29-07-2016

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FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

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FLY AWAY

NEWS

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Amlo follows the money trail into Tranlee affairs

TRAFFIC

LIFE

PAGE 17

Cola gets a new lease of life

The U-turn flyovers (inset) aim to alleviate mile-long tailbacks on Thepkrasattri Rd (main photo).

CONSTRUCTION OF B200MN U-TURN FLYOVERS SET TO START BEFORE YEAR’S END, CONFIRMS HIGHWAYS OFFICE CHIEF Tanyaluk Sakoot reporter@classactmedia.co.th

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raffic on Thepkrasattri Rd will take a hit before year’s end with construction of two f lyovers to commence just before Phuket’s next tourism high season.

New Phuket Highways Office Director Patiwetwoottisak Sookki confirmed to The Phuket News this week, “Const r uction will

start soon, before the end of this year.

“The contract bid has been approved already, with CC Machinery and Construction Limited Partnership, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat province, selected to perform construction,” he added.

The two flyers, together costing about B200 million, will both be “midair U-turns”, allowing traffic heading northbound to return southbound unimpeded, and without causing

delays to other motorists.

One flyover will be located near the Jeeteng mansion on Thepkrasattri Rd in Koh Kaew, about 1.38km south of the Heroine’s Monument.

The other will be at the Nai Yang turn-off on Thepkrasattri Rd, about 3.3km north of the main intersection in Thalang Town.

Mr Patiwetwoottisa acknowledged that the government contract had yet to be signed, that the budget had yet to be handed over and that final

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2

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approval had yet to come from the Transport Ministry, but was adamant that construction will start “after October or November”.

“Both flyovers were approved at their third public hearing on February 18, 2016. Now we are just waiting for the Ministry of Transport to approve the contract,” he said.

The Thalang flyover will be 640 metres long, with the elevated section spanning 335m, while the Koh Kaew flyover will be 550m long and an...

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Phuket’s own Schevchenko eyes UFC title

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FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Russian pays the price for bribes, free Phuket vacation > page 4

Amlo investigates Tranlee cash trail Tanyaluk Sakoot reporter2@classactmedia.co.th

Sayan Padungsap was shot four times, allegedly by Thanaphol Phatkaew (inset). Photo: Patong Police

Police hunt Bangla car park shooter PATONG POLICE ARE on the hunt for a 34-yearold man who allegedly shot another man four times in a car park near Bangla Rd early Wednesday morning (July 27).

Patong Hospital alerted Maj Theerasak Boonsang of the Patong Police to the shooting at 3:41am.

The victim, Sayan Padungsap, 35, sustained four gunshot wounds: to his abdomen (left side), hip (back right), left foot and lower left leg.

Mr Sayan identified his attacker as Patong resident Thanaphol Phatkaew.

Mr Sayan told police that Thanaphol shot him then fled the scene, leaving

his vehicle behind at the parking lot.

“Witnesses said that both men knew each other and they were having an argument which resulted in the shooting,” reported Maj Theerasak.

“We theorise that Sayan and Thanaphol met at the car park to settle some issue, but the negotiations went wrong and resulted with the suspect shooting Sayan four times,” he added.

“We are seeking an arrest warrant for Mr Thanaphol now,” he said.

Sayan was later transferred to Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town.

Eakkapop Thongtub

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he Anti-Money Laundering Office (Amlo) in Bangkok has launched its investigation into the financial affairs of Tranlee Travel Co Ltd and its subsidiaries, national Tourist Police Chief Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakphan has confirmed.

Gen Surachet, in Phuket on July 21, confirmed that officials were following the Tranlee Travel Co money trail at a meeting held at the Phuket Tourist Police headquarters in Phuket Town.

“All evidence and documents carefully collected in the investigation have been sent to the Anti-Money Laundering Office in Bangkok,” he said.

More than 100 officers including police, military and anti-money-laundering officials seized 29 boats and 53 buses belonging to companies operating under the Tranlee Travel Co Ltd network of businesses in raids at Rassada and Koh Siray on July 6.

At the press conference on July 21, Provincial Police Chief Col Teerapol Thipjaroen, who is heading the

Amlo in Bangkok has launched its investigation into the financial affairs of Tranlee Travel Co Ltd and its subsidiaries, confirmed national Tourist Police Chief Pol Maj Gen Surachet Hakphan in Phuket last week (pictured). Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot investigation, brought those numbers to 117 tour buses and 33 boats seized.

The raids on July 6 followed police shutting down Tranlee’s base of operations in Rassada, east of Phuket Town, on June 16, to which Gen Surachet noted that inbound tourists who had booked

tours with Tranlee were still arriving, although Tranlee’s business licence had been revoked.

“So we are looking for other tour companies to take care of these tourists, but the companies that do so must be legally registered businesses,” he said.

“Also, officials will keep the Chinese Embassy in Bangkok accurately updated with these developments in Phuket,” he added.

Gen Surachet urged all persons to report concerns or complaints about tour companies by calling the Tourist Police hotline 1155.

Chinese tourist in ICU after snorkelling

A speedboat brings 26-yearold Mr Guobiao Guangdong to shore. Photo: Bok Thorani National Park

A CHINESE TOURIST WAS admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) at Krabi Hospital this week after he was saved from drowning while snorkelling at Ao Pilae, Koh Phi Phi Leh, on Monday (July 25).

Guobiao Guangdong, 26, was found lying face down in the water by other members of his tour group whilst on a tour of the Phi Phi islands, Koh Hong park chief Jampen

Phompakdee told The Phuket News.

“We were alerted by a tour group that they had discovered an unresponsive Mr Guobiao in the water. Mr Guobiao was taken to shore where rescue workers administered CPR. “We then contacted officials from the Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBor­Tor) who transported him to Krabi Hos-

pital,” Mr Jampen said.

“Medical staff said that the man had choked on water and that he had been taken to the ICU,” he added.

A member of staff from Krabi Hospital on Tuesday (July 26) confirmed that Mr Guangdong was still in the ICU, but declined to give any further details of his current condition.

Eakkapop Thongtub

Flyovers heading for new year Continued from page 1 ...elevated section spanning 315m.

“The project will need an extra 10 metres of land on both sides of each flyover, but compensation for land expropriated for both flyovers is not included in the budget,” Mr Patiwetwoottisa said.

A completion date for either flyover

has yet to be set.

“These flyovers will solve traffic jams as there are too many vehicles causing long tailbacks at U-turns along Thepkrasattri Rd,” Mr Patiwetwoottisa said.

“With these flyovers in place, traffic will flow through Heroines’ Monument The two flyovers gained public approval and Thalang intersection much better.” in February. Photo: Highways Dept thephuketnews

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FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Chinese bus fleet boosted by up to 300 Suthicha Sirirat editor@classactmedia.co.th

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he private and public sectors joined at a Phuket resort to celebrate the procurement of 300 new tour buses from China, which will be added to Phuket traffic next month to meet growing demand for transporting Chinese tour groups around the island.

The news confirming the procurement of the first 100 buses to be introduced to island traffic by August 15 was announced at a celebratory event at the Hilton Arcadia Phuket Resort and Spa in Karon last Saturday (July 23).

Presiding over the event, titled “Muang Naa Yuu Thong Thiaw Plod Pai” or “Liveable Town, Safe Tourism”, was Phuket Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, joined by Chinese commerce official Zhang Peidong and representatives from the Land Transport Department, Andaman Tourism Business Association and the Bestlin Group, a Bangkokbased company specialising in the import of tour buses from China.

Officials and businessmen smiled for the cameras before revealing some details about the deal to select members of the media in attendance. Gov Chamroen explained that the event was staged in collaboration with representatives from the public and private sectors to help boost confidence in

Gov Chamroen behind the wheel of a tour bus. Photo: Suthicha Sirirat Phuket’s tourism safety image following a string of accidents on the island, many of which involved Chinese tourists.

Ms Zhang said that last year more than eight million tourists from China visited Thailand, half of whom came to Phuket. She added that in the first six months of this year, the number of inbound tourists from China was up by 20 per cent from last year.

Therefore, she thought that it was a “good thing that Phuket valued looking after tourists by increasing the quality and standards of safety”.

Speaking on behalf of the bus division of the Andaman Tourism Business Association, Wichai Siemsawn said Bestlin Group Co Ltd will initially provide 100 of 300 new buses on a six-year finance plan. “In the first phase, we’ll get 100 buses, which will be ready for

use by August 15,” he said.

Mr Wichai did not provide details about the other 200 buses. He declined to provide the exact value of the procurement, but said that operators who receive and use the buses will not be required to make a down payment or pay any installments, which he said will be covered by the tourism retail outlets requiring the transport of the (Chinese) tourists.

“There are about 1,000 tour buses in use in Phuket right now, 300 of which belong to the Association. But especially during festive periods, there aren’t enough buses and we need to bring in buses from other provinces to meet the demand.

“Sometimes, these buses are old and the drivers aren’t familiar with the local roads, which results in accidents often,” he said.

Foreigners fined for public oral sex AN AMERICAN WOMAN and Irishman wanted by police in three provinces for being caught on camera engaging in public oral sex on Koh Phi Phi last week have turned themselves in, issued a public apology and each been fined B2,000.

At 11am on Sunday (July 24) Krabi Police presented the two suspects, named as Nadine, 21, from the US, and Sullivan, 24, from Ireland.

Police in Krabi, Surat Thani and Chiang Mai were reportedly working together to track down the two foreigners, who had been featured in a video clip that had been uploaded to YouTube by an “enraged resident”, who had @thephuketnews

The couple presented themselves to Krabi Police to publicly apologise and were each fined B2,000. reported that the incident took place at 7:30pm on July 18 on Koh Phi Phi. Upon learning that they were wanted by police, the American woman – said to be an exchange student at a university in Chiang Mai – and the Irishman returned to Krabi to turn themselves in and answer to charges

of indecent exposure, and committing an indecent act in public.

The two explained that they were intoxicated at the time of the incident, and after apologising for the deed and proffering a polite wai for the cameras, each were issued a B2,000 fine and released.

Eakkapop Thongtub

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PHUKET NEWS

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM Phuket Seven Day Weather Forecast

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Working without a permit GENERAL MANAGER

Jason Beavan 086 479 7471

gm@classactmedia.co.th

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Natalya Khaributova. Photo: Rzn.info

The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

Phuket break lands Russian bribe charges

QUESTION

SALES MANAGER Jittiya (Tiya) Rakdej 088 754 1371

salesmgr@classactmedia.co.th

SALES SUPPORT Siriporn (Nok) Seangmas 086 479 7470 sales@classactmedia.co.th

Since coming to Phuket I have seen many stories about foreigners being arrested for working illegally, and many for working without a work permit. Sometimes the foreigner caught is charged, found guilty and deported very quickly, other times there is no mention of deportation or even a fine.

What exactly is the penalty for working in Thailand without a work permit?

Also, where can I find a recognised official translation of the “Alien Labour Act”, which seems to also be called the “Working of Alien Act”, in English?

I have been told that English is an officially recognised “second” language in Thailand, but every copy of the Alien Labour Act I have seen on the Internet, including on the Ministry of

Pitool Dumsakorn, Chief of the Phuket Employment Office, holds a Thai work permit.

His advice: 'Don't get caught working without one'. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot Labour website (www.MoL. go.th), specifically says it is an “unofficial translation”.

Where can I find an official copy in English?

– Anna, Chalong.

ANSWER

The penalty for foreigners caught working without a

work permit as stipulated in Section 51 of the “Working of Alien Act BE 2551 (2008)” is five years in jail or a fine of B2,000 to B100,000, or both.

Then we have to deport them.

For an official translation of the act in English, you can come and collect one at the Phuket

Employment Office. We have the whole act available in Thai and English, and it is free.

Our office is located on Rattanakosin 200 Pi Rd, Phuket Town, near the Phuket Red Cross.

– Pitool Dumsakorn, Chief of the Phuket Employment Office

Two men hospitalised after crash at underpass site SALES REPRESENTATIVE Somsong (Chompu) Radabut 088 765 5883 sales1@classactmedia.co.th

PR MANAGER Natchaya (Nat) Sittiprasert 088 765 5881 pr@classactmedia.co.th

TWO MEN WERE TAKEN to hospital last Friday (July 22) after the driver of a motorbike crashed into a roadside traffic railing at the Bang Khu Underpass construction site.

Maj Somchai Nooboon of the Phuket City Police and Kusoldharm rescue workers received a report of an accident on Thepkrasattri Rd southbound at the Bang Khu Underpass construction site in

The men reportedly escaped life-threatening injuries.

Koh Kaew where it was said that a motorbike had crashed into a railing.

Police were told that the impact of the crash had caused the motorbike to fly into a ditch leaving the driver and his passenger injured in the road.

Upon arrival at the scene, where the Italian Thai construction company had dug up the ground to install a water pipe, police found a Suzuki motorbike in the ditch.

Maj Somchai said, “The wrecked motorbike was in-

side a ditch which is about two metres wide and three metres deep.

“One victim who had suffered minor injuries was sitting on the road next to an unconscious man named as Kitikorn Meejor, 26.

“Both men were taken to Vachira Hospital. We are waiting to question both men about the incident,” he said.

Eakkapop Thongtub

A FOR MER STATE OF ficial from Russia is facing corruption charges after promising protection to a local business person in exchange for return businessclass flights from Moscow to Phuket.

A court in Ryazan, Russia last month detained Natalya Khaributova, a former chief of city planning after denying her bail for corruption charges.

It is alleged that Khaributova received bribes worth 500,000 roubles (approx B250,000) from a local business person.

Russia’s Investigative committee officers believe that in January 2016 Khaributova promised protection to a local construction company in exchange for two return business-class tickets from Moscow to Phuket for her and her daughter.

The two were were also provided with a luxury vehicle to travel some 200 kilometres from their home town to the nearest airport and the return journey.

Khaributova now faces up to 15 years in jail and a hefty fine of up to 4 million roubles (B2mn).

Anton Makhrov

Police sting nets Phuket man, bumper haul of over B3mn of drugs A 31-YEAR-OLD PHUKET man was arrested in front of a 7-Eleven store last Thursday (July 21) after agreeing to sell 5 grammes of crystal meth (ya ice) to a police officer.

The man was later found to be in possession of methamphetamine tablets (ya bah) and ya ice said to be worth over B3 million.

The arrest was announced at a press held at Phuket City Police last Friday (July 22).

At the press conference it was revealed that 31-yearold Supachai Phaipetch was

found in possession of 6,187 ya bah pills, 521.6g of ya ice, an automatic pistol, one magazine and other seized items.

“The arrest of Supachai came after police received a tip-off from undercover officers that he has been selling drugs in the Rassada area,” Provincial Police Deputy Superintendent Col Cherdsak Boonnatda explained.

“Officers set up a sting operation where undercover officer contacted Suphachai and arranged to buy 5g of

Supachai Phaipetch, 31, was arrested after agreeing to sell ya ice to a police officer. ya ice from him for B6,000.

Suphachai agreed to deliver the drugs at a 7-Eleven store

on Rassadanusorn Rd,” Col Cherdsak said.

“At the arranged drop-off

time, a team of officers led

by Lt Naruebadin Bangleesen approached the suspect, searched him and found the 5g of ya ice.

“Suphachai then led police to his room at the nearby The Square Condo, where police conducted a search and found the rest of the drugs and others items,” he added.

Suphachai is to be charged with possession of a Category 1 drug with intent to sell and illegal possession of firearm and ammunition.

Darawan Naknakhon thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Referendum ready

Poll day brings nationwide alcohol ban The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

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olling in the upcoming referendum on whether or not to allow the draft constitution to be brought into effect will incur a nationwide ban on alcohol sales at shops, bars, restaurants and hotels on Sunday, August 7.

“Shops and restaurants are banned from selling alcohol from 6pm on August 6 (Saturday) to midnight on August 7 (Sunday),” Phuket Provincial Police Commander Col Teeraphol Thipjaroen told The Phuket News.

Hotels are included in the alcohol ban, Col Teeraphol confirmed.

“The only places allowed to sell alcohol during the prescribed hours are dutyfree stores as the alcohol cannot be consumed until it has been taken out of the country,” he said.

Kittipong Thiengkunakrit, Director of the Phuket office of the Election Commission, estimated that nearly 300,000 eligible voters will be heading

The constitutional referendum will incur a nationwide alcohol ban on Sunday, August 7. Photo: Election Commission of Thailand for the 370 polling stations set up across the island on the day.

However, Col Teeraphol said he expected no issues with traffic jams on polling day. “The referendum will be held on a Sunday, so it should not affect people in their daily lives because most people will be at home,” he said.

“I do not think the voting will affect traffic. The polling booths will be spread across the island, not in one place,”

he added.

Col Teeraphol also assured that security was not an issue in Phuket. “Don’t worry about safety or security issues on the day because officers have been assigned to keep peace and order. Safety of Phuket residents and tourists is our priority,” he said.

The referendum on August 7 will ask two questions.

Firstly, whether voters accept or reject the draft constitution.

The second question will ask

Rival teens to be called in for ‘treatment camp’ POLICE IN PATONG ARE to call in 30-40 members of teenage gangs from the area to take part in a “treatment camp”, which is part of a project aimed at reducing conf licts among teenagers from the island’s entertainment hub.

The project, titled “Prasand Jai”, or “Heart Linking”, will begin next month using a budget which has yet to be set.

Patong Police Chief Col Chaiwat Uikum told The Phuket News on Monday (July 25) that following a meeting of Patong police at the Blue Ocean Resort last Friday (July 22) it was agreed that the teenagers would be called in to take part in the camp because of the constant fighting among rival teen gangs.

“This project is aimed at reconciling these teens so they can unite together in the Patong community.

“The headmen from seven local communities will also be invited to take part in the camp together with officers from Patong police Station,” he said.

“I expect 30 to 40 teenag@thephuketnews

Patong police chief Col Chaiwat Uikum is looking to ‘link hearts’. ers to take part in the camp, which will last two days,” Col Chaiwat said.

“In addition, we also have another project related to tourist security called ‘Pineapple Eyes’, which will involve the Patong community. However, details about the project and its budget will not be revealed until a later date,” he added.

Meanwhile, it was revealed last week that the navy has rolled out a training model in which primary and

high school students are required to attend army camps to address violence between feuding schools (see page 10).

Under the so-called Lai Plang (camouflage) model targeting mainly boys, students who graduate from primary school and are moving to Mathayom 1, and those who completed Mathayom 3 and are moving on to Mathayom 4, will be required to attend an army camp lasting between seven to 14 days.

