17-03-2017

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FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

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DRIVEN LEGAL

NEWS

PAGE 3

Developer slaps sea gypsies with lawsuit

LIFE

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For the love of elephants

A soldier checks a hotel driver’s licence at a checkpoint in Kamala. Photo: PLTO

ARMY BACKS CAMPAIGN FOR ALL TAXI AND VAN DRIVERS TO BE ISSUED CORRECT LICENCES Tanyaluk Sakoot reporter2@classactmedia.co.th

T

he Phuket Land of Transport Office (PLTO) with support from Royal Thai Army soldiers on the island have launched a campaign to ensure that drivers of all commercial passenger vehicles in Phuket, including ride-sharing cars and hotel drivers, at least have the correct driving licences.

The campaign, confirmed by PLTO

Chief Banyat Kantha on Wednesday (Mar 15), comes only weeks after Mr Banyat arrived in Phuket to take up the post as Phuket’s leading Land Transport official.

Soldiers, local police and PLTO staff are already checking drivers passing through checkpoints set up across Phuket, including at Phuket International Airport, the Phuket Checkpoint leading onto the island, as well as in Kamala and elsewhere, in a co-ordinated

campaign, Mr Banyat said.

“This crackdown is in conjunction with the one in Bangkok on ridesharing drivers, and is made possible with extra support from Maj Gen Pornsak Poonsawat, Deputy Commander of Royal Thai Army Region 4,” Mr Banyat explained.

However, while Bangkok officials are wrapped up in the GrabCar and Uber driver crackdown, Chief Banyat said, “I don’t think GrabTaxi and Uber will be a problem in Phuket.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

@thephuketnews

Drivers not having public vehicle licences is more important and what I am focussing on right now.

“The situation about commercial passenger drivers not having the correct licences is worrying,” he added.

“Gen Pornsak asked which issues needed attention to improve tourism in Phuket, and the PLTO advised that we must do as much as we can with the Royal Thai Army to ensure drivers of public transport vehicles are properly licensed...

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Taxi driver charged after cab flips in home-bound drive A PHUKET TAXI DRIVer was charged with reckless driving causing damage to government property on Monday (Mar 13) after his vehicle struck a pole and flipped onto its roof after dropping passengers off at Phuket International Airport.

The d r iver, Piyapat Saeong, 47, told police that he was driving home to Naiharn at about 3:30pm when a Honda Jazz pulled out in front of him while he was passing the U-turn near the Khun Mae Ju store on Thepkrasattri Rd north of Thalang Town.

“The car just drove off,” he told police, who arrived at the scene with rescue workers to find the “green plate” (commercial passenger vehicle) taxi on its roof in the inside southbound lane.

Nearby was a utility pole bowled over by the force of the impact.

Lt Suphon Muangkhai of the Thalang Police confirmed that Mr Piyapat suffered only a sore chest in the dramatic crash as he was wearing a

Revenue Dept ordered to claim B12bn in tax from Thaksin > page 9

Flesh-eating bacteria cat scratch claims life The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

T Taxi driver Piyapat Saeong, 47, told police that he swerved to avoid colliding with a Honda Jazz. seatbelt at the time of the accident “He said he swerved to avoid a collision and the taxi hit a pole and flipped,” Lt Suphon said.

“Mr Piyapat has been charged with reckless driving causing damage to government property. He will be called on to pay for the damaged pole,” Lt Suphon added.

“Meanwhile, we are still looking for the Honda Jazz he claims caused the accident,” he added.

The Phuket News notes that Mr Piyapat does have the correct licence to legally work as a taxi driver in Phuket.

Eakkapop Thongtub

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

he 63-year-old man who contracted flesh-eating bacteria from a cat scratch near his home in Rawai in January has died. The man, Veera Pantip, passed away at Vachira Phuket Hospital last Thursday (Mar 9).

Rungnapha Ngachan, Mr Veera’s daughter-in-law, also confirmed that Mr Veera, a Muslim, was buried that same day in accordance with his beliefs.

“My condolences to Khun Nate (Mr Veera’s daughter). It is one of the saddest moments in my life,” Ms Rungnapha said.

“I miss him every time I see boats at the pier. After today I will not see him drive his boat back to us ever again,” she added.

Mr Veera was admitted to Vachira Hospital on Jan 18 after a scratch on his right shin and calf from a neighbourhood cat two days earlier had failed to heal.

He was soon diagnosed as having contracted necrotising fasciitis, a deadly flesh-eating

Veera Pantip, who contracted flesh-eating bacteria from a neighbourhood cat scratch, died at Vachira Phuket Hospital last Thursday (Mar 9). Photo: The Phuket News / file bacteria, and had his right leg amputated in an attempt to prevent the disease from spreading.

Dr Jirapan Taepan, Chief of the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO), which operates all three main government hospitals on the island, on Jan 27 said, “The patient’s existing medical condition was the primary reason the infection became so severe.

“This case has more to do

with Mr Veera’s existing health condition, which allowed the bacteria to flourish and cause a severe infection.

“I don’t think it is important to find this cat. The bacteria that caused Mr Veera’s infection is common and can be found almost anywhere.”

However, Dr Chalermpong Sukonthapon, Director of Vachira Phuket Hospital, told a press conference just days earlier, on Jan 23, “Necrotis-

ing fasciitis is rare, but it can especially affect people with low immunity, including those who take steroids. People with normal immunity levels should find that the wounds will heal by themselves.”

Dr Jirapan was not available for comment. Staff at the hospital and the doctors assigned to provide care for Mr Veera also declined to comment.

Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos told The Phuket News that he was already aware of Mr Veera’s passing.

Mayor Aroon said he would visit Mr Veera’s family to pay his respects. “I will visit them later this month,” he said.

Rawai officials have been unable to find the cat that caused the killer infection, he added.

“The cat is a ‘neighbourhood cat’. The owner of a house in his neighbourhood (in Soi Ruamjai 1, off Wiset Rd) has many cats and they are free to roam, and nobody knows which cat it was.

“We don’t know where the cat is. There is nothing more we can do,” he said.

Army lends support to crackdown on public transport drivers Continued from page 1 ...“Hence there is no time limit for this campaign. It will continue as long as necessary,” Mr Banyat explained.

Drivers caught operating a public transport vehicle without the correct licence will be banned from driving

such vehicles immediately.

“They will be fined about B2,000 to B5,000, depending on the type of vehicle, and they will be arranged to take the correct test as soon as possible,” Mr Banyat said.

Chief Banyat noted that in January alone, a total of 195

people applied for new public passenger vehicle licences.

“A further 35 other drivers had their public vehicle licences renewed,” he said.

But of the 195 new applicants, “only 60 people joined the lessons – and of those only 39 passed the tests and were

actually issued new licences,” he noted.

The campaign will soon ratchet up a notch to also target uniforms, Mr Banyat warned.

“From April 1, public drivers will be checked to ensure they wear appropriate uniforms, because tourists who

just arrive at Phuket International Airport would expect to see a trustworthy uniform.

Public uniforms will reflect the tourism industry in Phuket,” he explained.

“As such, public drivers must wear collared shirts and plain long pants with no pattern

at all, as well as proper shoes and a name tag.

“If they do not comply, they will be fined up to B1,000 every time they are caught.

They have until April 1 to sort this out. In the meantime we are letting them know this requirement is coming,” he said.

Surin vendor found hanged in police cell A 29-Y EA R- OLD MAN was found hanged in a cell at Cherng Talay Police Station in the early hours of Monday (Mar 13). The man, Rotnayom Phutdee, had been arrested for trespassing last Sunday night, confirmed Maj Sakol Krainara of the Cherng Talay Police.

“Rotnayom said that before leaving for work on Sunday he took half a pill of methamphetamine (ya bah). He then took a local bus to Surin where he worked as a vendor. After he finished work he met with

The man was found hanged at Cherng Talay Police Station. Photo: Google Maps friends and they sat and drank together. He then climbed a tree and along the wall of a foreign man’s property. A dog in the property started barking and the owner came out so he ran

away. The house owner called the police and we later arrested Rotnayom,” Maj Sakol said.

Rotnayom told police that he only climbed onto the wall of the property and that he had no intention of entering the property grounds.

“He was smiling and laughing during questioning and did not seem at all stressed.

His body is now at Thalang Hospital where doctors will be able to confirm the cause of death,” Maj Sakol said.

Eakkapop Thongtub thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

PHUKET NEWS

3

Sea gypsies face B31mn suit

Resort developer files counter-claim against indigenous folk Eakkapop Thongtub editor@classactmedia.co.th

B

aron World Trade Co Ltd, the Phuket developer embroiled in a dispute with sea gypsies in Rawai over beachfront land on which the indigenous people’s sacred “Balai” shrine is located, has filed a suit against the sea gypsies for B31 million in damages.

The lawsuit was filed as a counter-claim against four of the villagers filing a claim of B500,000 in damages against Baron World Trade.

Pasit Thavornlamlert, the lawyer defending the sea gypsies in the claim, revealed the news last Friday (Mar 10) at Phuket Provincial Court, where he was successful in having an injunction issued preventing

Baron World Trade from doing any work at the site until the court has ruled on the case.

“The defendant (Baron World Trade Co Ltd) told the court they will not use the area and will not hurt or make any action that will start a conflict with the sea gypsies until the case has been judged,” Mr Pasit said.

Baron World trade is the “defendant” in the claim for damages totalling B500,000 filed by Nuengruethai Raknawa and three other sea gypsies on June 14 last year.

In response, Baron World Trade filed it s own claim for damages totalling B31mn.

“The court will hear witness testimonies for both claims on June 7-9,” Mr Pasit confirmed.

The ongoing dispute with

Baron World Trade is over land where the sea gypsies’ sacred Balai shrine is located. Tensions flared on May 25, when more than 200 sea gypsy villagers confronted 50 workers who arrived with a backhoe and began moving boulders into place to block access to the sea gypsies’ sacred Balai shrine, which sits on part of the disputed land.

The confrontation escalated into clashes, with workers and sea gypsies throwing rocks at each other for 30 minutes.

The rock fight stopped when Chalong Police arrived with more than 50 officials.

That conflict followed a stand-off between sea gypsies and Baron World Trade construction workers on Jan 27 last year that escalated into violence.

Rawai sea gypsies wait outside Phuket Provincial Court in Phuket Town. Photo: Premkamon Ketsara

Police deem American tourist Korean shoots self at gun range ‘careless’ in rock-climbing fall POLICE IN AO NANG, Krabi, say they have inspected and declared safe for climbing the rock face at Railay Beach where American tourist Samara Landers, 38, broke her leg in a sixmetre plunge on March 5.

Ms Landers was scaling the edifice with three friends when she fell, breaking her leg on landing. Fellow rock climbers called for assistance, which took hours to recover her from the site and get her to hospital.

“We have inspected the scene where Mrs Landers who fell and asked the local rock-climbing club, and they said that everything there is okay, that no climbing pins in the wall are worn out or need replacing,” Capt Chokdee Petdaung of the Ao Nang Police told The Phuket News.

“We k now that Mrs Landers has expertise in climbing, her friends told us, but we were also told that her equipment was not ‘standard’, so all we can assume is that the accident resulted from her own carelessness while climbing,” Capt Chokdee said.

Ms Landers and her three friends also did not have their equipment inspected by instructors at the local rock-climbing club, Capt Chokdee added.

Pankum Kittithornkul, the Chief Administration Officer (Palad) at the Ao Nang @thephuketnews

American tourist Samara Landers, 38, broke her leg in a six-metre plunge from the rock face on March 5.

Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub Subdistrict Administrative Organisation (OrBorTor), told The Phuket News that many such incidents happened within Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park each year.

The rock face where Ms Landers fell is within the park boundaries, he noted.

“Climbing at Ao Nang is very popular. More than 5,000 people go there each year to climb,” Mr Pankum said “The rock face is on public land and it is free for everyone to climb, but

any person wanting to go rock climbing at Railay should listen to the advice of the local club, because they know which points are dangerous and whether tourists should not be there or not,” he added.

“We do not have any officials here at Ao Nang OrBorTor with expert knowledge about rock climbing, so we just rely on the local club to always check to make sure people who do climb in the area are safe,” Mr Pankum said.

Yutthawat Lekmak

A 42-YEAR-OLD SOUTH Korean man is in intensive care at Vachira Phuket Hospital after attempting to commit suicide at the Patong Shooting Range on Monday evening (Mar 13).

A hand-written note found in the man’s wallet at the scene stated that he didn’t want to go back to Korea.

Lt Col Phattapee Srichai of the Patong Police was notified of the incident at 7:20pm.

Lt Col Phattapee arrived at the scene to find the man, identified as Yun Dong Ok, unresponsive on the floor with gunshot wounds to his chin and face. The gun he had been firing was lying nearby.

Mr Yun was taken to Patong Hospital and later transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital, where he remains in ICU. Gun range staffer Pharadon Thong-Ngam told Col Phattapee that Mr Yun had ordered

Police carry out an inspection at the Patong Shooting Range. a Magnum pistol together with 10 rounds of ammunition.

Mr Yun shot five rounds at the target and then request Mr Pharadon check the gun, which still had one bullet left in the revolving cylinder.

Mr Pharadon checked the gun, added a further four bullets and handed the gun back.

Mr Yun then walked to check his target but suddenly pointed the gun directly under his chin.

Mr Pharadon rushed to Mr Yun and managed to move the

gun away just as the gun fired.

Mr Yun then pushed Mr Pharadon away and pointed the gun towards him. He then quickly placed the gun under his chin again, fired and collapsed on the floor.

Police were then called to the scene.

Col Phattapee said that while inspecting the scene they found Mr Yun’s wallet and inside discovered a hand-written note which read, “I don’t want come back to Korea”.

Eakkapop Thongtub

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PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

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A 19-YEAR-OLD MIGRant worker from Myanmar was stabbed to death at a worker’s camp close the bus station on Thepkrasattri Rd in Rassada last Wednesday night (Mar 8) whilst he sat eating dinner.

Lt Chaleaw Thaieu of the Phuket City Police was informed of the incident at 10:30pm.

Lt Chaleaw arrived at the scene to find the body of Tae Zor Auaz, 19, slumped in his makeshift room with several stab wounds on his body.

Lt Chaleaw told T he Phuket News, “We are not yet able to comment on this case as the investigation is still ongoing. However, we will investigate and find out the truth about this incident.”

Yutthawat Lekmak

Eakkapop Thongtub editor@classactmedia.co.th

R

esidents in Ban Don, Cherng Talay, luckily escaped a fire that blazed quickly through a chain of five terraced homes near the Baan Don Community Market on the Thalang-Baan Don Rd before dawn early Wednesday morning (Mar 15).

More than 10 fire engines were called to battle the market blaze at about 4:30am, said Lt Sunan Petchnoo of Thalang Police.

“No one was injured in the fire,” Lt Sunan confirmed to The Phuket News.

Local residents said the fire broke out at about 4:10am, when they saw black smoke billowing out from the unit owned by Auschara Saetiao, Lt Sunan explained Ms Auschara, 49, lives in the unit but operates her SangDee clothes shop at the front of the unit, he added.

“The fire quickly spread to the other units. Firefighters

The fire quickly blazed through the connected homes at the Baan Don Community market in central Phuket before dawn on Wednesday (Mar 15). arrived very quickly but took one hour to control the fire,” Lt Sunan explained.

“The road past the market was closed to traffic while firefighters brought the flames under control,” he added.

Four of the five units consumed by the fire were single level, with Kan Saetiao, 51, residing in two single-level

units, and Jutharat Lilapansit, 46, living in one unit with her fashion clothes shop at the front.

“Ms Ratee Krajanglok, 53, lives in the two-level unit at the end of the block. She has a clothes shop downstairs but lives upstairs with her family,” Lt Sunan said.

“Luckily they all escaped

from the buildings unharmed,” he added.

“Police will investigate to find what caused the fire,” Lt Sunan said.

The fire is estimated to have caused “many millions” of baht in damage.

It has yet to be confirmed whether all the buildings were covered by insurance.

Residents warned huge Smuggler busted with kratom haul king cobra on the loose POLICE AT THE THA

Chat Chai Checkpoint, the sole point of entry onto Phuket by road, arrested a man last Saturday night (Mar 11) with an estimated 900 kilograms of fresh kratom leaves being delivered from the Thai-Malaysian border to a Myanmar national in Pa Khlok, on Phuket’s east coast.

Police arrested Sumet Lahmood, 35, from Sadao, in Songkhla province, at 9:45pm after a search of his modified “box-on-back” pickup truck found he was smuggling about 900kg of kratom onto the island.

“All this week we have been conducting extensive searches of vehicles passing through the checkpoint for contraband,” said Tha Chat Chai Police Superintendent Col Prawit Sutthiruangarun.

“Officers searched the container fitted on the back

The 900 kilos of kratom was packed into sacks in the back of the modified pickup truck. of Mr Sumet’s Songkhlaregistered Toyota Vigo pickup truck, and found the fresh kratom leaves packed into sacks,” he said.

Mr Sumet confessed to the charge of possession of a Category 5 drug with intent to sell, said Col Prawit.

He also told police that bought the kratom in Sadao at B250 per kilogram, and was to sell them to a Myan-

mar national he named only as “Mr Yao”, in Pa Khlok in Thalang, at B500 per kilo, Col Prawit added.

“The deal would have been for at least B450,000 baht, but he was arrested first,” Col Prawit said.

Police will continue their investigation in the hope of tracking down Mr Yao, Col Prawit noted.

Eakkapop Thongtub

RESIDENTS IN THE SAIyuan area in Rawai, in southern Phuket, have been warned to keep a sharp eye out for a large king cobra that fled a bamboo thicket last Saturday night (Mar 11).

Locals raised the alarm when they noticed two large king cobras entwined with each other in a large growth of bamboo behind houses in Soi Namaoy.

Rescue workers soon arrived and caught one of the cobras, measuring five metres long and weighing a hefty 10.6 kilograms, but were unable to find the other.

“It took 10 rescue workers about two hours to safely catch that snake, but the other one got away,” one rescue worker said.

“Locals believe that the two snakes were mating.

At this stage we urge all residents in the area to be on the lookout for the one that got away. It can easily

The king cobra that was caught last Saturday night (Mar 11) was five metres long and weighed more than 10 kilograms. be dangerous,” he added.

The king cobra that was snared was taken to the jungle along the west-coast road between Rawai and Karon, and released into the wild near the Kata Viewpoint.

“If the missing cobra is found, we must catch it and release it in the same area,” the rescue worker said.

Eakkapop Thongtub thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Patong Bay mansion ordered demolished Eakkapop Thongtub editor@classactmedia.co.th

T

he owner of a mansion located on the headland south of Patong, with stunning views back across Patong Bay, has been given 30 days to remove all structures from a 69-rai plot of land, likely worth more than a billion baht, on which the home stands.

The order was posted last Thursday (Mar 9) by officials from the Phuket Agriculture Land Reform Office (ALRO).

Soldiers led by Gen Aryuphan Gannasoot from Royal Thai Army Region 4 provided security.

The officers posted a large sign at the front gate the mansion announcing that the land had been reclaimed by the Phuket ALRO office, and included a large image of the SorPorKor deed for the plot.

“The Supreme Court has ruled that this area covers land previously claimed by Banlue Tantiwit. The Supreme Court ruled that Mr Banlue had no right to this land. Hence, the ALRO Phuket office re-

Officers walk up a road on the land in question, with views over Patong Bay. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub claims this land as government SorPorKor land,” the notice explained, SorPorKor land is government-owned land handed over to poor farmers to use in order to make a living. SorPorKor titles, administered by the ALRO, confer only a right to use the land; ownership is never handed over to individuals.

The property’s caretaker, who officials last Thursday identified only as “Mr Pairote”, told officials that he looked after the property for

Sompong Sakunthab and said Mr Sompong had a SorKor 1 deed for the land.

Mr Sompong’s lawyer – who did not give his name – soon arrived and told reporters, “I insist that this 22 rai is outside the SorPorKor land.

“We have evidence that this land was private property long before adjoining plot of 69 rai was allocated as SorPorKor land. There is a even a mango tree that proves this,” the lawyer said.

However, he added, “The

Chuwit calls out Tourism Ministry OUTSPOKEN AND CONtroversial former MP Chuwit Kamolvisit in a Facebook Live broadcast across the internet last week called on the Tourism and Sports Ministry to “Wake up and promote” Phuket’s Bangla Rd in Patong and to allow late-night trading on the popular nightlife street.

Mr Chuwit, who before his entry into politics was the country’s biggest massage parlour kingpin, called for the Tourism Ministry to allow bars and nightclubs to remain open until 4am.

