PhuketGazette 20,000 IN CANDLE-LIT CEREMONY …November 19 - 25, 2016 Now inside THE NATION every Saturday 64 Pages / 20 Baht PhuketGazette.net PHUKET’S LEADING NEWSPAPER... SINCE

Now inside every SaturdayNovember 19 - 25, 2016 64 Pages / 20 BahtTHE NATION

PhuketGazettePHUKET’S LEADING NEWSPAPER... SINCE 1993PhuketGazette.net

Plot twist inshooting ofPatong policeofficer’s son

BUSINESS

AVIATION

LIFE&STYLE

BOTH parties involved in thealtercation regarding a 500baht debt give varying ac-counts of what happened onthe night of November 13.

Full Story Page 3

Continued on Page 5

�� 20,000 IN CANDLE-LIT CEREMONY TO MARK 30TH DAY OF NATIONAL MOURNING

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Phuket’s premium 1,500baht pineapples all sold outwithin an hour.

Malindo Air commencesflights between KualaLumpur and Phuket.

Athletes warm up for theForemost Ironman 70.3triathlon.

By Sukawin Tanthavanich

MORE than 20,000 people are estimatedto have taken part in the historic candle-litceremony atop Promthep Cape on Novem-ber 12 to commemorate the 30th day of

national mourning since the passing of HisMajesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, whichwas announced on October 13.

At 6pm, Phuket Governor ChokchaiDejamornthan and local dignitaries led thepublic in singing the Royal Anthem along-

side the 200-strong Phuket Symphonic Bandas a flotilla of more than 50 Royal Thai Navyships and other vessels decorated with lightsand the Thai tricolor floated off the cape.

An aerial view of the scene at Promthep Cape snapped by one of the 20 camera drones covering the historic event. Photo: Phuket Best Events

2 PHUKET GAZETTE November 19 - 25, 2016

Photos of a pickup truck partially submerged at Kamala Beach surfaced on November 12. Lt Col PramuanJaikratok of Kamala Police solved the mystery later – a foreigner had decided to tow his boat into thesea. He also confirmed the truck as well as the driver were safe and in good health. Photo: Gazette file

Pick-up truck takes adip in Kamala Bay

Rotting bodyfound afloat atRassada Pier German found

dead in Kamalahotel room

Task forcenabs tonne ofillegal meat

Man crushedto death bygraveyard gate

Corrupt lotteryvendors runout of luck

Third arrestfor Tuk Tukhead’s murder

THE rotting body of an uniden-tified man was found floatingat the Rassada Pier on themorning of November 13.

Lt Surachat Thongyai ofPhuket City Police receivedreports from near the Fish Mar-keting Organization at about7:10am.

“The body was faceless andcould not be identified as onlythe skull remained. There wasa tattoo on the left side of hisneck. He was wearing blue-redsport shorts and a black long-sleeved shirt. We believe hemay be of Burmese descent andpart of a fishing boat crew,”said Lt Surachat.

“The body is, give or take,15 days old, and has been sentto Vachira Phuket Hospital forfurther examination.”

“We asked around and noone seems to know him. It’spossible that this was a crime,and he was killed and throwninto the sea to hide the evi-dence. It’s also possible that hefell off a boat on his own anddied. We can’t say at this time,”said Lt Surachat.

Police told the Gazette thatthey intend to investigate thecase further by collecting moreevidence and questioning morepeople.

– Kritsada Mueanhawong

A THAI man was crushed todeath at a Phuket graveyard onthe morning of November 12.

Lt Kwansirinath Thairat ofWichit Police arrived at thescene with a doctor fromPhuket International Hospitaland Kusoldharm Foundationrescue workers, after pass-ersby saw him lying there andnotified authorities about8am.

He was believed to havebeen dead for at least 30 min-utes when officials arrived.

“Relatives of the 63-year-oldvictim, Virat Saelim, told usthat he rode his motorbike intothe ‘Catholic Phuket Grave-

yard’ behind DarasamuthPhuket School to pay his re-spects to his mother who wasburied there,” Lt Kwansirinathtold the Gazette.

“We believe he was closingthe gate on his way out whenone of the wheels broke, caus-ing the gate to fall on him.”

His body was moved toVachira Phuket Hospital. Doc-tors confirmed the cause ofdeath as a broken spine due tothe weight of the gate.

Police said that there will beno further investigation as hisrelatives have no doubt aboutthe incident being an accident.


OVER a dozen people sus-pected of selling overpricedlottery tickets were arrested allover Phuket yesterday.

Col Akkanit Danpitaksat ofthe Phuket Provincial Policeled the investigation team,which arrested 17 vendors al-leged to be selling lotterytickets for a higher price thanthey are worth.

“We patrolled 21 venues thatlocals had complained about,”said Col Akkanit. “They willeither spend a month in prisonor be fined 10,000 baht, or both.

Lottery tickets are priced at

80 baht each, but the police saythese vendors were sellingthem at 100 baht.

Col Akkanit added that thepolice will continue the raids,and urged the public to informthem of anyone else suspectedof selling the tickets at an in-flated price. Phuket ProvincialPolice: Tel: 076-212 046.


A THIRD suspect involved inthe shooting of the President ofthe Patong Tuk Tuk Drivers’Club was apprehended by po-lice on November 11.

A total of six suspects arebelieved to have been involvedin the shooting death of SakolSrisompoch, of which 3 havebeen arrested. On October 31,two suspects, a father and son,were also arrested.

“About 2pm, we captured 28-year-old Eakkawach Polpra-sitfrom Trang Province, in Pai Dis-trict, Mae Hong Son Province,”said Col Worapong Kamleu ofthe Crime Investigation Divi-sion of Police Region 5.

“Mr Eakkawach has beenhanded over to Kathu Police whohave charged him with murder,illegal possession of arms andammunition, and also with ‘un-necessarily firing shots in a town,

village or anywhere else there isa congregation of people’.”


OVER a tonne of illegally im-ported meat from India wasseized in Rassada on Novem-ber 15.

A joint task force compris-ing about 30 officers from theAnimal Quarantine Station 8(AQS) and Army 41 was led bythe Head of AQS, PornchaiInkhamdee, to raid two loca-tions in the area.

The 1,342 kilograms of whatofficials believe to be buffalomeat was seized at about 1pm,along with two men named asBarorkat Thorthip andChaiyong Kongchamnan.

“The Department of Live-stock policy states that localauthorities keep tabs on importedproducts,” said Mr Pornchai.“We were eyeing two locationsthat seemed to be suspicious anddecided to make our move.”

“During our first raid wefound Mr Chaiyong in a housewith 300kg of the meat, whilethe second raid was of a com-pany named Andaman MeatSupply Co Ltd, where MrBarorkat and the additional1,042kg of meat were found.”

Mr Pornchai confirmed that

all of the meat will be de-stroyed.

Both suspects were taken toPhuket City Police Station forlegal processing, and werecharged with importing meatwithout permission and trans-porting meat withoutpermission.

– Kongleaphy Keam

POLICE are investigating thedeath of a German man whosebody was found on November14 in a Kamala hotel room,where police also found almosta dozen empty packets of thesedative Quetiapine.

