baabaabobo

Turned up this morning at 8 a.m. with photocopies of passport/visa, WP and a doctor's cert. and joined the very long queue at the first counter which deals with license renewal. The other queue near the one stop door is for first time applications. Despite the length of the queue it moved quite fast as there were many people missing a document or whatever. I was given a number and told to wait. After a while the same women called numbers 1 to 10 and I re-queued. I signed a piece of paper and gave my phone number and then went into the one-stop office where I paid 555 baht and was given another number. After 5 minutes a photo was taken and another 110 baht handed over and hey presto 5 minutes later a smart plastic card was handed to me. All in all it took just over an hour and I now have a 5 year Thai driving license. Hope this will help other TV members about to do the same.

Well I went back on the weekend and there is still that gawdawful music blaring out. Who do think they are benefiting? Does anyone really like this noise?

Do you mean inside the supermarket as well as outside? If inside then we all should complain to the management. I am not against quiet, relaxing, background music & if done correctly I believe it can induce shoppers to buy more but this appears to be an unknown concept here.

It was mostly outside but the muzak inside was played too loud as well probably to try and drown out the two sources of outside noise.

Therein lies the problem - everyone trying to drown out each other with noise so that in the end it is just an unpleasant experience.

Well I went back on the weekend and there is still that gawdawful music blaring out. Who do think they are benefiting? Does anyone really like this noise?

On an old G4 Mac and it downloads fine. Thanks Phuket Gazette and thanks Thai Visa.

This is not even a Gazette story! Pagallim simply copy/pasted the so-called "gazette story" into the forum without even noticing that the story came from thephuketinsider.com – not from any Gazette reporters. The gazette very clearly indicates that fact on their Website.

As a close observer of the Phuket property market I looked back on past issues of PG and found Lersuang has not run any ads in the phuket gazette for at least the past 7 or 8 months, so it's silly to suggest that the gazette is trying to stall for time to protect an "advertiser". It's equally silly to suggest that all Thai newspapers lack objectivity when it's precisely objectivity that the gazette is seeking to achieve by balancing the Daily Mirror story. The gazette merely wishes to get comments from the developer. That's basic fairness.

I look forward to the gazette's special report due next week.

Mine definately has "Type: Temporary Car" in Thai and english.

Got it June last year. I plan to go and see them before renewing for my 5 year to find out exactly what is required.

There is a nice middle aged lady on the front counter who speaks a little english and is happy to help.

I want to upgrade my one year to a five year now that it has expired.

I went yesterday at 2pm (very crowded) and found the lady in question who was helpful.

Passport and WP photocopies in hand she said the only thing missing was a medical cert.

I didn't have one.

So I will go back on Tuesday as today and Monday are holidays.

...and still not a report about this in the PhuketGazette! yet the instant a tourist falls off a motorbike and gets squashed under a truck and dies they report it.

This is a response from Ryan Kells, Jills' fiance, to the poorly written Phuketwan article>>>

"I was Jills fiancee. For a doctor to say that she was drinking was ridiculous. Jill had been Ill since the afternoon. How could she have told nurse anything. She was unconcious by the time I got her to the hospital. This article makes me irate. There is a water treatment plant right next to the guesthouse. How coincidental for 3 people to have the same symptoms, 2 die and 1 in ICU. We stayed right next door to the Norwegian girls. There is a chemical that killed two girls and almost one more. I cant even begin to believe that this doctor would lie about jills case. Let me repeat. Jill had no alcohol that night. It had nothing to do with a hangover. I can not believe that anyone would make up such a lie."

I guess the Phuket Gazette is busy finding out the true facts before putting out a story. When it involves grieving families, tourism and suspicious circumstances it would be irresponsible to rush a story like this as above.

That's not the Phuket governor. Maybe Krabi?

One thing I appreciated in Villa was the lack of loud music that makes shopping unpleasant in Tescos, Big C etc. ... until today.

Seems that not only do they now play awful supermarket music inside but some joker has set up his sound system in front as well to blare out soft rock. Am I the only one who feels that this does not enhance the shopping experience?

I think Andrew Drummond's report clears up what what said to whom when he advises:

4. The word ‘f*cking’ is offensive and is well known by the Thais. Normal people find this word offensive, even when used purely to emphasis a point, even where I come from. Do not use it in conjunction with the term ‘b*tch’ to describe a female immigration officer, or ‘country’ to describe ‘Thailand’. You could be charged in your home country if you said the same. ...