“Ministry of Tourism and Sports: Wake up and promote!” Mr Chuwit said in the live broadcast as he paraded along Bangla Rd, joined by Patong Entertainment Business Association (PEBA) President Weerawit Krueasombut and Preechawude “Prab” Keesin, Head of the Pisona Group of companies.

“You must think about this. As I walk around here on Bangla Rd, most of the people are foreign tourists, not Thais.

There are no students and no schools in the area that you need to worry about,” he said.

“No tourists go to sleep early on their holidays. They sleep in late and wake up late.

Think about it,” he added. @thephuketnews

Mr Chuwit said in his Facebook Live video that the Patong’s nightlife district is a hotbed for foreign, not Thai, tourists.

Asked by Mr Chuwit how much revenue the Patong nightlife generated in general business, Mr Prab responded, “About B100 million.”

Mr Weerawit added, “The general businesses that benefit from this trade include pubs, bars and other entertainment venues as well as tuk-tuks and taxis, and restaurants” “See, you (the MoTS) must promote Bangla Rd. It is a tourism area. Let’s show tourists what there is to see on the colourful and jolly street of Bangla Rd, Patong,” Mr Chuwit told his Facebook audience.

Since the video was posted last Tuesday, it has already had more than 43,600 views.

Mr Chiwit then asked

several bar owners, including one Frenchman and an Australian, who their main clientele were, to which both responded, “Most are just foreigners.”

Phuket Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan made the request to allow night venues to close at 4am official with a letter to the Prime minister’s Office dispatched on Feb 15.

Mr Weerawit noted that the PEBA was still waiting for a reply to the formal request sent by Governor Chockchai.

“This request will be presented to the Cabinet and we are still waiting for a reply from Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul,” he said.

Tanyaluk Sakoot

application for the SorKor 1 is still in process at the Land Office.”

The Supreme Court in 2007 ruled that Mr Banlue, the patriarch of the Tantiwit clan, which owns the Patong Resort and Patong Tower condo building, had falsely applied for the land by claiming he was a poor farmer.

The family argued that the original owner sold the rights to the land to the Tantiwit family in 1980. The Supreme Court dismissed the claim.

PHUKET NEWS

5

Hunt afoot for man who set ex-wife afire THALANG POLICE ARE still searching for the man who set his ex-wife on fire at a kindergarten in central Phuket last month in order to press charges, even though the woman who was set ablaze has chosen not to seek legal action.

Somkuan Jongsuk, 50. set fire to Rungruedee Sithibut, a 43-year-old cleaner at Thepkrasattri Municipality Kindergarten in Thalang, on (Feb 20).

Ms Rungruedee, who fled to a staff room toilet to quickly douse herself with water, suffered burns to her left arm, left shoulder and back, and was taken to Thalang Hospital after the attack.

“We believe Somkuan is still in Phuket, and we have had wanted posters distributed to all police stations across the island for officers to arrest him on sight,” Capt Kraisorn Boonprasop of the Thalang Police told The Phuket News.

“Although his ex-wife (Ms Rungruedee) does not want to press charges – we do, for causing physical

The hunt is continuing for 50-year-old Somkuan Jongsuk. Photo: Thalang Police harm to others resulting in seriously injury,” Capt Kraisorn said.

“If anyone sees this man, please call Thalang Police directly at 076-311-123,” he added.

After the Feb 20 attack, Capt Kraisorn explained to The Phuket News, “Her ex-husband is still jealous even though they broke up a year ago, but she still helps him from time to time. Not long ago Somkuan was arrested for physical abuse while being drunk, and she bailed him out.”

Yutthawat Lekmak

6

PHUKET NEWS

Rassada Mayor Phudit Raksarat leads the group on the activity to mark National Municipality Day. Photo: PR Dept

Mayor gets clean for ‘Muni Day’ MORE THAN 300 VOLunteers and officials from Rassada Municipality united at the Srisuchat Grand View 3 village last Friday morning (Mar 10) to take part in a cleanup event to mark National Municipality Day. The group, led by Rassada Mayor Phudit Raksarat, took part in the Big Cleaning Day as municipalities around the country marked National Municipality Day, which falls on March 10 each year.

Mayor Phudit said, “This activity was originally created to honour King Rama V who created National Municipality Day in 1905.

“Our group has today taken part in a cleaning activity at Srisuchat Grand View 3 village, which has also seen repairs carried out to the areas lighting.

“In addition, local resident’s dogs and cats have also been provided free rabies shots,” he said.

The Phuket News

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Chinese appeal for tourists’ safety met with promises The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

A

high-powered appeal by the Chinese government asking the Thai authorities to take more action to prevent deaths and injuries to Chinese tourists in Phuket and the surrounding region has been met with a slew justifications and promises.

The Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China, Songkhla held a meeting in Phuket last Thursday (Mar 9) in a wide-ranging appeal to police and all forms of tourism authorities in Phuket, as well as representatives from tour agencies.

The key official at the meeting was the Director of the China National Tourism Administration Bangkok office, Zhang Xinhong, who was joined by Chinese Consul General in Songkhla Zhou Haicheng, the lead Chinese government representative for all Southern Thailand.

Representing the Royal Thai Police were no less than three police generals: Region 8 Police Commander Maj Gen Chayohdom Jindawirote, who is the lead ranking police officer for upper Southern Thailand; Phuket Provincial Police Chief Maj Gen Teeraphol Thipjaroen; and Krabi Provincial Police Chief Maj Gen Worawit Phanprung.

Also present were officers from Tourist Police Region 5, the Tourism and Sports Ministry Phuket office, the

Rescue workers attend to a Chinese tourist injured during a boat trip off Phuket. Photo: The Phuket News / file Phuket Land Transportation Department (PLTO) and other government departments totalling 15 agencies in all, along with tour agency representatives.

Consul General Zhou thanked police in Phuket and Krabi for their efforts so far and expressed his appreciation that the two provincial governments had made great efforts to promote Thailand-China cooperation, and safeguard the safety of Chinese tourists.

However, he also stressed that with the number of Chinese tourists in southern Thailand rising sharply, water and traffic safety issues had become increasingly prominent.

“We hope that Thai authorities will strengthen their water safety management, such as snorkelling, and improve the construction of tourism safety

facilities to ensure life and property security of Chinese tourists,” Consul Zhou said.

To this, Phuket Police Chief Gen Teeraphol and his Krabi counterpart Gen Worawit spoke generally about safety issues and promised to ramp inspection and supervision of travel agencies, boat transport companies and other tourism enterprises and personnel.

They also vowed to crack down drunk driving, driving without license and other illegal activities, and “to make efforts to reduce the number of Chinese tourists drowning and traffic accident casualties.”

Region 8 Police Commander Gen Chayohdom simply said, “The Thai government welcomes Chinese tourists to travel in Southern Thailand, and pays high attention to the life and property safety

of Chinese tourists.”

He added that Deputy Prime Minister Gen Thanasak Patimapragorn and Tourism and Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul during their visit in Phuket on Mar 2 ordered Thai officials to take action on a broad range of issues to improve tourism in the region.

The Chinese delegation did not elaborate on the high number of Chinese tourists killed or injured while on holiday in Phuket, through drownings in hotel pools or while snorkelling at reefs or near beachfront resorts, or injured in “brake failure” bus crashes on Patong Hill, but did politely accept the speeches delivered by Thai officials.

“Meeting participants also exchanged views and reached important consensus on speed-

ing up the construction of tourism infrastructure, having more signs in Chinese at the airport, piers and tourism landmarks, and strengthening the safety and rescue of beaches and other places in Phuket and Samui,” noted a report posted on the Songkla Consulate-General official website.

“The relevant departments of the two sides have unanimously expressed that it is of great significance to promote the friendly exchanges between China and Thailand, and promote mutually beneficial cooperation by working on the safety of Chinese Tourists.

“The relevant parties will continue to liaise closely and strengthen cooperation to create a better and safe tourism condition for tourists,” the report added.

Officials wrapped for spiralling ‘house bills’ HAVING SOLAR PANELS fitted to the roof of Phuket Provincial Hall was just one of the measures said to be under consideration yesterday (Mar 7) as a way to cut down on the spiralling utility bills racked up by government offices on the island.

Phuket Vice Governor Teera Anantaseriwidhya made the suggestion as he delivered a “Home Economics 101” lesson to the heads of the main government offices on the island at a meeting at Provincial Hall last Wednesday (Mar 7).

“I have been informed that the Ministry of Interior was randomly checking official utility bills and found that the cost of running government offices in Phuket has increased,” V/Gov Teera said.

The increase in the provincial utility bills ranged from electricity and water use, to

V/Gov Teera defined how the government offices on the island could cut down their operating costs. Photo: PR Dept EMS post and telephone bills, V/Gov Teera explained.

“This does not match government policy to reduce their costs to save taxpayer’s money,” he said.

“We are considering installing solar panels on the roof of Provincial Hall and charging fees for using Provincial Hall meeting rooms,” he said.

“We are also considering taking other measures to offset the rising costs of running government offices,” he added.

V/Gov Teera reminded officials to turn off air conditioning during lunch hours.

“There is no need to turn on every aircon in the building,” he said.

“Also, set the temperature

to 25-26ºC and turn aircon on only 10-15 minutes before a meeting and turn it off immediately after the meeting,” he said.

“And turn off the light every time you no longer need it,” he said.

Regarding water use, V/ Gov Teera reminded the agency chiefs, “Turn taps off properly and check pipes for leaks, and be mindful of how much water is used to water the plants and gardens.”

Regarding communications in the Internet era, V/Gov Teera also noted, “Do not use office telephones for personal use, and use email instead of fax and telephone to contact people outside the office.”

“If official letters must be sent by post, use normal registered post instead of EMS,” he added.

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Opinion 8

OPINION

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EDITORIAL Rage against the dying of the light

T

he recent crackdown on ride-sharing apps Uber and GrabCar should be a welcome sign for customers and supporters of these services here in Phuket. There are countless international examples of such companies successfully disrupting the entrenched interests of existing taxi services and the growing pains that accompany the process. Despite official resistance, ride-sharing services enjoy huge levels of public support for their cheaper pricing, efficiency, convenient service and creation of flexible part-time jobs.

The ongoing reaction of the Thai government and taxi industry to this disruptive use of technology can be likened to the famous “Five Stages of Grief” theory – first expounded by psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her 1969 book On Death and Dying. She described the series

of emotions experienced by terminally ill patients prior to their death as moving through five stages: denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance.

Ride-sharing services spell the death of the traditional taxi industry. We can currently see countries including the US, Brazil, India, China and now Thailand progressing through the stages of grief.

But much like death, the march of technology into previously protected industries is an immutable fact of life. We do, after all, live in a capitalist world and if a new entrant to the market can create demand by providing a better, cheaper service – then the market will inevitably incorporate them.

The reasons that Uber and GrabCar have been quick to attract customers here in Thailand are so obvious they barely need repeating. Thai-

land’s existing taxi services have been widely criticised as costly, unfriendly, inefficient, dangerous and at times just plain unavailable – as we know only too well in Phuket.

The Thai people’s love of smartphones is well documented and we constantly hear how Phuket is rapidly evolving into a “smart city”.

So why don’t we just skip the first four stages and go straight to the inevitable acceptance of this new technology?

Because of Phuket’s taxi mafia! I hear you cry. Well, it may just be that ride-sharing services finally achieve, through sheer market force, what successive governments have so far failed to do – break the taxi mafia’s stranglehold on Phuket.

So we may have to wait a bit longer but it seems the outcome is as inevitable as our own mortality.

TOP 10 STORIES ON thephuketnews.com

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Phuket man dies from flesh-eating bacteria from cat scratch Phuket officials order demolition of mansion with Patong Bay views Phuket residents warned to be on lookout for huge king cobra Phuket Opinion: Getting fat feeding the fishes How to find out which Phuket hotels are legal Phuket beach vendors file complaint about payments to access beach Chuwit in Phuket calls out Tourism Ministry on Patong nightlife hours Chinese appeal for tourists’ safety in Phuket met with promises Busload of students crashes into ravine Clean up Phuket! Mayor launches campaign

Visit thephuketnews.com for all the latest news

HAVE YOUR SAY Crocodile tears

Re: Chinese appeal for tourists’ safety in Phuket met with promises I’m sure the attending Thai officials breathed a sigh of relief after having to listen to the Chinese ramble on about safety concerns throughout the meeting.

It must have been very boring to them to have to sit there and try and act concerned and lose a little face by acknowledging their pathetic safety record, and by making more false promises that they will do better in the future.

We all know that nothing will come out of this, and Thai law enforcement and safety departments can now go back to their offices and do nothing as they always do... just wait for the next tragedy, show up and decide who pays who, then go back and count their commissions.

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

Re: Phuket taxi driver charged after cab flips in home-bound drive It should be mandatory for all commercially licensed vehicles to have dashcams with GPS capability that would record

location and vehicle speed.

In many cases that would show clear responsibility in case of accident. I suspect though most commercial drivers would not be too happy with that and would resist.

Richard S ....................................................

One law for all

Re: Phuket Opinion: Getting fat feeding the fishes A well balanced article. For those new to the territory always remember we are the foreigner, we have money and they want it.

No use shaking down a local Thai for serious offences, he/she in most cases have little money, but a foreigner... well that’s a different story. We should all of course adhere to law and all be treated the same way, but it appears some laws are ludicrous and made up on the spot to obtain money.

LES The key phrase here is “if enforced fairly and uniformly” which we all know will never happen. We all know the law only applies to foreigners as a means to get money. The same law does not apply to Thais.

I agree that the law must be enforced but to only enforce it on a few is pointless.

How do the people know what laws apply to what nationalities. Thai people are allowed to park outside their shops on my street, but a non-Thai can not park outside their business.

Phuket’s police system is so corrupt and racist that they are doing far more damage to Thailand’s image than all the mafia, drugs and prostitution combined. The police are ruining Phuket for the tourists and other nationalities that live here with their corrupt ways and the fact they do not let the law apply to Thais but enforce it for everyone else.

So sad as the rules are fair but just not fairly applied. If the law is there then it’s for all and not just some.

Simon 01 ....................................................

Business as usual

Re: Chuwit in Phuket calls out Tourism Ministry on Patong nightlife hours I think the Cabinet has already approved late night opening on the Bangla Road. Last night the bars closed at 2am and the nightclubs at 4am or later.

Well done to Tourism and

Sports Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul and Phuket Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan for the fast action.

Bangla Insider ....................................................

Uber Luddites

Re: DLT to step up efforts against Uber and Grab So why not just say they’re OK so long as they register and get their green plates?

Why does it have to be a war on ride-sharing services?

You might as well have a war on progress. “What’s this electricity of which you speak?

I want it banned because it’s putting my whale oil factory out of business. LOL Captain Jack 69 As a regular user of Uber in UK, USA, Singapore and HK, I have never had any problems with the drivers, cars or the service. I cannot say that for Thailand sadly, with monopoly price gouging in Phuket and Samui, and generally shocking service in Bangkok. Ridesharing apps could drag taxi service into the modern age.

I wonder what the motivation is to eliminate them?

Discover Thainess

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

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

THAILAND NEWS

9

Thaksin plan ‘in motion’

Gov’t has ‘set of secret plans’ to get B12bn in owed taxes BANGKOK Bangkok Post

T

he government has ordered the Revenue Department to expedite efforts to collect B12 billion in tax from former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra over the Shin Corp share sale by the March 31 deadline.

Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Tuesday (Mar 14) that the department must collect the tax, but if it fails to do so, an appeal will be lodged according to legal procedures, and this must be carried out before the deadline.

“The issue involves a complicated set of secret plans and I spent more than a week trying to make sense of it,” Gen Prayut said, adding he will not use Section 44 of the interim charter to deal with the matter.

The prime minister stressed the government will not act in a way that runs counter to the rule of law.

He said the decision is

Prime Minister Prayut: It took a week for him to understand the ‘complicated set of secret plans’ to seize B12 billion in owed taxes from ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra. (Bangkok Post file photo) the outcome of a meeting on Monday (Mar 13) of all concerned agencies including the Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) and the Office of the Auditor-General (OAG), which agreed the normal legal process would be used to handle the case.

Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong said on Tuesday that he has instructed the

Revenue Department to look at ways to assess and charge Thaksin with the tax amount, and this must be completed before the March 31 deadline.

Mr Apisak said the Finance Ministry has also set up a committee to investigate tax assessment officials who previously failed to collect the tax from Thaksin.

Also on Tuesday, Deputy

Court rejects ex-model Yuyee’s request for bail BANGKOK THE SUPREME COURT on Wednesday (Mar 15) rejected a request for bail by imprisoned former actress and model Chatchaya Cuesta Ramos, better known as Yuyee, who is serving a 15year sentence for smuggling cocaine into the country.

Yuyee, 43, also formerly known as Alisa Inthusamit, was taken from prison to the Criminal Court to hear the Supreme Court’s decision on Wednesday morning.

She was arrested on Nov 10, 2012 at Don Mueang airport after customs officers found 251mg of cocaine in her suitcase. She had arrived on a flight from Vietnam.

She was charged with illegal possession and smuggling a Type 2 narcotic drug into the country.

On June 12, 2014, the Criminal Court convicted and sentenced her to 15 years in jail and fined her B1.5 million.

Initially, she was sentenced to a jail term of 20 @thephuketnews

Former actress-cum-model Yuyee. Photo: Bangkok Post years and a fine of B2mn.

The term was reduced by one-fourth to 15 years and a fine of B1.5mn.

A prison term of three months earlier handed down in a separate case by the Min Buri Court, which convicted her of smuggling protected wildlife into the country, was added to the sentence.

In September, 2015, the Appeal Court upheld the lower court’s ruling.

Both courts rejected the former actress’s requests for release on bail, deeming her a flight risk.

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court also denied her release on bail.

She was taken back to the Central Women Correctional Institute in Bangkok’s Bang Khen district.

So far, she has spent 2 years and nine months in jail.

Yuyee and her husband Francisco Ramos, a Spanish TV presenter for Discovery Channel, have always claimed she was framed by an influential person they had angered by setting free animals held by wildlife traffickers.

Bangkok Post

Prime Minister Wissanu Kreangam said the Revenue Department and the OAG still differ as to whether the tax can be collected from Thaksin.

Mr Wissanu stressed the matter must be made clear by assessing the tax amount, and ensuring fairness and the right to appeal.

If the taxpayer, or Thaksin in this case, refuses to pay,

the government must then take the case to the Central Tax Court, Mr Wissanu said.

The government can still appeal at the Supreme Court’s Tax Cases Division, if the Central Tax Court does not rule in its favour, Mr Wissanu said, adding that a ruling by the Supreme Court’s Tax Cases Division will serve as a precedent.

Mr Wissanu said the process is in compliance with the Revenue Code and Section 44 will not be used to extend the 10-year statute of limitations.

He added that when a request for tax assessment is issued to Thaksin, the statute of limitations in the case will effectively be halted.

Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said the next step will be for the government to assess and charge Thaksin with the tax amount, though it is likely that Thaksin will not pay the tax.

However, when a request for tax assessment is issued to Thaksin, the statute of limitations in the case, which expires on March 31, will be

halted, and if Thaksin fails to pay the tax, the government will then take the case to court, Lt Gen Sansern said.

The decision concerns the case where Thaksin’s children, Mr Panthongtae and Ms Pinthongta, purchased 329 million Shin Corp shares at a price of one baht each from Ample Rich, an offshore holding company controlled by the Shinawatra family.

The pair later sold the Shin shares in their name to Temasek through the Stock Exchange of Thailand for B49.25 each, reaping a capital gain of B48.25 per share or nearly B16bn. They were not taxed on the capital gains at that time.

However, their tax liability dispute emerged after tax authorities backtracked on their position and said the siblings had to pay taxes of B12bn including interest and penalties.

The case went to the Central Tax Court which ruled in the siblings’ favour and the Revenue Department did not appeal against the ruling.

Bangkok building sinks, two injured BANGKOK T WO P E O P L E W E R E slightly injured after a dormitory on Soi Ramkhamhaeng 39 in Bangkok’s Wang Thonglang district sank about one metre into the ground late on Tuesday night (Mar 14), police said.

The incident occurred at about 10:20pm.

The dormitory is a twostorey concrete building with 20 rooms.

At the time of the incident, about 50 people of 19 families were in the building. All of them managed to flee from

The dormitory building on Soi Ramkhamhaeng 39. Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasil the building. Only two men – Somchai Nongse, 46, and Nonprawit Chanrisa, 30 – were slightly injured by pieces of broken concrete walls and other objects, including awnings.