Kamala Police responded toa call from staff at KamalaBeach Resort about 2pm to findthe body of German nationalMr Herrmann, 48, lying face-up on the bed dressed in shortsand a T-shirt.

The Gazette is withholdingthe full name of the deceaseduntil it can be confirmed that hisnext of kin have been notified.

Investigating officer LtSomnuek Damkaew said therewere no signs of struggle in theroom and it is believed the mandied about 4 hours before hisbody was discovered.

On a desk in the hotel room,police found eleven used 10-pill strips of Quetiapine, whichis an anti-depressant prescribedas a sleep aid for the treatmentof schizophrenia and bipolardisorder.

They also found variousidentification cards, 270 euro,2,840 baht, spectacles, keys, amobile phone as well as air tick-ets indicating that Mr Herrmannhad entered Thailand on No-vember 3 and was due to checkout of the hotel and fly to Frank-furt on November 16.

A housekeeper at the hoteltold police she had cleaned MrHerrmann’s room daily and hehad always let her in when shevisited around 9.30 each morn-ing. However, this time whenshe knocked on his door, heshouted something in Germanand didn’t open the door.

“The maid later found MrHerrmann’s body after lettingherself into the room about12.30pm when she returnedand received no response af-ter knocking,” said ColSomnuek.

“The body was taken toPatong Hospital for furtherexamination and the GermanEmbassy has been informedof the death,” the colonelconfirmed.

PHUKET GAZETTE 3November 19 - 25, 2016

Angry driver charged, finedfor kicking gas attendant

Man shot dead

The driver sped off, only to return to kick Mr Usaman down to theground. Photo: Traffic Line Group

By Kongleaphy Keam andWinai Sarot

A DRIVER who assaulted agas station employee in TahChat Chai on November 10 wascharged for the altercation thenext afternoon.

The driver, named asPariwat Polsamak, 29, ap-peared on CCTV footage thatwent viral on Facebook.

The footage showed thedriver pulling up to a Shell gasstation in Tah Chat Chai about6pm. After talking to the atten-dant on duty, Mr Pariwat droveoff without getting his tankfilled.

After some time, he returnedto the station, got out of his carand kicked the staffer down tothe ground.

The attack was reportedlyprompted by the attendant’s re-fusal to fill up the driver’s tankas he did not agree to turn offhis car engine.

Earlier this year on May 29,the Department of EnergyBusiness (DOEB) announcedthat gas station attendants arelegally responsible for ensuringthat drivers turn off their en-gines and put away their cellphones at the pump.

Disobeying regulations car-ries a maximum penalty of100,000 baht, a year in prison,or both. However, despite theimportance of this safety mea-sure, DOEB officials have saidthat strict enforcement will nottake place until 2018.

A Facebook user named SiriKwanmongkol, believed to be

the owner of the car, posted anapology online. His Facebookpost read:

“I would like to apologizeto everyone, especially thegas station attendant in-volved. I parked my car to getmy tank filled, but I didn’thear him say anything as I waslistening to music and the vol-ume was very high. I keptwaiting for him to fill thetank, but when he didn’t, Irolled down the window toask him why. He said it wasbecause I didn’t turn off theengine. He looked angry so Itold him to remove the nozzlefrom my car and left. Whathappened afterward is myfault and I went back to per-sonally apologize for it.”

Police summoned the em-ployee, Usaman Satapor, 31,and the car owner, Mr Pariwatfor questioning. Earlier, Po-lice had only the names ofboth parties and called themin for a ‘negotiation’. “Weweren’t able to get in touchwith the employee, MrUsaman, at first,” Lt ColWatcharin Jirattikarnwiwat ofthe Tah Chat Chai Police toldthe Gazette.

“Mr Usaman’s treatment atThalang Hospital cost him 300baht,” Col Watcharin said.

“He asked Mr Pariwat for3,000 baht in compensation,which he received. We havecharged Mr Pariwat with as-sault and fined him 1,000baht.”

By Kritsada Mueanhawong

THE son of a Patong Police of-ficer was fatally shot near theBritish International SchoolPhuket (BISP) in Koh Kaew at7:30pm on November 13.

Thanapol Choosawat, 21,was pronounced dead at Mis-sion Hospital.

“The scene was littered withremnants of a car’s side mirror,one Buddha amulet and twoamulet cases. No bullet casingswere found at the scene,” saidPhuket City Police Maj NattayaSuwanpong.

“According to the victim’sfriend and witness to theshooting, Yuranan Jitjaroen,21, the deceased had arrangedto meet ‘someone’ near theschool about a 500-baht pay-ment. He said a white ToyotaVios pulled up near them. MrThanapol reportedly went overto talk to the driver but theybegan arguing.

“Mr Yuranan claims that thedriver shot Mr Thanapol oncein the chest and shot again atthe pair as they fled, but thatthe second shot hit the car’sside mirror instead. The Viosdriver then reportedly drove offdown Soi Hanfarang.

On November 14, the twomen in the car, PadermchaiChaichana, 35, and KanPhothalang, 22, surrendered atPhuket City Police Station at4pm. They were preliminarilycharged with premeditatedmurder, attempted murder, ille-gal possession of a firearm andcarrying a firearm in publicwithout permission.

Investigating officer Lt Col

Naruebadin Pangleesen ofPhuket City Police said MrKan, who runs a tattoo parlor,claimed that a friend of MrThanapol, known only as ‘Lip’,had gone to get inked at hisparlor and had agreed to pay500 baht for the tattoo.

“Mr Kan claims that when hehad nearly finished the tattoo,Mr Lip told him it was too pain-ful and asked him to stop, thenleft the shop without paying forit,” said Col Naruebadin.

Mr Lip reportedly tele-phoned Mr Kan later on andtold him if he wanted the 500baht they should meet nearBISP to settle the matter.

The two suspects went on toexplain that they went to meetMr Lip as arranged but couldnot come to an agreement.

They claimed that MrThanapol and his friendYuranan Jitjaroen drove towardthe car out of the darkness andshot into the vehicle, injuring athird in their car.

They claim in their state-ments that Mr Padermchaislapped the gun out of MrThanapol’s hands and, in de-fense, took out his own gun –at which point Mr Thanapoltried to grab the gun and acci-dentally shot himself, said ColNaruebadin.

Col Naruebadin told theGazette that as both sides tolddiffering accounts of the inci-dent more evidence wasrequired to get to the bottom ofthe case.

Mr Kan and Mr Padermchaireportedly plan to file a com-plaint against Mr Thanapol andhis accomplices.

Police collect evidence at the scene of the fatal shooting near BISP.No bullet casings were found. Photo: Gazette file


Memories of HM King at Saphan HinBy Sukawin Tanthavanich

IMAGES of His Majesty KingBhumibol Adulyadej were pro-jected onto the Mining Monu-ment at Saphan Hin on thenight of November 12, to markthe 30th day of mourning forthe late King.

Led by Phuket City MayorSomjai Suwansupana, about10,000 people gathered atWong Wian Hoy (Shell Round-about) at 8pm for a candle-litceremony and to sing the RoyalAnthem with live musical ac-companiment performed by theYamaha Music School ofPhuket.