Tanyaluk Sakoot

voters whether they accept or reject allowing the National Council for Peace and Order to select all 250 members of the Senate, who will be able to vote with elected MPs to choose the prime minister.

A large public-awareness event will be held at Saphan Hin on August 4 to encourage voters to cast their ballots in the referendum, PEC Director Mr Kittipong confirmed.

Similar events will be held across the country, he added.

PHUKET NEWS

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Flight dumps Aussie brawlers in Bali jail SIX AUSTRALIAN PASsengers were kicked off a Jetstar flight from Sydney to Phuket on July 20, landing themselves in Bali police custody overnight.

The passengers were engaged in “a wild midair brawl”, with Balinese authorities saying the passengers were drunk and fighting on the flight, forcing the captain to divert Flight JQ27 from Sydney to Phuket to land in Bali.

“During a flight from Sydney to Phuket last night a group of six passengers travelling together were being extremely disruptive amongst themselves and refused requests from our crew,” the airline said in a statement.

“The captain decided to divert the flight to Bali where Indonesian police took the disruptive passengers off the aircraft. The flight then continued without incident to Phuket.

“We take safety and security seriously and we don’t tolerate disruptive behaviour by passengers on our flights.

“The other customers

All six have now been banned from flying on Jetstar and Qantas.

Photo: Michael Matthews, Facebook onboard supported the decision to offload the group in Bali and thanked the crew.”

The six men involved in the incident were named as Brett Eldridge, Bradley Beecham, and Lynmin Waharai, Mark Rossiter, Ricky William and Michael Matthews.

The six were returned to Sydney after being interrogated in Bali, reported News.com.au.

All six have been banned from flying with Jetstar and Qantas, and now face claims of damages of “tens of thousands” of Australian dollars for the cost of diverting the plane to land in Bali and for the police escort back to Australia, the report added.

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FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Officials silent on Naka Noi charges The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

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Workers began paving the road on the west side of the Sam Kong Underpass last Friday (July 22).

Sam Kong underpass road-surfacing begins AFTER MORE THAN A month of preparatory work laying the foundations for the surface roads on the west side of the Sam Kong Underpass, workers last Friday (July 22) began paving the road surface.

Work to resurface the roads at the beleaguered construction site began on June 19, with statement of intent to complete the road surfacing within 20 days.

However, intermittent heavy downpours during the past month forced the workers to breach that deadline, Highways Department Project Engineer Chalermpol Wongkiettikun told The Phuket News.

“At this stage, completing the roads above and

around the Sam Kong Underpass will be finished around mid-August – if no more rain slows us down,” he said.

“Today workers started laying asphalt on the road in front of Aphrodite (cabaret venue). If no rain affects work there, this section should be finished by next week. The resurfacing of the roads is progressing very slowly at that section due to the number of buses coming to Aphrodite.” he added.

“After we complete this section, we will resurface the road in front of Wat Sam Kong and then front of Thanachart Bank,” Mr Chalermpol said.

Chanida Summast

he Land Department has yet to reveal if anyone will be held criminally liable for issuing a land document asserting “ownership” of 24 rai on Naka Noi Island, which has now been deemed illegal.

Land Department DirectorGeneral Apinan Suethanuwong on July 14 gave the order to revoke a NorSor 3 Kor land occupancy document that was presented by Phukhaohokluk (Six Mountains) Co Ltd to claim 24 rai on Koh Naka Noi, off Phuket’s east coast.

“The Director-General agreed that the NorSor 3 must be annulled after an investigation revealed that a ‘flying SorKor 1’ was used to upgrade the land title,” Phuket Land Office Chief Watcharin Jetanawanich told The Phuket News on July 21.

A “flying SorKor 1” is a common method of using a SorKor 1 land document to claim an entirely different plot of land elsewhere.

Investigating complaints filed by famous Thai actor Puri Hiranprueck, who owns land next to the plot now deemed illegal, Pol Lt Col Prawut Wongsinil, chief of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Consumer and Environment Protection Division, in December 2014 said he believed that a SorKor 1 for land on

Pol Lt Col Prawut Wongsinil of the DSI’s Consumer and Environment Protection Division shows reporters land documents investigated in December. Photo: Tanyaluk Sakoot nearby Naka Yai Island was used to upgrade the land on Naka Noi Island claimed by Six Mountains Co Ltd. A special investigation by the Land Department has now concurred.

However, Six Mountains Co Ltd has until today (July 29) to appeal that order, Mr Watcharin confirmed. “If that appeal fails, they can then file an appeal with the Administration Court,” he added.

Meanwhile, the Phuket land official who approved the now-illegal NorSor 3 Kor remains unnamed by officials.

“The person involved in the upgrade of the land document at Naka Noi was investigated and questioned by the committee set up by the Land Depart-

ment,” Mr Watcharin said.

However, he added, “I do not have details of the committee’s investigation. The process and all details, including the information of the person under investigation, is confidential.”

Mr Watcharin said he was unable to give any further information or identify how to contact the committee tasked with carrying out the investigation.

In defence of his claim, Charnwit Kitlerdsiriwattana, Managing Director of Phukhaohokluk Co Ltd, in May last year told The Phuket News that he bought the land from the Thawthip family in 2014 and had the land surveyed and obtained legal documents from government officials.

“Government officials checked all the paperwork related to the land that was sold to me,” he said.

Only last month Mr Charnwit publicly reasserted that the Six Mountains Co Ltd claim to the land was genuine.

“The [SorKor 1] was not a ‘flying’ title deed as reported, and be assured it’s not in the boundaries of any national forest. Taxes have been paid on the land for 20-30 years,” he insisted.

In response, Mr Watcharin said, “The land issue is very delicate with a lot of details and it is taking a long time to process and investigate.Officials are also investigating the title deed of Mr Puri (for his land on Naka Noi).”

Suspect surrenders for fatal drive-by shooting A CCTV image shows the two suspects leaving the scene of the fatal shooting. Image: Phuket City Police

ONE OF TWO SUSPECTS wanted for the shooting murder a northern Thai hill tribe woman at a Chinese souvenir shop in Phuket Town on July 8 has turned himself in, Phuket City Police have reported.

Wei Lang, 23, was shot dead whilst drinking with her husband and friends inside the store early on July 8. Police later speculated that the shooting was business related and conducted by two teenagers.

Police revealed the latest update to the case last Saturday (July 23), naming Wuttipong “To” Chanduang, 41, of Patong as one of two suspects wanted for the shooting.

Police said they have charged Wuttipong with murder and attempted murder in addition to illegal possession of a firearm, as well as bringing a firearm into a public place, town or public space without permission or necessity as well as vandalism.

Officers also seized clothing believed to have been worn during the crime, which included a black T-shirt, navy blue shorts and a pair of red shoes.

Police are continuing their questioning of Mr Wuttipong in the hope of tracking down the other suspect who was on the motorbike, and who has yet to be named.

Eakkapop Thongtub thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Buoyed by inaction

PHUKET NEWS

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Officials play down tsunami-warning fears Suthicha Sirirat editor@classactmedia.co.th

More than 50 officials and residents rallied to salvage the Russian and Ukrainian couple’s sunken yacht. Photo: Hat Noppharat Thara-Mu Ko Phi Phi National Park

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huket Vice Governor Chokdee Amornwat this week played down concerns in response to repeated requests for updates on what was being done to repair a tsunami-warning buoy that stopped transmitting data earlier this year.

“We checked with the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology (MICT) and received confirmation that they have been working on this and investigated why the buoy stopped sending data since March 22,” he said on Monday (July 25).

V/Gov Chokdee said he had received repeated requests for updates following Facebook community “Phuket SOS”, which also uses the name “Phuket Quake Watcher”, posting that tsunami-warning buoy 23401 was no longer operational.

“Phuket Quake Watcher recently posted on their Facebook page that tsunamiwarning buoy no 23401, which is located about 1,100 kilome-

Scores rally to salvage Russian ‘Adventure’

Vice Governor Chokdee played down concerns raised in response to Facebook community Phuket SOS posting a notice that tsunami-warning buoy 23401 had stopped transmitting data. Image: Facebook / Phuket SOS tres west of Phuket, was not working. It has not sent back a signal for the past 80 days,” V/Gov Chokdee said.

However, V/Gov Chokdee did not note that Phuket SOS posted the notice on June 21 – one day after The Phuket News reported that the National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC) was aware of the situation but would have to wait until November,

after the southwest monsoon had passed, before it could launch a mission to replace the damaged buoy.

“The NDWC will solve the issue by checking with other buoys in the area that are connected with the same system, especially the tsunami-warning buoys of India and Australia, which are near buoy 23401,” he said.

“Officials can also rely on

Drug suspect on the run after fleeing police station delivery POLICE ARE SEARCHING for a drug suspect after he leapt from the back of a police pickup truck in front of Thalang Police Station while officers were delivering him there in the early hours of Tuesday morning (July 26).

Sakoo Police Inspector Lt Thanakarn Uchanarasamee received a call from the Thalang Police at 1:30am reporting that drug suspect Phinyo Chowyos, 30, had escaped custody.

Phinyo and his fellow drug suspect companion Nattapong Chaiamart, 23, both jumped out of the pickup truck after officers parked in front of Thalang Police Station, Lt Thanakarn explained.

“Officers managed to recapture Nattapong, but officers are still searching for Phinyo,” he added.

Sakoo Police arrested Phinyo and Nattapong on Monday (July 25) after finding them in possession of an unspecified amount of methamphetamine (ya bah).

They were being transported with Theerayuth Man@thephuketnews

Phinyo and his fellow drug suspect companion Nattapong Chaiamart, 23, both jumped out of the pickup truck after officers parked in front of Thalang Police Station. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub ajit, 29, and Jarupong Limani, 24, who had been arrested for theft at Phuket International Airport. Lt Thanakarn did not specify what Theerayuth and Jarupong were accused of stealing.

“They were being taken to be held in the cells at Thalang Police Station as Sakoo Police Station does not have any detention cells,” Lt Thanakarn said.

Two police officers were

travelling in the back of the pickup truck with the four suspects when Phinyo and Nattapong made their escape.

“Officers are now looking for Phinyo, who was last seen under a bridge near the Thalang Municipality offices on Thepkrasattri Rd,” he added.

“Witnesses last saw him disappear into a pipe,” Lt Thanakarn said.

Eakkapop Thongtub

the water-depth monitoring system off Koh Miang (off Thai Muang in Phang Nga) to confirm any tsunami activity and warn residents and tourists of any impending disaster “The MICT will add more deep-water tsunami-warning buoys off the Andaman coast as soon as the weather permits and hopefully they will be able to do so latest by this November,” he added.

MORE THAN 50 OFFICIALS and local residents came together last Saturday (July 23) to successfully salvage a Russian and Ukrainian couple’s yacht sunk by storms off Ao Nang, Krabi, two weeks ago.

Russian national Alexander Travkin, 31, and his Ukrainian partner Julia Mironova, 29, on July 7 reported to the Krabi Marine Police that their 12-metre yacht Adventure had sunk in storm conditions the night before while moored at Ao Nang.

However, all attempts to salvage the yacht up to Thursday last week (July 21) had been unsuccessful.

The ongoing efforts to recover the yacht inspired more than 50 officials and local residents to co-ordinate their efforts last Saturday, resulting in success in refloating the yacht and moving it to a

nearby safe haven.

“This time more than 50 of us got together,” Krabi Marine Chief Boonchaw Tangsiripaisan told The Phuket News.

“We used our (Krabi Marine Office) speedboat and a boat provided by Krabi City Municipality, and we had the help other of many other government offices that provided equipment to help recover the yacht… We also had the tug boat from Jiawanich Pier, while Chokphana Pier provided two small tug boats as support,” he said.

“The yacht was towed to Klong Muang. It will undergo repairs there,” Mr Boonchaw added.

“Finally, we finished our job, and that was really good cooperation,” he concluded proudly.

Tanyaluk Sakoot

Opinion 8

OPINION

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

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EDITORIAL

Upping the environmental game

L

ong-time residents of Phuket tend to agree that tourism-fuelled economic growth has changed the island, but not necessarily for the better. Sprawl, stressed infrastructure, congestion and environmental degradation severely undermines the idealistic image of “mellow island life”.

To their credit, state agencies are making sincere efforts to preserve vulnerable natural ecosystems that are dependent on the existence of coral reefs and mangrove forests. The Royal Forestry Department and Department of Marine and Coastal Resources continue to make headlines with successive raids and enforcement of regulations, which conservationists would agree is a step in the right direction. Likewise, beach cleanups organsed by the private sector will also continue to go a long way to maintain the integrity of coastal ecosystems,

at least on the surface.

But the question is two-fold: whether preservation efforts are sufficient, and whether the booming tourism industry can be sustained alongside such efforts.

Another pertinent factor is the fact that 40 per cent of all jobs in Thailand are in farming, forestry and fishing, according to the UNDP-UNEP PovertyEnvironment Initiative (PEI).

Clearly, a highly significant number of livelihoods are still dependent on the subsistence of natural resources. However, fishing and deforestation, especially when employing unsustainable practices, create only short-term incomes, while proper development and technological advancement within these industries implies a departure from traditional methods, which in turn reduces the demand for manpower.

Enter Thailand’s increasing

dependency on tourism, and it is the environment – the proverbial golden goose – which has borne the brunt of this rapid transition.

Bolstering and promoting eco-tourism seems to be one happy medium. Still in its infancy, “green” tourism is largely untapped, with so much potential, but having more brochures showcasingpicturesque fruit orchards, and extravagant lush golf courses will hardly be sufficient to lure more environmentallyconscious tourists, especially while many communities still suffer from water shortages and wastewater mis-management.

Add in the relentless bolstering of mass-tourism, and the situation only exasperates.

This goes without saying that eventually even the “quantity” will follow the example of the “quality” and seek greener pastures elsewhere.

TOP 10 STORIES ON thephuketnews.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

[CLIP] Foreign college exchange students fined for filmed drunken public oral sex on Phi Phi Phuket-bound flight dumps Aussie mid-flight brawlers in Bali Immigration ban leaves Phuket expat knife attack victim in exile Aussie, 30, found dead in rented Phuket room, cause of death unconfirmed Police bust international hacking suspects Phuket Poll: Is the Thai work permit necessary?

Constitutional referendum brings nationwide alcohol ban Phuket tourism businesses face huge ‘collateral’ hikes Visa marriage crackdown targets police With structural pillars repaired, Jungceylon aims to re-open Port Area next week

Visit thephuketnews.com for all the latest news

HAVE YOUR SAY Put buses to use Re: Governor moves for Phuket light rail project to start in 2017 This is a really poor hugely expensive idea. Phuket needs an inexpensive comprehensive island-wide bus service.

We already have the roads.

It can offer free travel to students, school children and the elderly. This will save lives and injuries by getting vulnerable people off their bikes and onto buses.

There will be less traffic.

People will still have to get to and from LR stations, bus routes are more flexible and can get customers closer to their destinations. A bus service FIRST please!

Cojo105 They have an incinerator that does not work. No washroom facilities at any beaches. Apparently no budget for regular collection of debris. Yet they keep talking about a silly light rail system.

If they would use even some of the 300 buses they just acquired to run a regular schedule around Phuket, they wouldn’t need the light rail system.

Timothy

Enough stories, just fix problems now If they really cared about the buoys, and not just avoiding negative media reports they would have a maintenance programme to change the batteries and service them annually. Once again the safety of tourists and residents is only a PR exercise to attract tourists. There is still no CCTV working on Bangla Rd (Since Dec 2015) to the beach road police box. The criminals are having a field day assaulting tourists. Bangla Rd is a prime target for terrorism and no CCTV monitoring is a disgrace. No stories tessabaan, just fix it now!

Skip

Hand out alcohol ban flyers on arrival Re: Constitutional referendum brings nationwide alcohol ban Thanks for the alcohol ban info. We will stock it on the 5th, and not go to restaurants on August 6-7.

Why not serve/sell alcohol to foreigners? They are not allowed to vote. Great news for the tourists! No alcohol on Saturday evening and the whole of Sunday. Give them a

flyer upon arrival, to buy and bring alcohol to their room on the Friday. After all, Phuket lives by the grace of tourism?

Yes? Bars, discos and “shows” can close their doors. Splendid.

A lot of work for the hotels to remove alcohol from the room mini-bars.

Kurt

Felatio – Take 2 Re: [CLIP] Foreign college exchange students fined for filmed drunken public oral sex on Phi Phi I believe it is customary for the police to force perpetrators to re-enact their crime, and for the press to publish photos of same. Will these photos be forthcoming?

Ematt

Good companies to suffer for others’ bad mistakes Re: Phuket tourism businesses face huge ‘collateral’ hikes Well then it’s better to improve the standards rather than just keep penalising the already collapsing tour industry. All the good, safe companies will be penalised to pay for all the bad ones.

All this will achieve is all the good companies will leave to places where good standards are accepted and rewarded rather than penalised. Far better to just improve the standards then just kill off what’s left of the tourist industry. I guess the thinking is along the lines of grab as much money as possible before the tourist industry in Phuket totally collapses and goes from the island for good. simon01 This will be the great mess at the end of the year as Tourism Business and Guide Registration Office will increase the security deposit required to get a TAT licence without forgetting that we may have to renew all official documents to get it (TAT Guide licence, list of shareholders, Thai Directors, travel insurances, and so on ...). Besides, the TAT could apply to increase the coverage of the professional tourism insurance for travel agencies and tour boats... In short, a great cleansing is on the way to be in line with the 10 Asean countries, which will have a general meeting in Jakarta on August 8-9 to formalise new standards in tourism industry across Asean.

Asterix

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THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

THAILAND NEWS

Visa marriage crackdown

9

Immigration bureau chief to target his own officers BANGKOK

P

olice officers are the latest target in the Immigration Bureau’s crackdown on transnational criminals in Thailand.

Months after the bureau’s tougher measures against crooked foreigners, including those who “lawfully” marry Thai women to stay in the country longer, its chief Nathathorn Prousoontorn has become increasingly aware that keeping a lookout for foreign suspects is not enough. He has to look more closely inside his agency, finding flaws that may hinder the crackdown.

In his latest order last Thursday (July 21) to his subordinates nationwide, Lt Gen Nathathorn warned officers against dishonest acts as he listed the bureau’s action plans to screen foreigners [staying] in the country illegally.

Though he did not identify specific rogue officers, the order suggests he became concerned after inspecting procedures to check foreigners’ travel to and from Thailand and for arresting foreign suspects.