A resident said he heard the noise of concrete walls cracking early in the night. The

building started to subside at about 10:20pm. The first floor sank about one metre into the ground.

Wang Thonglang Police, district officials and rescuers went to scene for examination.

Chitlada Thanongsak, the Wang Thonglang District Director, said the dormitory was built 20 years ago on a land plot which was formerly a rice field. Therefore, it was initially believed the sinking was caused by land subsidence.

Checks would be carried out to see whether the building had been illegally extended.

Bangkok Post

10 THAILAND NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Keep looking for my daughter

Mother of Russian missing on Koh Tao wants search to go on SURAT THANI Bangkok Post

T

he mother of a missing Russian woman is still pinning her hopes on the authorities continuing their search to find her even though she has been missing for almost a month.

Varvara Namestnikova said she was satisfied after getting a briefing from Surat Thani Police Chief Maj Gen Apichart Boonsrirote on the search operation last Sunday (Mar 12), but was still relying on police efforts to find her 23-year-old daughter, Valentina Novozhyonova.

Police showed her CCTV footage of her daughter for the last time on Feb 15 and took her to all the places Ms Novozhyonova went to on the island before she disappeared.

“Authorities are still carry-

ing out their search until they know the reason as to why she went missing or until they find her,” Maj Gen Apichart told the woman.

Mrs Namestnikova lived separately with her daughter.

She learned about the disappearance from a friend of her daughter in Russia and came to Koh Tao in Koh Pha Ngan district last Saturday (Mar 11) with relatives.

The Russian holidaymaker was reported missing to police on March 4 after she did not check out at Koh Tao Hostel on Feb 16. She had visited the island for diving.

Police believe the tourist went missing while going diving but did not rule out other possibilities.

Their prime suspect location is still Chalok Ban Kao Bay and also View Point Cape.

Divers resumed their search last Saturday at the two loca-

Police take Varvara Namestnikova, the mother of a missing Russian tourist, to places on Koh Tao where her daughter had visited before going missing. Photo: Supapong Chaolan tions by diving side by side from seven metres to 17 metres deep but have not found additional evidence.

Also at a briefing held last

Woman arrested for stealing newborn NAKHON PATHOM A WOMAN WAS ARRESted on Monday (Mar 13) for stealing a newborn from his Myanmar parents after pretending to be a caretaker.

Suneeporn Sakdee was lying in bed with a five-day-old baby boy when police called on her house in Nakhon Pathom.

When asked for the birth certificate of the baby, she burst into tears and admitted she had stolen him last Sunday (Mar 12).

Police tracked the 35-yearold woman from CCTV footage at Nakhonpathom Hospital and other locations after Myint Tat filed a complaint at Muang Police Station stating that a woman had stolen his baby.

The baby was born to Mynt

Nakornpathom Hospital.

Photo: Nakhonpathom Hospital Facebook Tat and Yin at the hospital on March 9.

Suneeporn hung around the baby ward and told hospital staff she was a relative while the Myanmar couple thought she was a good samaritan.

Suneeporn even paid all expenses when the couple and the baby checked out of the hospital and returned to their house last Sunday morning.

Later in the afternoon, she went to their house and said the baby needed vaccinations. The

mother allowed Suneeporn to take the baby back to the hospital with her husband in a taxi.

Suneeporn carried the baby inside the hospital while Myant Tat paid the fare. Myant Tat then went to the ward as Suneeporn took the baby out through another gate where she was caught on CCTV. Suneeporn told Lt Gen Sutthipong Wongpin, Chief of the Provincial Police Region 7, that her own baby died during delivery at another hospital last Thursday (Mar 9).

She was afraid her husband would be heartbroken if he knew the truth and decided to go to Nakhon Pathom Hospital to look for another baby, according to Lt Gen Sutthipong.

She was charged with taking an underage child from its parents, he added.

Bangkok Post

Saturday, Ms Novozhyonova’s mother was quoted as saying her daughter had limited diving skills and also suffered from chronic illnesses that would

bar her from the activity, police have learned.

Relatives told police that Ms Novozhyonova had taken diving lessons in Russia for four years but only in swimming pools. She never dived in the sea.

Lt Col Chokechai Sutthimek, Superintendent of Koh Tao Police Station, quoted the mother as saying that Ms Novozhyonova loved nature, diving and forest trekking. She believed that her daughter had visited Koh Tao to go diving.

“Ms Novozhyonova had as many as four illnesses that disqualify people from diving,” Lt Col Chokechai said.

“She had asthma, epilepsy, depression and anxiety disorder and always depended on medications.”

Ms Novozhyonova posted on VK, a popular Russian social network, that her regular medications were running

out and she had to buy more in Bangkok, the officer said.

Last Friday (Mar 10), searchers recovered human tissue and bone fragments and sent them for forensic tests in Bangkok to see if they are a match for the missing woman.

Other evidence retrieved by a search team of divers included a pair of dive goggles, a goggle strap and a green vest.

Nine divers joined the search party scouring the seabed stretching a kilometre from Chalok Bankao Bay to the View Point Resort cape.

The water where the evidence was located was four to five metres deep and about 400m from shore.

Forensic specialists in Bangkok will need about a week to confirm whether they match DNA samples collected from the Koh Tao Hostel where Ms Novozhyonova stayed in the Chalok Bankao area.

Policeman’s son ‘confesses’ in student screwdriver killing PETCHABURI A P OL IC E STAT ION deputy chief’s son on Tuesday (Mar 14) confessed to killing a Silpakorn University student with a screwdriver in Cha-am district, Phetchaburi, late last month as the Crime Suppression Division (CSD) took over the case and found nearly 20 suspects.

He reportedly confessed during the interrogation of 16 suspects, aged 18-27, including two women, at the CSD in Bangkok on Tuesday.

The CSD took over the case from local police as relatives and friends of the 24-year-old victim Teerapong Thitathan, a fourthyear student of Silpakorn University’s Phetchaburi campus, feared impartiality as some of the suspects are related to police officers and politicians.

A source said that Dechathorn Munmanee, also known as Bright, the 21-yearold son of a deputy station chief in Kalasin, confessed to stabbing the victim’s head with a screwdriver, and the motivation was a quarrel over Detchathorn’s girlfriend, who was among the suspects, and was also the victim’s friend.

Crime Suppression police bring suspects in the screwdriver murder of a Silpakorn University student to the Criminal Court to seek detention. Photo: Patipat Janthong Gen Srivara Ransibrahmanakul, Deputy National Police Chief, said one of the suspects confessed to using a screwdriver to kill the victim and all were charged with conspiracy in intentional murder, physical assault and illegal assembly.

He assured that all suspects would face legal action regardless of whom they are related to.

Apart from the 16 suspects sent to Bangkok on Tuesday, three more people were involved and one of them was a relative of a local politician, CSD commander Maj Gen Suthin Sapphuang said. Police were gathering evidence for legal action against them.

The suspects attacked the dead victim and some other

friends at the victim’s dormitory in Cha-am at about 1:30am on Feb 25.

The deceased was stabbed with a screwdriver above his right ear, a soft area through which the tool can easily reach the brain.

The victim suffered several injuries to his body but forensic doctors already confirmed the screwdriver killed him. In the same incident, two other students were severely hurt.

Police brought the suspects to court. The Criminal Court later rejected a bail request for Dechathorn and released other suspects on bail of B700,000 each on condition that they stay away from witnesses and evidence in the case.

Bangkok Post thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

ASIA NEWS 11

War bride clings to love Vietnamese woman who married soldier from occupying force VIETNAM AFP

I

t has been more than 60 years since Nguyen Thi Xuan’s husband, a Japanese soldier, left her in Vietnam, but the 94-year-old still sleeps with a body pillow she fashioned from his military uniform.

She is one of scores of Vietnamese women who fell in love with soldiers from Japan’s occupying force, going on to carve a life with them at the end of the war.

But within a decade many of the men had abandoned them, often leaving their families in penury and facing accusations of treachery for setting up home with the enemy.

But Xuan has no axe to grind against the former occupiers – least of all her husband.

“I miss him a lot. I can never forget my husband, because he was so nice,” Xuan said in her farming Vinh Thanh village on the outskirts of Hanoi.

Ms Nguyen Thi Xuan with a framed portrait of her Japanese husband. Photo: AFP Japan’s Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko met with families – including Xuan’s – earlier this month on a historic trip to Vietnam, a landmark visit for the former foes that have become cosy allies since diplomatic relations were established in 1973.

Xuan was pregnant with

her fourth child when her husband Shimizu left in 1954 and says she received no support from either government despite his service.

“We suffered a lot” since he left, Xuan said, clutching a photo of her husband, who adopted the Vietnamese name Nguyen Van Duc while living

Glorify their children in festival CHINA LOOKING LIKE LIVING dress-up dolls, elaborately costumed children are paraded through an eastern China village as firecrackers roar, commemorating the end of barbaric child sacrifices hundreds of years ago.

It’s an annual event in the village of Tufang in coastal Fujian province, where China’s Hakka community is concentrated and marks its unique history with a range of colourful festivals.

Nearly 700 years ago, people in the area sacrificed children to ward off local demons.

But a pair of now-legendary figures, Tu Dalang and Lai Balang, left their homes to establish Tufang as a new village free of the barbaric practice.

They are said to have later travelled to mountains deeper in China’s interior where they learnt magic powers they could use to slay demons, eventually returning to Tufang.

The pair are now revered as god-like figures able to influence weather and bestow blessings.

To honour them, Tufang @thephuketnews

Hakka children are carried in palanquins to honour nowlegendary figures Tu Dalang and Lai Balang. Photo: AFP villagers bore palanquins upon which young children stood, arrayed in colourful ancient Chinese dress along with exaggerated make-up and elaborate head-dresses.

Residents set up outdoor tables of incense and candles to welcome them as firecrackers thundered, showering the streets with their shredded red wrappings while security personnel in protective gear stood guard against fires.

The ceremonies accompanied the Lantern Festival, which officially fell this year on February 11, but whose run-up and aftermath are marked by Hakka observances in Fujian.

The Hakka, which means “guest”, are Chinese who speak their own eponymous dialect and have a history as wanderers that has given

birth to a number of singular cultural rituals.

A similar observance took place in the Fujian village of Luofang, where 14 children were dressed in traditional attire to represent the seven dominant local families.

They were carried in pairs – one child on top representing a local hero and another below portraying his bodyguard.

A designated pair occupies the lead spot while the others gently jockeying behind to avoid being last.

The procession also is intended to represent seven Chinese virtues including loyalty, honesty, mercy and peace. It was accompanied by fireworks, the aroma of incense and locals praying for a good harvest.

AFP

in the country.

“I don’t know how we overcame that period. I still feel scared thinking of that difficult past,” she added.

She met Shimizu in 1943 during the 1940-1945 Japanese occupation of Vietnam, which had previously been under French colonial rule.

They married soon after.

The young couple could only afford to serve biscuits and sweets to guests at their small wedding.

After Japan’s defeat in World War II, around 700 of its soldiers stayed on, many of them joining forces with Vietnam’s revolutionary leader Ho Chi Minh in his fight to secure independence from the French.

After France was defeated in 1954, Shimizu was among the first wave ordered to return home by Japanese authorities, who refused to accept their Vietnamese wives or children.

But Xuan remembers her husband as a “very nice man”.

“I made a pillow from a military jacket he left behind for me, covering it with a (Vietnamese) flag. I imagined my husband was the star,” she said, smiling while referring to the red and gold cascade.

“It means he is with me all the time, in my sleep.”

She lost track of him after he left in 1954, until the couple was reunited by Japanese journalists in 2006, 52 years

after they bid a sad farewell.

He had remarried, but she remained single, working as a nurse, a nanny and a farmhand to raise their children.

Life wasn’t easy for her half-Japanese children in their small village.

“There was discrimination.

I fought with local residents who bullied us, saying we were children of Japanese fascists,” said her youngest son Binh, 62.

Today, Japan is a leading investor in Vietnam and the country’s top aid donor. Thousands of Vietnamese students travel to Japan to study every year, many coming home speaking fluent Japanese.

The royal couple’s fiveday trip follows a visit by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last month.

Although none of Xuan’s family has ever travelled there, Japan has shaped their lives.

Now in her twilight years, she still sings Japanese ballads she learned by heart and said she was eager to meet the emperor during his visit, offering no notes of bitterness.

12 WORLD NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Battling community rifts In Belfast, street art helps to erase the Catholic-Protestant divide UNITED KINGDOM AFP

F

rom the art of war to the art of peace: for decades Belfast adorned its walls with huge community murals marking the bloody history of the Northern Irish conflict.

But the new murals springing up across the city centre have another aim – helping to erase the Catholic-Protestant divide.

“I grew up in front of these political murals and I thought that my goal was to take the city and make it look completely different,” street artist Glenn Molloy, a former DJ, said.

Instead of guns, paramilitaries and clenched fists, his murals in the city centre feature portraits of celebrities like Jack Nicholson, Bruce Lee and David Bowie.

With little hope in sight, recent elections in Northern Ireland would end a bitter political stalemate, Molloy said – his work is aimed at celebrating the positive.

For decades Belfast had its walls adorned with huge community murals marking the bloody history of the Northern Irish conflict. But the new murals springing up across the city centre have another aim. Photo: AFP “I wanted to give something positive, bright, cheerful, something that the people could relate to, rather than to be oppressed,” said Molloy, who is also well known for painting portraits of the city’s homeless population.

Painted in black and white

– with the contours of their faces defined in red – his portraits have earned Molloy the nickname of “Belfast Banksy,” in reference to the famous British street artist.

In the Protestant unionist stronghold of east Belfast, some buildings’ facades

hark back to the violence that reigned in the British-ruled province from 1969 to 1998.

“We seek nothing but the elementary right implanted in every man: the right, if you are attacked, to defend yourself,” is written on the facade of one local pub.

A 10-metre high painting depicting two paramilitaries wearing balaclavas and armed with a machine gun is right next to the quote.

The intimidating theme can be found on other murals several kilometres away in the former north Belfast bastions of the Irish Republican Army.

“I don’t care if I fall as long as someone else picks up my gun and keeps on shooting” – a quote attributed to guerrilla icon Che Guevara – can be read on a wall next to two bloody clenched fists.

Across the city, in both Catholic and Protestant neighbourhoods, the colourful murals helped to demarcate territories.

But in the city centre a motley array of colourful and non-political murals has for the past few years given Belfast a new face.

One shows a car driving through the night, another enormous work depicts a bearded cook with a lobster.

Further down, a young melancholic girl is painted in blue.

Overall, more than 100 pieces of street art have been

created by artists from Britain, Ireland and the rest of Europe.

Adam Turkington kickstarted the movement with a street art festival he created five years ago called “Hit the North”.

“Being non-political in Northern Ireland is being political. Defending aesthetics, beauty, having fun, making the city look better is a pretty powerful message,” he said.

“In Belfast, art and especially street art echoes the silent majority, those who are not voting because they are fed up,” and “the tyranny of a tiny minority” obsessed by divisions and religion, he said.

Although the majority of these murals have no particular message, mysterious French artist MTO, in 2014 painted one of the most political pieces on display.

“The Son of Protagoras” shows a squatting child holding a dove killed by two arrows. One is Catholic, the other Protestant.

“Protagoras is the father of agnosticism. MTO’s message is that religion is ruining this place,” Turkington said.

One arrested in mass ‘dine and dash’ spree SPAIN The restaurant at the Hotel Carmen, Bembibre. Photo: hotelelcarmenbembibre.es

SPANISH POLICE HAVE arrested a Romanian man sus-

pected of being the ringleader of a large group of people who ate thousands of euros’ worth of food at two restaurants before fleeing without paying the bill.

The 48-year-old was detained in the northwestern city of Ponferrada in the province of Leon, and police are looking for a second Romanian suspect, the interior ministry said.

Police launched their investigation after a group of over 100 people, purporting to celebrate a baptism, enjoyed a 2,000-euro (B75,241) banquet on February 27 at the Hotel Carmen restaurant in Bembibre, northern Spain, before promptly doing a runner.

“They were dancing, then suddenly they had disappeared.

In one minute, a hundred people had left,” restaurant boss Antonio Rodriguez told Cadena Ser radio.

“They didn’t leave in little groups – no, they went all at once.”

It later emerged that another restaurant about 10 kilometres away in Ponferrada was also the scene of a similar heist in mid-February – that time by a group of around 200 people.

AFP thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

BUSINESS NEWS 13

To be served in equal measures

Officials play down fears new tax plan to fuel alcohol price surge F&B Chutharat Plerin thai@classactmedia.co.th

T

he chief of Phuket’s Excise Office has called on the public and vendors of alcoholic beverages not to panic on the new tax structures on alcohol products instituted last week, saying that fundamental changes to the taxes applicable are to set the framework for the next two decades and are not to be implemented in full imminently.

Under the new scheme, to be brought into effect on August 1, the tax ceiling on beer, wine and liquor will be 30% of retail prices, or B3,000 per litre of pure alcohol.

The tax rates will be levied at a rate calculated in accordance with 1,000 millilitres of pure alcohol contained per product.

Under the current alcohol tax regime, to be replaced, beer and wine is taxed between B300 and B2,000 per litre of pure alcohol. Under the new

In Fiscal 2014, excise tax on liquor genereated B64.6 billion for the country, and the new ‘sin tax’ regime will boost that figure even higher. Infographic: Excise Dept regime, the ceiling for the next 20 years has been set at B3,000 per litre of pure alcohol.

Similarly, spirits is currently taxed at B400 per litre of pure alcohol, but the next tax structure will see that rise to B1,000 per litre of pure alcohol

over the next two decades.

Jongkolnee Buathong, Director of the Phuket office of the Excise Department, explained the new structure was long overdue.

“Previously, there were seven separate statues in use

– before this latest draft – and they were brought into effect in 1950, which is too old,” Ms Jongkolnee told Khao Phuket.

“Most importantly, this is not about new tax rates, we are changing the tax structure entirely. This is more about

society, and the most important factor in this is people’s health. The higher the impact the alcohol (contained in a single product unit) can have on a person’s health, the higher the tax,” she added.

The key aspect is that the tax will be levied on retail prices, not producer prices – which will be a boon to state coffers, Ms Jongkolnee admitted.

“The Excise Department has explained that the alcohol tax increase is because they need to balance the tax rates with inflation over the next 20 years,” Ms Jongkolnee said.

Somchai Poonsawat Director-General of the Excise Department explained to the press last week that the ceiling rates to be applied over the next two decades have been misunderstood as to be applied in full immediately, causing alarm throughout the alcoholic beverage industry.

“The effective rate tax will not be as high as people have claimed. The new tax structure will increase tax revenues overall, but actual

taxes on specific products may even decrease,” he said.

“We don’t want to put more pressure on vendors. Instead, we want to put pressure on consumers (to consider the health effects of the products they are buying) in line with government policy,” Mr Somchai added.

“The idea of the new excise taxes is to be fair and provable – and to remove discretion from officers in which tax rates to apply. The vendors cannot increase the price of alcohol products by claiming that the alcohol tax has increased,” he said.

“We must understand that the excise tax is a tax on luxury products,” Ms Jongkolnee said.

“Above all I want people to realise that alcohol is not good for health and a waste of money. The Excise Department is taking steps to control the consumption of alcohol. The department is working with the Thai Health Promotion Foundation to help generate income from taxes to help patients,” she added.

Keemala scores design awards Cruise liners bring boost TOURISM

HOSPITALITY K E E M A L A R E SORT, on Phuket’s west coast, has won the Landscaping & Outdoor Spaces category at the Awards for Hospitality Experience and Design (Ahead) held at The Capitol Theatre in Singapore last week.

Keemala also placed third overall in Ahead Asia Hotel of the Year 2017 in the awards.

The brainchild-team behind the resort’s Bird’s Nest Pool Villas, Tree Pool Houses and Tree Towers, together accepted the honour on behalf of Keemala at the event on Mar 7.

Keemala, an all-pool villa wonderland set in the woodlands of Kamala, Phuket, offers 38 villas and cottages and is part of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

The resort embraces a cultural philosophy and brings it to life through distinctive design and experiences, notably through the concept of celebrating the culture of four fictitious ancient Phuket tribes, the “Pa-Ta-Pea” (Earth), the “Khon-Jorn” (Wanderers), @thephuketnews

Pisit Aongskultong, Principal Designer (2nd from left); Sermsuk Kitcharoenwong, Head Architect (centre); Chatchai Namkiatiwongsa, Landscape (2nd from right). the “We-Ha” (Sky) and the ‘Rung-Nok’ (Nest) people.

