name Phuket City FC? 4. Why is the club registered/licensed as Banbueng FC and not Phuket City FC? 5. Is the registered stadium for the club Surakul Stadium, if so when was this registered with the Thai League?

6. Can you confirm the legality of the club when playing under a different name to what it is registered/licensed?

7. What will the club be listed as in the “official” league table and match fixtures?

8. We understand that Kanissanan “Ole” Srisamer who was the Vice President and General Manager of the club has resigned from his position, can you explain why?

9. Who has replaced Kanissanan “Ole” Srisamer as Vice President and General Manager?

As of Wednesday (Feb 14), The Phuket News had yet to receive a reply to the questions.

MAIN SPONSOR

MONTHLY SPONSOR

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 February 2018 will receive a B3,000 voucher to spend at any one of the island's Two Chefs outlets.

EPL PREDICTIONS MONTHLY STANDINGS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

OVERALL STANDINGS

Marisa S 13 AOR 12 giggs 12 LateStart 12 The Machine 12

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

thailand express 147 malcmanning 144 TC 144 diggersd 143 adamrosindale 142

English Premier League 2017 - 2018 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

Team

MP

W

D

L

F

A

GD

Pts

Manchester City Manchester United Liverpool Chelsea Tottenham Hotspur Arsenal Burnley Leicester City Everton Bournemouth Watford West Ham United Newcastle United Brighton Crystal Palace Swansea City Huddersfield Town Southampton Stoke City West Brom

27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27 27

23 17 15 16 15 13 9 9 9 8 8 7 7 6 6 7 7 5 6 3

3 5 9 5 7 6 9 8 7 7 6 9 7 10 9 6 6 11 7 11

1 5 3 6 5 8 9 10 11 12 13 11 13 11 12 14 14 11 14 13

79 51 61 49 52 51 21 39 32 31 37 34 25 22 25 20 23 28 27 21

20 19 31 23 24 36 24 40 46 41 47 46 36 36 42 37 47 40 53 40

+59 +32 +30 +26 +28 +15 -3 -1 -14 -10 -10 -12 -11 -14 -17 -17 -24 -12 -26 -19

72 56 54 53 52 45 36 35 34 31 30 30 28 28 27 27 27 26 25 20

Live Sports TV Schedule *Times may be subject to change

SPORT START STOP Friday February 16 Winter Sports 18:00 20:00 Cricket 15:00 17:50 17:50 00:00 Rugby League 15:30 18:30 Saturday February 17 Winter Sports 13:00 23:00 Rugby League 13:30 15:30 15:40 17:40 Rugby Union 22:00 23:55 00:10 02:00 Rugby Union 20:00 22:00 22:10 00:00 Soccer 19:30 21:30 22:00 00:00 00:30 02:30 Cricket 15:15 19:00 19:00 23:00 Sunday February 18 Winter Sports 13:00 19:00 Rugby Union 22:00 23:55 Soccer 19:00 21:00 Soccer 21:15 23:15 23:30 01:30 Cricket 19:20 00:00

EVENT

TEAMS / INFO

Olympics T202 - MCG ODI6 - Centurion Super League

Opening Ceremony Australia v England South Africa v. India Wigan v. Hull

Olympics Super League Super League Guinness Pro 14 Guinness Pro 14 Super XV Super XV FA Cup – Round 5 FA Cup – Round 5 FA Cup – Round 5 T202 - MCG ODI4 - Jo’burg

Various South Sydney v. Wigan St George v. Hull Leinster v. Scarlets Cardiff v. Munster Stormers v. Jaguares Lions v. Sharks Sheffield Wednesday v. Swansea West Bromwich v. Southampton Huddersfield v. Man United Australia v. England South Africa v. India

Olympics Aviva Premiership English Championship SFPL EFL T201 - Jo’burg

Various Wasps v. Exeter Norwich v. Ipswich Hamilton v. Rangers Leeds v. Bristol City South Africa v. India

Sport

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

editor3@classactmedia.co.th

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018

Ever heard of Pickleball? Find out more on > p30

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Phuket City FC backtrack after questions raised against legality FOOTBALL Matt Pond editor3@classactmedia.co.th

VS There may be confusion over the ‘official’ name, but the ground remains as Surakul Stadium. Photo: Hari Lee Song Tue

I

n the latest bamboozling twist of what is being touted as the island’s football team, Phuket City FC will play its current season in the Thai League while wearing the badge of a club based in Chonburi, some 900-plus kilometres away.

The news came last Thursday (Feb 8) when at around 1pm Phuket City FC made an announcement via their Facebook page.

The statement read, “Dear our loved fans, since we have been questioned about our logo, we would like to clarify to you about this. We must inform you that at this time we cannot change our club’s

name or even logo in this year 2018 due to the regulations of the FAT, so our logo will remain the same.

“Also according to FAT’s rules, the logo is required to be the logo of the former team (Banbueng),” the statement added.

Regardless, the statement continued, “However, we want you our fans to think and understand that this team is our team, a team for Phuket people and it is the team organised by locals. We are aware of your doubts but we have to ask for your sympathy and ask you to understand why we can do nothing.

We have to follow the rules of the FAT. Anyway, we do intend to build this club for Phuket people. We will gradually develop our team with more Phuket people

to become our players in the future.”

It is not quite clear what prompted the change by club officials, but one thing which is clear is that “officially” Phuket fans will be cheering a team registered in Chonburi for the 2018 season at least.

The news follows The Phuket News back in December revealing that a new locally-based football team had been formed with the aim of competing in the Euro Cake Thai League 3 Lower Region in the 2018 season.

That announcement came less than a week after the management of the island’s former league football club Phuket FC announced that it was being disbanded due to debts of B83 million being owed to former players…

Continued page 31

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