Foreign travellers are, in some cases, required to pay immigration fees, but “if officers demand ‘extra fees’, they will be subject to both disciplinary and criminal punishments”, Lt

Lt Gen Nathathorn Prousoontorn, head of the Police Immigration Bureau, says corrupt officers are protecting the transnational criminals he is after. Photo: Bangkok Post Gen Nathathorn said in the order.

He also stressed he would consider extending the punishments to cover the officers’ commanders.

One part of his order also emphasises officers’ operations to deal with foreigners suspected of having illegal status. Officers who “round up an unusually high number of suspects in one operation” or are dishonest must

Lawyer stands by monk in latest car controversy BANGKOK A LAW Y ER FOR WAT Pailom insists the classic Panther car belonging to the temple’s abbot, Phra Kru Palad Sitthiwat, was legally imported from the US. Supapattarapoj Nitisathorn said on Tuesday (July 26) that the vintage car was given to the abbot, also known as Luang Phi Namfon, by Somchet Khemmathat, a follower, as an exhibit for the temple to encourage more visitors.

The move followed the Department of Special Investigation’s (DSI) recent accusations of tax evasion involving the classic Panther, which thereby implicated the abbot.

According to the DSI, the frame of the vehicle was declared as a Panther and the engine as a @thephuketnews

Jaguar, but the car was actually a wholly-built unit from Panther, registered in the US. In 2011, the abbot was invited to give moral support to Mr Somchet, in Los Angeles, the lawyer said.

Mr Somchet offered the frame of the vehicle, which was being displayed in front of his restaurant, to the abbot.

On Oct 9, 2011, the frame and some parts were shipped to Thailand to Charinthorn Pathakamin, the owner of a garage.

According to the lawyer, the used engine of the Jaguar and additional parts were shipped to Luang Phi Namfon in Thailand on Oct 28 the same year.

Termsak Pitithanasansombat, the abbot’s attendant, paid the excise tax for the vehicle, he added.

Bangkok Post

immediately be transferred.

In short, all behaviour that violates the bureau’s strict policy to ensure transparency must be eradicated, reads the order.

Lt Gen Nathathorn has raised doubts about state agencies since his bureau in April unveiled a plan to crack down on fake marriages, following the marriage of an alleged South Korean criminal and a Thai

woman.

He ordered immigration officers to investigate if authorities colluded with foreigners to help enable sham marriages.

The South Korean, identified as Jung Hyuneseok, married a Thai woman last year and has been on the run from South Korean and Interpol officers accuse him of running a drug trafficking business.

Lt Gen Nathathorn suspected the 47-year-old businessman might have used his marriage to the woman as a way to stay in Thailand.

Another criminal suspect, a Japanese man named Shuhei Yoshizawa, is also believed to have married a Thai woman so he could remain in hiding in Thailand.

The man, who was arrested on May 1, was allegedly a key member of the Yakuza transnational crime syndicate.

An initial investigation by the Immigration Bureau found some Thai women agreed to marry foreigners as a front in return for “rewards worth only a few thousand baht”, Lt Gen Nathathorn said.

“But this can eventually affect national security.”

In Bangkok and neighbouring provinces, authorities last year granted longterm stay rights in Thailand to 7,770 foreign men following their marriages to Thai women. But, he said, 819 cases were later found to have irregularities.

Bogus marriages are bad enough and things will get worse if authorities are complicit.

Lt Gen Nathathorn is aware that he must clear up possible irregularities, related to marriages and illegal immigration, by first looking at his own agency.

Bangkok Post

Locals gather around the dead male elephant.

Photo: Bangkok Post

Elephant killed by electric cables SURAT THANI A MALE ELEPHANT was electrocuted when bamboo stems tangled high-voltage power transmission lines while he was browsing in Khian Sa district of Surat Thani on Monday (July 25).

Thanongchai Churak, 37, the elephant’s owner, said he tethered 24-yearold Phlai Singthong in a grove of bamboo to allow him to eat.

W hen the elephant grasped some of the bamboo stems with his trunk, t hey br u she d agai n st power transmission lines running overhead. He apparently received the full charge as the electricity grounded through the bamboo, and fell down dead.

Mr Thanongchai said he would have to bury the unfortunate elephant.

Bangkok Post

10 THAILAND NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Targeting brawling students BANGKOK

T

he navy has rolled out a training model in which primary and high school students are required to attend army camps to address violence between feuding schools.

Capt Virat Somchit, commander of the Royal Thai Navy’s Naval Rating School for non-commissioned officers in Chonburi’s Sattahip district, said two camps are planned.

Under the so-called Lai Plang (camouflage) model targeting mainly boys, students who graduate from primary school and are moving to Mathayom 1, and those who completed Mathayom 3 and are moving on to Mathayom 4, will be required to attend an army camp lasting between seven to 14 days.

Students who fail to attend the compulsory camps will be barred from studying the territorial defence student programme and must undergo mandatory conscription when they turn 20, Capt Virat said.

The navy came up with the model in response to Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha’s policy to curb brawls between students from rival institutes.

A source at the navy said

Education Minister Narong Pipatanasai greets vocational students at a training camp at the Royal Thai Navy’s Naval Rating School for non-commissioned officers in Chonburi. Photo: Pornprom Satrabhaya the premier ordered the navy to devise the measure to help the government solve the longstanding issue.

Earlier, the navy school briefed him on the plan that students involved with interschool fights should attend a two-week camp, which could

help ease their sense of hostility toward students of rival schools.

The programme will be held jointly by the navy and the Education Ministry.

Capt Virat said the camp aimed to instil good discipline, responsibility, compassion and virtues in students.

The camps can be held both during school terms or the holidays.

Camp sites and military personnel will be prepared by the army.

“We want parents to think of it as sending their children to a scout camp, only for a little

longer and under the military’s supervision,” he said.

Capt Virat said an assessment of camp activities will also be conducted, adding he believed the new model would help tackle the student brawl issue.

The navy has finished draw-

ing up the model, which will go to navy chief Na Areenij for consideration, he added.

As for vocational students, they must attend another threeweek camp on top of the other two camps.

The extra camp will centre on team-building and icebreaking activities to forge good behaviour and solidarity among students.

Under the new model, Capt Virat said orderliness, virtues, leadership and patriotism will be stressed.

Also, schools can invite military personnel from army bases to lecture their students about discipline, which will enable the students to grow more acquainted with army authorities.

Earlier, the navy and the Education Ministry conducted a camp on a trial basis for a group of vocational students who took part in inter-school brawls.

During their 14 days at the camp, students were closely monitored by military trainers who noticed they barely talked to each other during the first week.

However, they drew closer during the second week after participating in various activities together.

Bangkok Post

Drive-in tourist numbers plummet after ban THE NUMBER OF VE-hicles from China to Chiang Mai province has plummeted by 98 per cent, from 600 to 10 daily, following a ban on inbound motorists from driving deeper into the Kingdom.

Pornchai Jitnavasathian, chairman of the Tourism Council of Chiang Mai, said on Monday (July 25) that the much lighter inbound traffic obviously resulted from the Land Transport Department’s ban on visiting motorists from driving beyond the province

of entry. The measure took effect on Wednesday (June 27).

The measure affected the number of driving Chinese tourists who normally arrived in caravans through the R3A route from southern China via Laos and Chiang Rai’s Chiang Khong district to Chiang Mai and had high purchasing power, he said.

Before the ban, most of these visitors went to Chiang Mai and other destinations deeper in the country including Bangkok, Mr Pornchai said.

Previously, each visiting vehicle from southern China carried three or more tourists who spent at least B5,000 each per day, Mr Pornchai said.

He estimated that the declining arrivals cost Chiang Mai B1 million a day in tourism income.

Boontha Chailert, president of the Chiang Mai Tourism Business Association, said unless the ban was reviewed, 3,000-5,000 workers in the tourism sector in the northern province would lose their jobs

in three months.

Tourism authorities in Chiang Mai would call for a review of the ban and oppose other future conditions that would add inconveniences to visiting motorists, Mr Boontha said. He cited possible requirements for them to seek entry permission at least 30 days in advance and Chinese tourists drive from the border crossing in Chiang exit the country through the Khong district of Chiang Rai province toward Chiang Mai province. Photo: Cheewin Sattha same border pass.

The Land Transport Department imposed the rule after cidents and waste management questioned since many of them an influx of visiting motorists problems. Besides, the merits did not stay at hotels. resulted in a spike in traffic ac- of this group of tourists were Bangkok Post

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

ASIA NEWS 11

Taboo or not taboo?

Artists expose naked truths in conservative Muslim Pakistan PAKISTAN

M

ohammad Ali sits before a painting of a semi-naked man and declares his work has never been censored in conservative Muslim Pakistan, where an artistic vanguard are challenging taboos in the chaotic city of Karachi.

“I have done some pretty bold and risky works but luckily I did not face any,” says the 27-year-old, a rising star who paints figurative, contemporary images exploring gender, politics and sex.

Ali has a theory about why, in a developing country where women are traditionally veiled and even unproven allegations of blasphemy can stir mob violence, he has been so free.

“People, a lot of them don’t have access to even a decent meal and if they are starving you cannot make them interested in art instead of food,” he says.

Pakistan remains deeply bound to strict religious norms, though art bursts from unexpected places, such as the acid-trip trucks wild with bells and bright, elaborate images that traverse the country.

But in recent years Karachi’s concrete sprawl has become home to a rush of galleries and dealerships bullish on the country’s art market as a new generation challenges constraints that date back to the Islamisation of the 1980s.

In the port city’s trendy Canvass Gallery, owner Sameera Raja takes media on a tour of the nude and homosexual art on display.

“These are not the things which are taboos in our society, at least not in the artrelated population,” she says.

“Havi ng said that, it

@thephuketnews

Mohammad Ali declares his paintings have never been censored in conservative Muslim Pakistan. Photo: Asif Hassan/AFP doesn’t that mean I am going to socially risk the artist by putting it up on a the public platform. Absolutely not,” she swiftly adds.

Raja is all too aware that, despite the confidence of artists such as Ali – whose paintings have so far been confined to galleries and private spaces – such art only finds safe haven in showrooms like hers and in the bedrooms of the Pakistani elite.

Her caution is echoed by other artists, such as third-year visual arts student Hadiqa Asif at Karachi University.

“If we want to make a sculpture, we must be aware that it should not cause any harm to the society,” she says, chiselling at a piece of wood.

Some artists point to the Islamisation of Pakistan by military dictator Zia ul-Haq in the 1980s as a ground zero of sorts for conservative taboos, and other forms of art that flourished because of them, such as calligraphy.

“During the regime of Zia ul-Haq there was much noise of imposition of Islamic government in the country,”

prominent Pakistani artist Mashkoor Raza, famous for his abstract images of women and horses, recalls.

“Our seniors would draw nudes, but fearing their arrest they started calligraphy of the religious verses and Sufi poetry.”

He said he found himself unable to earn a living, and worked in a textile mill as a designer for nearly a decade, using his savings to buy brushes, paints and canvas.

But Zia was assassinated in 1988, and the 1990s saw galleries and art shops mushroom in urban centres like Karachi.

“After the 90s, I became the owner of my own home, car and whatnot,” says Raza, who now lives in a posh neighbourhood fanned by the city’s sea breezes.

Estimates by gallery owners and art critics put the number of galleries, framers and dealers in Karachi alone in the hundreds.

“They are growing exponentially, it’s a huge market, I think,” comments Raja the gallery owner.

This fresh dynamism is having a potent effect, argues Munwar Ali Syed, an art professor at the state-run Karachi University.

“Of course, we are very cautious here to censor human body parts,” he says. “There are some limitations.”

But the squeezing of liberal thought does not stifle creativity, he claims – rather

it spurs his students in new directions.

“When you realise that there are some limits and boundaries which you can not cross, you work more creatively,” he says, citing a sculptor named Mohammad Ismail.

Eight years ago, Ismail fell from the second storey of a building where he was

supervising construction and broke his back, leaving him confined him to a wheelchair for life.

Now the 35-year-old crafts twisted, skeletal sculptures from metal.

“My own skeleton got distorted so I focus on it,” he said, seated next to a worktable as he puts the finishing touches on a new piece.

“I searched the intricacies of the skeleton, I drew my strength from it and I tried to support myself through this.”

Despite the shift and the brimming confidence of artists like Mohammad Ali, change, already decades in the making, remains slow.

For many sex – contrary to the received wisdom – still doesn’t sell.

“I don’t think that there is a room for the nude in Pakistan other than what an artist makes privately for themselves,” Durriya Kazi, head of the visual arts department at Karachi University, said.

“I don’t think it is relevant to our society.”

AFP

12 WORLD NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

A blow for Lesbos

Migrant influx hits island’s tourism trade GREECE Palestinian schoolgirls have their hands decorated with henna during a UN summer camp. Photo: AFP

UN gives respite to young Gazans PALESTINE THE UN IS OFFERING children traumatised by wars in the Gaza strip a summer break at play camps throughout the territory.

O ve r t h r e e we e k s , 165,000 children will attend camps offering play activities and access to psychologists, said Bo Schack of UNRWA, the United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees.

Some 2,000 Palestinian refugees will run the activities at 120 sites, he said.

T he latest rou nd of fighting in Gaza, in 2014, took the lives of some 2,251 Palestinians, including

more than 500 children.

The violence “still affects many children in Gaza”, Schack said.

“We must work harder still to change the lives of these children for the better,” he said.

In 2014, Sara, now 14, took shelter with her mother and brothers in a UN school while fighting raged around and above them.

“I don’t like to think about that time, I’d rather go and have fun,” she said.

“We really need to play, to have fun, and summer camps provide us with a good atmosphere,” she said before slipping away to join her friends.

AFP

W

hen a sea of humanity landed on their island’s rocky shores last year, the people of Lesbos turned out with blankets and hot food to help thousands of refugees emerging from the cold waters of the Aegean.

In the months that followed, Lesbos’ citizens were hailed for their compassionate response by everyone from Pope Francis to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, Queen Rania of Jordan and Angelina Jolie.

But praise from such global luminaries has not helped restore the island’s tourist trade, with many foreign visitors seemingly put off by the migrant influx.

“We were bracing for a difficult season after the migrant crisis but it’s even worse than we could imagine,” said Marilena Gourgoutzi, staring at the empty tables in her restaurant in the normally bustling port village of Molyvos.

Hotel operators say that

Hotel operators on the island of Lesbos say only one in 10 rooms is occupied and tourism business is down 64 per cent compared to last June. Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP only one in 10 rooms is occupied and tourism business is down 64 per cent compared to last June, according to the local chamber of commerce.

“It’s unfair,” said chamber chairman Vangelis Myrsinias.

“All those who thanked the inhabitants of Lesbos for lending a helping hand to the refugees should visit our island,” he added.

Over 800,000 refugees and migrants, mainly from wartorn Syria but also Iraq and Afghanistan, passed through Lesbos last year en route to northern Europe.

Hotel owner Theodoros Vathis, 74, remembers days when 400 people would arrive at once, and he would help drive entire families to a registering centre in his van.

“At the time there were no aid groups present, we were the ones to give them clothes and food,” he said.

A deal between the EU and Turkey in March drastically reduced the flow to a few dozen arrivals daily, but the damage was already done.

Faced with Europe’s greatest migration challenge since

World War II, several EU countries opted to shut their borders to migrants early this year, trapping over 57,000 people in Greece.

Images of beaches littered with discarded life jackets and torn dinghies, though no longer accurate, continue to hurt the island’s image, said Gourgoutzi, the restaurant owner.

“Foreign clients tell me that certain news outlets are still showing last year’s footage with drowned migrants, and dirty beaches which have now been cleaned up,” she said.

Island mayor Spyros Galinos said that charter arrivals fell from 27 to just nine per week, and that despite crisismanagement efforts, summer season arrivals were expected to drop to 80,000 from 120,000 previously on average.

Instead of Germans, Britons and Dutch, Lesbos had hoped at least to fall back on visitors from neighbouring Turkey, even for short threeday trips.

But the failed July 15 coup against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

had an affect on that too.

As Turkish authorities began a purge in search of the plotters, over 10,000 people have been detained, thousands more have had their jobs suspended, a state of emergency has been imposed and annual leave for civil servants has been cancelled.

“Two weeks ago we were full of Turks for the end of Ramadan,” said Gourgoutzi.

“But after the recent events there has been a clear drop,” she added.

Jeweller Yiorgos Frangoulis last year offered a cut of his earnings to aid groups helping to bring succour to refugees.

This year, he says he’ll donate the money to organisations helping poor Greeks.

“It’s the fault of our government which allowed such a great number of migrants to arrive in Greece but at the same time increased taxes,” says Vathis, the hotel owner.

“And it’s also the fault of journalists – Greek and foreign – who only broadcast images of misery from Lesbos,” he says.

AFP

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FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

BUSINESS NEWS 13

Tour network hits blacklist

Chinese nominee tour companies added to government watchlist CORPORATE Bangkok Post editor@classactmedia.co.th

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hinese tour company Tranlee Co Ltd and its 16 subsidiaries have been added to the government “blacklist” of nearly 23,000 Thai businesses that pose a risk to do business with.

Authorities early this month raided and inspected 17 tourism-related operators in Phuket and Phang Nga on suspicion they were acting as nominees for foreigners.

The firms are associated with Tranlee Travel Co. Such companies operate tourism-related businesses such as hotels, tour buses, ferries, restaurants and souvenir shops.

Authorities are investigating whether shareholders and directors of the subsidiaries were involved or aware of their nominee status. If so, the department will revoke their business registration.

Business Development Department (DBD) DirectorGeneral Pongpun Gearaviriyapun said that following inspections of 635,000 juristic persons registered with the department, 22,992 of them were found questionable, deserving special care in doing business with or contacting them.

Ms Pongpun said of the total 22,992 questionable firms, 7,293 were found to have no headquarters as registered, 4,054 failed to submit

annual financial statements as required, and 11,293 have not answered queries concerning their financial statements.

Others include juristic persons with names that resemble large or famous companies to mislead the public, firms that had their business registration revoked, and companies associated with Tranlee Travel Co, suspected of being an illegal nominee tour firm for foreign interests.

Ms Pongpun warned people to also pay special attention to companies that exaggerate their registered capital. The DBD has been investigating firms that reported registered capital of more than B5 million to see whether such capital is paid, she said.

Ms Pongpun said the department has written remarks at the end of the certifications for all juristic persons that the public or other businesses can examine through the department’s “e-Service” application by keying in the names of juristic persons. The remarks mean the department has determined those companies require special care, she added.

The number of companies named on the blacklist has grown by more than 4,000 in the past two months. As of May 19, the blacklist named 18,756 companies.