“Keemala harnesses their ways of life and infuses it into the overall guest experiences. The spa treatments, holistic programs, gastronomic choices, activities and magical accommodation design all derive from the key attributes of the four tribes.

“We’re extremely grateful and appreciative of this recognition by Ahead Asia.

In creating Keemala, our team went through a strenuous effort to preserve the existing environment, especially mature trees. We’re very proud of this project and hope that guests will come and experience this enchanting wonderland,” said Pisit Aongskultong of Pisud

Design Company, principal designer of Keemala. Joining Mr Pisit in accepting the award were Sermsuk Kitcharoenwong of Architect Space and Chatchai Namkiatiwongsa of Stone Design & Contractor.

“The landscaping of Keemala has created truly memorable experiences for everyone who stays there.

The natural way in integrates into its environment, with guestrooms nestled into the jungle surroundings, was considered respectful and restrained,” Ahead judges noted.

“Ahead celebrates all forms of design in hospitality projects, along with the guest experiences that the designs impact,” a release added.

The Phuket News

OFFICIALS FROM VARIous local government agencies were in Patong last Thursday (Mar 9) to welcome some 7,800 passengers enjoying a cruise from Singapore.

Phuket Vice Governor Snith Sriwihok believes the one-day visit generated around B31.2 million in revenue for the island.

V/Gov Snith together with officials from the Tourism Authority of Thailand Phuket Office, Phuket Marine Office, Phuket Customs House and Patong Police Station were

at Patong Beach to welcome some 7,800 tourists who disembarked Ovation of the Seas and Mariner of the Seas cruise liners to enjoy a day on the island.

The cruise liners left on the next leg of their voyage at 9pm the following night.

The liners moored close to the 300-metre-long Coral Beach jetty in Patong and once on land passengers were entertained by traditional Thai dancers.

Some passengers chose to take taxis or tuk-tuks to other parts of the island while others simply enjoyed a stroll along Patong Beach.

The two cruise liners brought 7,800 tourists to Patong.

V/Gov Sanith said, “Some 7,800 cruise liner passengers have spent the day on Phuket today. We have estimated that each passenger would spend at least B4,000 during the trip bringing the island some B31.2mn in revenue.

“It is imperative that we take care of these visitors so that they consider coming back again in the future,” he said.

Eakkapop Thongtub

14 BUSINESS NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Russians return in force TOURISM

Anton Makhrov news@novostiphuketa.com

M

ore than half of all Russian travellers to Thailand visited Phuket in 2016, letting the island welcome more visitors from Russia than all the other Thai destinations combined, reports hospitality consultancy C9 Hotelworks in its Phuket Russian Tourism Market report issued on Monday (Mar 13).

“Phuket experienced a strong recovery in its Russian tourism market in 2016, with total passengers arriving via international flights to the island up by 51% year-onyear. This is substantially higher than the growth of the total market of travellers from Russia to Thailand, which rose by 23% in the same period,” writes Bill Barnett, Managing Director of C9 Hotelworks.

According to Mr Barnett, Russian tourism market to the island valued B30 billion in 2016 thanks to a row of positive factors including zero competition from Egypt, flights to which were banned by the Russian government in 2015,

Russian tourists in Phuket spend more, stay longer and come in families. Graphs: C9 Hotelworks and strengthening of the ruble due to rising oil prices.

In 2016, Phuket International Airport hosted a total of 524,073 passengers flying directly from Russia on international flights, mostly charter (non-scheduled routes accounting for approximately 75% of total inbound flights).

Over 50% of all f lights to Phuket arrived from Moscow, Russia’s main aviation hub hosting three developed international airports.

As reported by C9 Hotelworks, inbound flights from Russia rose 42% in 2016 versus

the previous year and reached 1,767 flights. The growth is based on strong uplift in charter traffic, while the number of regular flights from Russia remained barely unchanged at the level of slightly over 400 aircraft arriving annually.

Mr Barnett highlights three key trends characterising the Russian tourism market in Phuket in 2016. First, traditional brick-and-mortar travel agencies are still the most influential players in the field, accounting for approximately 80% of all Russian tourists.

Second, Russians enjoy

Phuket with their family members and kids. Families make up 65% of total visitors followed by couples, friends and solo travellers. These segments favour four-star hotels and increasingly use non-traditional accommodation.

Last, but by no means least, Russians are a “payable quality” audience. As noted in the report, Russian tourists typically spend B5,520 per person per day, which is higher than the Thailand-wide average by 11%.

Also, Russians enjoy their Thai vacations for more than a

week, with an average length of stay (ALOS) of 10.5 days per trip.

Thus an average Russian on an average holiday spends B57,960, with 34% spent on accommodation, 23% on retail, 22% on food and beverage, and 10% and 11% respectively on Spa and Excursions.

Mr Barnett’s forward outlook is positive.

“We foresee the momentum continuing throughout this year, as the demand pressure in 2016 allowed the island to tap into the Russian tourism market. This will broaden demand for Phuket and will help to diversify the source market profile of international visitors”, he writes, stating that even when tour

operators resume flights to Egypt, “Phuket will continue to attract Russian tourists as it is an affordable holiday destination with favourable brand sentiment”.

Among other trends of the year, C9 Hotelworks predicts growth in the FIT (Frequent Individual Traveller) segment, as younger tourists from Russia are more focused on value for money and personalised trips.

As for organised tours, C9 emphasises that wholesale agents report a trend towards basic packaged tours, which only consist of flight and accommodation components.

For the full “Russian Phuket Arrivals – March 2017” report, visit c9hotelworks.com

Emerald Group rebuffs allegations PROPERTY THE EMERALD DEVELopment Group, which earlier this month stood accused by a slew of complaints alleging failure to deliver condos as well as breaches of property laws and building codes, last week (Mar 7) responded to the claims with a no-nonsense rebuttal.

Sawit Ketroj, President of Emerald Development Group, led the press conference, held at the company’s main sales office in Kathu.

“The Emerald Development Group has seven condominium and residence projects throughout Phuket and Krabi since 2013 and we strictly operate within the legislation in vigour according to the Environmental Act, Town Planning Act and building regulations, and strive to abide by the laws of Thailand.

“We have been falsely accused that three of our projects are not within the law and we must clarify the following,” he said.

Mr Sawit then in turn debunked each allegation made by a group of 20 people, not defined as investors or buyers, who called themselves

Sawit Ketroj (centre) and senior management hold up land deeds and other documents supporting their defence. the Rak Chue Siang Phuket (“Love Phuket Reputation” group), who in a public display filed a complaint at the Damrongdhama Centre (provincial Ombudsman’s Office) at Provincial Hall earlier this month.

The g roup called for Phuket Governor Chockchai Dejamornthan to investigate the claims. However, whether an investigation has been launched has not been confirmed.

At the press conference last week, Mr Sawit presented land documents and countered every allegation of illegality with quantifiable responses, including measurement of buildings at the Emerald Nirvana Kalim; the Emerald Central condo project, located near Soi

Thida, off Wichit Songkram Rd; and Emerald Terrace condominium project on Phra Baramee Rd in Patong.

“We will not succumb to corrupt measures and have gathered all relevant documents to prove there is no wrong-doing on our part.

“We are a new company in Phuket and all of our projects are built according to legislation. We strive to run a clean company and are transparent with our clients and investors.

“It is very unfortunate that false accusations are being made without basis in order to tarnish our reputation and we look forward to the opportunity of clearing our Group’s reputation,” Mr Sawit added.

The Phuket News thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Is your partner on their smartphone too much?

16

Find out what makes dining at XANA special

FROM THE HEART

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

How Millie’s hearfelt message led her on a journey to meet a blind elephant in Phuket > P20 Millie and her family recently visited the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary to meet blind elephant Gaew Ta. Photo: Phuket Elephant Sanctuary @thephuketnews

19

16 CULTURE

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Love in the time of smartphones

Thai couples are the most argumentative in Asia over smartphone use Mark Knowles editor1@classactmedia.co.th

D

o you and your partner often find yourselves glued to your phone rather than talking and having fun with each other?

If your answer is yes, it seems you are certainly not alone! A new study has revealed that Thai couples argue more then their counterparts in other Asian countries, often due to spending too much time on the computer or smartphone.

Prudential Life Assurance (Thailand), a large insurance company in Asia recently revealed the result of the 2016 Prudential Relationship Index (PRI). The company says the purpose of the PRI is to develop a better understanding of personal relationships between people in Thailand and in other countries in Asia. The good news is that Thailand scores favourably overall, ranking fifth out of 10 participating countries in the region.

Thailand’s PRI satisfaction score is 71/100, considered as a high level of relationship satisfaction (Vietnam scores highest with an index of 83/100).

The results also reflect many ideas on how to improve or strengthen people’s primary relationships with partners, family, friends and colleagues.

The relationship survey shows surprising results related to digital life

Put the down the phone and talk to each other. issues. Thai couples have the highest frequency of arguments, and addiction to computers or smartphones has become one of the most common causes of arguments between couples. Besides financial issues, drinking and smoking, Thais indicate their partner spends too much time with high-tech devices rather than partaking in activities together.

The survey highlighted the supportive nature of family and friendship groups in Thai culture, especially between parents and their children. Thai parents are the most generous in Asia in terms of giving gifts to their children. Most Thais place a very strong importance on their parents, ranking second in Asia.

Somewhat paradoxically, Thai people report that they have the most arguments with parents, more than any other people in the region. Relationships with friends are another aspect of life that Thais give precedence to,

Thai couples have the highest frequency of arguments and smartphones are the most common cause. ranking third in the region for this category.

Mr Arthur J Belfer, Chief Executive Officer of Prudential Life Assurance (Thailand) Public Company Limited, says that study brings to light many aspects of Thai culture and the interactions between Thai people.

“Prudential believes that having a better understanding of their relationships, including both positive and negative factors, can allow people to improve their relationships and generate more personal relationship satisfaction in life.”

“However, the PRI indicated a growing concern among people in relationships regarding a gap that exists between couples because of the excessive use of digital devices. People should use devices wisely, and prevent themselves from spending too much time that may adversely affect their relationship,” said Mr Belfer.

The survey shows Thais represent the highest proportion in the region in terms of experiencing upset or dissatisfaction with their partners. In fact, 37% said their partners make them upset weekly. Every week, 28% also seriously consider leaving their partners. The most likely sources of arguments between couples are money (45%), drinking and smoking (35%), and too much time on the computer or phone (32%).

Getting along well is the most important factor in a good relationship and Thai couples said they mostly appreciate partners who are easy to get along with (77%) as the most important factor for a good relationship. Other qualities include making each other laugh and smile (75%), and willing to do things spontaneously for them (73%).

Thai parents say they are mostly satisfied with the relationships they have with their children. Thais have strong relationships with their children (51/100). Thai parents mostly want to enjoy companionship and interaction with their children (68%), while 61% said it matters being made to laugh or smile by their kids, another important element in parental relationships.

The most generous parents in Asia.

Thai parents are most generous with their children – 76% give their children a nice surprise at least once a week and 43% give them a gift every day. This counts as the highest reported frequency in Asia.

Thai people feel satisfied about their relationship with their parents, scoring

54/100 on average. This is the second highest score for parental relationships in the region, with only those in Cambodia having a higher score. Also, 50% of married people in Thailand still live with their own parents or their spouses’ parents. They are the most likely in the region to argue with their parents, with 22% of them doing so every week.

Thais put a lot of value on having parents being supportive. The study showed 73% of adult Thais think it’s important that their parents stand up for them. They also feel that they can rely on their parents; 78% believe that their parents would provide help for them in emergencies. These are the highest PRI scores in the region.

Overall, Thais have a relationship score of 46/100 among friends – the third highest score in the region behind the Philippines and Vietnam. Laughter and smiling is highly important in relationships with friends. More than twothirds (68%) of Thai adults think it’s important that friends make each other laugh or smile.

Thais are highly likely to have a system of mutual support in case of emergencies, particularly within families. The majority of those surveyed in Thailand feel that they can rely on their parents (78%), relatives (66%), or friends (62%).

Thais do not only support each other in emergencies – there is substantial mutual financial support day-to-day.

Thais are the most likely to give and receive financial support from parents.

Some 79% provide some form of financial support to their parents; 51% say they receive financial support from them. There is also financial inter-dependence within couples, where 73% of men say they provide financial support to their spouses, considered more than women who support their men.

Amid the stress of modern life, the digital revolution has impacted relationships in Thailand, where partners and parents often compete with smartphones for love and attention. For instance, over half (51%) said that their partners sometimes prefer using their phones to being intimate with them.

More Thais are prepared to forego technology to improve their relationships. With the addiction to “always-on tech”, many actually said they are prepared to forego technology, with 93% of people saying they would consider giving up technology for one day so that they can improve their relationships. thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

EXPLORE 17

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

A visit to sleepy Siray

Koh Siray, with its picturesque hilltop temple, is an island of tranquillity just east of Phuket Town JAMIE’S PHUKET Jamie Monk

It’s really quite beautiful, and yet every time we have been, there has never been more than a handful of visitors.

One of the secluded beaches.

K

oh Siray (sometimes spelt Siray or even Si Ray) is a rather forgotten corner of Phuket, located to the east of Phuket Town, over a small bridge past the Rassada Ferry Terminal – where you can get the ferry to Phi Phi and Krabi. Lining the road after you pass the ferry terminal are some mangrove swamps where a local group of monkeys resides. You can stop to have a look at them and take a photo and you will often see the locals feeding them bananas.

We first went exploring in Koh Siray many years ago and it was very quiet. Now there are quite a few “seaview developments” that have sprouted up and one big resort – the Westin Siray Bay – which opened back in about 2010.

Much of Koh Siray is undeveloped, there are lots of rubber plantations, coconut trees, a sea gypsy village, a few big houses, a school and the temple high on the hill. The temple is just past the school. You pass through an entrance by the road and head up a slight hill to an open area, then you turn right and the road carries on up. You can park where you like in the carpark, as it’s unlikely to be busy, and then head up the steps lined by two Nagas (mythical half serpent, half dragons whose images often guard the entrances to temples).

Inside the main temple building (if it’s open) you will find a large reclining Buddha. We’ve been maybe eight or nine times over the years. It’s really nice but it could be amazing with a bit of investment. On a hill, great views, big Buddha... win! We always leave a donation.

You can also walk around the outside of the temple before climbing the steps – the road winds right around the temple, which itself is surrounded by hundreds of Buddha images. It’s really quite beautiful, and yet every time we have been, there has never been more than a handful of visitors.

Since our last visit, a replica of Kyaiktiyo Pagoda, also known as the Golden Rock, has been created.

The original pagoda is located in Myanmar, in Mon state, northeast of Yangon. It’s one of the most important Buddhist pilgrimage sites in Myanmar. So why is there a replica in Phuket? Well, it seems there are plenty of people from Myanmar living in the area. We saw several Burmese girls visiting while we were there last time.

This quiet little corner of tranquillity near Phuket Town is certainly worth a visit – Koh Siray is just a few kilometres to the east of Phuket Town, and it’s pretty easy to find, but aside from the temple and the views there is not a lot there! There are some

The road up to the Koh Siray Temple is lined with a beautiful green arch of trees and vegetation. @thephuketnews

The serene view from Koh Siray’s hilltop temple. restaurants overlooking the bay where the only road leading south comes to a dead end. I’d like to take some photos around the sea gypsy village one day.

But the temple is certainly nice and houses one of the lesser known Big Buddhas of Phuket.

Jamie Monk blogs about all things Phuket. For more great local information visit his website: jamiesphuket.com

The replica of Myanmar’s famous Golden Rock.

18 EDUCATION

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Students sample life at UWCT

Budding scholarship candidates tour school during application process Natalie Weekes

The candidates experienced life inside UWCT, walking the halls, having meals in the canteen, and best of all, interacting with other students.

From left: Jiratchaya Thongdum, Khanarop Thongplave and Sornwanee Pinkaew.

D

uring the Maka Bucha holiday weekend of February 12-13, sixteen students eagerly opted to forego a weekend of leisure to check in to UWC Thailand for an overnight stay. All were Mathayom 3 students from Muang Thalang School, Phuket Wittayalai School, Satree Phuket School and Kajonkietsuksa School.

With positive energy and enthusiasm, these were the first ever group of candidates to compete for the coveted full scholarship awarded to one Phuket scholar to attend UWC Thailand for three years.

Worth over B4.2 million, the scholarship will enable the successful candidate to attend UWC Thailand for the final three years of secondary school, and to graduate from the International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Program.

The scholarship covers tuition fees, boarding fees, medical insurance, uniforms, examination fees, field trips and adventurous training and meals. To ensure a well-rounded opportunity, and ideal quality of student life, pocket money is also included.

The two-day, one-night selection process not only tested the students on their general knowledge and skills, but also assessed their ideals, personal values, and potential for a smooth transition to international school and boarding life. The candidates also experienced life inside the UWC Thailand walls, walking the halls, having meals in the canteen, and best of all, interacting with other students at the school.

“We stayed in the dormitory with the boarding students for one night. I thought it was going to be intimidating, but the boarders welcomed us with a circle activity that was really fun. I made many new

Applicants taking part in the scholarship selection process group discussion at UWCT. friends and hope I get to come back to be their classmate next year,” said Sarocha Wongwanatanawisut of Satree Phuket School.

When asked why she decided to apply for this scholarship, Sarocha said: “My dream is to become an ambassador. If I go to UWC Thailand, I will have the chance to meet friends from all over the world. I will get to learn about different cultures first hand, which is a very rare and special opportunity that cannot be found in many other schools.”

Punyisa Naradit, also of Satree Phuket School and Sarocha’s classmate, says, “I’m very interested in environmen-

tal conservation, and I know that UWC Thailand is also very committed to this.

“If I go to this school I will be able to contribute something significant to the sustainability of our world, which is where I believe real happiness and peace for our generation comes from,” said Miss Punyisa.

A proudly multicultural community, UWC Thailand has over 30 scholars from such countries as Nepal, Belarus, Italy, the Philippines, Germany, Vietnam, Zimbabwe, Chile and, of course, Thailand.

Learn more at: uwcthailand.net

The rhythm to academic success RHYTHM NATION Marco Monti

A

ll parents face the constant challenge of trying to provide their children with a wide-ranging and well-rounded education that will maximize their success in life. While achieving academic success in core subjects is very important, it is important to remember that children need variety and new activities to keep them stimulated and active in their daily routine.

So when it comes to achieving academic progress, it might surprise you that an activity like group drumming can be amazingly helpful. On the surface, group drumming may seem simply like a recreational activity that injects

a little bit of unstructured fun and good feelings to student’s lives. Although drumming programs certainly do provide a lot of fun, they can also provide a range of benefits that aren’t immediately apparent.

Keeping a beat while playing a rhythm requires the use of the auditory system of the brain – which is deeply connected to music and language processing. Research undertaken by Nina Kraus PhD (2013) has added to a growing body of evidence indicating that the ability to keep a beat is linked to the neural encoding of speech sounds and reading – indicating that drumming and music can help strengthen the development of linguistic abilities.

As I noted out in a previous article on rhythm programs for wellness, group drumming engenders “entrainment”.

Happy students pose for a photo after their group drumming session.

This is a process where participants’ EEG brainwaves synchronize to external rhythms thus promoting a relaxed and receptive state of mind which is conducive to learning new material.

Rhythms that increase Alpha and Theta EEG brainwave patterns are particularly helpful in this regard.

Facilitated drumming programs can also help build a child’s self confidence. They provide an environment where children discover that they can play competently as part of a group, boosting their belief in their musical capabilities and their self esteem. Group drumming enhances the development of children’s social skills as well. Communication and musical interaction are essential elements of a group drumming session. Some programs can help raise awareness of our multicultural interdependency – using instruments and rhythms from around the world. In this way they provide children with an opportunity to explore other cultures.

Children don’t need to participate in educational drumming programs on a regular basis to get benefits either.

A single program is enough to leave a lasting impression in a child’s mind.

The variety of percussion sounds played

Group drumming enhances children’s social skills. around a room provide a unique sound and new experience that won’t be quickly forgotten. On the path to educational success, group rhythm programs are a novel, fun and highly interactive social activity that broadens children’s experience and can also underscore and aid their academic progress.