Local student Yada Sajakiulsang a song dedicated to HisMajesty King Bhumibol titled‘Nai Luang Kong Pen Din’,while 3D images of HM theKing carrying out his Royalduties were projected ontothe monument during the cer-emony. The Saphan Hin Shell Monument was lit up with 3D projections of HM King Bhumibol performing his royal duties. Photo: Phuket Reporter Club

A HALLUCINATING Bela-rusian man ran amok inThalang on November 8, shout-ing that he could see deadpeople as he stripped off nakedand ran, shouting, into a rub-ber plantation near the Shellgas station on ThepkrasattriRoad, where he and a friendhad pulled up on a motorcycle.

He was later found and sub-dued by locals, who, believingthe man had been possessed byevil spirits, performed im-promptu rituals with Buddhaimage amulets.

Police arrived at the gasstation at 7pm and questionedStarheyeu Aliaksandr, 34,who said his friend, KirillBelov, 34, had been actingstrangely and was confusedabout his own state of mind

Belarusian ‘possessed’after Koh Samui trip

since a recent trip to KohSamui.

Police and volunteers spentabout half an hour looking forMr Belov, before finding himabout 500 meters from the gasstation in the company of localvillagers, who had performedexorcism rituals on the nakedman.

“The exorcism spellsseemed to have worked,” saidThalang Police Lt NirotBoonsiri. “Mr Belov appearedto have calmed down. Wetested him for drug use. Theresults were negative.

“The friends plan to go toMalaysia on a visa run but we’dstill like to have Mr Belovlooked at by a psychologist,”said Lt Nirot.


Locals used Buddha amulets to exorcise evil spirits from the confusedBelarusian. Photo: Kritsada Mueanhawong


20,000 gather at Promthep Cape

At 6pm on November 12, Phuket Governor Chokchai Dejamornthan and local dignitaries led the public in a candle-lit ceremony to sing the Royal Anthem as a mark of remembranceon the 30th day of national mourning for HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Photo: Phuket Best Events

From Page 1


Samui remembers Rama IX

By Suchat Hankij

THOUSANDS of people at-tended a candle-lit ceremonyon Koh Samui on November 13to commemorate the 30th dayof national mourning forHis Majesty King Bhumibol

AIR passengers travelling inand out of Thailand now haveto pay a surcharge of 15 bahtper person per flight segment.

The funds raised from thesurcharge will be primarilyused for improvements to thecountry’s aviation system asoverseen by the Civil AviationAuthority of Thailand (CAAT),such as upgraded safety stan-dards. However, the move hasangered the head of the travelagents association.

The CAAT and the Interna-tional Air Transport Association(IATA) agreed on November 1to implement the new charge butit did not go into full effect untilNovember 14.

The extra fee is being addedto air-ticket prices by IATAmembers. The global aviationauthority will also get a cut ofthe proceeds.

Currently, IATA overseesand supervises 265 aviationauthorities representing 85 percent of global aviation.

According to the TourismAssociation of Thailand, thecountry is expected to receivemore than 32 million interna-tional tourists this year, while

more than six million Thais willtravel overseas.

Based on the total passengernumbers from two flights pertrip per person, the new sur-charge should generate 1.1billion baht per year.

Charoen Wangananont,president of the Association ofThai Travel Agents (ATTA),expressed doubts about the new

surcharge. He also wonderedwhy foreign organizations suchas the IATA have the right tointervene in Thailand’s aviationsystem on such a big decision,saying it was not fair to maketravellers going in and out ofthe country pay a fee that theIATA benefits from.

“If the government wants tosolve aviation problems or de-

International passengers must nowpay new B15 surcharge per flight

velop further projects, itshould grant a special budgetand let the Thai authorities doit, not ask for money from pas-sengers. Also the IATA shouldnot be involved in this issue,”Mr Charoen said.

He said aviation expertsworking at the CAAT shouldbe paid by the Thai govern-ment, not by passengers.

In the third quarter, 8.2 mil-lion foreigners travelled toThailand. China continued to bethe main source market with 2.4million visitors during the three-month period. Arrivals fromEurope came in at around 1.2million, up 12 per cent from thethird quarter last year, whilethere were 2.2 million visitorsfrom Asean countries; up 14 percent.

IATA representatives saidlast week that global passengertraffic in September grew 7 percent compared with the samemonth in 2015. This was thestrongest year-over-year in-crease in seven months.Capacity climbed 6.6 per cent.

European carriers saw Sep-tember demand rise 5.2 per centover September 2015.

Asia-Pacific airlines’ trafficrose 8.6 per cent in Septembercompared with the year-ago pe-riod, although there are stillsigns of Asian travellers beingput off by terrorism in Europe.

Middle East carriers had an11.5 per cent rise in demand inSeptember compared to a yearago.

– The Nation

Passengers flying in and out of Thailand must now pay a 15 baht surcharge for each flight, amounting to1.1 billion baht per year generated for the IATA. Photo: Chutharat Plerin

Adulyadej.Koh Samui District Chief

Paiboon Omak led the cer-emony, which began at 6pmwith attendees singing theRoyal Anthem and forming thenumber 9 as written in the Thailanguage. The word ‘Samui’

was also formed in English.“Locals and a large number

of expats and tourists joined theceremony,” said Mr Paiboon,who reminisced about a visit tothe island by the late King onApril 24, 1962, saying localsfondly remembered the visit.

Thousands of people form the number ‘9’ in Thai script and the word ‘Samui’ in English to mark the 30thday of mourning for HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej on November 13. Photo: Suchat Hankij

‘100% Helmet’ campaignlaunched on Koh Samuiin honor of His Majesty

HUNDREDS of motorcycliststurned out at Nathorn Pier onKoh Samui on November 13to promote the launch of a‘100% Helmet’ campaign.

Led by Koh Samui PublicHealth Office in collaborationwith the local police force, thecampaign aimed to encourageall motorcyclists to wear crashhelmets – and to do so to honorthe memory of His MajestyKing Bhumibol Adulyadej.

“Public support was encourag-ing,” said Koh Samui policesuperintendent Col ThewetPluemsut, who confirmed thatthere were at least 550 motor-cycles present at the launch event.

“Crash helmets save lives,”said the colonel. “The purposeof this campaign is to urge bothlocals and tourists to alwayswear crash helmets wheneverout riding.

– Suchat Hankij

About 550 motorcyclists showed their support for the road safetycampaign. Photo: Suchat Hankij


Rice farmersget help fromentreprenuers

SOME volunteers were re-moved from queue-manage-ment duties at Sanam Luang

Volunteersabuse authorityin BKK

ENTREPRENEURS have al-ready ordered 220 tonnes ofrice directly from farmers, cut-ting out middlemen, through aLabour Ministry initiativeaimed at easing growers’ woesover falling rice prices.

The initiative seeks to helpfarmers bypass traders who of-ten demand high margins.

“We have asked entrepre-neurs that provide food to theirworkers as part of their welfareto consider buying rice directlyfrom farmers,” Labour Protec-tion and Welfare Departmentdirector-general Sumet Mahosotsaid November 13.

He said purchase orders forrice via the Labour Ministryhad already exceeded 220tonnes as a result.