The DBD e-Service app is in Thai language only, but allows searches in English and Thai. The app is available for download for Apple and

Asia-Pacific hotel transactions bloom HOSPITALITY ASI A PACI FIC HOT EL investment volumes in the first half of this year climbed 13.2 per cent to US$3.8 billion (B132.98 billion) compared to the same period last year as yields recovered to preglobal financial crisis levels, according to the Asia Pacific Hotel Investment Highlights H1 2016 report by real estate consultancy JLL. During the first six months of this year, 14,025 keys traded across Asia-Pacific, compared with 10,976 a year ago, says the report. Japan led with US$2.1 billion, followed by Australia (US$278mn), Mainland China (US$252.6mn), Vietnam (US$237.6mn), Taiwan (US$217.6mn) and Thailand (US$138.3mn). @thephuketnews

Mike Batchelor, MD of JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group Asia Pacific.

“Whilst the investment environment is expected to be dominated by Japan for the remainder of 2016, deal flow should remain robust supported by stronger buying activity in Thailand, Vietnam, Korea and Myanmar,” said Mike Batchelor, Managing Director for JLL’s Hotels & Hospitality Group Asia Pacific.

The Phuket News

The DBD e-Services app reveals whether or not specific companies have been marked as needing ‘special care’.

Android devices free from the DBD website, www.dbd. go.th, as well as iTunes and Google Play.

Nimit Khangkajit, Director of Phuket DBD office, told The Phuket News that his office does not have any information of how many companies in Phuket, or which companies operating in Phuket, are on the blacklist.

“The DBD in Bangkok has all the information on this.

Our office has not received any information regarding the list of companies in Phuket that have been to the blacklist, or even deregistered,” he said.

“To search for such information on companies registered by DBD, you can use the e-Services app or register to search DBD database via the DBD website. Both offer

the same information about companies, but please note that to search you must type the company’s name in Thai language – and please get the spelling right, or you may not find the company you are looking for,” Mr Nimit said.

Regarding Tranlee Co Ltd, a search by The Phuket News through the DBD e-Services app revealed the following information: Registered: Nov 27 2544 (2001) Registered Capital 16,000,000 Address: 29/42 Moo 1, T. Rassada, A. Muang Phuket Biz Category: 79120 ธุรกิจ จัดนำ�เที่ยว Chairpersons นางสาวไรวรรณ แสงศรี (Raiwan Saengsri)

นายกฤชกร รุ่ ง มงคลนาม

(Krisakorn Rungmongkolnam)

DBD Director-General Pongpun Gearaviriyapun said that 22,992 registered businesses were found questionable.

ข้อควรทราบ (Points to know)

1. The Phuket Company Shares Registration Office mandate number 13/2559 revoked registration, effective July 7, 2016.

2. Office of Tourism Guide Business Registration, Southern Region, Zone 2 mandate number 44/2559 on June 28, 2016 revoked tourism business permit.

3. This company is under investigation for using documents and evidence arising from party(ies) who were not Thai nationals using Thai national ID cards. Advise caution in dealings.

4. Withhold* ระงั บ any paperwork issuances, guarantees, approvals with this company. If it is your intention to obtain a guarantee with this

company, you must receive approval from regional of the business and commercial group director first.

5. The registrar has notified investigators to consider pressing charges for giving false information to officers.

According to the DBD, new business registrations totalled 31,792 in the first six months of 2016, up one per cent over the same period last year. They had a combined registered capital of B127 billion, a rise of 35% yearon-year.

The new registrations were mostly in construction, machinery sales and food/ restaurants.

Additional reporting by Supatra Sutham

14 BUSINESS NEWS

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Making space work

Regus brings world-class services to Phuket SPONSORED

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he opening of the Regus Royal Phuket Marina (RPM) Business Centre earlier this year brought a successful business model of the modern world to Phuket simply by providing flexible workspace options tailored to individual needs.

The Regus RPM Business Centre is the first to open outside Bangkok, where 16 other centres are already up and running, among 18 in the country. The only other Regus centre in the Kingdom is in Sri Racha.

Key to the Regus model is that signing up to use the Regus RPM business centre opens the door to using any one of 3,000 Regus Business Lounges in 120 countries.

In defining what drives the workspace industry, Paul MacAndrew, Country Manager Thailand & Singapore, notes, “Technology has stripped away the restrictions of time and place: the right workspace is whatever people need, when they need it.

“Our growing range of

products and office formats enables us to deliver working environments that match the needs of any consumer. This is allied to continuous investment in innovation, which drives our global technology networks and cutting-edge workplace services.”

The products and services at Regus RPM are world standard, and range from fully-equipped offices from B5,999 a month to co-working spaces from B790 a month.

Regus RPM offers individuals and companies 103 short-term and long-term workspaces right by the waterfront with 24-hour access and parking; an inspirational setting with state-of-the-art facilities, including worldclass IT. The prestigious and professional waterside address boosts a corporate image within Thailand, Asean and beyond, notes Regus.

The Regus Business Centre offices deliver a more customised office package than standard rentals.

This makes Regus not only ideal for Phuket’s many local start-ups but also for

Bangkok companies looking for a Phuket satellite office and international companies establishing a base in Thailand outside the capital. Regus also enables businesses to grow and develop through its world-renowned flexible office solutions.

Catering to start-ups and existing businesses, Regus offers extensive flexible office and co-working solutions, allowing people to work where, when, and how they want, and “Virtual Office” solutions for home-based workers, startups, and established firms moving into new markets.

Of note, those who have tried operating a business in Thailand without a postal address will be stunned to learn that Regus offers such a service with its telephone answering, business address and mail delivery services, ranging from Mailbox from B1,290, Telephone Answering from B1,890 and Virtual Office from B3,190.

Yet for the independent worker on the move, the coworking option is proving popular, with options to use the co-working area for five

days, 10 days or unlimited use per month.

When you want the facilities and space of an office but only need to drop-in occasionally, co-working is the convenient and practical solution. With Regus Co-working services, you’ll only pay for the space you use, with no need to commit to the financial investment of permanent office space.

All of our co-working spaces are provided with everything set up and ready to use immediately: telephones, computers and internet, printers, and a comfortable workspace. We’ll also make sure that there’s a dedicated team to support you with administration and general office management.

Beyond the functional aspects, Regus RPM also provides a key venue for networking through its community of clients.

We help you to make new contacts, meet local businesses, share ideas and create new business opportunities.

Whether you chat over a coffee in a relaxed communal space, meet like-minded

A stylish new thinking and working space with room for a laptop and a comfortable, adjustable chair, the Thinkpod is dedicated to productivity and unique to Regus. professionals at our monthly social events or connect with hundreds of people at our signature events, Regus offers the perfect networking opportunity to make that connection that will really count.

Regus also often provides the platform for corporate annual retreats, where professionals can take time out from work and learn from

recognised business leaders.

In this digital age, there is also the opportunity to connect with the Regus community using our social network.

For more information contact the Regus Royal Phuket Marina Business Centre at Building MC2 68 Moo 2 Thepkrasattri Rd, Koh Kaew, Muang, Phuket, 83000. Visit Regus. co.th or call 076-628-000.

CP Land reveals plans for more hotels under ‘Fortune’ brand PROPERTY CP LAND PLC, THE PROPerty arm of agribusiness conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group, will continue with non-residential property development as it aims to balance recurring income from rental business and revenue from housing sales.

Naravadee Waravanitcha, Executive Vice-President for investment and hotel management, said CP Land would maintain development of rental

CP Land Plc will continue with non-residential property development with more hotels, including in Phuket. properties such as office towers and hotels to boost revenue from rental business to 50

per cent of the total, up from 25% now.

“We will continue rental

property development,” she said. “For hotels, opportunity is larger in the provinces than in Bangkok, where hotel supply is excessive. But if there is a chance to take over an existing hotel in Bangkok, we will.”

CP Land expects to have B700-800 million in revenue from rental business, up from B600-700 million last year that accounted for 25% of the total of B3 billion. Remaining revenue was from residential business, mainly condo projects.

In the first half, it added 122-room Fortune River View Hotel Nakhon Phanom, 118room Fortune View Kong Hotel Nakhon Phanom and 147-room Fortune River View Hotel Chiang Khong into its hotel portfolio.

It plans to open Fortune D Mae Sot in the third quarter, Fortune D Plus Khao Yai, Fortune D Buriram and Fortune D Loey in 2017. The new brand is in the budget hotel segment with only 79 rooms or smaller.

CP Land wants to develop

hotels in key tourist destinations including Rayong, Phuket and some southern provinces.

In Ban Khai district of Rayong, it will develop CP Industrial Estate on more than 3,000 rai with an investment of B7 billion.

Last month it opened CP Tower Nakhon Ratchasima, a six-storey office tower with a lettable area of 7,300 square metres. It plans to open other office buildings in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, Surat Thani and Udon Thani in the second half.

Bangkok Post

Asean tops TripAdvisor for value TOURISM FOUR CITIES IN ASEAN have been recognised in TripAdvisor’s latest top 10 chart for best value city breaks, worldwide.

Hanoi was top for offering the lowest costs, according to TripIndex Cities, an annual TripAdvisor cost comparison study.

Kuala Lumpur was the next best of the Asian des-

Tourists in Hanoi. Photo: Nam-ho Park tinations in fourth place followed by Bangkok (fifth) and Bali (seventh).

When looking at the on-the-ground cost of a

three-night city break, the 2016 TripIndex Cities report showed that travellers can find the best value in Asean, with four of the top 10 cheapest destinations located in the region.

However, three of the most expensive destinations are located in Asia; Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong.

They were positioned second, sixth and seventh on the most expensive destinations list.

TTR Weekly

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FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Road accidents inspire art and change

18

Finding the island’s mosques

20

TOTAL RECALL

Using creativity to retain massive amounts of information > Page 16 Tiffany Tip and her father, Alan. Photo: Shayan Amin

@thephuketnews

16 PEOPLE

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Methods of memory function Tiffany Yip shows that the human mind has fewer obstacles for everyone

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ost people know, in abstract at least, that the human brain is phenomenal in its ability to learn skills, retain information and creatively adapt to situations. With the exception of very few, humans tend Her to be hot messes. Effective organisation ‘trick’ is does not come easily to many, much less simple: the ability to retain mass storage of minorganised ute details. Tiffany Yip is an exception to this, not visualisation, fubecause she has an eidetic memory, but because, at elled by a powerful age 12, she has been taught by her father techniques that ensure accurate recall of details. For Tiffany, the imagination details are Pi. During British International School Phuket’s Pi Week, Tiffany blew the minds of, well, everyone by being able to recall Pi to the 400th digit… a feat that took around 15 minutes, leaving the competition in the dust with a relatively unimpressive recall of up to about 200 digits.

She is not an anomaly. In fact, she goes out of her way to explain how simple it is to do what she does, possible for virtually anyone. While competitive, and clearly happy to have come out on top of the competition, Tiffany has a marked humbleness that comes from simple compassion – she takes no joy in crushing the competition, and worries about having hurt her fellow students’ feelings and causing discouragement among them.

Her “trick”, is simple: organised visualisation, fuelled by a powerful imagination. It starts, of course, with numbers.

“What a number looks like, what the letters sounds like, that’s what the code is based on,” she explained. The code creates corresponding letters to each digit, which is where the fun part begins.

“Each number has a location. You assign each number a location, and each room has five locations.

What stands out most to you?” she said. Tiffany takes the most striking aspect of a location, and from there she creates a visual image of pictures and colours and more.

In her case, Tiffany takes the rooms of her home, and goes through them mentally, throwing things she really likes or dislikes in graphic detail all over the place. This creates a mental image that allows her to think of a letter, which corresponds to a number, and those numbers are what Vintage phrenology advertisement. together came together as 400 digits of

Shayan Amin editor1@classactmedia.co.th

Pi. Of course, nothing but Versailles could contain Pi, so Tiffany also includes Universal Studios (one of her favourite places) in her visualisation.

“At the entrance of the roller coaster, what do I see? Each object gets two digits,” she said, explaining this concept further by using nachos.

The letter N is visually similar to the digit 2, and the digit 6, ending with X, sounds like “ch”.

In her mind, she will visualise nachos thrown around an object, which Tiffany explains her methods. corresponds to the digits 2 and 6.

“Imagine you’re in the room, I scan from left to right. It’s like a movie in your mind,” she said. This skill, Tiffany pointed out, can be used for more than just Pi Day. In today’s competitive academic context, even the best study habits can succeed only so far. “Most people would just give up,” Tiffany said, especially noting the added pressure of extracurricular activities.

“Before exams, everyone crams, then blanks out,” she said. Her method of visualisation creates a better way to answer questions. It can be adapted for “What keeps the brain young and history classes and vocabulary amongst the many courses that require the mas- active?” was the question that drove him to research the various methods of tering of finer details within a limited memory retention and ways to improve amount of time. his memory.

The method also serves well as a “Use your brain in a creative way,” form of amusement, as Tiffany also Alan said, and he finds that this is key enjoys shocking her teachers with her Pi recitation. “It’s funny watching their to maintaining a well-functioning grasp of details. He compares the human reactions,” she laughed. brain to an F1 car, and most people just Since 1991, the World Memory do not yet know how to drive these imChampionships has been taking place annually. The competition comprises 10 mensely powerful, yet technically convoluted vehicles. different disciplines, where competitors Alan’s own experience with BISP’s have to memorise as much information as they can in a period of time. Tiffany’s Pi Week was one of an educator. “In the middle of recalling, they blank out... father, Alan Yip, guided the Singapore They had the spirit, they didn’t have Memory Team to win the “Olympics of the know-how,” he described. To this, the mind” in 2004.

Alan will be beginning Score, a proPrior to that, he had been a mangramme where he will teach students aging director for a US company, and the same skills he taught a national found that, despite being relatively team and his daughter, skills that can young, he was having an increasingly improve almost anyone’s ability to operdifficult time remembering names and ate through their day-to-day lives. details, a key part of his job.

thephuketnews

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COMMUNITY 17

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Gill Dalley, Cola and the Soi Dog team.

Cola was rescued in Bangkok.

Crutches for a canine Viciously attacked in BKK, rehabilitating in Phuket SOI DOG STORIES Mike Pullen editor1@classactmedia.co.th

In modern society there is no place or justification for cruelty...

Cola now has prosthetics. @thephuketnews

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arlier this year, Theprachen Srisoda, 36, was charged by police after hacking off the two lower front legs of a neighbour’s puppy with a sword because it had chewed one of his shoes left outside his house. Due to a huge public outcry in the Thai press, and increased pressure via a petition organised by Soi Dog which was signed by over 96,000 supporters from Thailand and abroad, the perpetrator was sentenced to one month detention by the court under the new Animal Welfare Law. Having been rescued by the Bangkok branch of Soi Dog Foundation, the puppy Cola underwent lifesaving treatment at the Rama V branch of the Bangkok i-clinic. The treatment costs ran into many thousands of baht and Soi Dog is happy to report that his recovery was such that he was suitable for having prosthetics fitted so that he can walk again.

Head vet Dr Aom, who also holds an engineering degree, manufactured made-to-measure artificial legs for the young dog.

Last week Soi Dog Foundation co-founder Gill Dalley, flew to Bangkok and returned with Cola to Phuket to continue his recuperation and rehabilitation. Gill is herself a double amputee as a result of a rare soil-based, gram-negative bacteria that she picked up whilst saving a tranquilised dog in 2004, and as such has built up a special bond with Cola.

Gill describes Cola as a perfect dog, intelligent and extremely friendly to everybody he meets. Gill is now teaching Cola to walk again, something she is very familiar with herself, and can regularly be seen walking him on Layan Beach. Even when not wearing his new legs Cola has managed to teach himself to walk on his back legs only holding his front stumps in front of him, kangaroo style.

Offers to give Cola a permanent home in the United States have flooded in but it looks like Cola may just have found a home right here in Phuket.

In a modern society there is no place or justification for cruelty, and research has shown that those who are cruel to animals frequently exhibit the same tendencies to humans.

Thailand now has new animal welfare laws which make cruelty to animals illegal. The maximum penalty that can be imposed under the Animal Welfare Law is a two-year custodial prison sentence and/or a B40,000 fine. The Thai judicial system needs to demonstrate that extreme cruelty to animals will not be tolerated, and start handing out sentences that fit the crime. Hopefully the one-month custodial sentence meted out to the

perpetrator of this crime on a defenseless puppy will be the first example of a hardening of attitude and stiffer sentences being handed down by the courts against this type of offence in the future.

Soi Dog Foundation’s mission statement is to improve the welfare of dogs and cats in Asia, resulting in better lives for both the animal and human communities, to create a society without homeless animals, and to ultimately end animal cruelty. For more information visit: www.soidog.org or www. facebook.com/SoiDogPageInEnglish.

Gill describes Cola as a perfect dog.

18 ART

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FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Roads and refrigerators When art meets hotel CSR to raise traffic safety awareness The Phuket News editor@classactmedia.co.th

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huket-based artist Jim Newport first displayed his multimedia piece, “D.O.A” (Dead On Arrival), at the FREEZE exhibition at HOME art gallery and restaurant on April 9. The show featured works of art created from recycled refrigerator doors salvaged from Phuket junkyards. Thirteen local and international artists participated. Mr Newport arranged his doors to resemble the freezer doors in a morgue, which featured newspaper photographs and headlines, overlapped with heavy brushstrokes, and cross stripes of yellow-and-black warning tape. Clearly evocative of the results of road accidents, the piece aims to reflect on the annual carnage that occurs on the streets of Phuket due to reckless driving.

Over 2,500 children die and 75,000 are permanently injured each year in Thailand due to motorcycle accidents.

Only seven per cent of children who are taken on motorcycles wear helmets, making Mr Newport’s art piece very pertinent to the overarching safety issues that millions across the country face due to questionable driving, unsafe roads and a lack of focus on the safety of individuals who are commuting.

Sean Panton, the Director of Corporate Social Responsibility for JW Marriott, saw “D.O.A” at the exhibition, and asked to use the piece for his Save The Children helmet campaign, and on June 17 at the JW Marriott Mai Khao, Mr Newport officially handed over “D.O.A.” to the Marriott Thailand.

It is being used as a centrepiece with the Save Our Children campaign – providing crash helmets for Phuket’s children.

“I immediately realised that this would automatically give my message a much broader audience. When I went to the Marriott for the handover I was very impressed by the level of corporate responsibility Sean is able to instill into the hearts and minds of the employees. For instance, there is a policy that if an employee shows up for work without a helmet, they are sent home,” explained Mr Newport.