If you would like to learn more or schedule a group rhythm activity for children in Phuket contact www.synergydrum. com, call 087 895 7284 or email info@ synergydrum.com. Marco Monti is a drum circle facilitator and founder of the drumming event company SYNERGY Co Ltd. He is also the founder of the free and public group “Phuket Drum Circle” (on Facebook). He is a member of the Drum Circle Facilitator’s Guild, and hold an MA in Psychology. thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

DINING 19

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

XANA’s X-Factor Baz Daniel editor1@classactmedia.co.th

S

itting in Angsana Laguna Phuket Resort’s XANA Beach Club on the fringe of Bang Tao’s sands sipping an ice cold drink and watching the westering sun paint pyrotechnic graffiti across the evening sky, (‘Helios was here’ it seemed to scrawl in pink, purple and gold and then was gone) I couldn’t help but feel a little smug. My internal monologue was banging on about having found Phuket’s perfect sun-downer spot, a quest I realised I had been on since making Phuket my home 11 years ago.

What a silly challenge to set oneself, but then semi-retirement craves distraction.

My self-satisfaction was undermined however, by the nagging suspicion that I was falling into cliché here.

XANA Beach Club and this lovely corner of Bang Tao has, of course, been praised to the skies by every reviewer sent along to write an article about it, and here was I trying desperately to say something, anything, that might add a little to the storehouse of received wisdom, and failing miserably.

Why does sitting within XANA’s lovely white surrounds, overlooking this spectacular beach, and dining on a spectacular array of international dishes such as healthy fresh sashimi, sushi, shellfish, local fish and imported meat dishes, mixed salads, cheeses and naughty desserts make one feel so damned happy?

Was it perhaps finding myself surrounded by Phuket’s ‘beautiful people’ in this enclave of hip coolness, or is it cool hipness? Certainly XANA seems to be a magnet for those of a beauteous bent... and here I choose my words carefully.

The juicy, slow-grilled chicken kebab is popular. @thephuketnews

The chefs at XANA pay attention to detail and it shows.

I was recently enjoying iced Prosecco sun-downers with a great friend from the UK, upon his first visit to the ‘Land of Similies’. Next to us, disporting themselves upon XANA’s poolside loungers, were two rather ravishing katoeys. I secretly wondered whether the pair of buffed Eastern European gentlemen squiring them were aware of their dates’ gender alignment, then told myself not to be so chromosomally picky.

Beauty is, after all, in the eye of the beholder, and in XANA’s case it is also in the palette, the feel of the sandbetween-the-toes, the sounds of the sea and the breezes, and of the strolling saxophonist who serenades phalanxes of happy Sunday brunchers.

It’s a multi-sensory assault of pleasure.

Is that why this place makes you so damned happy?

Stubborn as I am, I still sought something more to explain XANA’s ability to generate a mood of sublime contentment. Naturally, I turned to our friend Mister Google, as one now does in such situations.

And, BINGO! He came up with the answer straight away.

It turns out that eating outside is not only aesthetically pleasing, it’s also good for your well-being, especially if you are munching on such fresh, healthy comestibles as are served at XANA. Alfresco dining is fortified with vitamin D which is wonderful for the immune system, the heart, and helps prevent bone disease. It’s commonly found in eggs, fish, milk, and fresh fruits and vegetables, and… drum roll please… sunlight!

The sun’s UV radiation converts a chemical in our skin into this essential vitamin, so every meal you eat outside on a sunny day magically fortifies your vitamin D. Furthermore, research has determined that eating outdoors, and particularly in close proximity to water, enhances mood, blood flow, digestive enzymes and mental harmony. Conversely, populations that spend more time indoors have higher rates of depression and anxiety.

Why would this be so?

Evolution my Dear Watson.

Not so long ago, in evolutionary terms at least, we lived in tribes of nomadic hunter-gatherers, following food sources, both animals and vegetable, as seasons and climates dictated. We built our temporary dwellings near these

food sources and of course one constant requirement was water. Hence our deep primal physiological link to eating near to water!

Many people believe that it is primarily the choice of foods that makes the so-called Mediterranean lifestyle so healthy, but in fact it’s the unique combination of healthy foods and an outdoor lifestyle that makes dining alfresco beneficial to your health. Without distractions like television, dining alfresco also promotes connecting with your friends and family and the natural world, as indeed does dining at XANA. So there you have it, even more reason, as if you needed it, to get on over to XANA for a brunch, a seafood buffet with fire-turning show, or one of their regular fabulous parties and join all the other beautiful people – no matter what their chromosomal alignment!

More information at: xanabeachclub.com

20 COMMUNITY

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

The power of love Millie meets Gaew Ta for the first time at the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary.

How a girl’s empathy for a blind elephant inspired Phuket’s generosity Mark Knowles editor1@classactmedia.co.th

Thank goodness she is loved and cared for though mum, because elephants have feelings just like us, and even if she can’t see, she feels loved.

I

t’s 9:30am on a bright and warm Sunday morning in Phuket as a car from The Chava Resort arrives at Monkeypod Coffeehouse in Pa Khlok – less than 10 minutes drive east from Heroine’s Monument on the way to Ao Por. The car pulls up and out pops a young, bright-eyed, redhaired girl. The girl, 12-year-old Millie from Australia, is accompanied by her parents Belinda and Matt and today is a very special day for her.

The day is the culmination of a whirlwind series of events that were put into motion when Millie’s mum Belinda posted a message on the Facebook page of the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary three weeks ago.

“I have been a follower of your page for a while now and I love to follow the progress of your elephants.

I just wanted to share with you a little story that brought tears to my eyes tonight,” wrote Belinda.

“My youngest daughter is 12 and when grabbing my phone always goes on FB and looks up your page.

Just now she came out to me and said with tears in her eyes ‘mummy they can’t fix the elephants eyes’. At first I wasn’t sure what she was talking about. Then she showed me the post and read it out loud to us all.

“After that moment she looked at me and said ‘thank goodness she is loved and cared for though mum, because elephants have feelings just like us, and even if she can’t see, she feels loved’,” continued Belinda.

“I wanted to share this with you, so you know that your posts and updates touch many people throughout the world. Even a little girl from a small place in Australia,” the message ended.

The post that sparked Millie’s heartfelt reaction was about a blind elephant named Gaew Ta, who now lives in safety and peace thanks to the efforts of the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary’s staff and donors.

When Louise Rogerson, Project Director for the Phuket Elephant Sanctuary, saw Belinda’s post she was quick to respond and reassure Millie.

“It is truly wonderful to know that we are reaching so many corners of the world, even a small place in Australia! Millie, thank you for following us every day here on Facebook”, wrote Louise.

“Yes, you are right, our blind elephant Gaew Ta (also known around the sanctuary as Darling) and

From left: Millie, Louise Roberston and Belinda are all smiles during the visit.

Millie feeds Gaew Ta a banana. all of our beautiful elephants are loved very much. Thank you for your love and understanding of elephants too, we hope to meet you one day,” she added.

This hope might have remained unrealised but for a happy coincidence. As luck would have it, Peter Jones, General Manager of The Chava Resort in Surin, saw the heartwarming post and knew immediately what he had to do.

He promptly reached out to Millie and her parents through Facebook with a generous offer that would help make young Millie’s dreams come true.

“If you can get yourselves to Phuket, all three of you can stay with us free of charge and visit the Elephant Sanctuary to meet Gaew Ta”, said Peter in his message.

Inspired by Millie’s story and Peter’s generosity, Baan Rim Pa restaurant also decided to give the family a dinner voucher worth B5,000 for their visit.

Now, just three weeks after Belinda posted her initial message on Facebook, Millie and her parents are standing out the front of Monkeypod Coffeehouse ready to go to the Elephant Sanctuary.

Before long, a pickup truck pulls up and everyone jumps aboard it for the rather bumpy ride to the sanctuary. As

Visitors watch as elephants roam the grounds.

Millie and Gaew Ta size each other up. the vehicle crests a short hill, the family spot their first elephants.

“I should not have worn make up today,” says Belinda, fighting back tears of joy from behind her sunglasses. Millie, of course, takes it all in her stride.

For the next few hours Millie and her family explore the Elephant Sanctuary, and of course, are introduced to Gaew Ta by Louise. Was it all that Millie expected? “No. It was far better and more overwhelming than I ever could have thought,” replies Millie on the slow ride back to the main road.

For more information: phuketelephant sanctuary.org and thechavaresort.com thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

HEALTH 21

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

How to keep your heart healthy Narinthorn Surasinthon, MD

C

ardiovascular (heart) disease is one of the leading causes of death globally. According to the World Health Organisation, heart disease claims more than 17 million lives each year. The majority of these deaths is preventable. But requires simple lifestyle changes.

What is cardiovascular or heart disease?

Heart disease refers to any disorder of the heart and blood vessels that affects the heart’s function. The most common type is coronary artery disease which occurs when cholesterol plaque builds up inside the artery walls and slows down the flow of blood supply to the heart.

In time, this condition may completely block the blood flow by clogging the artery or forming a clot, inevitably causing a heart attack. Other disorders includes valvular heart disease, cardiomyopathy, heart arrhythmias, cerebrovascular disease, congenital heart disease, deep vein thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and more.

•Are you a smoker?

•Do you regularly consume large quantities of alcohol?

•Have you been indulging in unhealthy foods?

•Do you have close relatives with heart disease?

•Are you constantly stressed?

•Do you avoid exercise?

•Are you overweight?

•Are you diabetic?

•Do you have high blood pressure?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you are most likely at risk of heart disease. Although risks are often behavioural, they can also be hereditary. Alongside lifestyle modifications, it is helpful for you to be able to identify and monitor the early signs and symptoms of heart disease. These include indigestion, shortness of breath, chest pain, irregular heartbeat, sweating, and nausea.

So if you know or suspect that you are at risk of heart disease, why not commit yourself to living a healthier life today. You can follow these nine steps toward a healthier life and a healthier heart.

Step 1 – Eat a healthy and balanced diet: Regularly include at least five servings of vegetables and fruits as part of your daily meals. Avoid saturated fat, processed food and food that is high in sodium.

Step 2 – Exercise regularly: Set aside at least 30 minutes a day for physical activities. You can walk, jog, swim or do other activities, as long as you try to keep regular commitments throughout the week. If you are up for the challenge, add in at least 60 minutes of weight training each week for an even more effective result. Exercise helps to lower cholesterol level and strengthen the body, including the heart. It also reduces stress. Remember to stretch well after each session to avoid injuries. @thephuketnews

Excersise is another pillar of good heart health.

Narinthorn Surasinthon MD is the Medical Director of the Thanyapura Integrative Health Centre.

Step 3 – Quit smoking: The most significant risk factor for heart disease is smoking cigarettes.

By quitting, you can greatly reduce this risk. It has been proven that after you quit smoking for one year, your risk decreases by 50%. So why not commit now.

Step 4 – Lose weight and keep it under control: By losing weight, you will lower your blood sugar level, lipids profile and blood pressure, all significant risk factors of heart disease.

Step 5 – Take the right supplements: Often times stress and toxins in the environment in which we live can release free radicals into the body and cause inflammation at the cellular level. This can potentially cause heart disease.

However, the right supplements will introduce antioxidants to fight inflammation and lower this risk. Make sure to consult your physician about the appropriate supplements for you.

Step 6 – Limit alcohol consumption: When consumed in an unbalanced and irresponsible way, alcohol can be detrimental to your life. Negative physical effects on the body include weight gain, high blood pressure and liver damage and strained relationships with your loved ones. Limit your alcohol consumption to lower the risk of heart disease.

Step 7 – Manage stress: Stress sneaks up on us, damaging our body and mind. Ways to manage stress include self-awareness practice, meditation and exercise.

Step 8 – Annual health checkup: Regularly monitor your physical condition.

An annual health checkup monitors your blood pressure, lipids profile, sugar level, body mass index (BMI) and more. It also keep you informs about your lifestyle changes and their effectiveness.

Step 9 – Actively create a positive environment: Wherever you are and whatever you are doing, set a positive

vibe and create a healthy environment around you. This can be as simple as looking at a situation from a positive point of view. It can be encouraging those around you to think and act positively. Set personal and professional goals that are achievable and recognise important milestones and reward yourself and those around you.

At the heart of it all, enjoy life and

Eating fresh food is critical to heart health. be happy while continuously improving your quality of life. Heart disease is preventable, so let’s not become part of the statistics.

Narinthorn Surasinthon MD is the Medical Director of the Thanyapura Integrative Health Centre.

For more information and handy health tips visit: thanyapura.com

22 ISLAND SCENE

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

Craig from C & C Marine.

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Elly from Absolutely Fabulous.

Pear (centre) from Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket.

Petch (2nd from left) and the team from Bangkok Hospital Phuket.

THE CLASS ACT MEDIA SALES TEAM GETS OUT AND ABOUT TO THANK CLIENTS The sales team from Class Act Media, including Sales Manager Jittiya ‘Tiya’ Rakdej, Siriporn ‘Nok’ Seangmas and Kansirinphat ‘Pommy’ Poolsiri, recently visited some their most important clients to wish them well and drop off a gift of some Class Act Media souvenirs.

From left: Brendan Cunningham, Executive Director at AustCham Thailand; Henri Young, Director of Marketing & Development at MontAzure; Harry Usher, AustCham Phuket Coordinator and General Manager at Lady Pie; Craig Ferguson, Australian Consul-General to Phuket.

AUSTCHAM MEETS FOR OVERVIEW OF NEW MONTAZURE PROJECT IN KAMALA The Australian-Thai Chamber of Commerce (AustCham) held a Phuket Breakfast Briefing at the MontAzure HQ Beach Lounge on March 8. The event was an introduction to MontAzure– a master-planned community on Kamala Beach, Phuket and included updates on development progress, future plans and CSR initiatives. There was also a brief update on the ‘Customs Alliance 4.0’ project from the AustCham office.

Alexey and Igor Protasov, pictured with Deputy Prime Minister General Major Tanasak Patimap akorn during his recent visit to Phuket.

Children from Phuket Has Been Good To Us pose for a group picture along with their teachers and Novotel staff members.

THAI DEPUTY PM PRESENTS AWARDS TO TOURIST POLICE VOLUNTEERS

PHUKET HAS BEEN GOOD TO US KIDS ENJOY A DAY OF FUN AT NOVOTEL SURIN

Tourist Police volunteers and brothers Igor and Alexey Protasov were presented with Tourist Police Assistant 2016 Distinguished Officer Awards by Deputy Prime Minister Maj Gen Thanasak Patimaprakorn during Deputy PM Thanasak’s visit to Patong Beach on Thursday, March 2.

Destination Properties together with Novotel Phuket Surin Beach Resort recently supported a day out event for the Destination Kids Foundation at the hotel on February 25. The kids were taking part in the Coconut Club Birthday Program of the Phuket Has Been Good To Us charity organisation. Almost 30 happy kids came for a day out in the pool as well as a foam party and other activities. thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Tina (left) from PHBGTU with Michelle and Brett Wilson.

ISLAND SCENE 23

Annie Pedroni, Lesley Davidson, Michelle Hossack and Helga Langer.

The road-weary team stops for a group photo before reaching home.

RIDE 4 KIDS TEAM WELCOMED HOME FROM EPIC CHARITY RIDE The tired and saddle-sore team from Ride 4 Kids returned to Phuket from their gruelling 845km ride from Hua Hin last Friday, March 10. The following night saw them attend a well deserved Welcome Home Party at Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort. The party, and the six-day, 845km ride, raised funds to support three of the island’s child-focused charity organisations – The Good Shepherd, Phuket Has Been Good To Us and Outrigger’s Share4Change.

Mark, Jason and Tom get ready for the live-to-air interview.

Vanessa keeping out of the sun with her new umbrella.

LIVE 89.5 RADIO TEAM HITS THE AIRWAVES AT THE VILLAGE COCONUT ISLAND DJ Jason Wilder and the team from Live 89.5 radio recently caught the boat over to The Village Coconut Island. While there they livened up Phuket’s airways with a live broadcast and interview with the team at The Village. While they were there, they also took some time to enjoy the stunning surroundings of the luxury resort.

The PIWC ladies enjoying coffee and conversation at their monthly meeting.

GREAT TURNOUT FOR PIWC MONTHLY MEET AND GREET AT STARBUCKS Members of the Phuket International Womens Club (PIWC) gathered in Starbucks at Central Festival last week for some good coffee and conversation as part of their regular monthly sip-and-chat event. If you would like to learn more about the PIWC and the host of fun activities, please visit their website and subscribe to their new monthly newsletter at: piwc-phuket.com @thephuketnews

24 EVENTS

FRI

17 MAR

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM cious BBQ at Kata Beach Join us for this culinary extravaganza where ‘Authentic’ Thai dishes (and some western items) are served ‘buffet’ style. Our Chef will arrange truly 100% fresh seafood from our fisherman and also prime meats for this special event… We are very confident you will love this event. Reservations, Nook Dee - Kata Beach 076 688 888.

SUN

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

19 MAR

Sunday Roast All Day All Night

ALL YOU CAN EAT BBQ RIBS 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 395 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 - Stay for the FUN at Two Chefs!!! www.twochefs.com Kata Beach 076333-370 Kata Center 076-330-065 Karon 076-286479 Patong 076-344-914.

Exclusive Six-course Degustation Dinner by Will Holland Will Holland opened his highly acclaimed restaurant “Coast” less than 3 years ago right on the shoreline of Pembrokeshire in the South of Wales. Holland gained his Michelin star before the age of 30 in the fine dining La Becasse in Ludlow. Diners can expect modern British cuisine with freshly caught fish, imported seafood and meat and vegetables from local farmers. 4,750 THB Net. Limited tables only, package for 2 nights accommodation available including dinner. Advance reservations are recommended.Reservations, Cosmo Restaurant, The Nai Harn Phuket fbreservation@thenaiharn.com 076 380 200.

Supersports 10 Mile International Run Thanyapura Phuket, in cooperation with Supersports, Thailand’s leading sports retailer, will organise the third edition of the Supersports 10 Mile International Run in March 2017, with an expected crowd of over 3,000 runners. This challenging race is open to runners of all ages, featuring four running distances and categories from 500 meters to 10 miles. Register online at thanyapura.com Proudly sponsored by Khao Phuket.

Come enjoy a Traditional Sunday Roast EVERY SUNDAY at Two Chefs Kata Beach, Kata Center, Karon and Patong! Indulge ALL DAY & ALL NIGHT for 395 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 - Stay for the FUN! www.twochefs.com Kata Beach 076-333-370 Kata Center 076-330-065 Karon 076-286-479 Patong 076-344-914.

Mediterranean Sunday Brunch at Metzo’s

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

Happy St.Patricks Day Don’t miss out on March 17th 2017 at Two Chefs Karon for our St. Patrick’s Day celebration! Join us for a memorable evening! Indulge in Irish Beef Stew for Only 395 Baht. Our Famous House Band will be performing a U2 Acoustic Tribute with all of your favorite songs from 9pm until late. Enjoy mouthwatering dishes, food and fun all night long! RESERVE Now www.twochefs.com Two Chefs Karon, 076 286 479.

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

Mussels night @ Shakers 1.2kg mussels served with french fries, your choice, your style: nature, marnière, provençale, garlic & cream or Thai style. Reservations recommended B295 baht P.P., shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

Go Live Sunday Seafood Brunch The Banyan Tree Seafood Brunch experience returns with a generous selection of live fresh, local and imported seafood with exception Lobster dished, Japanese starters, mouth-watering meats, Asia wok and Western grill treats. Gourmet cuisine, exceptional service, Live Jazz and tranquil surroundings, The Banyan Tree has something for everyone! Every Sunday 12.00-15.30, price start from 2,800net per person.

Reservations, Banyan Tree Phuket, fb-phuket@banyantree.com 076 372 400.

Boat Lagoon Weekend Beats & Bites & Music & Food & Fun. พบกันงานแสดงดนตรี อาหาร และความสนุกหลายรูปแบบ ทีง่ านโบ๊ทลากูนวีคเอนด์ 17-18 March 2017. From 6.00pm till 10.00pm at Lagoon Quay.

Phuket Boat Lagoon 076 239 055.

Friday is Wine & Tapas night at Cape Sienna Hotel Kamala All you can eat Tapas with one bottle of Regular White or Red: Baht 1,490 net per person. Premium White, Red, Rose and Bubbly: Baht 1,790 net per person.

Tapas starts: 19:00 – 22:00. Located Vanilla Sky Bar, Cape Sienna Hotel, Kamala. 076 337 300.

Feast to your heart’s content on our Mediterranean menu of mezze and tapas served family style at your table, live cooking station, kids’ corner and dessert buffet. After brunch, why not relax and take in the view of the Andaman Sea with complimentary access to the resort swimming pool. Starting from THB 990++ per person. Reservations, Outrigger Laguna Phuket Beach Resort, metzos@outrigger.co.th 076 360 600.