Farmers in Phayao and Si SaKet provinces will hand over thefirst batch of 45.4 tonnes of ricefor distribution to various enter-prises in Rayong, Chon Buri,Ayutthaya and Samut Prakanprovinces. Mr Sumet added thatupon a request from his depart-ment, many entrepreneurs hadagreed to allow the sale of riceto workers at their facilities.

“We can already set up 15such points of sale,” he said.

The programs have beenmade under Labour MinisterGeneral Sirichai Dithakul’s“From Farmers to Workers”project, Sumet said.

He also urged employers tocontact his department or itsbranches if they are interested

in buying rice directly fromfarmers.

following complaints frommourners that they had “losttheir temper” and abused theirauthority.

First Army Area’s deputycommander Maj GeneralPongsawat Pannajit said on No-vember 11, in his capacity as thedeputy head of the joint safetyoperation center: “We have re-ceived complaints that somevolunteers have lost their temperand acted inappropriately.”

He said his center had heardthat some volunteers hadabused their authority and triedto force people out of the linesbecause of their clothing. “Wehave already made it clear thatpeople must not be forced outof the lines,” he said.

While there is a dress codefor mourners who can go inside,Royal Household Bureau offi-cials have been lenient wherepossible as not all Thais can af-ford new black clothes. Manygood Samaritans have alsomade suitable black clothes thatmourners can borrow and wear.

Gen Pongsawat said that thevolunteers who had been re-moved from queue manage-ment operation had alreadybeen assigned tasks that did notrequire direct contact withmourners. “We have recruited50 more volunteers from theInterior Ministry to help withqueue management.”

Volume 23 Issue 47


Do you have an opinion to voice?Email [email protected]

Put police resources to better use

Fill ‘em up

Timing of renova-tions not suitable

Re: Aot launches detailed mapsto help Phuket airport visitors,Nov 11

First of all, starting theserenovations is completely stu-pid at this period of the year.

If they had started in the lowseason, we would not have themess we have today. The mapis a little late! Will be interest-ing to see the chaos halfwaythrough December when many

Some people need areality check

Re: Angry driver assaults Phuketgas station employee, Nov 11

Seems like another arrogant,self-important person treatingpeople like dirt – too much of this‘do you know who I am’ stuffgoing on at the moment. Somepeople need a reality check.

Mister ReeGazette forum

The Phuket Gazette wishes the Department of Energy Busi-ness (DoEB) the best of luck in its bid to get all motorists toput away their mobile phones while filling up at service sta-tions – it will certainly need it.

In May this year, officials of the DoEB confirmed that ser-vice station personnel would play a key role in ensuring twosafety procedures are enforced throughout the re-fuelling pro-cess: first, that all engines must be turned off; and second,that motorists are required to ‘put away’ their cell phonesthroughout the process.

Service station attendants who fail to comply will face stiffpenalties when the existing measures become strictly enforcedstarting in 2018, DoEB officials said. [See page 3]

The requirement to turn off the engine is reasonableenough. Even if the risk of a conflagration at the pump dueto a running engine may be tiny, it is not negligible. Faultyignition coils and other electrical components can generatesparks when these systems short circuit, creating the poten-tial for catastrophe if gasoline vapors are ignited.

Gas station attendants can easily tell if an engine is stillrunning and deny service until it is shut off. Modern cars aremarvels of safety engineering and many new models are sen-sibly designed to prevent the filler cap from being removed ifthe engine is still running.

While the first measure seems reasonable enough, the require-ment for motorists to put away their precious cell phones duringre-fuelling will no doubt prove far more difficult, if not impos-sible, to enforce. For a start, cell phone ‘addiction’ is widespread.Far too many among us are simply incapable of not peckingaway on these devices whenever an opportunity arises.

To put things in perspective, let us remember that it is al-ready illegal for motorists to talk or text on their devices whileoperating them, yet this is an all-too-common practice in ourcountry. If the police are not inclined to arrest motorcyclistswho nonchalantly ride past them while fully engaged in atelephone call, how can we ever expect them to enforce thesame restriction against stationary car drivers hidden fromview behind black-tinted windows?

The DoEB should study the actual risks posed by cell phonesat service stations and then start any enforcement effort byforbidding gas station attendants themselves from using theirdevices at the pumps. It might not have a significant impact onoverall safety, but it would certainly improve service standards.

Re: Luck runs out for Phuket’slottery vendors, Nov 15

What a terrible crime! Andworth a photo opportunity, itseems.

Does the average personcare if a lottery ticket sellermakes an extra 20 baht to sup-port his family?

Surely the police can findsomething more important todo, plenty of real criminalsaround to catch.

Peter rawaiGazette forum

Almost all the natu-ral beauty gone

Re: Opinion: The environmen-tal cost of development, Nov13

“Phuket can no longer relyon its natural beauty as the solemeans of attracting tourists.”

But the natural beauty ofPhuket is almost unique and isbeing destroyed, while confer-ence and exhibition centers,shopping malls and dolphinshows can be built anywherein the world.

FedericoPGazette forum

Not a progressiveapproach by police

Re: Man crushed to death atPhuket graveyard, Nov 12

“Police said that there willbe no further investigation ashis relatives have no doubtabout the incident being an ac-cident.” Anyone still believethat this is not a Third Worldcountry?

ChasGazette forum

Don’t mind payingfor good service

Re: International passengersmust pay new B15 surchargeper flight, Nov 15

I wondered how long beforethe rest of us would be payinga levy.

Like anything else, if the ser-vice is there I don’t mind

paying, but from what I’ve readthere is none.

Now there are big backlogs,and if my memory serves me, afew weeks ago the Prime Min-ister said he wanted to see allservice desks manned at the air-port, which is not happening.

So, dear Immigration Offic-ers, the rest is up to you.

BazzaGazette forum

My ‘favorite’ one is the ex-tra 200 baht that theimmigration police charge atHat Yai, just to let you back into the Kingdom.

Multiply that by the 3000people every day.

No receipt issued of course!Rick Menlove

Facebook

more people arrive.Eric

Gazette forum

Avoid ‘cheap stuff’

Re: Belarusian ‘possessed byevil spirits’ after trip to SamuiNov 11

I’m thinking he went for thecheap stuff that is cut withgasoline. Had a friend do thatstuff years ago. Now he swatsat imaginary butterflies.

Adam StokesbaryFacebook


Words from the Wise“Today’s scientists have substitutedmathematics for experiments, andthey wander off through equationafter equation, and eventually builda structure which has no relation toreality.”

– Nikola Tesla

Where can I donate unwanted clothes?

The nation grieves

I’m moving out of Phuket nextmonth and I am wondering ifany official organization ac-cepts donations of clothes,shoes and some electricalitems.

The items may not very ex-pensive or worth much but I donot want to waste them bythrowing away when theycould be put to good use.

Were can I donate these?Pollakit Rakthong Chief ofmaintenance section at

Kusoldharm Rescue Centerreplies: The Kusoldharm Cen-ter always welcomes donationsof clothes and shoes, which can

be passed on to people in needsuch as local sea gypsies and poorchildren.