The Marriott has been involved with the Save Our Children campaign since October 2014. The campaign aims to raise awareness about road safety through helmet education, fundraising, and other activities at local

Sean and Jim, with “D.O.A”. schools. Sean’s programme has hosted eleven helmet-centred events and donated over 700 children’s helmets across the country. They have also painted road line markings at five local schools.

In the most recent iteration of this campaign, the Marriott hosted the launch of Save The Children’s 7% Helmet campaign (a clear reference to the helmet-less statistic) in November, and the campaign is expected to continue to grow.

Mr Newport’s art piece is, in many ways, very representative of how important artistic expression can be to catalysing interest and bringing to focus overarching social issues that

make up contexts.

“Sean is making a difference and I am very happy to be a part of anything he is behind,” says Mr Newport, who adds that artistic support can be an intrinsic part of motivating social change.

Following this, Mr Newport is sketching ideas for a potential piece called “WALLS”, drawing attention to the blocking of the island’s beautiful views by the ugly walls used to conceal construction sites.

For anyone interested for further artistic insight, Home Kitchen on Kalim Beachfront is preparing their next show, “Knockoff”, for high season, to celebrate the culture that encompasses fake and counterfeit products.

Drum Circle ready for fourth Anniversary RHYTHM NATION Marco Monti editor1@classactmedia.co.th

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re you ready to drum and dance under the sun, and later participate in a trance dance session lit by only candles and stars on the beach?

The Phuket Drum Circle’s 4th anniversary party is waiting for you. It will take place on Sunday July 31, from 4pm to 10pm at Naiharn beach. In the event of rain it will be held at Yoonique Stone Bar near Naiharn lake. This is a free event that is always open to the public and anyone who wants to try dancing or drumming on the beach.

The PDC is a bimonthly event, which in 2012 became the first public

drum circle in Thailand with a regular schedule and a website. Although it is at times a small gathering on the beach, thousands of people from around the world have joined in over the years.

The goal of this group is Drumming and dancing can be meditative. to provide a public setting for drumming and join an incredibly diverse local and indancing where anyone can participate. ternational community on the beach.

Drumming and dancing are important For information on the 4th Anniverin this environment yet some people sary Party, schedule, and other events, join for the meditative and healing efjoin the Facebook page “Phuket Drum fects of the drumming. Drum circles Circle”. Best of all join us for the annioccur on the second Sunday of every month in Naiharn, and on the last Sun- versary party. Do you believe in magic?

Experience the power of an unplugged day in Patong. The anniversary party rhythmic orchestra in your very bones! on July 31 will take place at Naiharn beach instead of Patong for ideal lighting conditions that will allow a candleMarco Monti is a drum circle facilitator light display which will commemorate and founder of the drumming event the anniversary. company SYNERGY EVENTS Co., Ltd. Public drum circles are popular in He is also the founder of the free and America and other English-speaking open group “Phuket Drum Circle” (on countries. Most US cities have at least Facebook). He is a professional member one drum circle that is free to attend. of the Drum Circle Facilitator’s Guild, Phuket offers several unique attracholding an M.A. in Psychology from tions and the PDC is one of those the California Institute for Human Scithings you won’t find elsewhere. More ence. www.synergydrum.com info@ than a tourist attraction, it’s a place synergydrum.com Tel. (087) 8957284 where you can fully participate, and thephuketnews

20 EXPLORE

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FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Exploring Phuket’s mosques JAMIE’S PHUKET

Jamie Monk jjjjmonk@yahoo.co.uk

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ver the years I have written about many places of worship in Phuket including Buddhist temples, Chinese shrines and even a Sikh gurdwara. But Phuket also has a Hindu Shrine, and various Christian places of worship. In addition, it also has a long history as a safe port where traders from Arabia, India, China and Europe did business with local Malays and Siamese.

Phuket’s population has changed over the centuries, with different people and cultures being dominant, but in general Phuket and Siam (Thailand) has always stayed open to all religions.

Al Madinah Mosque in the east of Phuket Town.

Thailand is a secular country, the laws of the country are not set by any religion and there is freedom of religious practice. The south of Thailand has a large Muslim population and this includes Phuket. I have never seen exact population figures, but everyone seems to agree that about 25 to 30 per cent of the local population in Phuket is Muslim. Some parts of the island such as Kamala, Rawai or large parts of the north of the island have a large Muslim population. I’ve been here so long that the mix of people is normal, but I know it surprises some visitors who may be expecting Phuket to be all Buddhist. Some Muslims here dress in western clothes, though you may see people in more traditional Muslim clothes around the island.

Despite the large Muslim population here, I have rarely mentioned Islam. I did once write about a Halal festival, and Muslim-run restaurants such as Abdul’s Roti Shop or the Bang Rong Floating Restaurant. You may find quite a few restaurants in Phuket that don’t have pork on the menu as they are Muslim run. People do ask me sometimes to recommend Halal restaurants. I don’t really know about this, but if you eat somewhere near a mosque in a Muslim area, you will probably be okay.

This article is not meant to be a discussion about Halal food, Phuket history or Islam. I wanted to write about mosques in Phuket and have been out and about recently taking photos, al-

Yameay Mosque in Phuket Town. though I realise that there are many mosques that I have not seen, especially north of the island. They are often a bit hard to find. I have enjoyed taking some little drives to find mosques and discovering hidden streets and different corners of Phuket. As there are many more mosques than those I photographed, I think some more exploration trips are needed.

So where are the mosques in Phuket?

Let’s start with the south of the island.

I drove past the entrance to one mosque in Rawai many times but never stopped.

It’s located down a side street, near the sea. I had never been down here before.

There is one more mosque in the backroads between Rawai and Naiharn beaches, but otherwise the whole south of Phuket (Chalong, Kata, Karon, Naiharn) has no other mosques that I know of.

Many years ago (around the year 2000) I lived in a now-demolished apartment at the north end of Patong with a Muslim restaurant over the street and a mosque just a couple of hundred metres away. Yes, Patong has a Muslim community too. A new mosque was built a few years ago, I think it in about 2011.

If you head north from Patong, pass the Novotel and Diamond Cliff resorts, you reach Kalim, home to several hotels and fancy restaurants, and up a small side road which I’d not explored until a few days ago is a mosque!

The road from Patong, passing Kalim, winds up, down and round many bends on its way to Kamala beach, which is largely Muslim, or was ... I remember 15 years ago Kamala was quite non-touristy, no bars, hard to get a drink. However, the beach area is now quite busy, but you still have a Muslim graveyard taking up a huge area of beachfront land, and that is not going to change despite the price of property. The main Kamala mosque is inland towards the hills and there’s a smaller mosque too which has a fancy new mosque being built next to it, also on the back roads.

Moving away from the west coast, the area around Phuket Town is a real mixed bag of cultures and religions.

There’s a street close to the old town which features a Chinese shrine, a mosque and a Catholic church within about 300 metres. The Yameay mosque is the only one near the centre of town, which does tend to have a much more Chinese-Thai population.

To the south of town, the Cape Panwa area is largely Muslim and there’s one big mosque (Issatul Islam Mosque)

close to the deep sea port on the way to Phuket Aquarium. There is also a smaller mosque on a side street which we pass on the way to The Beach Bar (one of our favourite hangouts).

On the east side of town close to the main port is a new mosque, the Al Madinah Mosque. Many of the Muslims in the Phuket area were (or still are) fishing folk, so it’s no surprise to find a mosque in this area. Looks like this mosque is almost complete. There was scaffolding around the golden dome when I passed recently.

And a little north of town, another Muslim fishing community is found at Laem Hin – home to Laem Hin Seafood, a favourite restaurant or ours, and you can also get a longtail boat over to several floating restaurants from here. To reach the restaurant and jetty you pass the mosque, which is another that has been recently rebuilt.

Heading north from Laem Hin you pass Boat Lagoon and there’s a Muslim school on the east side of the road which has a mosque in the grounds. I did stop here to take a photo, but the school gates were closed. There’s another (I found on Google Earth) not much further north.

Actually, I found about 10 mosques on Google Earth which I have not seen or photographed. Reaching the Heroine’s Monument, if you turn left, the road heads back to the west coast via the Cherng Talay area, before reaching Surin and Bang Tao beaches. The mosque close to Bang Tao (Mukaram Mosque) is quite impressive.

I hope this is useful and/or interesting for Muslim visitors to Phuket and for anyone (like me) with an interest in culture and history. Check out the original blog post for a map with locations for most mosques in Phuket. I may have missed a few small ones. For now, thank you, shukran and see you in Phuket!

Jamie Monk blogs about all things Phuket.

Visit his website JamiesPhuket.com for more

New mosque being built in Kamala. thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

DINING 21

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Focaccia, best made simply BELLINI

KITCHEN CLUB Danilo Sangrigoli info@pastabellini.com

A

t Bellini, one of our most popular touches is our serving of free focaccia while waiting for your meal. In this recipe we will share our secret of how to make a fantastic focaccia in a really simple way. The focaccia base is made with five ingredients: flour, water, yeast, salt and olive oil.

The three most important steps are: 1. The sequence, i.e. the order you need to add each ingredient.

2. The proofing process (dough has around 300 chemical reactions to complete) if this is not done correctly, your stomach will need to provide this service.

3. The baking process, specifically the time and temperature. The focaccia in Italy is used as a starter, for example with tomato or onion on top, and also makes a wonderful sandwich.

Focaccia also complements many main courses. If you check online you can

Very few ingredients are needed.

Precise measurements are key.

@thephuketnews

Slowly bring the dough together. find a thousand recipes. We at Bellini have developed a recipe that is low-fat and low-yeast, using just five natural ingredients.

Now we will go onto how we make a 30-centimetre square, which makes about 500 grammes of focaccia.

You must use high-quality ingredients. Put 1g of dried yeast in 5 millilitres of room-temperature water, mix until you get a cream. If you don’t have a mixer place 500g of your allpurpose flour in the middle of your table. Make a hole in the middle where you place other ingredients. Put 250ml of refrigerated water into the hole. Put in 8g of salt. Put 10ml olive oil (extra virgin). Start to mix with your fingers until the ingredients in the hole are combined, including the water and olive oil being fully dissolved. Slowly bring the remaining flour into the centre by mixing well. Add the yeast and work the dough out until it becomes elastic, this should take about five minutes. Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a cloth and let rest for 45 minutes. During the resting time, prepare whatever you would like to place on top, in our case onions and cherry tomatoes, but you can also use bacon and rosemary, for example.

For today, we are going to use onion and tomato, so place these ingredients into a separate bowl add a little salt and olive oil and mix well. In your square pan or round or whatever pan you have that is around that is 30 sq. cm, place 40ml of olive oil into the bottom the pan and using a brush make sure the pan is evenly covered, including the sides. Take the dough that has been resting, coat it with a little flour and with a wooden rolling pin flatten it until it is a little bit bigger than the tray you are going to use. Lift the

The dough does not need much kneading. dough and shake the excess flour off.

Place inside the tray, ensuring the bottom of the pan is evenly coated.

Place your toppings. Preheat oven to the maximum heat you can. Cover the focaccia with aluminum foil. Place in the oven.

After 15 minutes, take off the foil then bake for another 10 minutes.

Take out of the pan, place on a plate.

Cut and enjoy your fantastic creation.

The end result is worth the effort.

Eve, Anton and Chris show newspapers.

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ISLAND SCENE 23

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

LAGUNA PHUKET HOLDS 21ST BUDDHIST LENT CELEBRATION On July 15, around 100 Laguna Phuket management, associates, kindergarten students and nearby community members participated in the 21st Laguna Phuket Buddhist Lent activity at Anamaikasem Temple (Wat Bang Tao) in Thalang. Along with a corporate donation of lent candles, this year Laguna Phuket also donated nine electric fans and raised B55,860 for the temple.

Front from left: Mr Chairat Saisin, Council member, Rawai Municipality; Mr Aroon Solos, Rawai Mayor; Mr Claude Baltes, General Manager, Sunsuri Phuket and Mr Urs Aebi, General Manager, Serenity Resort & Residences.

NAI HARN BEACH CLEANING – OVER TWO TONS OF RUBBISH COLLECTED The Rawai Nai Harn Business Community organised a well-attended beach cleaning event last Sunday (July 24) at Nai Harn Beach. The event was spearheaded by Claude Baltes of Sunsuri Phuket, Urs Aebi of Serenity Resort & Residences and Rawai Mayor Mr Aroon Solos and attended by nearly 300 participants.

Getting ready to begin the cleanup.

From left: Karen, and Ute.

PIWC JULY LUNCHEON

From left: Jillian, Wipa and Annie.

The ladies of Phuket International Women’s Club held their Monthly Luncheon at DiVine Thanaypura on July 21. August’s Monthly Luncheon will be held on Cloud 19 Beach Resort in Cape Panwa. If you’re interested in the club, or just lunch, check out piwc-phuket.com

From left: Erna, Judy and Vivian. @thephuketnews

From left: Dianne and Maggie.

24 EVENTS

FRI

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FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

dulging in our special weekend lunch set for only B399++ per person between 11am-3pm. Menu includes 3 starters, 4 main course and dessert served with Gulab Jamun/Phirni Vanilla Custard/ Ice Cream (choose 1). All for just B399++ per person. For more info please call 076 304 034.

29 JUL SCHOOL HOLIDAY CAMP AT THANYAPURA

Get active and learn multi-sports skills! Camps are designed to be fun for kids of all ages from 3 and up at Thanyapura. A variety of sports is provided, including Learning to Swim, Competitive Swimming and Tennis. Starting prices from THB 700 per day with different timetables for each sport. For more information and reservations, please call +66 (0) 76 336 000 Email: reservations@thanyapura.com.

WEEKLY BBQ EVERY FRIDAY

Come join us for our WEEKLY BBQ EVERY FRIDAY at Two Chefs Kata Center, Karon, Kata Beach and Patong from 12pm-Late! 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!!! RESERVE Your Table Now Online at bit.ly/TwoChefsReservations Check out more details on our website at bit.ly/TwoChefsEvents.

16th Architect & Engineering Exhibitions 2016

Come and enjoy your Saturday night with Xana Monthly catch up and gossip event. Ladies drink for FREE! From 10:00 till 11:00pm. We will be playing groovie tunes while you enjoy the backdrop of the Andaman Sea.

All you can eat Sunday Roast Buffet

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.

Mexican Fiesta Night at Two Chefs Patong

Friday BBQ Buffet at SKYE Beach Club

Price at 399++ A new menu from July 1st onwards. RSVP, SKYE Beach Club at Naiyang Beach, 093 582 7700.

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.

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

The Phuket Drum Circle will celebrate its 4th year anniversary on July 31 in Naiharn beach, from 4:00pm to 10:00 pm. This event is open to the public, and anyone who wants to try drumming or dancing on the beach. The Phuket Drum Circle is a bimonthly event which became the first public drum circle in Thailand with a regular schedule and a website. If you hear your inner rhythm calling come on down. You won’t regret it! For details visit the Facebook page “Phuket Drum Circle”.

Gossip at Xana Beach Club

Welcome to the best exhibition in Phuket and Andaman coastline for construction tools and materials and architectural design & décor items comprising a wide range of products and technology. This is a great opporturnity to introduce construction materials and decorative items to the Phuket and Andaman area. Venue: Second floor, Royal Phuket City Hotel. More information please visit www.pic-phuket.com or info@pic-phuket.com, proudly supported by The Phuket News.

Pool Competition at Expat Sports Bar

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.

Phuket Drum Circle 4th Year Anniversary

SAT

30 JUL

Are You Craving All Of Your Mexican Favorites, But Don’t Know Where To Go To Get Them All? Don’t Worry Fiesta Time Is Near At Two Chefs Patong! Come Join Us On Saturday July 30th From 7pm-Late For Our Mexican Fiesta Night! Enjoy A Large and Delicious Mexican Buffet Including: Chicken Fajitas, Spicy Chicken Drum Sticks, Quesadillas, Nachos, Tacos, Beef Chili, Mexican Rice + More! ALL for ONLY 495 Baht! Enjoy Live Music! Our Famous Two Chefs Band Will Be Rocking The House From 8pm-Late! Don’t Miss Out! RESERVE Your Table NOW at bit.ly/ReserveTwoChefs Check out more details at bit.ly/TwoChefsEvents.

SUN

31 JUL

Sunday Gourmet Brunch At Bodega and Grill

Relax with your family and friends while enjoying a lavish Sunday Brunch featuring a delectable international seafood buffet complemented by a 12 course degustation menu featuring finest selection of gourmet plates. Bodega Sunday Brunch from 12pm till 3pm price start from 1950++. Reservations recommend call our F& B Reservation team on 076 324 101 ext 8938.

Traditional Sunday Roast Angus O’Tool’s Karon Beach

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.

Bollywood Phuket’s Weekend Special Indian Lunch Set

Come and enjoy authentic flavours of India by in-

Lunch or dinner served from 2pm. Your choice of either roast beef, chicken, loin of pork or leg of lamb served with roast and boiled potatoes, three fresh vegetables, Yorkshire pudding and gravy.

Only B350 per person which includes a free glass of house red or white. Opposite Centara Karon Resort. See otools-phuket.com.

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

EVENTS 25

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

SUN

pasta only for 500 Baht. Drink all you can Peroni & Belleville only for 450 Baht or both EAT DRINK ALL YOU CAN ONLY FOR 890 Baht with DOUBLE EXPRESSIONS LIVE! Wednesdays 6pm to 11pm. info@pastabellini.com. Located at Chalong Circle, Chao-Fa East.

31 JUL

Sunday Roast EVERY SUNDAY

Phuket FC Vs Nakhon Si Heritage

Sunday July 31, Phuket FC VS Nakhon Si Heritage at Surakul Stadium. Kick-off 7pm. Admission B50 adults, Free for children with school ID Card. Proudly supported by The Phuket News.

Come enjoy a Traditional Sunday Roast EVERY SUNDAY at Two Chefs Kata Center, Karon, Kata Beach and Patong. Indulge in our Traditional Sunday Roast ALL DAY & ALL NIGHT for ONLY 395 Baht! Enjoy a Large ALL YOU CAN EAT selection of your 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! RESERVE Your Table Now Online at bit. ly/TwoChefsReservations Check out more details on our website at bit.ly/TwoChefsEvents.

MON

1 AUG

All you can eat BBQ night

A CASUAL SUNDAY BRUNCH BY THE POOLSIDE

Relaxing afternoon by the poolside featuring a lavish spread of international delicacies and fresh seafood from the Ocean. Special Promotions: (1) A group of over 10 people receive 20% discount. (2) Birthday celebrations – birthday person receives a complimentary Brunch. The rest of the party, if over 10 people receive 20% discount. All prices are subject to a 7% government tax and a 10% service charge. Children’s prices are applicable to those aged from six to twelve. Children under the age of six dine with our compliments. RSVP, HYATT REGENCY PHUKET RESORT, fnb.phuhr@hyatt.com, 076 231 234.