SAT

Sunday Fun Brunch

18 MAR

Phuket’s most popular brunch experience. Seafood, live station, entertainment, kid’s corner and massage corner. From 1,650++ THB. 12.00 - 15.30. Reservation: info@xanabeachclub.com 076 358 500.

DAILY EVENT UPDATES ON All you can eat Sunday Roast Buffet

Thai Seafood and Meat BBQ THB 999.-++ @Lobby Terrace (Weather permiting) from 19:00 – 22:00 hrs. The most amazing and deli-

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

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

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

MON

20 MAR

their jazz-swing and soulful style. The one-night only show features nine musicians from Netherlands, Thailand, Germany, Australia, USA, Russia and Belgium.

DJ Tank will keep the rhythm going between sets.

Tickets THB 1,500 p.p. which includes light buffet and a drink. Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort 076 370 100. Co-sponsored by Diageo Thailand.

SAT

EVENTS 25 1 APR

Pop Up 3 at Latitude with Angsana All you can eat BBQ night 6PM – 11PM: Beef, Pork, Chicken, Burgers, Sausages, Prawns & Squids, salad buffet, Choice of potatoes and sauces, bread, buns and garlic bread. Reservation recommended. 395 baht P.P. shakersphuket@gmail.com 081 891 4381.

WED

22 MAR

Phuket’s Best Burger 3 It is time to crown Phuket’s Best Burger for 2017 at the new location of Boat Avenue Cherng Talay. Join us for an afternoon of fun and burgers. Restaurants, hotels and resorts will battle it out. Who will be the French mushroom in 2017? Will Kata Rocks win two years running? Can Xana Beach Club get their crown back?

This year we have also introduced a public vote. Live music. Burgers. facebook.com/PhuketsBestBurger

On Saturday 1st April, for one night only, 20 of the best restaurants in Phuket will Pop Up at Latitude in Laguna in support of Phuket Has Been Good To Us! For only 2,500 THB try culinary creations from each of the amazing chefs and enjoy all night free flow from our 7 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: info@phukethasbeengoodtous. org or 076-278-146 or online at tickettailor.com/alltickets/26485/38a9/ Proudly sponsored by Live89.5.

THU

13 APR

Dine 4 Pay 3 Oriental Buffet Dinner Extravaganza Embark on a journey to the four corners of Asia and enjoy a lavish array of Thai, Chinese, Japanese and other Oriental recipes. Develop your taste buds and experience new flavours; ranging from spicy curries to barbecued meats and local noodle plates, while watching our Chefs work their magic in the lively kitchen every Wednesday from 18:00 – 22:00 for THB 999 per person at Bubbles Restaurant, Grand Mercure Phuket Patong Resort & Villas. Reservations, Bubbles Restaurant, Grand Mercure Phuket Patong Resort & Villas, h8109@accor.com 076 231 999.

La Gritta’s Discovery Menu

PIWC Meet&Greet Coffee April

Magners Comedy Festival - Phuket Three comedians will make you laugh all night. Saturday 25th March at 8pm @ Underwood Art Factory.

We have award-winning DREW MCCREADIE (CAN), Edinburgh Fringe Fest favourite AIDAN KILLIAN (IRE) and the hilarious, multi TV special and Joan Rivers favourite LARS CALLIEOU (CAN). Tickets at Underwood Art Factory. Advance - B600, at the Door B800. comedyclubbangkok.com/micfoutoftown.html

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

SAT

25 MAR

FRI

New members are encouraged to join our monthly Meet & Greet Coffee Morning to find out more about our organization. It’s also a great opportunity to chat with a few members in a more casual setting over a cup of coffee. For more information, please contact Joan Watson – imm@loxinfo.co.th or Renate Hirte – hirtefamily@hotmail.com. From 10.30am - 12.00pm @Starbucks Central Festival.

EVERY DAY

31 MAR

7 Nights 7 Themed Dinners at Rim Talay Reggae Night

International Jazz-Swing Band Take a swinging trip down memory lane as

big band ‘Big to the Future’ performs hits of past in

@thephuketnews

Come feel alright with us on March 31st 2017 at Two Chefs Kata Beach! Our Famous House Band will be performing all of your favorite Reggae songs from 9pm until late. Enjoy mouthwatering dishes, food and fun all night long! RESERVE Now. www.twochefs.comTwo Chefs Kata Center, 076 333 370.

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

Make each night unique! Enjoy our themed dinners with the cool sea breeze. World of Curries @790 THB++, Thai & International Buffet @790 THB++, Seafood Night @980 THB++, Ribs, Wings & Rings @770 THB++, Butchers Night @market price, Surf & Turf @950 THB++,Thai Seafood Gala @980 THB++.

The terms and conditions are subject to change without prior notice. For reservations, email rimtalay@amari.com or call 076 340106-14 #8027.

All Day Breakfast at Cafe Siam Aussie bacon & egg rolls NOW at Cafe Siam. All day breakfast, just like mum makes. Lavazza Coffee, healthy snacks & salads. Find us at the Entrance of The Royal Paradise Complex, Patong. Mon - Sat 8.30am - 4.00pm. Facebook: CafeSiamGuesthousePhuket 081 676 9411.

26 TIME OUT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Crossword by Myles Mellor & Sally York 1. Which American President signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, establishing NASA? 2. What street does Spongebob Squarepants live on?

3. Most commercial baked beans are made from what type of bean?

4. What were created by Forrest Mars in 1936 and described as ‘energy balls’?

5. Who is the only person to score a hat-trick in regular time in a FIFA World Cup final?

Answers below, centre

SUDOKU

Across again 1. Welcome site 52. Responsibilities 4. Carte or King 54. Trend setters 7. Drink that can be hot 58. Emeril, for or cold example 10. Makes known 61. Aromatherapist’s 12. On your own substances 14. Two-masted sailing 62. Intermix vessel 63. Wrath 15. Fruit, sometimes 64. Diamond of 17. Times to calendar records 18. Rapier 65. Pepper’s partner 19. Something to turn 66. When repeated, a heads with Latin dance 22. City where “Caasion 67. ____ Paolo Royale” was filmed 68. “Of course” 23. Far ____ 27. Wind direction, for Down short 1. _____ Butterfly 28. Cries of regret 2. Brit. version of AC 30. Buddy 3. Three in one 31. Aloha gift 4. Between ports 32. It has no blemishes 5. Pierre ____, French novelist 35. Mani pedi place 6. Wing like 37. 16th President 7. Dance type 38. Pack animal 8. Farm female 39. “________ , style is eternal” Yves St. 9. Pub brew 11. ___ good Laurent example 44. ___ all in a day’s 13. Awards work...

45. Dentist qualification 14. Abominable Snowman 46. Date 47. Legal group, briefly 16. T-shirt picture 20. Georgetown 50. Connected back

athlete 21. Alien space crafts 24. Civic group 25. Welcome tokens in Hawaii 26. Hubbub 29. Graceful white birds 30. Gripes 32. Musical scale note 33. Weight abbr.

34. Envelope that comes back 35. Be enough for 36. “Over here!”

39. Evergreen 40. Brain wave 41. ___ favorite 42. Long time 43. Jeans material 47. Off 48. Snoopy, for one 49. Desirable qualities 51. Not solid 53. Applications 55. Goes quickly 56. Memorab___ 57. Northern capital 58. Ozone depleter, abbr.

59. Exclamation of bewilderment 60. Tide competitor

Solutions to last week’s puzzles:

Answers to this week’s Pop Quiz: 1) President Dwight D. Eisenhower; 2) Conch Street; 3) Haricot; 4) Maltesers; 5) Carli Lloyd, USA, 2015 women’s final against Japan

GOT YOUR NUMBER

ISLAND VIEW

This week in history March 17, 1963 Mount Agung erupts on Bali, killing more than 1,100 people.

1

March 18, 1241 First Mongol invasion of Poland: Mongols overwhelm Polish armies in Kraków and plunder the city.

dollar increase in the minimum wage in the US would likely reduce the US teen birth rate by about 5,000 births a year.

31

per cent of women and 38% of men think their ideal relationship would feature consensual nonmonogamy, said a YouGov poll last year.

9,073

March 19, 1932 The Sydney Harbour Bridge opens.

Photo: NSW State Archives

dollars more per year is what it costs on average in the US to raise a family in a city than in the suburbs.

March 20, 2003 Invasion of Iraq: In the early hours of the morning, the United States and three other countries (the UK, Australia and Poland) begin military operations in Iraq.

20,669

words comprising the iTunes terms and conditions has been turned into a graphic novel by artist Robert Sikoryak.

March 21, 1935 Shah of Iran Reza Shah Pahlavi formally asks the international community to call Persia by its native name, Iran.

39 million

dollars per gallon is how much Scorpion’s venom costs – the most expensive liquid on Earth.

Source: Uberfacts

March 22, 1784 The Emerald Buddha is moved with great ceremony to its current location in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand.

Sunset at Ao Nang, Krabi. Photo by Gary Grant Got an unusual or particularly beautiful picture of Phuket?

Email it to execeditor@classactmedia.co.th

March 24, 1540 Waltham Abbey is surrendered to King Henry VIII of England; the last religious community to be closed during the Dissolution of the Monasteries.

Source: Wikipedia thephuketnews

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MOVING SERVICES

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STORAGE Reserve Your Storage Space

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or visit mystorageasia.com

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

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

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LOST & FOUND Missing Person

Martin Perter Ingram (son of Roy Percival Ingram). Last known of in Thailand in 2010. Any person with knowledge of the current whereabouts of Mr Ingram is request to contact Title Research in the UK (info@titleresearch. com) or our local agent Spectrum Asia (02 626 0250).

ACTIVITIES, GROUPS Sign up today for a discount code

The new website for Tiya’s hammocks is ready! Visit now at: native-habitat.com and subscribe for a discount code to use for online shopping. Tiya: hammockphuket@yahoo.com 076 631 841.

BOATS, YACHTS FOR SALE 3-engine speedboat for sale

3-engine speedboat, Length 13.5m., width 3.4m. Capacity 45 pax + 3 crew. Front seats. Good condition. Incl 3 Honda engines. B1,800,000. Vladimir 084 182 8685.

Long Tail Boat For Sale

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

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

Due to serious health reasons, the owner must part with his beloved 80’ tour boat. New wiring throughout, power outlets, transformer and voltage meters. New upholstery throughout bar and entertainment area. Engines & generator fully reconditioned & serviced. All maintained to European standards. Ideal boat for quality day trip business. beachsando1@gmail.com 080 695 3933.

Steel boat for sale

32 metre steel boat for sale. Built 2012, 2 x Cummings engines, 10hrs work only. International REG. Excellent for live-aboard or ferry. Price 6MB. Contact: call Joe 087 8918912 or email joe@similan-divers.com

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES OUTSOURCE COMPANY FOR SALE

126 skilled employees, 3 buildings included, with a net profit of 17 million THB per year. Easy to manage, ideal for foreign investment. Contact us for details.

Besa, 081 891 5932.

Beauty Salon with Equipment

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Restaurant set up for sale

A fully equipped restaurant in the highly sought after Boat Avenue mall in Laguna.

Stainless steel kitchen, Wi-Fi, bar counter, service area. Ready to go in days. Email: jukeboxphuket@gmail.com 081 090 1608.

Phuket Country Club Golf Membership

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

Loch Palm Golf Membership

Looking for investor / partner

Lifetime Loch Palm Golf membership for sale. ฿485,000, the Loch Palm transfer fee of ฿72,000 will be shared equally between the buyer and seller. Contact J. Trenton Early, jtrenton.early@gmail.com

CAR FOR SALE

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

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

Tanita, 094 695 3536 / 063 992 3226.

Looking for investor / partnership for Patong beach front location to start with Japanese and Indian restaurant.

Narin, narinpga@gmail.com 081 826 9390.

Nissan Juke 2014

Sporty, compact car, one lady owner.

1.6 with 3 drive modes, sport, normal or eco. Keyless push button start, rear view camera, leather interior in red and black. Bluetooth and wifi capable stereo with hands free. Serviced by Nissan. THB600,000 or near offer.

Call 081 270 2180 (ENG).

Convertible

Mercedes CLK 200 Cabriolet W-209 Brabus Package - seat 4. Excellent condition and fun to drive. 37,400km.

1,199,000 Bht. Eng - Thai 094 695 3536 / 063 992 3226.

e For Sale, Nai Harn Beauty Salon with s al Honda Jazz 2009 t n Equipment & lease, B290,000. Salon rge 1500cc Auto Equipment replacement cost is more than B300,000. All U 57,000km.

One owner since new. equipment shown as new. Must view to see excellent Regularly serviced

by Honda. Tax and opportunity to purchase Salon for extremely good price Insurance until the end of June and available now at right in prime location. Call Nok for details 098 017 8818. offer. Reduced by 40,000 bht, REDUCED to 330,000bht o.n.o, Andy +66846909144, andysmalster@gmail.com Price reduced for quick sale No, not a bar or guesthouse, but a manufacToyota Corolla Altis 1.8G turing business for wooden window blinds.

VVTI All the machinery and inventory of parts to be up and running in a matter of days. A very 2013 - 35,000km - Automatic successful business in Phuket for over eight White - CD Radio, Air-con, Alloys Excellent Condition, years. Price reduced to 2 mil Baht. Owner will partially Only used for school runs. 525,000, Duang, Royal Phuket Marina, gavinmullins@hotmail.com 083 093 9724. finance. lamsden@phuketemail.com 081 487 4812.

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MEMBERSHIPS

Life Time Family Membership

MOVING SERVICES Looking for a Moving Company?

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

PETS, BOARDING A pure breed, male Doberman

A pure breed, male Doberman, 4 1/2 years old, from Germany imported parents from a German breeder ( NO backyard dog breeder!!! ) is, due serious medical condition of its owner, available for free. The new owner must have space and time for this highly intelligent dog.

If you never had a dog before, this is not a dog for you.

Serious interested people call: 084 713 3707.

REAL ESTATE SERVICES Phuket real estate tour

Real estate investment tours are specially designed to help you to achieve your investment goals with the right property in the right location. You will get advice on the multitude of lucrative investment opportunities in Phuket. md@tourasian.com 080 826 4665.

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FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

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WEBSITES, IT For Sale: hoteldealsphuket.com

PHD has 125,000 pages indexed in Google and an average of 22,000 page views per month! See stats image. Also see the selling points on the link below. Quick sale: 33.000B!, Mark, mr.m.hopkins@gmail.com

PROPERTY FOR SALE LAND NEAR WATERFALL FOR SALE

Prime Kathu land with panoramic views and quiet location. Starts from 400sqm. Perfect for private Villa.

Close waterfall with more land plots and different beach!!!

Start from 2.5 MB, K. Pam, Phuketmyhouse@gmail.com +66 (0) 94 829 3619.

Condominium for sale

Freehold 32.5 Sq.M. Studio type.

Price 3.6MB. Swimming pool on roof. Absolute Bangla Suites. Bruno, brunomeier1945@hotmail.com

Property for sale

Large building near airport and sea view land near Bang Pae Waterfall for sale or lease. Any reasonable offers accepted. Lana, Lana.phuket@gmail.com 080 271 6484.

Land near By Pass road

4 Rai 3 Ngan 45.1 Sq.wah (1,945.10 Sq.wah)near Bypass Rd., easy to go to the downtown or Airport. On the main road, suitable for developments such as Townhome, Hotel ect. Sarinthorn, phuket@plus.co.th 076 681 188 or 084 555 3178.

House for sale

Private pool villa with lovely garden half a rai. Quite and safe area. 3 bedroom 2 bathroom open kitchen. 160 m2 Situated in Ban Pahra. 12 minutes to PIA, Phuket Airport, Nay Yang beach, and Blue Canyon Golf course. 2 min to Mission Hill Golf course. 7.5 million baht, bergsstigen@telia.com 090 701 4204.

Penthouse for quick sale

265 sqm, sea and mountain view in Kamala. Foreign freehold. Reduced to 9.9mn, fully furnished!! info@sunny-property.com 083 105 2707.

Foreign freehold corner unit

76 sqm, sea and mountain view in Patong Tower, Patong. Reduced to 8.8mn. Special deal with car, info@ sunny-property.com 083 105 2707.

Condominium for sale

Foreign Freehold 150 SQM Huge Ground Floor 2 Bed, 2 Bath condo. 150m to Nai Harn Beach. 7.7M THB. Owner, paulover@hotmail.com 089 875 4173.

PROPERTY FOR SALE New Sea View Villa

Premium villa 8B in the prestiques Sunrise Ocean Villas development is now for sale.

Being built on the highest point in the estate, only 80 meter from the ocean and located 3 mins away from Grand Ao Po Marina, 10 mins from golf course, 20 mins from the airport, shopping centers, schools and hospitals, this villa is a perfect place to live with no traffic, no polution and no mass tourism.

Over 600 Sqm usable building area, 3 bedrooms, guest apartment, maid quater, games room, 10 metre infinity swimming pool, roof terrace and breath taking views. Can be ready to move in within 8 weeks and still can be customized to the wishes of new owner. For sale at only 27.9 mill baht.

For viewing or more information please contact our sales director, Khun Montha on: 081 343 0777 or email: montha_phuket@yahoo.com

Pool Villa Mission Heights

Villa with salt pool, 330sqm, 3 bed, 3.5 bath, 900sqm chanote, owner finance, near mission hill golf 2km. 6km PIA, 8km airport. Call 087 060 8400. B16.9 million. Charly, Mission Heights, picharly@gmail.com

Beautiful Land in Rawai For Sale

Beautiful mountain view with option of sea view land of 742m2 for sale in Rawai with chanote title. For more information contact 085 790 2021.

COMMUNITY

House for sale

Rawai Samki 3 with Chonote. 2 Bed, 2 Bath, big living room, 1 storage, 1 laundry. House 160 sqm, land 280 sqm. 3MB. rico9963@hotmail.com 083 640 9041.

House for sale

Good location in Chalong area. 3 Bedroom 2 Bathroom, 200 sqm.

House on 800 sqm plot. Including furniture, 084 745 5546.

Apartment

1.65mill. 60qm 2bed 2bath + 30qm balcony, liv-kitchen, 3 a/c, quality doors/wind., Dream Village near mission hill golf, tel: 087 383 8709. thephuketnews

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CLASSIFIEDS 33

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Buy&Sell

PROPERTY FOR SALE HERE IS THE FUTURE. 17 RAI FOR SALE

Between Kok Loi and Thai Muang, 38 km from the airport, we are selling a beautiful peice of land with 2 new houses. A perfect place for artists or a sport resort.

The land is more than 17 Rai, full of old trees, with a big private lake and located directly behind the river. Chanote title. With a canoe it takes 20 min to paddle to the sea.

A great opportunity for a fair price. Price 9.5M, Yupin, residler@gmail.com 081 817 4805 Thai, Eng, Deutsch.

Land for sale in Saku - Phuket

1 to 5 Rai. Chanote. 10 mins south to the airport. Nice quiet location near Naiyang - Naithon Beach. Fixed price only 2.6Mil Baht per Rai. Kanchana, kanchanajit09@gmail.com 087 076 6016.

Outstanding Beach Front Pool Villa

A rare opportunity to purchase a 4 bedroom beachfront villa in a 5* resort at The Village Coconut Island.

A “snip” at 22m THB. Somjit, aadmo@btinternet.com 081 979 1945.

House for Sale

3 bed, 2 bath, living/dining, Farang & Thai kitchens. Back/both sides under cover. Water fall/relax area.

BBQ area under cover/car port. 4 aircons/7 fans. Very private, close to all services, 500 meters from Heroines Monument. B4.9 mil. o.n.o. Contact Randy. randyalltime@gmail.com

LAND NEAR WATERFALL FOR SALE

Beautiful, gently sloping land for sale near Bang Pae waterfall. Good road, 3-phase power. NS3 paper (upgrade applied for). 7 rai, B4m/rai. 087 884 9964 (En) or 087 272 5594 (Th). alasdair.phuket@gmail.com

Ten Room Villa for sale

With 5 Rai land. 5 sleeping rooms, 5 bathrooms, 5 balconies, 2 kitchens, big living room, play room, lobby, car port. Hillside Maikhao Beach sunset seaview. Asking price 24 MB. julius_schuster2001@ yahoo.de 087 267 1192.