We advise you to donate elec-trical items to other public orprivate charitable organizations.However, Kusoldharm volunteerscan take those electrical items andpass them on if you have nowhereelse to donate them.

The Kusoldharm Center ad-dress is No. 34, Soi 9, PoonpholRoad, Phuket town. Tel: 076-211706, 076-246 216.

“The chief function of the body is tocarry the brain around.”

– Thomas A Edison

Love of His Majesty“Glad to have a chance to get involved”

‘Nobody was forced toattend – everyone did itout of sheer love andrespect. Every single oneof us came together forour beloved King withtrue devotion in ourhearts, keeping the mainpurpose in mind, whichwas to pay respect’– Mayor of Rawai

Aroon Solos

Aroon Solos, 50, has beenthe Mayor of Rawai for 16years. He was born andraised in Rawai, and wasinvolved in social work evenbefore he became themayor. Mr Aroon graduatedin Industrial Engineeringfrom Kasem BunditUniversity.

Here, he talks about pre-paring for the greatest event of his life, which is theceremony held at Laem Prom Thep on November12 to commemorate 30 days since His Majesty KingBhumibol Adulyadej’s passing.

FROM the very beginning, wewere aware that this eventwould cause some inconve-nience to people on the island,as so many people gathering inone place usually does. Thereis always some degree ofchaos and confusion in thesethings and I am willing to ad-mit that much. We were pre-pared for the worst, andequipped to handle any fore-seeable problems.

However, it was all for thelove of His Majesty. Nobodywas forced to attend – every-one did it out of sheer love andrespect. Every single one of uscame together for our belovedKing with true devotion in ourhearts, keeping the main pur-pose in mind, which was to payrespect to His Majesty.

It was the greatest spectacleI have ever seen;all the civil ser-vants andofficials dressedin black, otherofficials in theiruniforms andthe public inblack mourningattire. It was anhonor to orga-nize this in myhometown atP r o m t h e pCape, a famouslandmark ofPhuket.

We preparedthousands of white candles forthe public, just in case they couldnot get them on their own. Wealso prepared parking spots for

thousands of vehicles becausewe could not let the vehicles goup to the top. This was a com-bined effort by government andprivate sector service providers,who joined hands to offer freeservices to transport people to the

top and backdown. Theyp r o v i d e dvans, localbuses (PoThong) andmotorcyclesto transportpeople thereand back. Iam thankfulto everyonewho sup-ported thisevent.

We alsoi n s t a l l e dsigns leading

people to the right place tomake sure they would not getlost on the alternative routeleading to the cape.

We held meetings every dayahead to make sure everythingwas covered in the best possibleway. It required a lot of hardwork and cooperation from allparties involved, including themilitary and police. Everyoneput in their best efforts into mak-ing this a success. I did not needto say much about this, as youcan already see from the turn-out of the event and how wellorganized it was.

I am so glad to have had achance to get involved in sucha great event. I am grateful toPhuket Governor ChokchaiDejamornthan, who put me incharge of the planning and or-ganization. I did my best andso did everyone else involved.Our late King worked very hardhis entire life for us and thecountry. You can see how proudPhuketians and Thais are toshow the world what a greatKing he was and how we aregrieving his loss.

School children sing along to His Majesty's compositions whileonlookers enjoy the scene. Photo: Sahar Aftab Paliwala

Do you have an opinion to voice?Email [email protected]

By Sahar Aftab Paliwala

IT IS as many of us had feared;Donald Trump is soon to be theman in the White House andsigns of chaos have alreadybegun to erupt in many partsof the United States and evenother parts of the world. Mar-kets are tumbling, people arecalling for a re-count, othershave taken to the streets in pro-test and yet others are still inshock.

It is a different story alto-gether in Phuket. While theworld wonders what to expectat the culmination of this bi-zarre election season,Phuketians, and indeed allThais, are absorbed in mourn-ing the loss of the nation’sfather.

While government and pub-lic sector officials are directedto wear mourning garb for awhole year, many Thais arevoluntarily dressed in black,although the 30-day period isnow past. One recent outpour-ing of love and devotion tookplace at Laem Promthep onNovember 12, when approxi-mately 20,000 people gatheredto commemorate the loss oftheir beloved Monarch.

Even as a foreigner, I couldfeel the overwhelming emotionand sense of loss that hung inthe air. Women, children, young

and old alike hiked up to the topof the cape, some in wheelchairs,others with children in tow, butnone complaining. If there is onething you could immediately see,it was everybody’s eagerness tobe there and show their love.From posing with His Majesty’spicture to lighting a candle andsaying a prayer for him, all wereeager to make their prayer heardand their blessing count.

However, another emotion,perhaps not as glaringly obvi-ous as the expression of sorrow,was a sense of pride in the coun-try and the Monarch they hadso recently lost. School childrenplayed His Majesty’s composi-tions and everyone listened inraptures to each tune, whichthen received enthusiastic ap-plause. It was as if Thais weretelling the world that this losswas more than just Thailand’sloss – the world had lost a greatleader as well. And in that mo-ment, joined by thousands ofThais mourning their King, I feltlike this was my loss as well.


Reasons market will move higher

By looking at the current technical charts, we have a pretty good ideaof just where the market will head, that is basically back down to recentlows or bottoms on the charts. Image: Dawn Hudson

KBank and IBM team up Thailand may get upgraded IPR status

US and global markets con-tinue to hold in a tight 2-3month range near new highsafter breaking out of a long 1.5year consolidation just afterBrexit. This is occurring de-spite all the pessimism out theresurrounding the US elections,the Fed, terrorism, Brexit fall-out, Deutsche Bank troublesand other concerns.

I have ten reasons to believethe market will continue tohead higher until the end of theyear:

1. Historically speaking, be-tween May and October, theS&P 500 has rallied in 19 of thelast 22 election years or 86 percent of the time for an averagegain of 6.2 per cent. Keep inmind that these results areskewed by significant volatil-ity in a few election years (like2008). As of early October,leading stocks and market in-dices are higher and continueto go up.

2. The price of oil has stabi-lized after spending the last fewyears plunging. This is not onlygood for energy stocks, but alsofor large-scale consumers ofenergy (airlines, utility compa-nies) as they now havepredictability.

3. Fundamentals and earn-

ings have been coming in fine,but not particularly great. Thenagain, they have not been com-ing in all that great for severalyears now – meaning that noth-ing has really changed all thatmuch. But expectations are lowand now we see Netflix andMicrosoft beating earnings es-timates and moving higher 25per cent and 5 per cent after re-lease of earnings.

4. Index technical charts aregenerally looking good as theyare either consolidating or al-ready breaking out.

5. October-November tendsto be the start of the strong sea-sonality period, which usuallylasts until April. Investors and

fund managers will also begintheir end of the year ‘windowdressing’ of returns either fortax or performance purposes.

6. We need semiconductors tolead and the iShares PHLXSemiconductor ETF (NASDAQ: SOXX) has been doing that inrecent months –- something thathas escaped most market punditswho only focus on negativity.

Technology index (QQQ) isat a higher level than the 2000technology top. This is a posi-tive sign and I will be writingmore on that in the upcomingnext article.