6PM – 11PM: Beef, Pork, Chicken, Burgers, Sausages, Prawns & Squids, salad buffet, Choice of potatoes & Sauces, Bread, Buns & garlic bread Reservation recommended 395 baht P.P. shakersphuket@gmail.com, 081 891 4381.

WED

FRI

5 AUG

Indian Curry Night on Fridays Come to Navrang Mahal in Karon Sea Sands Resort & Spa for an authentic Indian Feast first and third Friday of the month, in Karon Beach. Try out our delicious Aloo Tikki, Samosas, Chicken Tandoori, Aloo Gobi, Navrang Korma, Butter Chicken, Lamb Vindaloo, Naan, Rice, Salads, Chutneys/Achars, Pistachio Ice Cream, Gulab Jamun, Fruits. Extra dishes on the menu: ONION BHAJI, BOMBAY ALOO, DAL MAKHINI, VANILLA ICE-CREAM. For only 499/- nett and special reduced prices on drinks.

WED

onship will earn themselves places in the 11th Faldo Series Asia Grand Final to be hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at Laguna Lang Co in March 2017! Please contact golf@lagunaphuket.com to learn more about the event!.

FRI

15 SEP

8 SEP

3 AUG

The Reboot & Re-energize your Body & Mind Workshop

This inspirational program is designed to educate, motivate and understand hormonal balancing, the cortisol connection, stress reduction and much more. Full program THB 22,000 net p.p. (excludes accommodation). One off classes from THB 900.

15% discount before July 31. Limited numbers.

Reservations and special accommodation rates contact linda.overman@marriotthotel.com or 076 338 000 ext. 3752.

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.

Faldo Series – Thailand Championship South 2016

Sunday Tapas

This is what Sunday lunches are meant to be - fabulous, fresh unlimited and Western and Asian tapas with friends and family crafted by the talented team of chefs at Banyan Tree Phuket. Starting at THB 2,000 net per person.Reservations, Banyan Tree Phuket, 076 372 400 # 5463.

@thephuketnews

Every Wednesday!

All-you-can-eat Pasta and Pizza

Every Wednesday eat all you can - pizza and

The inaugural Faldo Series Thailand Championship – South will be staged at Laguna Golf Phuket from 8 – 11 September 2016! Open to all junior golfers aged 12 – 21 years old holding a USGA or nationally recognized handicap, the championship will consist of 54 holes, with each age-group gross winner of the champi-

DAILY EVENT UPDATES ON

26 TIME OUT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Crossword by Myles Mellor & Sally York Across 1. Who became president after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln?

2. Big Nose Kate was common-law wife and companion of which Wild West gunfighter?

3. How many English managers have won the Premier League since it first started in 1992?

4. On a menu what is Bombay Duck?

5. How many players are there in an ice hockey team?

Answers below, centre

SUDOKU

54. Orbit point 56. Wet 1. Where Pago Pago 61. Ending soon 63. Blood’s partner is 6. “Giovanna d’___” 64. Adolescent 65. Jewelry (Verdi opera) measurement 10. Saudi Arabia 66. Author Bagnold neighbor 67. Unrestrained 14. Tart indulgence 15. Oil source 16. Phoenix neighbor 68. Pompous walk 17. Position in line 20. Mouths, slangily Down 21. Polished 22. Low-income areas Kind of vaccine 2. Berry 24. Tobacco kilns 25. Presidents’ Day 3. Bungle, with “up” 4. Table scraps event 5. French clerical 29. Jest titles 31. Genesis locale 34. Galway country 6. Misbehaves 7. Ex-Yankee Guidry 35. Turndowns 8. Rail supporter 38. Conclusive 9. Catch ___ evaluation 10. Last letter 41. Caribou kin 11. Stands for 42. Lab vessel 12. Good point 43. Fish hawk 13. Lane and Hale 44. ___ Island 18. Web browser National entry Monument 19. Female feline 46. Engine 23. Breakfast attachment cereals 47. Boito’s Mefistofele, e.g. 25. Kind of call 51. Peaceful gesture? 26. Seed coat

27. Like young Abe Lincoln 28. Historic period 30. Guesstimate phrase 32. Air sacs 33. Follow 35. Student of Seneca 36. Kind of column 37. Eye affliction 39. Recoverer 40. Speedometer letters 45. Making a profit from selling sacred things 47. Symbol of authority 48. Table part 49. Lewis with Lamb Chop 50. Made, in a way 52. Tibetan gazelle 53. Nolte and Jonas 55. Enthusiastic about 57. Thin strip 58. Unit of pressure 59. Biblical twin 60. ___ Lake, MN 62. Young sheep

Solutions to last week’s puzzles:

Answers to this week’s Pop Quiz: 1) Andrew Johnson; 2) Doc Holiday; 3) None; 4) Fish; 5) Six

GOT YOUR NUMBER

ISLAND VIEW

2

This week in history ■■ July 29, 1981

Wedding of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul’s Cathedral in London.

out of every 5 Americans spent less than their incomes in 2015.

4:10

adults say that their current job has an overall effect on their health.

■■ July 30, 2003

In Mexico, the last “old style” Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line. Photo: Hasse Aldhammer

4,000

■■ July 31, 30 BC

Gmail users are cyber-attacked by government-backed hackers from foreign countries each month.

Alexandria: Mark Antony achieves a minor victory over Octavian’s forces, but most of his army subsequently deserts, leading to his suicide.

1.5 million

■■ Aug 1, 1834

Slavery Abolition Act 1833 comes into force throughout the British Empire.

■■ Aug 2, 1937

The Marihuana Tax Act of 1937 is passed in America, rendering marijuana and all its by-products illegal.

households, including about 3 million children, in the United States are living on $2 or less per day.

■■ Aug 3, 1492

$9 billion

Sky on fire at sunset. Photo by Irene Novosad

Source: Uberfacts

Got an unusual or particularly beautiful picture of Phuket?

Email it to execeditor@classactmedia.co.th

is the value Pokemon Go has roughly added to Nintendo.

Christopher Columbus sets sail from Palos de la Frontera, Spain.

■■ Aug 4, 1975

Japanese Red Army takes more than 50 hostages at the AIA Building in Kuala Lumpur. The hostages include the U.S.consul and the Swedish Chargé d’affaires. The gunmen win the release of five imprisoned comrades and fly with them to Libya.

Source: Wikipedia thephuketnews

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Jobs

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ADVERTISING SERVICES

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LEGAL SERVICES

MARINE SERVICES

MARINE SERVICES

MOVING SERVICES

STORAGE

TATTOO

Reserve Your Storage Space

Call 076 29 29 09

or visit mystorageasia.com

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

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

TRAINING

FISHING SERVICE

TRAINING

HOME DECORATION

TRAVEL GUIDE

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ADVERTISE HERE

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Buy&Sell BOATS, YACHTS FOR SALE Dual banana boat for sale

Dual banana boat for water activities. 4.2 m long, 1.6 m wide. Up to 14 riders. This banana boat is brand new, packaging still intact. Stored in a warehouse in Chalong. 40,000, Vladimir, sales@joydive.asia, 084 182 8685.

Dive boat for sale

Dive boat Asian Adventure, length–18m, width– 4.6m, depth–1.7m, 1 Eng–315 H.P, capacity 40 passengers +3 crew. Located in Chalong, sales@ joydive.asia, 084 182 8685.

1 engine speedboat for sale

Honda 250 H.P. 15 passengers+3 crew, length–8.10m, width–2.40, depth-1.6.

Excellent condition, sound system. Located in Chalong. Vladimir, sales@ joydive.asia, 0841828685.

Boston Whaler Conquest 255

Immaculate condition, Mercury 150hp x 2 very low hours, Thai registered. This boat comes with full inventory. Lying AoPo Marina Phuket. Mike, mikehigh1@gmail.com, 088 768 4701.

Yacht Chartering and Resort

Big A Swan 55 Yacht Chartering and Resort in Phuket Thailand Sailing : Big A Swan 55, Accommodation: Big A Resort 076-383080 Email: bigasail@samart.co.th.

ACTIVITIES, GROUPS Roof-top Patong Mini Golf The best sea view 18 Holes, roof top Mini Golf. Located on the 4th floor of Banana Walk Plaza in Patong, 091 762 2628, http:// patongminigolf.com Free Tiya’s Hammocks campaign

Win Free hammock from Tiya’s Hammocks Phuket. Winner will get V Weave hammock, handmade from North of Thailand, weight capacity 250 kgs. Value 5,200 THB. More details visit Facebook: Tiya’s hammocks, Contact: Tiya, tiya@ tiyashammocks.com, 089 600 0041.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES Business For Sale

No not a bar or guesthouse but a viable business not dependent on tourism or high seasons. All the machinery&inventory of materials to begin manufacturing wooden window blinds. This business has been a proven success in Phuket with over 5 years of profitable operations. Over 3 MB. in inventory included, 2 MB. with financing available. Call +6681 487 4812 or lamsden@phuketemail.com for photos&details.

Restaurant for sale in Rawai

All new equipment, air conditioned, private terrace, unlimited parking. All offers considered. optispa@gmail.com, 088 386 9132, 063 067 4498.

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.

Restaurant for take over

Fully equipped restaurant in Rawai for take over in a popular tourist spot. High density crowd. 10,000FT and air condition. June, Rawai, senajune@gmail.com, 081 978 5989.

Looking for a Partner Investor

I am looking for a Partner/Investor to expand my Dive business. Anyone interested please email me to discuss the proposal. rwhi690169@bigpond.com

Bangla agogo club for sale

A newly refurbished bar/club with great returns is for sale. Fully fitted out over 2 floors. Very cheap and very low rent. Reliable landlord. Steve, stevepearcergj@hotmail.co.uk, 089 587 0819.

Business for Sale

Non-tourist/bar related business for sale, yearly turnover of 15MB. Call 087 276 0529 or 081 968 6051 for more details.

Newly renovated hotel for rent

Newly renovated hotel/guest house in Patong’s heart for rent from owner. 12 rooms, 2 shops to busy street, many facilities. More details check thephuketnews.com, search Listing ID 55398 or call +66(0)81 538 1399.

German bakery & deli & snack

Main road, 8 years clientele, take over + incl. training complete equipment, staff room, 3 or 5 years leasing contract. Yearly volume 4mn. hansibakery@gmail.com, Price: 3.5 million, Contact Mr. Stark.

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PETS

Horse and Dog Vet Hospital

Open from 10am. – 8pm. *Service all types of animals. * Experienced professionals. Contact: 076 620 136 / 084 210 6868 and contact@horsedogvet.com www.horsedogvet.com

Pets Magic Planet

Open from 9am. - 7pm. *The best international brands. *The ultimate choice. *Luxury accessries & jewels. Contact: 076 620 106 / 091 040 4000 and contact@petsmagicplanet.com

CAR FOR SALE Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8G VVTI

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

2012 FORD RANGER

Ford Ranger 2.2 Diesel Hi Rider 22 Inch wheels, tonne cover, sheep skin seat, cover, showroom condition, 24,000 kms, by careful expat driver. 660,000, dougwatson@hotmail.com.au, 097 045 2788.

TOYOTA ALTIS 1.6G AT

2008. 62K kms. White. Usual G refinements.

Insurance, FSH, Lady driver 395K baht ono 395K, Clive Roberts, crob58@gmail.com, 081 087 9237 or 086 270 8727.

Chevy Captiva LT 2008

Chevrolet Captiva LT 2008, 499,000 Baht, 62.000 KM, 1 Owner, 2.0L Turbo Diesel, Full Chevy Service History, No Accidents, 1st Class Insurance. Tel. 082 804 1742.

TOYOTA Fortuner 2009

t sa

le

New loft trailer

Fully welded steel construction. Proper fenders springs, hitch, lights, toungue jack, alu deck. Fits M/C, ATY, const, landscape. 1700 lb. cap. 65,000 THB, 081 693 8214.

PERSONAL SERVICES De Laguna By Dr.JaQ

International Clinic English Speaking Doctor By Appointment 095 0851188 FB: DrJaq Warnnissorn Providing Anti-Aging (Botox, Filler, Live Cell Therapy, Alternative Cancer Treatment, Chelation Medical, House Call). Integrative and Advancement in Medicine for individualized treatment programs for patients of all ages and with various disorders, Email: tosawcute@gmail.com

REAL ESTATE SERVICES Phuket real estate tour

7 seats, Silver, GPS video, Family car Diesel 2,694cc, Blue book Service history Toyota Pearl 78,000kms. AUTOMATIC transmission, golfguru2005@yahoo.co.uk, 076 615 827.

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. 1990, md@tourasian.com, 080 826 4665.

Nissan Teana 2.5Lt

OTHER

Model 2014 17,000km. New price 1.7Mln NOW 1,050,000 Baht Eng: 081 788 8280 Thai: 090 163 2140, Contact Maurice, maurice.phuket@gmail. com , 090 163 2140.

n r ge

MISCELLANEOUS FOR SALE

Honda Jazz 2009 1500cc Auto

57,000kms. One owner since new. Regularly U serviced by Honda. Tax and Insurance until the end of June and available now at right offer. Reduced by 40,000 bht, REDUCED to 330,000bht o.n.o, Andy +66846909144, andysmalster@gmail.com

CARS WANTED Urgent need Toyota hilux vigo

Want to sell your Toyota hilux vigo Champ ? vigo4u is the best palace to sell your Toyota.

Vigo4u now in Phuket, Pataya and Bangkok also. 084 344 3444, 02 810 8117.

PROPERTY FOR SALE 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. Contact email aadmo@btinternet. com, Somjit, aadmo@btinternet.com, 081 9791945.

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

Kay McDonnell

I have a number of FIRE SALE PROPERTIES from 1.5 MTB to 47MTB. Condos/Houses/Villas Please contact me if you are looking for bargains in the south of the island. 080 124 1245, kay@pare.com

Nai Harn Pool Villa

Brand New 3 bedrooms near the beach, activities and restaurants 8.5 mlb only. Call 095 036 5536 for viewing or more info, contact Jonathan.

Nai Harn Pool Villa For Sale

Near the beach, activities and restaurants Brand New 611 Sqm. 16.75 mlb Call 095 036 5536 for viewing or more info, Contact Jonathan.

House for Sale

For Sale

Industrial over locker. Whitehouse Brand. 3 Thread. Brand new never used.

Full tool kit. Bargain at 12,000 Baht. Call Sandi 087 264 0778.

Office Space Laguna

Office Space Laguna - Plaza del Mar Fully Furnished offices 4 Office Suite plus boardroom Rent entire unit or individual office 080 045 4474.

PUBLIC NOTICES Notice

In June 2016, Bangkok Hospital Phuket will have to destroy patient records being inactive for over 10 years. For assistance & information, call 1719 or e-mail us at info@phukethospital.com

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

MAI KHAO LAND

Beachfront land in Mai Khao. East coast. 3 rai 2 ngan 24sqw. For sale: 45 million baht. 45 million.

D Condo Creek, fully furnished

Studio 5th floor, mountains view. Cool & quiet.

24 hrs security, 3 swimming pools, gym. Shops & restaurants around. Rent out good return.

1.85 MB., Tiya, Kathu Phuket, lodchong77th@ yahoo.com, EN & TH 089 600 0041.

COMMUNITY

MOTORBIKES FOR SALE MAX SYM 400I

Big comfortable 2012 scooter one expat owner. Only 2,600 kms., has had 1st service a great bike, reason to sale leaving Thailand. 150,000, Doug Watson, Phuket, dougwatson@hotmail.com.au, 097 045 2788.

MEMBERSHIPS Blue Canyon Membership

Blue Canyon Membership for sale. 1 corporate nominee for sale THB 630,000 inc transfer fee. grahamhaslam@hotmail.com

MOVING SERVICES Looking for 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.

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CLASSIFIEDS 33

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Buy&Sell

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PROPERTY FOR SALE

PROPERTY FOR SALE 2 New Resale Condos 3.9 MB. 7%net ROI

Modern home office for sale

Modern home office for sale located 400 m fr Central Intersection. 1 Unit has 1 commercial, 1 living space, 4 bedrooms & built-in bathrooms. Owner, thip_june19@yahoo.com,

087 543 4716.

1 bed condos on the market 7%net ROI for 14 years!

Rare Pool access modern hilltop unit. Panoramic views of Andaman Bay & city lights of Patong. Also 1 bed city & ocean views, fully furnished & professionally managed. You just collect 7% net/year hassle free. Contact phuketjon@ gmail.com, 084 842 2262.

Horst Lakits

Resort for sale/lease long term, in Chalong/Rawai Area own big well 22 rooms 2 Rai land large pool Restaurant parking No Agents. lets talk, Horst Lakits, 67/18 Soi Sermsuk, bigasail@samart.co.th, 086 940 1860, 076 383 080.

Patong Tower and Andaman Beach suite for sale

Mountains and Sea Views, Call David 080 692 6114, email: patongrealestate@gmail.com

Owner Sales Appartment “ The Pearl of Naithon “ Leasehold

Total area 226,66 SQM including terrace 41,25 Sqm. 3 bedrooms with 3 bathrooms Price THB 13.5 million. MP: 089 814 1458.

Villa For Sale / Rent

Located at Naiharn beach Soi Naya 3, Mountain view, Swimming pool, Balcony, 2 floor, 4 bed room. Total 92 sq.m. Thai 081 958 0542 ENG 081 956 6813.

Sea View Land 265 Met. Pub.Rd.

Great investment. 3/5 Rai Plots. NS3G Titles.

Price start 4 M/Rai. Full infra. 265 Met. Pub. Rd. Frontage. Located on Koh Yao Yai resort area, just 25 min. speed boat from Phuket. We can make easy half day trip 10am-2pm. Call Charlie /more info, charlesaraines@hotmail.com, 062 069 1965.

@thephuketnews

House for sale

Private pool villa with lovely garden half a rai. Quiet 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. Price 8 million baht, 225 000 euro, bergsstigen@telia.com, 090 701 4204.

PROPERTY FOR SALE New Sea View Villa

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

Being built on the highest point in the estate, only 80 meters from the ocean and located 3 mins away from Grand AoPor 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 pollution and no mass tourism..., Over than 600 Sqm usable building area, 3 bedrooms, guest apartment, maid quarters, games room, 10 meter 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 24.9 mill Baht. For viewing or more information please contact our sales director, Khun Montha 081 343 0777 Email : montha_phuket@yahoo.com.