Apartment Country Golf Club House

One room with kitchen in main house Country Club. 6th floor with balcony 75sqm. Membership in Country Club included. Price 3.3 Million THB. Contact pzw@gmx.at Per Dompert, 086 043 4315 (English and German)

Prime Land near Natai Beach

13 Rai. Prime flat land, Full Chanote. 5 mins to beautiful Natai Beach, 5 mins to Khok Kloi, 20 mins from Phuket Airport. Close to temples, beach & mountain views, perfect for large property or subdivide for development.

B13,500,000, Antoine (Thai & English), 081 979 9307 dannyred@hotmail.com @thephuketnews

The Phuket News @thephuketnews

PROPERTY FOR SALE House for Sale

House at Land and House for sale. 2-storey with 3 bedrooms, living room, kitchen, balcony, jacuzzi, library, laundry. Near kids’ playground, two swimming pools, sauna, gym. Enough land to build a second house on the same plot. Ekaterina Oseledets, 095 861 7571.

Land For Sale

Land for sale. Anuphas Golf Ville, Kathu. 81 sq wah. Golf course view of Phuket CC. Quiet village, convenient location. E-mail for details Contact David, d1jarvis@hotmail.com

PROPERTY FOR RENT Mai Khao new 4 bedroom luxury villa for rent

90,000 THB a month, very safe and quiet. Fullly furnished, 15min airport.

20min PIA, 7min beaches, 3min stores and restaurants. Real estates welcome. jyfievet@gmail. com, jassarabee@gmail.com, 089 470 8926, 081 719 7015.

Amazing 5 Bed/Bath Villa Rawai

Stunning 5 Bed Pool Villa quiet and private location. Quality furn and fully equipped. Beautiful lounge/kitchen, very spacious with great pool. 90000 Baht per month, bricothailand@hotmail.com 081 271 7092.

Central Patong Condo for rent

1 bedroom fully furnished ground floor apartment 65 s.q.m. central Patong.

For rent long or short term. For more details email ianscondo21@gmail.com

House for rent.

Nr Wat Chalong

3 Bed/4 baths house in quiet estate.

Available from April 1st to Oct 31st. email me or phone me, Paul, for photos and full details. 25,000 pcm, PAUL WHITTALL, Phuket Private Lagoon, Chao Faa West Road, Chalong, pwhittall@aol.com 093 793 4258.

Karon Beach House for rent

96 sqm. 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 40 sqm. living room. Long lease only, B18,000, Narumon, naruchai@gmx.de 082 576 6162.

House For sale or rent Baan Manik (Cherngtalay)

Attractive 3 bed, 2 bathroom detached house for sale or rent. Set in quiet surroundings but with easy access to Laguna, Boat avenue, PIA, airport, Surin, Bangtao and Layan beaches. The property boasts many additional features including, Auto-gate, Western-styled kitchen, security system, natural stone floors, imported ceiling fans, 12volt LED Garden Lighting and air-con throughout.

Asking B4.5 Million Negotiable Rent 25K Per Month Fully furnished or 20K per month unfurnished. 081 9686 051.

PROPERTY FOR RENT PRIME LAND+BLDG @CHALONG PIER

Seaview Building with land 50m to Chalong Pier for Rent/Long Term Lease.

1.5Rai+bldg. Ideal for Hotel, Community Mall, Restaurants. Wirote, 081 931 5189.

Vassana Residence. Rawai

Fully furnished 2 Bedroom 2 Bathroom. WiFi and cable TV included in price. 160sqm in size. Jacuzzi in each apartment. BBQ area on the roof. Contact vassana.residence@gmail.com Rawai / NaiHarn, Eng.087 882 9604.

Kata Western Apartment

1 and 2 115sqm furnished apartments, full kitchen, huge covered terraces, mountain and seaview.

1 month minimum, 1 year lease starting B20,000/month. gordy240@hotmail.com 084 840 1262.

Office/Shop for Rent

Ground Floor space with excellent positioning on Chalong Pier Road.

For more information, please call 081 416 4177 or 076 381 341.

Two condos for sale/rent

2 condos for sale 48 sqm. - sale price $60,000 (developer’s price $116,000) & 54.5 sqm. - sale price $70,000 (developer’s price $128,000). Fully furnished, near Central, Big C, BIS, Lotus, hospitals, schools. Communal pool and gym. Short & long time rent available: 48 sqm – THB 10,000-15,000 per month; 54.5 sqm – THB 15,000-20,000 per month + electricity & water. Ekaterina Oseledets, 095 861 7571.

ROOM FOR RENT

Room for rent in attractive house Baan Manik (not far from Anthem wakeboard park). Convenient location for access to Laguna, Boat avenue, Airport and PIA. House is equipped with, Air-con, Internet, Expat-TV, foreign kitchen, washing machine, fridge etc. 8,000 Baht PCM + Share of Bills. Please email bluebeyond@me.com or call 081 968 6051 for a viewing.

Kamala Villa for rent

5 Bedrooms Villa available for long term, normally 10,000 Baht Nightly price Long lease 70,000 Baht monthly for 1 year minimum, Include pool, garden, courtyard maintenance. Suitable for large or two families.

Wanphen, kamalagym2@gmail.com 080 697 7729.

Villas & Apts Rent-Chalong

2- and 3-bedroom pool villas, 2-bedroom townhouses & studio apartments.

Special prices from 700/night or 8,000/ month. Rates include WiFi, maid service, cable TV, furnishings. Great location near Big Buddha. info@chalongapartment.com, 086 282 6221, www.chalongapartment.com

34 PROPERTY

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

SPORT 35

Surfing is a powerful drug

There’s nothing like a trip to Bali to combat surfer’s depression SURFING

H

ey, Scot t y James here. As a youngster I would aim to surf everyday, sometimes three or four times a day. That would keep me super surf-fit and I loved every minute of it. I still do… however, as I’ve gotten older, I’ve found myself surfing less and working more.

Pretty standard for someone in their late 30s.

Finding free-time that lines up with quality surf is few and far between these days. It just happens you know… one day you’re surf fit and scoring waves… next thing you know you’ve got a career, kids, mortgage and hopefully a kick-arse wife.

But even with a kick-arse wife you still gotta combat the onset of surfers depression.

So I put my foot down and decided at least twice a year I deserved a good hit, to get my surf-fix.

This habit is real. I committed to ten days recovery where I could get ON IT and return to life refreshed and

recovered, you know what I mean?

Hence another trip to one of my favourite spots in the world, Keramas Beach in Bali. I booked a room and put the word out to see who else needed a surf- fix combined with some ‘R n R’.

My mate D Man (Hayden Rhodes) was also suffering from surfers depression and hit me up, “I’m in, just tell me where and when.”

Considering we were both in need of surfing rehab… we decided… best to leave wives and young kids at home… don’t wanna be distracted when your scoring right?

It breaks just 20 metres off the beach into an easy channel. Luckily there is a rip you can use to help drag yourself back out for another wave when your surfing fitness is lacking. Over five-six feet and it gets heavy with big slabbing barrels that sorts out the boys from the men and turns arms to jelly.

If you don’t want jelly arms – do Hayden’s fast surfing fitness program before going on your next surfing holiday – he’s the real deal.

Hayden’s a machine. The guy lives and breathes surfing

Scotty rides the Keramas wave at Keramas Beach in Bali. Photo: Baliwaves.com fitness and health. He was up at dawn surfing, following that with morning yoga, clocking a lunchtime massage or surf, then another yoga class in the afternoon before paddling out for a sunset surf.

He repeated that everyday, sometimes even getting in a night surf.

He typically cleaned up two main courses at dinner (yes two) a bunch of cocktails, and often threw in a dessert. I quite like his surfing training approach to surfing nutrition!

The Keramas wave is one of the most fun right hand breaks in the world. Photo: Baliwaves.com

HASH HOUSE HARRIERS @thephuketnews

Run: #1624: Saturday March 18 Run Start Time: 4pm Hares: Lucky Lek, Gorgeous You W, What-a-rat Location: Koh Siray Directions: After crossing the bridge from Phuket Town continue on for 1.1 kilometres and then turn left into Soi Mali Phan. Continue for approximately 980 metres or 1km until you reach the Laager site located below the Ruan Talay Restaurant by the river.

Hare Note: Farm animals will be encountered on this run (pigs, chickens etc.). Please all put dogs on leads and leads on owners.

No hills this time - easy run/walk.

Hash Bus Pickup Schedule: Kamala @ Black Cat’s Bar: 2:15pm Patong @ Expat Hotel: 2:45pm More info: phuket-hhh.com

He started talking about hiking a volcano in the middle of the night… I said to him, “D Man … we are in rehab… rehab is for focusing on surfing.” I told him, “If ya gonna do something, do it properly mate – don’t get distracted.”

Mt Buta is located nearby, and on the third day in he ignored my surf training advice and set off at 2am in the morning in pitch black darkness with a torch. He watched the sun rise, clambered down and then paddled out to surf. I opted to stay in bed and see the photos. When I do rehab, I do it properly you know.

Anyway, after 12 days my rehab was up, it was 12 days of my favourite drug supplied by the ocean without breaking the bank and 10 days of good to excellent waves.

I think of my little surffixes as mental maintenance and highly recommend shooting off for a surf / sanity trip regularly.

If you haven’t been surfing for a while and want some fast surfing fitness or

improved flexibility for surfing, ask Hayden to help you out – he sure knows his stuff.

I wasn’t ready to head back to the grind, yet I was surfed out and getting back to work and family and the hot wife ain’t all bad. Snigger snigger. Do what you love and do it often people.

Hayden Rhodes (Club Manager of Phukets Finest Health Club - RPM Health Club) is the creator of Surf Training Secrets and is known for his

enthusiasm and lifelong love of health, fitness, adventure and surfing. He has been helping people improve their human performance while surfing and snowboarding around the world for more then 20 years. Hayden believes everyone has the ability to improve their lives and promotes health as much as he promotes fitness. He continues to study, surf and snowboard around the world and looks forward to helping you and your surfing body.

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Phuket FC

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Satun Utd

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Chumphon FC

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Pattani FC

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Surat Thani City

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-1

4

6

Phatthalung FC

3

0

3

0

0

0

0

3

7

Yala United

3

0

2

1

2

4

-2

2

8

Hat Yai FC

4

0

2

2

1

3

-2

2

9

Sungaipadee FC

3

0

1

2

0

6

-6

1

36 SPORT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Cricket double-header at ACG CRICKET

The Phuket News editor3@thephuketnews.com

L

ast Sunday (Mar 12) saw a double-header in the 6th round of the C&C Marine 2017 T20 tournament at the Alan Cooke Ground with Team ACG taking on Island Cricket Club (ICC) in the morning game, while Phuket Cricket Group (PCG), who were hoping to maintain their unbeaten run, faced tough competition in the afternoon game against a motivated Patong Cricket Club (PCC) who were looking to get their spot back at the top of the league table.

In the morning game between ACG AND ICC, ICC’s skipper R Naik won the toss and made the decision for his side to bat first.

Openers S Ullah and A Virdikar got off to steady start for ICC, that was until the 5th over when Virdikar (19) was caught by F Mir off the bowling of Mushtaq, ending a 30 run opening partnership.

This brought Naik (19) to the crease, who after a brisk innings was caught by Dupont off the bowling of Khan. Not

After three successive sixes, Kohler (PCC) was clean bowled by Manish Sadarangani (PCG). Photo: Michael Way long after opener Ullah (15) was clean bowled by Malik.

Next batsman in was H Singh (3) who took to the crease just before the drinks break, but was trapped LBW

by Khan.

With the score at 60 runs at the 10th over stage, ICC were looking to increase the run rate going into the second half, but things didn’t go to according to plan as B Dessai (6) was trapped LBW in the 12th over by Baxter, he was shortly followed by A Kalakar (4) caught and bowled

by Beigh.

However, S Kandolkar provided some much needed

runs towards the end of the ICC innings, scoring 30 off 22 deliveries including two 6s, but was eventually caught by Sadarangani off the bowling of Bilal.

Last batsman out was M Denskar (3) caught by Mir off Mushtaq which left S Kumar (1) the not out batsman.

ICC had set ACG 112 runs to win.

With a meager total to chase, ACG opened with F Mir and R Sadarangani. Both batsmen started positively and were looking to score off every delivery and reach the total with all wickets intact, the pair were unfazed by the

Week 4 Under 7s 1 2 3 4 5

Team

P

W

D

L

F

A

GD

Dragon Juniors

8

7

1

0

32

6

26

PTS 22

M’Den

8

6

1

1

30

4

26

19

Lui Juniors

8

4

0

4

11

21

-10

12

Blue Stars

8

1

1

6

6

31

-25

4

Blue Diamonds

8

0

1

7

4

24

-20

1

F

A

GD

PTS

Under 9s 1 2 3 4 5

Team

P

W

D

L

M’Den

8

8

0

0

20

2

18

24

Plaifon F.C.

8

4

2

2

18

7

11

14

Cherngtalay F.C.

8

3

2

3

10

11

-1

11

Blue Diamonds

8

0

4

4

3

14

-11

4

Blue Stars

8

0

2

6

1

17

-16

2

PTS

Under 11s 1 2 3 4 5

Team

P

W

D

L

F

A

GD

Blue Stars

8

7

0

1

20

9

11

21

Blue Diamonds

8

6

1

1

20

12

8

19

Cherngtalay F.C.

8

2

1

5

6

10

-4

7

M.J. Academy

8

2

1

5

10

15

-5

7

Seven Kanya F.C.

8

1

1

6

6

17

-11

4

A

GD

PTS 21

Under 13s 1 2 3 4 5

Team

P

W

D

L

F

Karon F.C.

8

7

0

1

15

2

13

Dragon Juniors

8

7

0

1

14

2

12

21

Blue Diamonds

8

4

0

4

14

11

3

12

Watsuwan Kiriwong

8

1

1

6

3

12

-9

4

Blue Stars

8

0

1

7

4

23

-19

1

Team

P

W

D

L

F

A

GD

PTS

Dragon Juniors

8

5

3

0

11

3

8

18

Karon F.C.

8

4

3

1

7

3

4

15

Blue Diamonds

8

4

1

3

7

4

3

13

Watsuwan Kiriwong

8

1

4

3

4

6

-2

7

Blue Stars

8

0

1

7

3

16

-13

1

Under 15s 1 2 3 4 5

ICC bowlers and went about their job with relative ease until ICC got a breakthrough in the 6th over, Sadarangani (45) caught by Virdikar off the bowling of Kalakar.

This ended a superb opening partnership of 86 runs, with Sadarangani just missing out on his half century scoring 45 runs off just 17 deliveries, including five 4s and three 6s.

This brought B Beigh to the crease with just 26 runs needed for victory and plenty of overs in hand, and together with opener Mir (43) they steered ACG to victory, hitting the winning runs in the 12th over.

Mir’s innings of 43 runs (not out) came off 39 deliveries including two 6s and five 4s.

ICC’s poor run in the C&C Marine T20 continues as they chase their first win.

In the day’s second game PCG had a weakened line up as they were missing a few regular players, but they made that up in quality as the side

included the Kashmiri brothers Ibrahim and Waseem who are a force to be reckoned with on the cricket field.

PCG won the toss and elected to bat first, and Captain Ibrahim made his intentions clear with a flying start of 33 inside of six overs, but that was before he skied one and was caught and bowled by M Kohler.

That wicket brought about a steady fall of wickets without any partnerships forming, that was until Waseem made his way to the crease. And his first ball from spinner J Robertson will go down in ACG folklore – a fast and well directed bouncer to the fastest bowler on the island.

However, maybe this fired Waseem up as soon after he started blasting the ball to all ends of the park, although he did ride his luck and was dropped no less than six times on his way to an unbeaten 72.

The two brothers were the only PCG players to reach

double figures in their innings which finished at 137 for 7 after the 20 overs.

Chasing 138 for victory, PCC openers Hamilton and Raju started slowly, losing Hamilton for 5 in the 4th over.

However, the momentum then started to shift and some solid partnerships formed as PCC focused on getting the runs required.

Raju (12) and Wetherell (35) scored 27 before H McDonald strode to the crease, and he and Wetherell added a quick 38 before the dismissal of Wetherell, and then the fireworks really began.

Kohler, adding to his earlier bowling performance, came to the crease and smashed three 6s in a row, then McDonald went on a similar rampage doing the hat-trick himself as he brought up his half century and finished not out at 53 off just 23 balls.

PCC comfortably reached the required 138 runs needed to win the match with almost five overs to spare, meaning they have re-claimed the top spot in the league table.

This Sunday (Mar 19) will see PCC take on Team ACG with the start time set for 11am.

For further information about cricket on Phuket, visit the Phuket Cricket Group (PCG) web-site at www.phuketcricket. com or e-mail the PCG committee at phuketcricketgroup@ gmail.com. New players are always welcome & would be well received by the current teams on the island.

BISP U15 girls’ victorious in PSF BASKETBALL ON SU N DAY M A RCH 5, the British International School, Phuket’s U15 girl’s basketball team returned from the Peninsular Sports Federation (PSF) U15 Basketball tournament in Singapore as champions, beating out schools with rolls of more than 2,500 students to claim overall honours.

The girls produced outstanding performances on the Friday (Mar 3) and Saturday (Mar 4) to earn a place in Saturday afternoon’s final, winning four out of five pool games and averaging 25 points a game.

Up against large schools like UWC East, The Australian School Singapore and the Overseas Family School, the girls showed skill in attack

The BISP girls and boys U15 basketball teams. and grit in defence. In the final against the Singapore American School, BISP stuck firmly to the game plan, shutting down key players on defence and using their speed to fast break against the taller opposition. Final score 40-12!

With the entire team able to return to the tournament next year, an exciting future lies ahead for these girls.

Congratulations also go

to Tiffany Yip who won the girls 3-point competition – an outstanding achievement for a year 8 student.

A very young U15 boy’s side also took part in the tournament finishing 7th overall. Much experience was gained from the matches against some quality opponents and the boys are also looking forward to returning again next year.

The Phuket News thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Netball maidens ISS girls in first-ever competitive tourney NETBALL The Phuket News editor3@classactmedia.co.th

T

he International School of Samui (ISS) girls netball team travelled to Singapore last weekend to participate in the SEA U16s Netball Tournament, hosted by the Tanglin Trust School.

The competition saw 17 international schools from across South East Asia take part and the winning team in both U19s and U16s categories was the specialist Singapore Sports School.

The team f rom ISS showed great resilience in their first ever competitive tournament against other schools; winning and drawing games and losing others.

They left the tournament on a high with a better knowledge of the rules and a focus to improve and do even better in 2018.

“At ISS we always strive to provide a well-rounded and active environment for our students never allow-

@thephuketnews

The girls from International School of Samui went home with a better knowledge of netball rules and with a focus and training to do even better in 2018. ing our size and location to hinder those opportunities”, commented one of the ISS directors/staff accompanying the team to Singapore.

“For this particular event the senior students spent months fundraising to achieve their goal of travelling to the tournament at a reason-

able cost. Miss Mooney, our ISS science teacher, led the coaching and fundraising and supported the girls over the weekend.”

“My greatest wish would be for more competitive practice”, said Miss Mooney. “If other international schools on the island could develop

their team-sports provision and inter-school games this would give all students some games practice… meaning they would be on a levelplaying field against larger international schools across the region. Thus, we hope to see the other island international schools develop their sports provision”.

Netball is a tactical and fast game requiring players to be analytical and welldisciplined on court. The Olympic recognised sport is played throughout the Commonwealth countries and features as a core sport at the Commonwealth Games which take place every four years.

Netball was introduced at ISS in 2016 with girls from both the senior and junior schools playing regularly.

The school aims to organise more friendly games against schools and clubs on the island and in the region.

For further information or photos contact Victoria at: activities@iss.ac.th and visit www.iss.ac.th

SPORT 37

Ratchanok ‘happy’ with comeback form BADMINTON BADMINTON STAR RAtchanok Intanon says she needs to improve her physical strength in order to return to the pinnacle of the sport.

The 22-year-old Thai arrived in Bangkok on Tuesday (Mar 14) from Britain where she lost 21-18, 22-20 to topranked Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan in the All England Open final on Sunday (Mar 12).

“I am happy with my overall performance. Reaching the final was satisfying as I faced tough opponents from the quarterfinals to the final,” she said.

She defeated Olympic champion Carolina Marin in the quarter-finals and beat Japan’s Akane Yamaguchi in the last four.

Ratchanok was particularly happy with her 2-1 win over Marin after she staged a brilliant comeback with 10 straight points in the deciding set to finish off the Spaniard.

The All England Open was world No.7 Ratchanok’s first tournament after returning from injury.

Her previous event was the World Superseries Finals in December when she was

Ratchanok Intanon serves during the All England Open Badminton Championships.