7. The iShares North Ameri-can Tech-Software ETF(NYSEARCA: IGV) and the

First Trust DJ Internet IndexFund ETF (NYSEARCA:FDN) are also strongly meltingupward.

8. The iShares TransportationAverage ETF (NYSEARCA:IYT) is showing a huge bottom-ing formation which indicatesthat he overall economy ispoised to get better.

9. Despite media reports thatDeutsche Bank AG (NYSE:DB) is imploding or may needa bailout, the technical chart forthe iShares MSCI Germany In-dex Fund ETF (NYSEARCA:EWG) actually looks similar tothat of IYT and could also bepoised to breakout (best casescenario) or rollover (worstcase scenario).

10. The Vanguard TotalStock Market ETF (NYSEA-RCA: VTI) is not back aboveits previous all time high and didexperience a minor throwbackin September, but it has alsoheld up. VTI could still experi-ence some short-term fluctu-ations and even another break-down before ultimately endingthe year higher.

“Now imagine the worstcase scenario, such as anotherhigh-profile terrorist attacksomewhere or Deutsche Bankimplodes or something elsehappens that triggers a reces-sion. By looking at the currenttechnical charts, we have apretty good idea of just wherethe market will head, that is

basically back down to recentlows or bottoms on the charts.Of course, this is baring a ma-jor ‘black swan’ type eventsuch as 9/11 or a complete fi-nancial system meltdown suchas in 2008.

On the hand – in the bestcase scenario – the entire mar-ket beyond semiconductors,software and Internet stockscould continue to go upward;especially once the uncertaintysurrounding the US election isout of the way.

My plan as we enter the 4thquarter is to hold leading andemerging leadership stocks andgive them room to grow to theupside. Right now, the marketdirection appears bullish. Butshould the market transitionback down again or if a bearmarket were to begin, the priceaction will warn us to get outof stocks and back into cash.

Don Freeman, BSME, is presidentof Freeman Capital Management,a Registered Investment Advisorwith the US Securities ExchangeComm-ission (SEC), based inPhuket. He has over 15 yearsexperience working withexpatriates, specializing inportfolio management, US taxprepa-ration, financial planningand UK pension transfers. Call fora free portfolio review. Don can bereached at 089-970 5795 oremail him on [email protected]

THAILAND’S status is ex-pected to be upgraded inWashington’s Intellectual Prop-erty Rights protection (IPR)rankings next year, even thoughDonald Trump has indicated hewill pursue a stringent IPRpolicy when in office.

Commerce Minister ApiradiTantraporn said that Thailandexpected to be upgraded from theUS Priority Watch List (PWL) tothe Watch List (WL) next year,due to its efforts to protect intel-lectual property rights.

“The government has alsomade strong efforts to raise IPRawareness and enforce manyrelated laws,” she said.

“Despite [the likelihood]Trump will tighten IPR law,Thailand is not [unduly] con-cerned as we have alreadydeveloped our IPR protectionstandard, as well as increasedawareness and our own inno-vation,” Ms Apiradi said.

Moreover, the government

also has a policy to promote thecountry under a digital economyand support innovation and theuse of IPR for commercializa-tion, the minister said, addingthat the Kingdom’s IPR standardhas made major headway com-pared to the past several years.

Thailand was downgradedto the PWL in 2007 and has re-mained there as it struggled tomanage IPR problems, mean-ing that exports to the US couldbe made subject to high dutiesor other trade barriers.

The government has alsodrawn up a plan to suppressIPR violation and has had na-tional strategies on intellectualproperty rights since 2012, set-ting out a clear road map forwork that needs to be done, andwhich will be continued in theyears to come, Ms Apiradi ex-plained.

Tossapon Tungsubutra, act-ing director-general of theIntellectual Property Depart-

ment, said the US Trade Rep-resentative had followed up onThailand’s moves to crackdown on IPR violation andsolve the problem of infringe-ment, especially on the internet.

To raise awareness amongtraders, the department has pro-vided a manual for merchantsto warn them that the copyingof goods is illegal and that vio-lators will be subject topunishment under the law.

Moreover, to boost aware-ness among foreign visitors, thedepartment had also asked forcooperation from Airports ofThailand to install a billboardat Suvarnabhumi Airport warn-ing travellers not to buy copiedgoods, the official said.

In addition, to promote cre-ativity in Thailand, thedepartment has set up an Inno-vation Driven Enterprise centerto support innovation from up-stream to downstream.

– The Nation

KASIKORNBANK plans tolaunch blockchain technology inthe first half of 2017 with IBM.

KBank will also invite com-mercial banks and otherorganizations to use the technol-ogy, said Somkid Jiranuntarat,vice chairman of Kasikorn Busi-ness Technology Group.

In the initial stage, a systemcalled OriginalCert API will beused to certify letters of guar-antee (LG), which will simplifyand speed up the LG issuance

process for customers.Mr Somkid said the KBank

would soft-launch the system toa sample of customers in thefirst quarter of next year, aheadof launching it commerciallybefore mid-2017.

He said KBank recognizesthat blockchain technology is aturning point for future busi-ness concepts and models, soit collaborated with IBM on thepilot project.

– The Nation


Looking for a place to stay?See more classified ads at

www.phuketgazette.net

Premium pineapples sold out

The price tag was decided by adding a thousand baht to the land area of the island. Photo: Chutharat Plerin

Billions of baht inadvertising pulledAN ESTIMATED 4.6 billionbaht worth of advertisingspending was cancelled lastmonth after the death of HisMajesty King BhumibolAdulyadej on October 13, ac-cording to data from Nielsen(Thailand).

The figure was 45 per centof the total advertising expen-diture of B10.24bn in the samemonth last year. The media re-search giant reported onNovember 11 that overall ad-vertising spending last monthstood at B5.61bn.

The government had orderedall media outlets to drop paidadvertisements, concerts andother show-business events aswell as lower the tone of theirentertainment-related programsto pay respects to the much-re-vered monarch for 30 days.

Radio advertising revenuefell 45 per cent to B287mn,while magazine ad revenuedropped 38 per cent toB231mn. Newspaper ad spend-ing plummeted 26.48 per centto B733mn.

Online-media advertisingspending dipped 10.43 percent to B103mn. Last month,out-of-home media remainedin positive territory. Outdoorad revenue climbed byB469mn. Transit-media adspending grew by B420mnand in-store-media ad spend-ing jumped 6.06 per cent toB35mn.

Top advertisers that cuttheir spending in October in-cluded Coca-Cola, Toyota,Tesco Lotus, Samsung’s mo-bile-phone unit, and Isuzu.

– The Nation

By Chutharat Plerin

A HUNDRED Phuket-grownpremium pineapples priced at1,543 baht each were pre-booked for sale within an houron November 11.

The pineapples will be readyfor harvest in February nextyear and sold at the PhuketPineapple Festival 2017,Phuket Governor ChokchaiDejamornthan announced at apress conference at Tu Kab Khaorestaurant in Phuket Town.

“As we all know, pineapplesare one of Phuket’s signatureitems, along with batik, goats’milk and lobster. These prod-ucts are all branded andpromoted by Pracha Rath RakSamakkee to help boost theprovince’s grassroots agricul-tural economy,” said GovernorChokchai.