On what do you base this. THe following aricle would tend to prove the opposite.

http://www.findlaw.com.au/article/8872.htm

http://www.andrew-drummond.com/2009/04/29/...-11-the-sequel/

I think Andrew Drummond's report clears up what what said to whom when he advises:

4. The word ‘f*cking’ is offensive and is well known by the Thais. Normal people find this word offensive, even when used purely to emphasis a point, even where I come from. Do not use it in conjunction with the term ‘b*tch’ to describe a female immigration officer, or ‘country’ to describe ‘Thailand’. You could be charged in your home country if you said the same. ...

Cheered me up on a Monday morning... as you say life goes on

When you have a police force that does nothing in regards to enforcing the laws, well, what do you expect the locals to do?

These road closings seem to work, or at least get some satisfaction.

Until the police start doing their job properly, i expect these things will continue.

I totally agree "....Police told Phuketwan that the young victim was in a satisfactory condition " :D whereas the boy's dead body was taken by the shooter and dumped...

As a parent myself I too would demand the police get their act together and unfortunately roadblocks are becoming the only way to voices heard.

I catch them alive and unharmed in a rat trap bought at my local hardware store then drop them off at the nearest forest on my way to work several kilometers away.

From The Phuket Gazette:

PHUKET / BANGKOK: Sondhi Limthongkul, media mogul and one of the five core leaders of the yellow-shirted People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD), is in serious condition after being shot in the head early this morning.

One of the attackers’ bullets hit his left skull, causing a brain hemorrhage, Vajira Hospital Director Dr Chaiwun Charoenchoktavee said.

Doctors are conducting an urgent operation on Mr Sondhi that is expected to finish around noon.

Mr Sondhi has no wounds on his body.

His driver, Vayupak Mussi, was also seriously wounded in the attack but is now in stable condition, doctors said.

PAD spokesman Parnthep Pualpongpan said at least two attackers riding in a pick-up truck blocked Sondhi’s vehicle on Samsen Road in Bangkok as he was heading to the office of his Manager newspaper at about 5am.

The attackers shot out the tires of Sondhi’s vehicle before stepping out of their car and spraying the car with bullets. The attack lasted about five minutes before the attackers sped away.

Police who rushed to the scene found Sondhi’s car riddled with bullets. They collected more than 100 AK-16 bullet casings from the scene as evidence.

Mr Parnthep said Mr Sondhi had earlier been informed he could possibly be the target of an attack, but ignored the warnings.

Chamnong Paokorn, a 53-year-old bus driver who witnessed the attack, said that he was driving his bus past Lamworanut Temple when he saw a blue pick-up truck with no license plate block Sondhi’s vehicle.

Then two men in the back of the pick-up then opened fire on the vehicle. Another vehicle sped to the scene and exchanged fire with the attackers, who then fled the scene.

Mr Sondhi had been scheduled to be a keynote speaker at the PAD rally to take place in Phuket on Saturday.

TOC News: http://www.thailandoutlook.tv/

An unknown number of assailants fired more than 100 shots at media mogul Sondhi Limthongkul's car this morning.

The incident took place at 5.45am on Samsen Road, about a kilometer away from the entrance of the Bank of Thailand and in front of the Iamworanuj Temple and Caltex petrol station, as Sondhi was traveling to the ASTV office on Phra Arthit Road for his daily morning talkshow called 'Good Morning Thailand.'

Sondhi has been slightly injured and was sent to the Wachira Hospital while the driver, Adul Daengpradab, has been seriously injured and is being treated at the Mission Hospital. Sondhi's bodyguard 40-year-old Vayupak Madsin has been slightly injured and is being treated at Mission Hospital. All are said to be in a safe condition right now.

Wachira Hospital Director Doctor Chaichana Charoenchoktawee revealed shrapnel from a bullet hit Sondhi in forehead on the right side but he remains conscious and is lucid. He has gone in for surgery to remove the shrapnel and stem bleeding in the brain since 8am and the surgery should take around 3 hours.

Sondhi was traveling in a black Toyota Alphard license plat WL 89. Bullets shattered the windshield and all windows and all four tires were shot.

57 AKA and M-16 shells were found all around the vehicle.

Stray bullets also hit the number 53 non air-conditioned bus.

The assailants were said to have been driving a pick-up bronze colored Toyota Vigo. The gunman was said to have shot at the tires first before shooting at the car. The truck then speeded up on Samsen Road, heading to the Thewet intersection, in its escape.

Spokesman of the People's Alliance for Democracy Panthep Puapongpan confirmed Sondhi's safety and said his location cannot be disclosed at this time.

He condemned those behind the attack and said it's a mistaken belief that killing Sondhi would end the PAD movement as Sondhi has set up a network, comprising of ASTV and PAD chapters nationwide. He asked PAD supporters nationwide not to worry about Sondhi's condition and said this attack is proof that the ASTV and PAD network is really working.

He called on the police to speed up their investigation into the case and bring those involved to justice.