Photo: Justin Tallis/AFP eliminated in the group stage.

“I now do not have a problem with my left knee but I feel exhausted. I need a rest and have to improve my physical strength,” said the 2013 World Champion.

Ratchanok seemingly ran out of steam in the second set against Tai. She took a 20-18 lead only for the Taiwanese to win the match with four unanswered points.

Ratchanok will now defend three titles in three consecutive weeks in India (Mar 28-Apr 2), Malaysia (Apr 4-9) and Singapore (Apr 11-16).

“I want to win the three titles again. I will do my best,” said Ratchanok who plans to play 15 more tournaments this year.

Bangkok Post

38 SPORT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Nothing to celebrate yet

Six Nations win is not enough, Jones wants complete Grand Slam RUGBY UNION AFP

E

ngland may have already retained the Six Nations Championship title but coach Eddie Jones won’t be satisfied unless his side complete a Grand Slam by beating Ireland.

Last Saturday (Mar 11) saw England, for the second season in a row, wrap up the title with a round to spare as they thrashed oldest rivals Scotland 61-21 in a hugely lopsided Calcutta Cup clash at Twickenham.

Victory also saw England equal New Zealand’s record of 18 successive Test wins by a ‘tier one’ or leading rugby union nation and they will break the world champions’ mark if they see off Ireland in Dublin tomorrow (Mar 18).

Success at Lansdowne Rd

England’s head coach Eddie Jones seen here ahead of the Six Nations match between England and Scotland last Saturday. Photo: Glyn Kirk/AFP would see England become just the sixth team in Championship history, and first in the Six Nations era, to complete back-to-back Grand Slams.

England’s points tally against Scotland was the highest by either side in the 146-year history of the sport’s oldest international fixture.

Prepared for Back-to-back Games COMMONWEALTH GAMES AU S T R A L I A’S G O L D Coast is prepared to host back-to-back Commonwealth Games, the city’s mayor said on Wednesday (Mar 15), after scheduled 2022 host Durban was dumped for failing to meet “key obligations”.

Mayor Tom Tate stopped short of nominating the east coast tourist hotspot as a 2022 replacement but said if called upon to do so the Games could be held there again given it expected a well-executed 2018 event.

“Until you’re asked to come to the party I don’t put up our hand to go pick me, pick me,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

The Commonwealth Games Federation flag is handed over at the 2014 closing ceremony. Photo: AFP “We’re not in the running, but if they want to get us off the bench we’ll be there.

“We can do it in 2018 and we’ll do it very, very well and if you do it once you can do it again.”

Tate added, however, that in the “Commonwealth Games spirit” another city should get the opportunity to benefit as host.

So far only Liverpool, in northwest England, has thrown

its hat in the ring for 2022.

Commonwealth Games chiefs said Monday (Mar 13) that they were seeking a new venue after Durban failed to meet “key obligations”.

A disappointed South African government – which has promoted the country as a destination for major events – said it was unable to reach an agreement with the Commonwealth Games Federation over costs.

The loss has sparked a political row in South Africa over the millions of rand spent on the project.

T h e C o m m o n we a l t h Games are contested between nations that are members of the Commonwealth, a group of countries that were once part of the British Empire.

AFP

But Jones, speaking at England’s training base in Bagshot, southwest of London, said: “We didn’t celebrate.

We haven’t got anything to

celebrate yet. It is all ahead of us.”

The Australian, still to lose a match as England coach since taking over after the hosts’ first-round exit at the 2015 World Cup, added: “Last year we were nervous and I expect us to be nervous this year. It is a big occasion. You don’t get a chance to win a Grand Slam back to back too many times but experience helps.

“The players have experienced that the year before so I’m sure they will cope with that.”

Jones, Australia’s coach when the Wallabies lost the 2003 World Cup final to England, insisted: “Every year winning is difficult.

“There’s this perception that this Six Nations has been better and it probably has been, but you’ve still got to win and to win it you’ve got

to stay undefeated.

“You have to be around your best for five games in a row. That’s an achievement.”

Ireland’s own Six Nations title hopes were effectively ended by a 22-9 loss to Wales in Cardiff last Friday (Mar 10).

But the Irish, under Kiwi coach Joe Schmidt, ended the All Blacks’ winning streak with their first-ever victory over New Zealand in Chicago in November and a wary Jones said: “Ireland are an extremely well coached side and they’ll be grossly disappointed by their performance on Friday.

“I’ve just been reading all the predictions at the start of the tournament and a number of people tipped them to win the competition.

“They were favourites but they haven’t won the Six Nations and they’ll be carrying the expectation of their country to do well.”

Kohli ‘no regrets’ over bust-up CRICKET INDIAN SKIPPER VIRAT Kohli said on Wednesday (Mar 15) that he had no regrets over a war of words with his Australian counterpart Steve Smith as the two sides prepare to resume their bitter battle for Test supremacy.

Kohli’s explosive accusation after the second Test that Smith had been systematically abusing the decision review system (DRS) plunged the often tense relations between the two teams back into crisis mode.

Australia’s board responded by calling the accusation “outrageous”, prompting an equally vigorous defence of Kohli from his own employers.

Although both Smith and Kohli escaped punishment from the International Cricket Council, they were summoned to clear-the-air talks ahead of the third Test which began in Ranchi yesterday (Mar 16).

Speaking to reporters on the eve of the match, Kohli said his focus was now on the cricket but he refused to back down on his claims against Smith.

“I don’t regret anything that I have said but at the same time it’s very impor-

India’s captain Virat Kohli (left) celebrates with teammates after the dismissal of Australian captain Steve Smith on the fourth day of their second Test match.

Photo: Manjunath Kiran/AFP tant not to be stupid and go on about the same thing on a daily basis,” said Kohli.

“I think it was a mature decision on everyone’s part to move on. We have seen instances in the past stretch on too long – it just causes disharmony and there is no outcome to it.

“It’s time we focus on the remainder of the series.

There’s a lot of cricket to be played and it should not happen in bad taste.”

India were furious when Smith was spotted looking up at his dressing-room for guidance in Bangalore on whether to seek a review of the umpire’s decision after being given out lbw – a clear

breach of the DRS rules.

While Smith called the incident on the fourth and final day a one-off “brain fade”, Kohli said that “it’s been happening for the last three days and it has to stop”.

India and Australia, the top two-ranked teams in Test cricket, have often been at loggerheads and relations hit a low point in 2008 when Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh was accused of calling Andrew Symonds a monkey.

Kohli himself was fined 50% of his match fee three years ago for bringing the game into disrepute after flashing the middle finger to the crowd in the Sydney Test.

AFP thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

SPORT 39

PREMIER PREDICTIONS: ENTER NOW AT THEPHUKETNEWS.COM MONTHLY SPONSOR

MAIN SPONSOR

The overall competition winner receives a two day/one night private fishing charter to Racha Island on board Wahoo Yacht Charters Phuket’s Reel Blue. Total prize value: B180,000 The monthly competition winner for March 2017 will receive a B3,000 voucher to spend at Islander Sports Bar and Restaurant in Rawai.

EPL PREDICTIONS MONTHLY STANDINGS 1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

OVERALL STANDINGS

chris goodhand 11 bazerb 10 fazza 10 Griffsbar 10 LateStart 10

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

scottkip 157 The Red Card Gang 157 Sidwell Guduka 156 carst 155 zestrealestate 154

English Premier League 2016 - 2017 Jurgen Klopp said he is happy for his team to win ‘ugly’ during the remainder of the Premier League season. Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP

Winning ‘ugly’ not a problem, Klopp FOOTBALL AFP

L

iverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he is happy for his team to win “ugly” during the remainder of the Premier League season if it brings results such as the fortunate 2-1 victory over Burnley at Anfield last Sunday (Mar 12).

Klopp’s team improved their chances of finishing in the top four, and qualifying for next season’s Champions League, thanks to Emre Can’s superb long-range shot after 60 minutes.

But, against a Burnley side with just two points away from home this season, Liverpool were forced to work hard to come back after Ashley Barnes had shot the visitors into a shock, early lead.

“I would say you need to be ready for both,” said Klopp when asked if it was important for his team to learn how to win ‘ugly’ games.

“You cannot plan an ugly

game. But this was not our best game so, yes, if we want to stay where we are, then we need to win football games and we can’t make the choice and say ‘yes or no we want to play this way’,” the German added.

“We all have to get used to it a little bit. It is the first ugly game we won. Usually when we are not at our best we have lost.

“It is really good today that we could do it like this. We usually win good games, but the bad games and the average games we need to be challenging too. We were today,” he added after a victory that saw Liverpool remain fourth, still in the final Champions League place open to English clubs, and move five points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal.

Liverpool were fortunate to go into the half-time interval level with Burnley after Georginio Wijnaldum scored an equaliser deep in injury-time.

Can’s goal ultimately kept Liverpool ahead of both Arsenal and Manchester United in

Date

Time

Match

Stadium

Sat Mar 18

6pm

Phuket FC vs Chumphon FC

Surakul Stadium

Sun Mar 26

4pm

Satun United vs Phuket FC

Satun OrBorJor Stadium

Sun Apr 2

5pm

Hat Yai FC Vs Phuket FC

Souuthern Lak Muang Stadium

Sun Apr 9

6pm

Phuket FC vs Surat Thani City FC

Surakul Stadium

Sun Apr 23

6pm

Phatthalung FC vs Phuket FC

Patthalung OrBorJor Stadium

Sun Apr 30

6pm

Phuket FC vs Sungaipadee FC

Surakul Stadium

Sat May 6

4pm

Yala United vs Phuket FC

Yala Municipality Stadium

Sat May 13

6pm

Phuket FC vs Pattani FC

Surakul Stadium

Please note that Phuket FC's home game fixtures have now all been reverted back to 6pm kick-offs. @thephuketnews

the chase for fourth place and, while Klopp felt the Germany midfielder should have done more to prevent Matt Lowton crossing for Burnley’s goal, he was pleased to see that his star has finally recovered from persistent injury troubles.

“Emre has an outstanding attitude,” said Klopp. “He has had a few problems with a calf which we couldn’t sort quickly enough.

“We had a lot of specialists to try and find it out and it looks like we found a solution now and he does not have these problems any more.”

Klopp added: “I like to speak positively about a player, second half Emre was very good but first half it was a challenge he should have had before their goal but things like that happen in football, it does not make you a bad person.

“We have to react and he reacted really well.”

Klopp also confirmed that midfielder Jordan Henderson will miss Liverpool’s trip to Manchester City on Sunday

(Mar 19) and will be unavailable for England’s forthcoming World Cup qualifier against Lithuania following a foot injury.

“No chance,” said Klopp.

“The (international) break hopefully is two weeks, we hope that will bring him back but there will be no game in this time.

“He cannot train, for sure he cannot play against City.

It makes sense he is doing the rehab. Hopefully he can run in the second week of the international break and then we will have to see.”

Burnley manager Sean Dyche now faces two more consecutive away games, halfway through a run of four in a row, with his team visiting bottom-of-the-table Sunderland tomorrow (Mar 18).

“It’s another ‘nearly’ for us and we have had too many ‘nearlys’ on the road,” said Dyche. “The main thing is to keep performing, and if we keep performing like that things will come our way over time.”

Team

MP W

D

L

F

A

GD

Pts

1

Chelsea

27

21

3

3

57

20

37

66

2

Tottenham Hotspur

27

16

8

3

53

20

33

56

3

Manchester City

27

17

5

5

53

29

24

56

4

Liverpool

28

16

7

5

60

35

25

55

5

Arsenal

26

15

5

6

55

31

24

50

6

Manchester United

26

13

10

3

39

22

17

49

7

Everton

28

13

8

7

47

30

17

47

8

West Brom

28

11

7

10

36

37

-1

40

9

Stoke City

28

9

9

10

32

40

-8

36

10

Southampton

26

9

6

11

32

34

-2

33

11

West Ham United

28

9

6

13

38

49

-11

33

12

Burnley

28

9

4

15

31

42

-11

31

13

Watford

27

8

7

12

33

47

-14

31

14

Bournemouth

28

8

6

14

40

54

-14

30

15

Leicester City

27

7

6

14

30

45

-15

27

16

Swansea City

28

8

3

17

36

61

-25

27

17

Crystal Palace

27

7

4

16

35

46

-11

25

18

Hull City

28

6

6

16

26

54

-28

24

19

Middlesbrough

27

4

10

13

19

30

-11

22

20

Sunderland

27

5

4

18

24

50

-26

19

Live Sports TV Schedule *Times may be subject to change

SPORT START STOP Friday March 17 Rugby Union 13:30 15:35 15:45 17:45 00:55 02:45 Rugby League 17:40 19:30 19:30 21:30 Cricket 10:30 19:00 Saturday March 18 Rugby Union 13:30 15:30 15:40 17:40 22:10 00:10 00:30 02:30 02:30 04:30 Rugby League 17:40 19:30 19:30 21:20 Rugby Union 19:30 21:30 21:45 23:45 23:55 02:00 Soccer 19:30 21:30 22:00 00:00 22:00 00:00 22:00 00:00 00:30 02:30 Cricket 10:30 19:00 Sunday March 19 Rugby League 12:00 14:00 14:30 16:30 Soccer 19:00 21:00 21:15 23:15 23:30 01:30 Cricket 10:30 19:00

EVENT

TEAMS / INFO

Super Rugby Super Rugby Super Rugby NRL NRL Test Match 3 - Ranchi

Crusaders v. Blues Rebels v. Chiefs Bulls v. Sunwolves Bulldogs v. Warriors (D) Titans v. Eels (D) India v. Australia - Day 2

Super Rugby Super Rugby Super Rugby Super Rugby Super Rugby NRL NRL Six Nations Six Nations Six Nations EPL EPL EPL EPL EPL Test Match 3 - Ranchi

Hurricanes v. Highlanders Waratahs v. Brumbies Lions v. Reds Sharks v. Kings Jaguares v. Cheetahs Knights v. Rabbitohs (D) Panthers v. Roosters (D) Scotland v. Italy France v. Wales Ireland v. England West Bromwich v. Arsenal West Ham v. Leicester Stoke v. Chelsea Everton v. Hull Bournemouth v. Swansea India v. Australia - Day 3

NRL NRL EPL EPL EPL Test Match 3 - Ranchi

Raiders v. Tigers Sharks v. Dragons Middlesbrough v. Man United Tottenham v. Southampton Man City v. Liverpool India v. Australia - Day 4

Sport

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

editor3@classactmedia.co.th

FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2017

Latest T20 action sees battle for top spot > page 36

AN INTRIGUING AFFAIR Testing poses more questions than answers for F1 in 2017 FORMULA ONE BOX OF NEUTRALS Michael Lamonato michael@boxofneutrals.com

W

hen the 10 Formula One cars roared back into life after 92 days of off-season silence, they looked little like the machines of yesteryear.

Wider cars, fatter tyres, and lower and swept-back wings have given F1 2017 a new air of aggression – and a boost in speed to boot.

After eight days of testing at the Spanish Grand Prix’s Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya every car had set a lap faster than last year’s race pole time.

Kimi Räikkönen, the fastest of all in his Ferrari, was almost four seconds under the bar.

And it was thanks in part to Räikkönen’s lap – more than half a second quicker than Mercedes’s best – that testing became an intriguing affair. Rather than presenting shambolically, as many had expected after its disastrous 2016 campaign, the famous Italian team has built a car that looks devastatingly quick.

Indeed, Ferrari’s Sebastian

Ferrari’s Finnish driver Kimi Raikkonen drives at the Circuit de Catalunya on the outskirts of Barcelona during the fourth day of the first week of tests for the Formula One Grand Prix season. Photo: Jose Jordan/AFP Vettel appeared to be deliberately slowing his car on his quickest laps, leaving Mercedes to ponder how much faster the Prancing Horse could bolt.

“I think Ferrari are bluffing and that they are a lot quicker than they are showing,” Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton said.

“It’s difficult right now to say … but they are very close, if not faster [than Mercedes].”

Mercedes, however, has never been one to showboat, preferring instead to focus on

reliability – and in testing its endurance was undisputed, lapping 650 kilometres more than anyone else.

Testing is notoriously difficult to read, with variables like the fuel load and engine mode impossible to know.

Few doubt Mercedes has more performance up its sleeve, but trackside observers couldn’t help but note that the Silver Arrow looked marginally less comfortable around the circuit than its red Italian

counterpart did.

And what of Red Bull Racing (RBR), the team tipped to take it to Mercedes after two wins last season? Adrian Newey, perhaps the sport’s foremost design expert, is expected to deliver the goods, but the car sent out to test looked basic compared to expectations.

RBR is renowned for its development prowess and should therefore not be discounted come round one,

but concerning still is that Renault’s engine is suffering from a variety of glitches.

Red Bull’s junior team, Toro Rosso, bore the brunt of Renault’s problems, completing the second-fewest number of laps, but both Red Bull teams and the Renault works team agree the motor is a significant step forward in performance terms.

But Renault’s problems are small fry compared to those of McLaren-Honda. Despite

the car’s new historic orange colour scheme, the team’s optimism quickly turned to despair and then horror when it became obvious Honda’s power unit was woefully flawed.

Terminal problems in the first week’s engine and a second-week engine that literally shook parts of the car into failure meant McLaren completed the fewest laps of all, the mileage shortfall to Mercedes more than 3,100km.

Though the chassis also appeared deficient around the technical Barcelona circuit, team talisman Fernando Alonso left no-one in doubt as to what he saw as the problem.

“We have only one problem, and that is the power unit,” he fumed. “There is no reliability and there is no power. We are 30 kilometres per hour down on the straight, every straight.”

Though testing is far from a definitive guide to the season, it has done much to wet the appetites of F1 fans starved of the sport for more than 90 days, with hints of big battles at the front and acrimony at the rear.

And all will come to a head at round one, Melbourne’s Australian Grand Prix, on March 26.

Thailand to host Optimist World Championship 2017 YACHTING THAILAND HAS BEEN SElected to host the Optimist World Championship 2017 between July 11-21 at the Royal Varuna Yacht Club (RVYC) in Pattaya. Over 59 countries have already confirmed to compete in the event, and each country will send their most talented Optimist sailors to race as national representatives on this world stage.

Organised by the Royal Varuna Yacht Club (RVYC), the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT) in conjunction with the International Optimist Dinghy Association (IODA) with strong support from the Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), the event is set to provide an inspiration for young Thais to take up sailing

and stimulate the development of Optimist sailing in Thailand to international standards.

The Optimist Dinghy has proven to be the ideal boat for introducing young children to the sport of sailing. The object of the class is to provide an affordable racing boat for young people. Optimist Dinghy sailing typically starts at the age of seven or eight and continues to 15 years of age. More than 85% of all sailors who participated in the Rio Olympics sailed in Optimist Dinghies when they were young.

Thomas Whitcraft, President of the Optimist World Championship 2017 Thailand, explained, “The Royal Varuna Yacht Club is proud to have been chosen as the host venue for the prestigious Optimist World Championship 2017. We relish the opportunity to host the Champion-

ship and showcase Thailand as a great venue for International sailing events. This is the 2nd time in Thai history that Thailand has won the honour of hosting the world-class event. We held our first Optimist World Championship here at RVYC back in 1979 and it is great that the club has been selected to be the international venue of this great event once again.”

He continued, “We are blessed in Thailand to have weather that is great for sailing all year round with more than our fair share of consistent winds. Moreover, the reputation of Thailand for providing exceptional hospitality comes from its wonderful people, beautiful seas and great food, so we really are a standout world sailing destination.

We would like everyone to be aware of the importance of the Optimist

competition as it is the foundation of all competitive sailing.”

Admiral Kraisorn Chansuvanich, Honorary President of the Optimist World Championship 2017 Thailand and President of Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT), added, “Thailand is pleased and warmly welcomes all young optimist sailors from around the world to compete in the Optimist World Championship 2017. This event will provide an inspiration for Thai youths to take up sailing and boost the development of Optimist sailing in Thailand to international standards. Our Thai team is very much ready and has been training hard for this world class competition, so we’re expecting this to be another great year of success for Team Thailand.

“Additionally, this is another

The 2017 Thai Optimist team (from left) Saranwong Poonpat, Intira Parnpiboon, Panwa Boonnak, Paliga Poonpat and Jedtavee Yongyuennarn. excellent opportunity for us in that this event will also help develop sailing as a sport and provide opportunities for our young sailors in Thailand to learn and gain great experience on the world stage by competing with many sailors from around the world,” said Admiral Kraisorn.

For more information, please visit www.2017worlds.optiworld.org

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