Pracha Rath Rak SamakkeePhuket was first launched onMarch 31 this year, as a gov-ernment-backed corporationwith the aim of developing andpromoting the province’sstrengths, such as tourism, ag-riculture and locally-producedgoods under the One TambonOne Product (OTOP) banner.

“These select, premiumfruits are our ambassadors. Wewill have signs announcing thepineapple festival – if you are

in Phuket at the time, you mustbe a part of it and eat the pine-apples,” said Gov Chokchai.

The mascot will be a boynamed ‘Ya-Nad’, which meanspineapple in the southern dialect.

The pineapple project wasfirst introduced in July, atwhich time only 50 pineapplesmet the quality criteria to meritthe high price tag.

Asked how the price wasjustified, Pracha Rath’s OrasaTosawang said that it was partof the marketing strategy toboost Phuket’s identity as asource of quality agriculturalproducts.

“Nonthaburi Province, forexample, has durian which sellsfor 210,000 baht, after theNonthaburi governor launcheda durian promotion campaign.The campaign put the provincein the spotlight and it becamewell-known nationwide – whyshouldn’t we have a 1,500 bahtpineapple?” Ms Orasa said.

Gov Chokchai also suggestedmerging Phuket’s pineappleswith Maha Sarakham’s rice.

“Normally rice is worth 20baht per kilogram, but we haveboosted that to 500 baht per kg.It is certified by the Ministry ofCommerce to be the most fra-

grant variety, proven by scien-tific methodology and testing,”he explained.

“So we take the world’s bestpineapples and combine it withthe world’s best rice, to makethe world’s best pineapple friedrice. We will sell it here, at theTu Kab Khao restaurant, as thesignature provider of thisunique product.”

The cost of the finishedproduct is yet to be announced.

Wirachai Pranveerapaibool,managing director of PrachaRath Rak Samakkee Phuket, ex-plained that the fruits that madeit to the final hundred were cho-

sen from seven million pine-apples farmed in about 2,200 raiin Phuket each year.

“The 100 pineapples andother Phuket pineapples will beready in February as it is thebest time of the year for pine-apples to flourish and we canbe assured of the best quality.It will be around the same timeas the Chinese New Year,” saidMr Wirachai.

He described the unique as-pects of Phuket’s pineapples asbeing the taste, aroma and tex-ture and added that the price tagof 1,543 baht was chosen byadding a thousand baht to theland area of Phuket, that is 543square kilometers.

“The 100 pineapples willcome in a package, includingproduct number and a certificatefrom the Department of Agricul-ture,” Mr Wirachai said.

Mr Wichai Sae-Tan, the presi-dent of Phuket PineappleFarmers Association, explainedthat the pineapples need to betaken good care of for 18 months.

“There are about 50 - 60pineapple farmers in Phuket, ofwhich 20 are in our group. Weare all committed to producingthe best quality pineapples,” hetold the Gazette. “For thisproject, we chose 25 pineappleseach from the top four pine-apple farmers.”


Jungceylon holds krathong workshop

Tourists show off Krathongs (floats) they made before releasing them into the sea.

Shoppers at Jungceylon in Patong were invited to make their own krathongs at the mall’s PortArena on November 14-21 to celebrate Loy Krathong and take home the free cultural souvenirs.

November 19 - 25, 2016 PHUKET GAZETTE 13

November full moon

From left: Phuket Vice Governor Teera Anantaseriwidhya; Governor ChokchaiDejamornthan; Vice Governor Snith Sriwihok; Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana.

Provincial officials marked the traditional Loy Krathong Day on the full moonnight of November 14 at Saphan Hin, by releasing krathongs at the lagoon. Thefestival was a more sombre affair than usual with no fireworks this year, as theprovince continues to mourn the passing of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Governor Chokchai prepares to release a krathong at the lagoon in Saphan Hin.


Phuketians light up waterwaysduring Loy Krathong festivities

Events were organized all over the Kingdom, such as this one in Saphan Hin. Photo: Phuket Municipality

By Kongleaphy Keam

PHUKET Governor ChokchaiDejamornthan and all threevice governors arrived atSaphan Hin as honorary gueststo join the Loy Krathong festi-val on November 14.

The event was organized byPhuket Municipality and led byPhuket City Mayor SomjaiSuwansupana.

Loy Krathong, the “Festivalof Light”, is one of Thailand’smost significant holidays. Theannual festival takes place onthe full moon of the 12th lunarmonth of the year, this year fall-ing on November 14.

The meaning of the name ofthe festival is literal. Loy means‘to float’, while krathong refersto the lotus-shaped vessels thatare traditionally made of bananatree stems and leaves contain-ing candles, joss sticks, smallofferings of food and flowers.

Traditionally, thousands ofpeople across the nation releasekrathong into rivers, lakes,ponds and the sea. The offerings

are made to give thanks to thegoddess of water and to seekforgiveness for past misdeeds.

The festival usually includesbeauty pageants, fireworks andkrathong-making contests using

materials such as banana leavesand cross-sections of banana treetrunks, coconut bark or paper.

“However, this year we didnot make the event too extrava-gant as we are still in the

mourning period of the HisMajesty King BhumibolAdulyadej’s passing. But as itis a Thai tradition, we did whatwe felt was appropriate,” saidMayor Somjai.

‘Super moon’ is a rare occurrence.Photo: Zohaib Sikander

‘Biggest’supermoonsince 1948

THE night of November 14featured a super moon, whichwas the biggest the world gotto see in 68 years. The specialthing about it was that in addi-tion to it being a full moon, itappeared so big because it wasclosest to earth at that time.

Hundreds of amateur and pro-fessional photographers focusedup at the skies all over the worldto capture the phenomenon.

The super moon livened upthe Loy Krathong festivities,which falls on a full moon an-nually.

– Zohaib Sikander


Athletes warm up for Ironman 70.3

The race begins with a 1.9km swim off Bangtao Beach.

British Olympic athlete Stuart Hayes is a regular competitor in Ironman events. Photo: Ironman 70.3

The second leg is a 90km bike race to Sarasin Bridge and back.

The last leg of the triathlon is a 21.1km long run.

SOME of the world’s fittesthuman beings are preparing toput their endurance to the testand compete for theUS$15,000 professional prizepurse at the upcoming inaugu-ral Foremost Ironman 70.3Thailand and ForemostIronkids event to be held inPhuket on November 27.

The athletes are to set offfrom Bangtao Beach for thefirst leg of the triathlon, a1.9km swim, followed by a90km bike race from the beachup to Sarasin Bridge and back,and then a 21.1km run startingand finishing at the beach.

The event’s title sponsor,FrieslandCampina (Thailand)Public Company Limited, isbacking the sports event aspart of their ‘Drink.Move.BeStrong’ campaign.

“In 2014, we launched‘Drink.Move.BeStrong’ cam-paign throughout SoutheastAsia and reached out to morethan 68 million peoplethrough strong collaborationswith multiple stakeholdersincluding schools, parents,national and local govern-ments, retailers, media andthe Junior NBA,” said Fries-landCampina Thailand’smanaging director MarcoBertacca.