Great to meet some TV members today there .

Very busy the last couple of days to set up all our counters in there but not finished yet.

Wellington, I'll get your walnut oil next couple of days, don't worry!

Just start to plan a great food tasting/testing in a very good hotel:

6-7 course menu with different kinds of wagyu beef with some perfect wines, followed by some french cheeses.

Will invite 3 members from Phuket as witnesses .

Gerd

I volunteer

Am sitting here stuffed after our first experience with Villa supermarket. For dinner we had the most amazing Wagyu steak, on Gerd's recommendation, washed down with a beautiful Bordeaux. Our trolley contained other goodies such as crumpets, digestive biscuits, brie, chili flavoured chocolate, wholemeal croissants, real yoghurt etc. Although very slightly more expensive than TOPS the choice and quality and the proximity to home makes me another regular customer. Just like Wellington, who I met there, we were escorted to our car by a pleasant chap who chatted about the weather. Recently after spending a day at Carrefour shopping, eating and cinema we were given a parking bill of 30 baht. It's not the money but having spent close on 10,000 baht the last 30 baht for the pleasure of parking there grated. Needless to say the parking was ample and free at Villa and our experience a good one. We will return!... and Gerd the steak was divine.

Why don't they just revoke his passport? He is a wanted fugitive after all.

From the Phuket Gazette:

CHERNG TALAY, PHUKET: Police have issued a warrant for the arrest of a former deputy mayor wanted for shooting another local politician in the head outside a mom-and-pop store last night.

Cherng Talay Police received a report of the shooting at about 9:30pm.

At the scene, outside a small grocery store on the road from Cherng Talay to Ban Don, they found the crumpled body of 46-year-old former town council member Manit “Ko Chuan” Faipetch, barely alive with a .38 caliber bullet wound at the base of one ear.

Witnesses told police that the victim had been drinking whiskey with former Cherng Talay Deputy Mayor Wiwat Doktien when an argument ensued.

An enraged Mr Wiwat allegedly drew a short-barreled .38 pistol and fired several times, hitting the victim once just below the the ear, police said.

Weapon still in hand, Mr Wiwat left the scene in his gold Honda Civic, police quoted witnesses as saying.

Kusoldharm Foundation workers rushed Mr Manit to Thalang Hospital for emergency treatment.

Police believe Mr Wiwat is still somewhere on the island.

A warrant for his arrest on attempted murder charges was issued by the Phuket Provincial Court at noon today.

"People want lively, active beaches. The jet-skis have helped to create background noise, but neither they nor the sound trucks operating along the beaches are capable of generating the kind of volume tourists want."

Update from Bangkok Post:

Plan to ban alcohol sales for Songkran gets canned

Plans to ban the sale of alcohol during next month's Songkran festival have been scrapped.

Authorities fear a ban will harm the already damaged tourism industry.

The National Committee for Alcohol Consumption Control yesterday said there would be no alcohol ban during the traditional new year from April 13 to 15.

Instead it had opted to launch an intensive campaign against drink-driving.

The committee, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart, decided a ban on alcohol sales during Songkran would further harm the tourism industry.

The resolution was reached after a two-hour meeting with relevant agencies. Attending the meeting were Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silpa-archa, Justice Minister Pirapan Salirathavibhaga, Social Development and Human Security Minister Issara Somchai, Deputy Interior Minister Boonjong Wongtrairat, Deputy Public Health Minister Manit Nopamornbode and Deputy Education Minister Narisara Chawaltanpipat.

Maj Gen Sanan said the meeting agreed to issue a Prime Minister's Office regulation officially prohibiting the sale of alcohol on important Buddhist holidays. He said this was a gift to the Thai people.

The religious days include Makha Bucha, Visakha Bucha, Asalaha Bucha and Khao Pansa, or Buddhist Lent.

He said agencies would launch an anti-alcohol campaign over Songkran covering drinking while driving and drinking when celebrating Songkran on the back of pick-up trucks.

He said the sale of alcohol over the Songkran holiday would be in line with existing regulations, which limits sales to between 11am and 2pm and between 5pm and midnight.

"The meeting decided the ban would have more of an impact on tourism, particularly on Songkran day, which draws over 80,000 foreign tourists," Maj Gen Sanan said.

"An alcohol ban, if imposed, would drive away foreign tourists."

The deputy premier was also concerned about increased sales of illegal liquor if a ban was imposed.

He rejected the results of surveys which indicated people believed a decision not to impose a ban showed the government was under the thumb of breweries and distillers.

His committee was more concerned about the impact on tourism and problems regarding the sale of illegal liquor.

The panel's resolution will spark protests from people in some areas.