Two-story house in Phuket City

Land 400 sq. m, living area 344 sq.m, 6 rooms, 3 bathrooms, maid’s room with bath. Fully furnished. Very good for living and business.

15,000,000.-, Pauline Haldemann, haldemwa@hotmail.com, 081 895 0038.

Laguna - Luxury 1 Bed & Golf Membership For Sale

Totally renovated: new kitchen, wood floors, furnished, sound system. Price includes Laguna Golf Membership and Privilege Card. THB 6.9M. Owner 084 247 1632 - E-Mail: phuket3203@gmail.com

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FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

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PROPERTY FOR SALE Karon Beach New House For Sale/Rent

80 Sqm. 2 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom, Terrace carport. Nice Sea view.

Sale 5.8 MB. Rent long term 18,000 per month. Gunter Kraus, Phuket, naruchai@gmx.de, 091 040 2471.

Phuket Beach Front Land

14 RAI Beach front Phuket,Phungnga Close 5-7*hote,Chanode title,90 meters of water frontage More than 100 m wide beach&small piece of land close to the beach 25MB/RAI, Ms.Pam, phuketmyhouse@gmail.com, 089 868 8668.

The Base Downtown - Sale/Rent

1 Bed (35sqm) & 2 Bed (60sqm), fully furnished, pool view. Near Central, BIS, Big C, Lotus, Siriroj hospital, Darasamut School, Thai Hua School (Close to new Central Embassy- good investment). Swimming pool, fitness & library. Rent:15,000-25,000 THB/month and 35,000-45,000 THB/month. Panattaporn.c@gmail.com, 093 639 4654.

Chalong Villa for sale

Living area 450 sq.m, Land 800 sq.m. 1st floor: Living room, Master bdr with en-suite bth, Kitchen, Seaview terrace, Pool, Carpark. 2nd floor: 4 bdr with bth, 2nd living room, Office. 19.5M, oliver@ thurmanngroup.com, 087 877 2320.

Alexander Kolesnikov

Land & 4 storey commercial building for sale. Patong. Just 60 m from the beach. Guesthouse with 6 luxury rooms + restaurant 40 seats. 17 MB, Contact Alexander, alexkolinz@gmail.com, 089 651 3250.

SMALL RESORT BY LAGUNA

4 Luxury villas, office, 2 pools, 1 Rai - Chanote. Secure investment, price below replacement cost, money maker. Owner 82 retiring. 30 Mil Baht.

Lets talk. Owner, 089 594 4067.

House For Sale

Located in Rawai soi Samaki 3, 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 1 Laundry room, 1 storage room, living area 160 sq.m, Chanot title 280 sq.m. 3.2 MB., Rico9963@hotmail.com, 083 640 9041

Brand new 3 bed villa Onyx

Living area 160 sq.m. Land 200 sq.m. Fully luxury furnished. Open plan living room with kitchen, private & peaceful area, security gate estate, gym. 8.9M, oliver@thurmanngroup. com, 087 877 2320.

Villa for sale

Exclusive villa with pool and garden in Phuket, Rawai/Nai Harn, Land size: 1’700 m2, build up area 400m2. Private sale, no agents please.

36 MB, JasminConsulting@gmx.net

Land for sale - Mission Height

NICE LAND FOR SALE AT MISSION HEIGHT, JUST OVER ONE RAI. Phone 093 629 4400 English, 082 421 4842 Thai.

Alexander Kolesnikov

3 Bedroom villa for sale. Building 320 s.m. Land 900 s.m. Nice garden, 2 car garage, study. Just 3 minutes from BIS. 15 MB, Contact Alexander, alexkolinz@gmail.com, 089 651 3250.

Waterfront Condominium

The Cleat Condo, residence project in Krabi Boat Lagoon Marina. Price 3-9MB, size 37119 Sq.M., 1 or 2 bedroom, marina view. For rent/sale. marketing@phuketpropertytrip.com

Kata Seaview Condo For Sale

New 1 bedroom with great sea and sunset views! 44sqm. Leasehold with foriegn freehold available. Swimming pool, sauna and clubhouse. Flexible furniture options. Great management and rental program, 082 254 0760.

For Sale or Rent

4 bedroom 3 bath room with excellent views of Chalong Bay. 3 storage, fully furnished all new swimming pool in quiet area Rawai beach. All inquires. Tidarat, 087 466 5635.

PROPERTY FOR SALE

PROPERTY FOR RENT

Anuphas Golfville House- Kathu

Apartment for rent

Land 162 sqwa. Large Pool/Jacuzzi-3 Bed-4 Bath-Office-2 Storage Building-Alarm System and much more. Reduced 22MB to 18 MB for Quick Sale. mrgeoffcurry@yahoo.com, Si +6681 970 8896 TH/ENG, Geoff+6681 854 0061 ENG.

Luxury 1 bedroom ground floor apartment.

65.s.q.m. Central Patong. Short or long term rental. For details email ianscondo21@gmail.com

2 BDR Bungalow, Nai Harn Beach

For rent with “Free UBC Platinum cable TV”, security, air-con, fridge, stove, quiet area, at end of cul-de-sac, 12,500 per month.

Call 098 017 8818 or 087 884 8972.

Ocean View Land Kamala

Half rai 797sq.m. cleared and leveled, power connected, sealed road, MUST SELL 6.75million. For ENG 090 492 3101 THA 093 768 6694.

Rawai Sea View Condominium For Rent

Partner for resort wanted

5 Rai. hillside Maikhao beach. Main buiding finished. Nice sunset seaview, 087 267 1192, Julius_schuster2001@yahoo.de

Short/long-term rental. 1 and 2 bedroom apartments, Stunning sea view, Fully furnished, Large swimming pool, lift. reservation@ almaliresidence.com, 0935742533

Land For Sale 3 Mil Baht

Office/Shop for Rent

In Thalang area 2.5 Rai beautiful, flat land with access road, Chanote title, only 5 minutes from Thanyapura (PIA International school). sk.thanya@gmail.com, 081 737 8624.

Ground Floor space with excellent positioning on Chalong Pier Road. For more information, please call 081 416 4177 or 076 381 341.

House in Karon for Sale

Hard to find 3 bed room , 3 bathroom house for sale in the perfect location near Kata & Karon beach, well maintained with a salt water pool, Price : 16,000,000, Narrisara (Tic), 7/8 Patak Soi 10, Karon, g-a-coates@hotmail.com, 0991642991.

House For Rent at tennis club

2 bedrooms,1 en-suite bedroom,2 bathroom, living area and big veranda. Ideal for tennis coach.

Prefer long term rent. Viewing by appointment only.

Patra, patbittersweet@gmail.com , 081 607 2805.

Sea view land in Patong

For Sale/Rent (5 Days - 6 Months)

The last piece of seaview land on prime location in Patong, just 500m from Patong beach, 1.3 KM. to Jungceylon Shopping Mall, Contact: Karuna, kpattarawalee@gmail.com, 089 967 5373.

4 Floors, 6 Bedrooms, 4 Bathrooms. Fully furnished. Kuku, Phuket Town. Contact Joy, 093 596 2757, joyfulphuket@gmail.com

PROPERTY FOR RENT

LUXURY POOL VILLA

BY LAGUNA

Kathu Condo for Sale/Rent

Quiet Cozy Full furnished 36 Sqm 1 Bed 1 Bath Swimming pool Fitness Wifi included Short/Long term start 10,000 B/month close to Central. start 10,000, Lily, flyfreelily@gmail.com, 084 109 4466.

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

4BED 4BATH GOOD LOCATION

A secure 4-bed 4-bath with a swimming pool in Baan Suan Loch Palm. 5 mins to BIS, 12 to 15 mins to Central, Patong and Phuket Town.

65000THB, jenjiramountford@gmail.com

2 bed house for rent, Kathu

Furnished 2 bed house for rent in Kathu, quiet area within easy reach of Tesco Lotus, Central, golf courses and fresh market. 15,000, Nok Roper, daveroper@live.com, 095 257 5382.

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 10000-15000 per month; 54,5 sqm. – THB 15000-20000 per month + electricity&water, Ekaterina Oseledets, 095 861 7571.

Phuket Office Share @ RPM

Searching for a prime location address as your office on Phuket? We are inviting small companies or individuals to join us in sharing our office space @ ‘Royal Phuket Marina’. Email us or call us on: 076390482 for full details.Phuket Luxury Living, info@phuketluxuryliving.com, 076 390 482.

Has everything, comfort, security, live in a small resort - lush tropical garden. 35,000 Baht per month. Long lease. Owner, 089 594 4067.

Retail space for rent

Retail space available in the Ocean Plaza Patong for massage, beauty, coffee, souvenir shops etc. Low rent contracts for up to 12 yrs. For info call Natty at 086 281 8883 or 076 343 506. 3632, Nattida Thaboondee, g.cummings@hotmail.com, 086 281 8883.

Chalong villa for rent

Living area 450 sq.m, Land: 800 sq.m. 1st floor: Living room, Master bdr with en-suite bth, Kitchen, Sea view terrace, Pool, 2nd floor: 4 bdr with bth, 2nd living room, Office. 90,000/month/ year., oliver@thurmanngroup.com, 087 877 2320.

Amazing Sea view Penthouse in Rawai

FOR RENT Amazing Sea view Penthouse in Rawai.

360 p ํ anoramic breathtaking views of Chalong bay, mountain view and big Buddha. Two bedrooms, 310 sq.m of spacious living area and balconies. Please contact Izzy 086278 8300 or Danai 090 170 0429. propertysales@serenityphuket.com

House for rent - Near Pah-klok

Long term, quality furnishings, near Heroines Monument, 3 bed, 2 baths plus office. Good garden. THB35,000 per month. Call 087 878 5804.

PATONG: 1 and 2 Bed Apartments

2-Bed/2-Bath & Studio for rent. Balcony. Full A/C. Western Kitchen. Modern furnished. All Extras. Fast WIFI free. Quiet Location & well maintained.

Email : khunrei@gmail.com, 084 185 8536.

CHALONG BEACH FRONT LAND

Direct beach front land for rent. Long and short term. Area 2400 sq meter with beach front of 40 meter, Contact: Mr. Narin, narinpga@ gmail.com, 081 826 9390.

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

SPORT 35

Phuket downed 4-3 by Yala FOOTBALL

AIS SOUTHERN REGION DIVISION 2

Matt Pond editor@classactmedia.co.th

P

huket FC went from 1-3 up to losing 3-4 in their 14th game of 2016 AIS Southern Region Division 2 season played last Sunday (July 24) against Yala United.

Despite the loss, and also dropping down to 7th in the 12-side table, the Andaman Dragon still remain only seven points adrift of the table leaders Nara United, with seven games left to play.

In addition, it looks like the team has finally found a striker who can score. They recently signed Delphin Abena from Kalasin FC, who scored a brace during last Sunday’s game.

The other player to get on Phuket’s score sheet was Thai centre forward Akkarapol Meesawat (17).

Speaking after the game, Phuket FC’s coach Pittaya “Odd” Phimarnman remained positive about the overall performance of the squad.

“That was one of our best performances of the season so far,” he said.

Phuket FC’s Akkarapol Meesawat (17), seen here in action against Hatyai FC. Photo: Hari Jib “But saying that, each and every player we have in the squad gives their best performance in every game they play,” he added.

It was Abena who opened the scoring for Phuket giving them a 0-1 lead in the early stages of the first 45, and the score remained at 0-1 until the half-time whistle.

During the break, Phuket’s Seon Power, who had taken

a knock in the first-half, was deemed unfit to continue in the second-half, forcing Coach Odd to make some serious changes to the squad.

Without central defenders Sato Yusuke and Baek Yong-sun, this meant Coach Odd had to use some players out of position.

It also left Phuket without any of the much needed height they required on the field.

Surfing set for 2020 Olympics SURFING

SKYLA’S SURF HOUSE

Tim Campbell info@surf-sup.asia

YEAH, IT’S TIME TO GET excited! It’s been a long and enthusiastic process, but it’s nearly official that surfing will be joining skateboarding, karate, baseball/softball, and sports climbing in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee approved the five additional sports in what’s being called “the most comprehensive evolution of the Olympic program in modern history,” and all that’s left, is for the IOC to sign off the official papers as a group, which should, if things go according to plan, actually happen on Monday (Aug 1).

The IOC said that “these new sports represent a combination of well-established and emerging sports with significant popularity in Japan and beyond”.

However, one big ques-

@thephuketnews

Kelly Slater, the world’s best and best-known surfer, rides his man-made wave pool. Photo: Glaser tion still remains, and that is whether the ocean or a wave pool will be used for competing, but it would be hard to imagine the IOC not utilizing the recently acquired technology from Kelly Slaters Ranch at some point (see photo), especially in a place such as Tokyo that is driven by technological innovation.

Surfing in the ocean creates an unpredictable playing field, which is exciting and challenging. The wave

pool, on the other hand, is non-fluctuating, and also not as spectacular to watch.

Either way, it’s great that the world’s biggest sporting event is finally taking surfing seriously.

Even more exciting is that it now gives Thai surfers the chance to represent their country and potentially win gold for surfing.

Can you imagine, Thailand winning a gold medal at surfing in the Olympics.

Go get ‘em surfers!

Yala managed to get an equaliser early in the second half, but Phuket soon managed to regain the lead with the goal from Akkarapol. Abena then extended the lead with his second of the game.

Phuket held on well for the duration of the second-half, but three goals in quick succession from Yala gave them the victory.

“It was the injury to Seon

Team

MP W

D

L

GD Pts

1

Nara United

14

7

5

2

15

26

2

Suratthani FC

14

7

5

2

6

26

3

Yala United

14

7

2

5

3

23

4

Ranong United

14

6

5

3

0

23

5

Trang FC

14

6

4

4

3

22

6

Satun United

14

5

5

4

3

20

7

Phuket FC

14

4

7

3

1

19

8

Hatyai FC

14

6

1

7

-9

19

9

Pattani FC

14

5

3

6

6

18

10

Phangnga FC

13

3

4

6

-6

13

11

Phatthalung FC

13

2

5

6

-6

11

12

Nakhorn Si Heritage 14

0

4

10

-16

4

that changed the game. For the second half I had to switch the players around and change our game plan, but it didn’t work,” said Coach Odd. “It was my mistake and I fully accept that,” he added.

The loss dropped Phuket down to 7th in the league table still on 19 points, while Yala went up one place to third on 23 points.

Phuket return home to Sur-

akul Stadium this weekend, when they are set to take on bottom of the table Nakhon Si Heritage.

The game is due to take place on Sunday (July 31) with kick-off set for 7pm. Entrance is B50 for adults and free for kids who can present a student ID card.

The Phuket News is proud media sponsor of Phuket FC.

36 SPORT

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Aiming for the top The members of teams M&M and Amigo, newcomers to the league.

High scoring games in PPL POOL THERE WERE A LOT OF big scores in last Thursday’s (July 21) round of the Patong Pool League with 1Bar, Sports Bar, Amigo and Genius all coming out 8-3 victors over their opponents.

First off, 1Bar sealed a good 8-3 win over Dirty Nellies. However, Goh from 1Bar, who was top of the individual player’s table, was knocked of off the top spot after losing his singles match against Warren from Dirty Nellies. The result means that Warren has now taken over the top spot as best singles player.

It was Natalie Bar who went 8-3 down to Sports Bar, while Amigo and Genius had 8-3 wins over M&M and Simon and Oils respectively.

Elsewhere, top of the table Wet Dreams Bar managed to scrape though with a 6-5 win

at home against 2nd placed Ting Tong Bar. The result still leaving them eight points clear at the top. While Martins Swiss lost 5-6 at home to Champs Bar. If there are any bars that are not part of the Patong Pool League interested in playing a friendly against any of the league teams please set in touch with Scott on 0817289509.

League Standings Wet Dreams

54

Ting Tong

46

Sports

44

Champs

43

Genius

43

Dirty Nellies

42

1Bar

41

Martin Swiss

39

Natalie

38

Amigo

30

Simon & Oils

25

M&M

17

Continued from page 40 ...The 28-year-old Shevchenko first began training in Phuket in early 2014, winning several bouts in Muay Thai, kickboxing and mixed martial arts before and after her long stint in Southern Thailand.

As a 17-time world Muay Thai champion, it was only natural for Shevchenko to seek out training on our little island, but it was the level of competitiveness and variety of martial arts that have kept her in Phuket.

“We train with her on a daily basis and we know how good she is, very well-rounded,” says George Hickman, the head MMA and Wrestling coach at Tiger. “I think this was her best fight to date.”

I n defeat i ng Hol m, Shevchenko has firmly put herself in the conversation for a possible title shot against Amanda Nunes, whom Shevchenko lost a split decision to back in March in a close bout.

At the post-fight press conference following the UFC on FOX 20 event, Shevchenko said Nunes was “scared” and that “I’m ready for five rounds, for sure. I will take whoever I need to fight next. But I think

Valentina Shevchenko is seen here in her previous bout against Amanda Nunes. Photo: AFP [Nunes] is definitely scared.”

The Kyrgyzstan native’s confidence is at an all-time high, especially given what she’s had to go through in the past few months before the most important bout of her life.

B a c k o n M a y 29, Shevchenko and her trainer Pavel Fedotov were dining at a restaurant in Lima, Peru when two men with guns stormed in attempting to rob the place. Fedotov, who also had a pistol on him, attacked the men but was shot in the ensuing incident. Though

he’s made a full-recovery, Shevchenko’s resolve was put to the test.

“She had a lot of drama happen in a couple of months, which makes it an ever bigger win because she didn’t let that affect her and get into her head,” Hickman says.

In a previous interview w it h T he Phuk et Ne ws, Shevchenko spoke about her penchant for training in the Peruvian jungle, comparing it to Phuket in terms of pure focus.

“Here, it is relaxing but with world-class training. You

can keep your head down, maintain focus, and just keep the training going,” she said in 2014.

What’s next for Shevchenko is up to the UFC, and whether her next bout is for the title or not, those who know her in Phuket are happy to see her finally get recognition.

“She’s really composed as a fighter, you could see no matter the position she’s in she’s very calm and prepared. She’s very composed and mentally tough, putting in a lot of time to her training over the years,” Vamos says.

Phuket student takes Pétanque gold at Asean University Games PENTAQUE PHUMSILA SIRISAMPHan, a student of the Physical Education faculty of Rajabhat University Phuket scooped men’s Pétanque gold at the 18th Asean University Games 2016 held in over July 14-18.

Phumsila has proved that he has the skills to do well in the sport at an international level and continues to improve his technique

every day. Thailand also took gold and silver in the women’s singles and triples, respectively.

Phumsila’s best previous achievement was at the 43rd Thailand University Games held in Ubon Ratchatani where he took a bronze medal. He has also been selected to represent Rajabhat University Phuket on numerous occasions previously at both a provincial and regional level.

Matt Pond

HASH HOUSE HARRIERS

Rajabhat University student Phumsila Sirisamphan.

Run #1591: Saturday July 30 Run Start Time: 4pm Hares: No Hope, Not Cleaver, Singha Location: Cherng Talay Soi 1 Directions: From Heroines Monument go west approx 6.3 kilometres towards Cherng Talay. Just beyond Lady Pie at the temple turn left into Soi 1. Continue approx 300 metres and laager will be on the left.

From Cherng Talay Police Station head east towards Heroines Monument for approx 1.6km and at the temple turn right into Soi 1. Continue as above. HHH truck will be marked.

Bus pick-up: Patong @ Expat Hotel: 2:45pm Kamala @ Black Cat’s Bar: 3:15pm More info: phuket-hhh.com

thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

SPORT 37

From no-hopes to top prospects

Thailand are relying on five boxers to produce gold in Rio BOXING

A

year ago Thai boxers were being pushed aside as no-hopers.

However, now that the crunch time is nearing, the five fighters who have qualified for the Aug 5-21 Rio Olympics are being burdened with the onus of delivering gold.

The Thai fighters who have earned tickets to the Games are Chatchai Butdee (56kg), Amnat Ruenroeng (60kg), Wuttichai Masuk (64kg), Sailom Ardee (69kg) and Peamwilai Laopeam (women’s 51kg).

The Thailand Boxing Association (TBA), which replaced the now-defunct Amateur Boxing Association of Thailand in August 2011, is hoping that the Rio Games will produce the first gold medal since the inception of the new national governing body.

After failing to deliver four years ago in London, where Thailand only pocketed a silver from Kaew Pongprayoon, Gen Boonlert Kaewprasit resigned as TBA

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president in February 2013 and Pichai Chunhavajira has been at the helm since then.

So far, the TBA has struggled a bit on the international stage under Pichai, especially at the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea and at the SEA Games in Singapore a year later.

They could only manage a paltry aggregate of three gold medals from the two games and two of them were produced by Wuttichai.

A below-par performance by the Thai coaching staff was blamed for the failure and wholesale changes to the team administration followed in an attempt to rekindle hopes of having some Thai boxers qualify for the 2016 Olympics.

Taweewat Isla m wa s brought in to replace Somyot Chulasen as the head coach.

ACM Peerapat Lar p boonlert was substituted by Somchai Poonsawat as the technical chief and Paiboon Chaisriswat, a former leading judge, also came in to work with the team.

There were some changes that involved boxers as well – Chatchai moved up from

Thailand’s Amnat Ruenroeng (left), seen here in action against Japan’s former world champion Kazuto Ioka. Photo: Jiji/AFPR 52kg to 56kg and Sailom from 60kg to 69kg. Some Muay Thai boxers were also recruited.

Four months later, the changes bore fruit at the Asian Championships, held in Thailand.

Wuttichai and Chatchai were crowned champions while Sailom reached the quarter-finals. More importantly, the trio sported an improved boxing style.

To encourage the boxers

to fight for Olympic berths, the TBA promised a cash bonus of B2 million each for making it to the Rio Games.

Wuttichai lived up to his potential by becoming the first Thai to qualify for the Rio Games after finishing third at the World Championships in Doha last October.

Chatchai and Sailom followed him through the Asia and Oceania Olympic qualification event in China in April.

In May, Peamwilai earned one more Olympic place for Thailand by reaching the 51kg class final at the Women’s World Championships in Astana, Kazakhstan.

The 32-year-old is Thailand’s first-ever female boxer to qualify for the Olympics.

The hopes to get one more Olympic berth fizzled out at the world qualification tournament in Baku and the TBA was left with no choice but to bring in a professional boxer to compete at the final qualification event in Venezuela.

Amnat, recruited to the team a few months after losing his IBF flyweight belt earlier this year, sealed his second appearance in the Olympics by reaching the final at the event in Venezuela.

Although they missed their six-spot target, getting five boxers through to the Games is no mean feat for the TBA. As far as the Asian qualifiers are concerned, Thailand only lag behind Kazakhstan (12), China (11), Uzbekistan (11) and Mongolia (6).

The Philippines, who won five gold medals at last year’s SEA Games, have two Olympic tickets and South Korea, who won two gold medals while playing host to the 2014 Asian Games, have only bantamweight Ham Sang-Myeong going to Rio. The 20-year-old Ham, a gold medallist at the Incheon Games, was granted a place in the Olympics when of one of the 28 bantamweight qualifiers pulled out recently.

Sailom is the most experienced fighter in the Thai team after having joined the previous Olympics in Beijing and London, while Chatchai and Amnat will be making their second attempts. Wuttichai and Peamwilai will be making their debuts.

In the 69kg, Sailom, who lost in the first round in the London Games, is likely to find the going tough in Rio. By moving up from the

60kg division, the 30-year-old may find himself at a disadvantage to his opponents in terms of physique and punch power.

“Sailom continues to stick to his own style and without a change, there is no way for him to be successful,” coach Taweewat said.

Amnat, who lost in the quarter-finals at the Beijing Games eight years ago in controversial circumstances, also has a difficult assignment made even more onerous by his style and advanced age.

Unseeded in the 60kg class, the 36-year-old can face tough rivals in the early stage. Cuba’s Lazaro Alvarez, a three-time world champion and the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist, and Brazil’s Robson Conceicao, bronze medallist at the last year’s World Championships, are the title favourites.

European champion Albert Selimov of Azerbaijan is also among the title contenders.

Bantamweight Chatchai, who lost in the second round in London, is in a better shape this time. The 31-year-old has significantly improved since winning the Asian title.

Coach Taweewat is impressed with his fast improvement and believes he is good enough to claim a medal. Title contenders in the 56kg include Ireland’s Michael Conlan, gold medallist at the World Championships last year, and Cuba’s Robeisy Ramirez, who has moved up from the 52kg class in which he took gold at London 2012.

Murodjon Akhmadaliev of Uzbekistan and Dzmitry Asanau of Bulgaria are also strong contenders.

Chatchai beat Akhmadaliev in the final of the Asian Championships but lost to him in the quarter-finals at the World Championships.

Bangkok Post

38 SPORT

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Ainslie takes spoils in America’s Cup YACHTING BEN AINSLIE AND HIS British Land Rover BAR team were forced to fend off a lastrace challenge from holders Oracle Team USA before claiming overall victory in the America’s Cup World Series event in Portsmouth last Sunday (July 24).

The win also takes the home team to the top of the 2016 series leaderboard.

An exciting day of action at Southsea featured the high performance AC45 foiling catamarans unleashing their breath-taking speeds and closed with a nail-biting finale where Spithill and Ainslie, Oracle teammates at the last America’s Cup in 2013, locked horns in fierce opposition.

Spithill nailed the start and led the fleet to the end, but Ainslie kept the pressure on and crossed the line in second, which gave him the overall win by a single point.

From the opening leg in the first race, Ainslie looked comfortable in the stronger breezes in the Solent, where Land Rover BAR train daily, and made the most of another great start by speeding off to the first mark at a rapid 25 knots.

A little over 12 minutes later, the race was over with Ainslie crossing the line to the sound of excited applause from the massive British crowds, including the Duke

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

He’s back on top ship Hamilton takes pole in drivers’ champion BOX OF NEUTRALS Michael Lamonato michael@boxofneutrals.com

The America’s Cup World Series has been described as ‘Formula 1 on water’..

Photo: AFP and Duchess of Cambridge.

The resounding win boosted their score by 20 points and extended their lead at the top of the table to five points over Oracle.

But a comeback by the Americans in the second race, in which Spithill turned on the aggression in the stronger winds and upped his speed, saw them claim a 10-second win.

It closed the gap between Oracle and the British and meant the result hinged entirely on the final race.

Oracle started well and kept Ainslie successfully at arm’s length.

Going into Sunday, it was the British and French team Groupama Team France who had dominated all the action on the water.

But Franck Cammas struggled to master the bigger breeze and dropped down the rankings to post two disappointing last places and a fifth to finish in fifth place overall.

AFP

L

ewis Hamilton leads the drivers championship for the first time in 2016, after effortlessly putting teammate Nico Rosberg to the sword in the Hungarian Grand Prix last Sunday (July 24).

The inevitability of the moment almost completely negated its importance; that Hamilton should lead the title chase, even after trailing by 43 points in mid-May, somehow feels like the natural order of things, enhanced by his string of five race wins in six races.

It is the return of a familiar dynamic that existed only just below the surface as Rosberg seized his early championship lead – Hamilton, long regarded as the more naturally gifted driver compared to Rosberg’s workmanlike talent, could only ever be down, never out.

Wins in Monaco and Canada were suggestive, in Austria success was provocative, and now in Great Britain and Hungary Hamilton’s victory was irresistible.

“When you go from one strength to another is an incredibly empowering feeling, motivating and inspiring,” he said last weekend.

“I’m conscious that there’s still a long way to go and it’s

Lewis Hamilton celebrates his victory in the Hungarian Grand Prix. Photo: Attila Kisbenedek/AFP important that we continue on the path that we’re on and continue to try to go from strength to strength.

“Right now I’m still in the same mentality of chasing. It’s been great to be able to come back with less engines and with the struggle we had at the beginning of the year, so I’m very proud of that.”

Hamilton watched his teammate dominate the opening four rounds of the season, but after the duo crashed into each other and out of the race in Barcelona, he has lost only one race.

“I think Spain was definitely a turning point,” he reflected. “It was rock bottom, basically – but the only way was up. I managed to get my head together and get on with it. Since then we’ve pulled together.”

Since the Spanish Grand Prix, Hamilton has outqualified Rosberg in four races, he’s outraced him in five races, and

he’s eliminated the problem he was having at the start of races that cost him points and wins at the beginning of the year.

One by one the Briton has stripped away his teammate’s psychological advantages, leaving Rosberg armoury bare – and after outscoring Rosberg by 49 points in the last six races, the German no longer has his points lead to protect him.

“It’s just simple that now you can say Lewis has done the best job up to now this season – by six points, that’s it,” Rosberg replied after the race. “I’m not counting points, and I also fully expected him to come back.

“It’s always going to be a tough battle against Lewis – he’s the world champion. I’m just looking at the races. It just takes a small thing to switch it the other way.”

The question Rosberg must answer is whether he has any of those small things left in his

arsenal to turn the tide.

His best hope of resuscitating his flagging championship aspirations falls at this weekend’s German Grand Prix, Rosberg’s nominal home race, where steadying the shop must be his priority.

“I’m out there every race with the opportunity to win,” he said. “I’m super motivated, and I want to turn it around at the next race in Hockenheim, that would be great and I hope that I have the opportunity to do it there.

“Thankfully it comes in five days time, which is good after a result like today to quickly forget before and get a thrill from the home crowd. I hope I can get the win after I got it in 2014.”

Don’t forget to tune in to Live89.5 every Saturday from 9am to hear Box of Neutrals talk everything F1 and more.

Australia installs kangaroo at Olympic village OLYMPICS AUSTRALIA’S OLYMPIC delegation, which refused to move into its Rio apartments due to a spate of problems, took a dig at the city’s mayor

on Tuesday (July 26) by arriving at the complex with a kangaroo in tow.

After the delegation complained of blocked toilets and leaky pipes over the weekend, Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, who has repeatedly found himself

on the defensive over Olympic conditions, quipped that he should perhaps put “a kangaroo in front of their building to make them feel at home.”

The issues delayed the country’s athletes from taking up lodging in the brand-new

Olympic Village complex at its official opening last Sunday (July 24).

On Tuesday, as the country’s hockey team, archers, gymnasts and shooters finally moved in, they were greeted not only by a kangaroo, but an emu to boot.

Mike Tancred, media director for the Australian Olympics team, said the statues had nothing to do with the housing controversy.

“We had the kangaroo and the emu out front of our building in London in 2012 and we have brought them here. The animals are on our crest. They are national symbols,” he said.

Australia’s delegation took issue with the poor state of the Olympic Village, the 31-building complex located in the Barra da Tijuca district in the west of Rio de Janeiro designed to house more than 18,000 athletes and coaching staff over the coming weeks.

Australian banners are displayed at the apartments for the Australian Olympic team during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Village. Photo: Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP “Problems include blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, darkened stairwells where no lighting has been installed and dirty floors in need of a massive clean,” the head of the Australian team, Kitty Chiller, said in a statement.

Rio’s Olympic organisers said such teething problems plagued all Olympic Games and promised that “adjustments” would be made to resolve the problems.

By Tuesday Tancred reported that there were “still three plumbing issues in three different rooms,” but that the remaining main challenge was cleaning.

“We are progressing. The village is fantastic,” he said.

The lack of preparedness in the Olympic Village has been an embarrassing blow for Brazil, which is struggling to show all will be well with the Olympiad.

AFP thephuketnews

THEPHUKETNEWS.COM

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

SPORT 39

FOOTBALL

It’s time for ‘Big Sam’ New boss Allardyce first has to target England’s fear factor

New England manager Sam Allardyce photographed at St George’s Park, near Burton-on-Trent, central England, on Monday (Julu 25). Photo: Oli Scarff/AFP.

N

ew England manager Sam Allardyce vowed on Monday (July 25) to break the psychological barrier hindering the performance of the country’s big-name players at international level.

Allardyce also revealed he has not yet made a decision on who will captain England, which leaves the Manchester United skipper Wayne Rooney – heavily criticised for his performances at Euro 2016 – sweating on whether he will retain the armband.

England’s campaign at last month’s European Championships under predecessor Roy Hodgson culminated in a humiliating exit to Iceland in the last 16, despite boasting a squad packed with Premier League talent. Hodgson quickly quit.

Allardyce, speaking at his first press conference, at St George’s Park, following his appointment, will seek to address that faulty mindset as England bid to qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

“The pressure on players

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at international level we will be looking at in depth,” said the 61-year-old Englishman, nicknamed “Big Sam”, who lost out to Steve McClaren for the England job 10 years ago.

“I will exploit all areas for the benefit of the players. The key element is to get among the staff in place and talk about the programme going forward, particularly psychologically.

“It’s not about potential now. It’s about standing up and being counted even though some of those experiences have been bitter.

“Potential is a word I don’t like to use too much. You want the actual quality of the player producing his best immediately.

“I think this group is very experienced and going forward can be producing more performances and better results.

It’s not just about qualifying, but going as far as we can.”

It is anticipated that Allardyce, a former manager of many clubs including Bolton, Newcastle, West Ham and most recently Sunderland, will

not make a call on Rooney’s captaincy until the players join up for the World Cup qualifier with Slovakia on September 4.

“That’s far too early to make predictions in that area,” Allardyce said, when asked if Rooney would continue as England’s skipper.

“I will leave that [the captaincy] until we get together and plan for the qualifiers.”

Allardyce, who guided Sunderland to Premier League safety last season, having taken over with them in a desperate position, has never won a major trophy and acknowledged the England job is the “biggest challenge” of his managerial career.

Allardyce believes, however, he has the right credentials for the position and remains confident the “Three Lions” will progress under his stewardship.

“This will be the greatest challenge for me in my long career and hopefully I will be as successful as I have in the rest of my career,” said the man who has faced criticism

down the years for long-ball football.

Jose Mourinho famously once described Allardyce's football as “19th century”.

“I can turn things around pretty quickly. I can create a successful journey and that starts with us all pulling together,” added Allardyce.

“What is my style? Pragmatic. Choosing styles and systems depends on who we are playing.

“My coaching technique is to win a football match – home or away, whether we are at Wembley or not – and adapt to the style we play to the opposition.

“I think the bonding of the team is exceptionally important. A game of football is to be enjoyed.”

Allardyce confirmed exLiverpool player Sammy Lee, and his former assistant when he was in charge of Bolton Wanderers, will become part of his backroom staff.

He also called for the introduction of a winter break in the Premier League to help

boost the national team’s flagging fortunes.

“I have been an advocate of that for 10 years or more.

The demand on players is enormous,” he explained.

“The Premier League is

the best league in the world so demand has to be on the players. It would help the Premier League and us at international level if we could try and achieve it.”

AFP

Live Sports TV Schedule *Times may be subject to change

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Friday July 29 Rugby League 16:45 Cricket

18:45

NRL

Bulldogs v. Dragons

11:30

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Test Match 1, Pallekele

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15:00

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Zimbabwe v. New Zealand, Day 2

Saturday July 30 Rugby Union 14:30

16:30 Super Rugby – Semi Final 1

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22:00 Super Rugby – Semi Final 2

Lions v. Highlanders

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Warriors v. Panthers

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Eels v. Wests Tigers

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Cowboys v. Storm

Motor Racing 18:30

20:30

Formula 1

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Rugby League 12:00

Hurricanes v. Chiefs

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11:30

18:30

Test Match 1, Pallekele

Sri Lanka v. Australia, Day 5

Cricket

15:00

22:00

Test Match 1, Bulawayo

Zimbabwe v. New Zealand, Day 4

Rugby League 11:00

13:00

NRL

Rabbitohs v. Raiders

13:00

15:00

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Sea Eagles v. Knights

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German Grand Prix

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Sunday July 31

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editor3@classactmedia.co.th

FRIDAY, JULY 29, 2016

Phuket FC down but not out after Yala defeat > page 35

RISING

STAR MMA JP Mestanza tv@classactmedia.co.th

A

s millions of fans around the world celebrated Valentina Shevchenko’s dominating win over former UFC bantamweight champion Holly Holm in Chicago last weekend, the faithful few who regularly train with her in Chalong

were smiling.

Shevchenko, who trains out of Tiger Muay Thai in Phuket, put on the performance of her career in dishing out a win over the No. 2 ranked bantamweight fighter in the world – handily defeating the same woman who knockedout Ronda Rousey under a year ago.

The bout was also the first non-title women’s main event for the UFC, showing just how

highly-regarded both women are in delivering the pain.

“I could see why it would be shocking to people who don’t know who Valentina is, but if you’ve been following her for the past few years and watching her fights, you wouldn’t be too shocked by that win,” says Christopher Vamos, 2nd degree Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt and instructor at Tiger Muay Thai.

Continued page 36

Valentina Shevchenko trains out of Tiger Muay Thai in Chalong. Photo: MMAWeekly screen grab

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