Deputy Public Health Minister Manit said his ministry - which proposed the alcohol ban - would not be discouraged by the committee's resolution.

Its efforts to campaign against alcohol would not go to waste, he said.

The ministry would push for the issue of a PM's Office regulation to prohibit the consumption of alcohol in public areas during the festival.

Kamron Choodecha, coordinator of the Alcohol Watch Network, lashed out at the Sanan panel for rejecting a ban.

He said the panel was being insensitive as it could easily impose measures to reduce deaths and injuries.

Racing cement trucks scare the crap out of me - imagine the weight ratio of a fully laden cement truck slamming into anything. Fortuners, tuk tuks, saleang and white tourist vans get a special mention. The other day I saw a motorcycle driving the wrong side of the road at speed with a guy (no helmet) driving with one hand while talking on his mobile - sheesh!

Police have arrested the daughter of a former Phetchaburi MP who they claim faked her death in the tsunami four years ago and then underwent facial surgery and assumed a new identity to evade her creditors.

They had lent her and her husband more than 8 billion baht.

The woman who supposedly died in the tsunami, and the same woman today.

Crime Suppression Division police yesterday arrested Kankanit Angkinant, 48, daughter of Piya Angkinant, near a U-turn on Narathiwat Ratchanakharin road in Sathon.

Mrs Kankanit is also known as Panjit.

She was believed to have been killed in the Dec 26, 2004 tsunami that hit six southern provinces on the Andaman coast until police discovered evidence that proved she was still alive.

Her husband Charnchai Chinsiri, 47, was also arrested at their house on Nang Linchi road in Yannawa district.

The couple were wanted on warrants over fraud charges laid in Samut Sakhon on June 8, 2005. They denied the charges.

CSD chief Pongpat Chayaphan said Mrs Kankanit was believed to have been killed in the tsunami until Permkiat Phothianthong, a representative of Choke Chai Mahachai Co, one of Mrs Kankanit's creditors, asked police to re-investigate her death.

Pol Maj-Gen Pongpat said the company suspected Mrs Kankanit had faked her death.

He said the company believed that with her "death" she could escape the legal cases and huge debts against her.

The couple had run a company dealing in oil called Parnsap Evergreen Co.

However, the business was not a success and the couple found themselves deep in debt.

They were finally declared bankrupt by the Civil Court in 2004, Pol Maj-Gen Pongpat said.

They faced 63 lawsuits brought against them and owed more than 8.2 billion baht.

Their major creditors included PTT Plc to which more than 5 billion baht was owed, TMB Bank (over 800 million baht), Thai Asset Management Corp (over 500 million baht) and Phayathai Asset Management Co (over 200 million baht).

Pol Maj-Gen Pongpat said after the tsunami tragedy, Mr Charnchai notified police in Ranong's Muang district that Mrs Kankanit's body had been found in the sea off Ko Phayam. Her identity card and credit card were discovered on the body.

When the death was reported to officials, a death certificate was issued to confirm she had died.

Mr Charnchai then took the body that he claimed to be that of Mrs Kankanit to Wat Suwankhiriviharn in Phuket where funeral rites were held. The body was cremated on Jan 4, 2005.

Later, her children received payouts from Thai Life Insurance Co worth 900,000 baht and from American International Assurance Co amounting to 1.2 million baht.

Pol Maj-Gen Pongpat said investigators later found evidence to prove Mrs Kankanit was still alive.

It included an attempt to get a new ID card.

A woman claiming to be Phayao Panwang tried to apply for a new ID card at the Bang Kruai municipality office in Nonthaburi in June 2005. She said the old one was lost. Bang Kruai officials rejected the request because her fingerprints did not match that of Ms Phayao.

She later successfully received the ID card under the name of Ms Phayao when she went to the municipal office in Suphan Buri.

Forensic experts were then asked to check the fingerprints. That led them to believe Ms Phayao and Mrs Kankanit were one and the same as the fingerprints matched those of Mrs Kankanit, who was pronounced dead in Dec 2007.

Pol Maj-Gen Pongpat alleged Mrs Kankanit had facial surgery so that people would not recognise her.

Police then began looking for the couple.

Mrs Kankanit and Mr Charnchai changed houses often, Pol Maj-Gen Pongpat said.

Pol Col Kittisak Sukwattanakul, chief of CSD Division 5, who headed the investigation team, said inquiries found Mrs Kankanit had facial surgery in China and used fake ID cards under five different names.

"It took police four years to find and capture them," Pol Col Kittisak said.

A death certificate, fake civil service ID cards and two handguns were also seized from the couple's house.

They will be taken to Samut Sakhon police station for further questioning.

From the Bangkok Post

By: WASSAYOS NGAMKHAM

Published: 26/03/2009 at 02:54 PM