“Within 3 years of carryingout ‘Drink.Move.BeStrong’campaign, we have touchedthe lives of over 100,000 kidsin Thailand through multipletouchpoints and in school pro-grams. Ironman and Ironkidsis another perfect vehicle tohelp foster the realization ofhow sports and nutrition take

an important part in makingour kids grow strong bothemotionally and physically.Healthy kids will grow into astrong foundation that helpsbuild the strong societyof Thailand,” added MrBertacca.

For first timers to get a tastefor an Ironman race, there willalso be a team relay but ath-letes aiming high will becompeting to qualify for theprize money as well as the 30qualifying age group slots forthe 2017 Ironman 70.3 WorldChampionship in Chatta-nooga, Tennessee.

For more information and toregister visit ap.ironman.com

The Phuket Gazette and TheNation are the proud nationalmedia partners in the event.

– Phuket Gazette


Gazette Crossword

Solution on opposite page.

Trying to put a round peg into a square hole

Bathroom scales like this Blueweigh Smart Body Composition Analyzer can also measure your basalmetabolic rate (BMR) as well as body fat content, body muscle weight, water content, bone mass and more,but a lot of the calculations are really down to pure guesswork. Photo: Blueweigh

Across

2. Trendy backpacker5. Movie set in Thailand starring Leonardo DiCaprio6. Journalistic style9. Racket11. Gypsy12. British celebrity cook who had a brasserie in Phuket13. Phuket has 25 of these15. Attempt to repair something16. Lobster-like crustaceans17. Civil legal liability

Down

1. Fleet of ships3. Phuket governor’s first name4. Using magnets to levitate things7. Site of 30-day mourning ceremony8. Historical period of ‘rebirth’9. Strong box for valuables10. Splendid ceremony14. English griddle cake

IN my previous column I talkedabout protein and how our bod-ies burn energy. Now we’ll talkabout how we can incorporatethese aspects into a formulabased on individual needs.

After reading and hearingabout the two significant rea-sons for having protein in thediet, you may be under the im-pression that you should onlyeat protein, but that wouldn’t beall good and could cause seri-ous health problems.

And you might be follow-ing the ‘eat less-move more’theory to the extreme, think-ing: ‘why not just starvemyself and train intensely?’.This clearly does not turn outwell for health either.

So lets turn our attention tothe ‘Outflow heat’, which ismeasured by estimating (guess-ing) your heat expenditure.

We start by calculating howmuch energy your body theo-retically burns at rest. This iscalled the ‘basal metabolic rate’(BMR). There are many formu-las that attempt to work this outbut here is the current goldstandard, the Mifflin St JeorEquation:

For men: BMR = 10 xweight (kg) + 6.25 x height(cm) – 5 x age (years) + 5. Forwomen: BMR = 10 x weight(kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) – 5 x

age (years) – 161“You’ll want to use a BMR

as a rough estimate to set yourbasic needs,” says Dr. JenniferSacheck, Ph.D, an associateprofessor of nutrition at TuftsUniversity.

So we continue this exercisewith ‘rough estimates’ again.

What about levels of muscleverses fat? Well, the lesser-used Katch-McArdle formula,uses lean muscle mass, but isconsidered less accurate thanthe Mifflin St Joer Equation.This baffles me, as taking intoaccount muscle verses fatshould be more accurate, ex-

cept in order to accurately mea-sure the percentage of body fatis not so simple an can lead tomore errors than the Mifflin-St-Joer generalization.

According to most experts’consensus, our BMR makes upmore than 60 per cent of ourdaily energy use. We add to thisthe estimated energy expendi-ture, including movement andexercise, and make anotherbroad guess.

This clearly adds up to a lotof guesswork to find the finalcalorie count you should be con-suming in order to lose weight.I haven’t listed them all.

What other science can getaway with so much guessing?No wonder nutritional sciencegets so much criticism withsuch big guesses needed whenfollowing the standard founda-tions for fat loss.

So what’s my recommenda-tion, and is calorie counting auseless exercise?

Given the above, you may besurprised that I still believecounting calories can be help-ful, for some people, to get aperspective on certain dietaryaspects.

For example, you could startby counting the calories (or

grams) you intake from sugarand processed food, includingrefined grains, such as whitebreads and pasta. Then aim toreduce them. These are called‘empty calories’, as they pro-vide little to no nutrients, so theless consumed the better.

If you seek more fat loss,next try counting the amount ofstarchy carbohydrates, such aspotatoes and rice – and cutdown on them too.

The simple actions result inbig success for most over-weight people without havingto focus on every single thingyou eat; only focusing on theones more likely to be fat-stor-ing foods.

The primary focus should beon eating real, unprocessedfood with a plate full of veg-etables, some clean protein andgood fats in each meal. Thiswill make you feel full. If youcan also eat slowly and mind-fully, listening to your body’ssignals to say ‘stop’, then you’llhave less chance of overeating.

When you combine this withregular supportive movementto stay healthy – there’s no needto start running marathons –then losing weight or maintain-ing your ideal weight becomesso much easier and sustainable.

Craig Burton is a Certified SportsNutritionist (CISSN) with aBachelor of Science degree(Sports Science) and a NationalAcademy of Sports Medicine(PES) certification.


Crossword SolutionTurn the page upside down to read the answers.

In their book, Tort, Custom, and Karma, Professor David Engel and hiswife researched the issue of legal access for the poor in Chiang Mai.

Sometimes there is only justice for some

A well-dressed man is talkingon his phone while driving aluxury car. He is not paying at-tention to the traffic. A car infront of him suddenly slowsdown. The man swerves his carand runs into a street food ven-dor, destroying the streetvendor’s cart and severely in-juring the street vendor.

The street vendor is takento the hospital, where he incurslarge medical bills. He loseshis means of earning income,is swamped with medical bills,receives a permanent disabil-ity, and he can no longersupport his family. On top ofthis, he probably does not havethe means to access the Thaicourt system.

Within Thai society, there isa large social and economic di-vide between the wealthy andthe poor. They have vastly dif-ferent perspectives on livingand life. In the area of civil lawand personal injury, thewealthy and well connectedhave access to the courts whilethe poor and uneducated areleft to pray and hope.

In their book, Tort, Custom,and Karma, Professor DavidEngel and his wife researchedthe issue of legal access forthe poor in Chiang Mai. Thefindings are surprising. Fromthe mid 1960s to 2000, therate of litigation has declinedsignificantly, relative to thegeneral increase in populationand the increase number of

Thai attorneys.Professor Engel found that

the general public has an an-tipathy to the legal system.People on a local level feelalienated from the legal system.They believe that there is nojustice for them in the courts.

In the opinion of those in themiddle and lower economicclasses, government officialsare corrupt and only thewealthy and powerful receivefavorable rulings from thecourts.

In addition, there are eco-

nomic hurdles to accessing thecourt system. Filing a lawsuitis expensive and time consum-ing without a guarantee ofsuccess. The average Thaiworker lacks the knowledgeand experience to file a lawsuit.Attorneys are generally re-quired to navigate through thecourt system. Those who lackthe funds to hire an attorneyusually lack the expertise to fileand argue a court case.

In Thai courts, most civilactions do not allow punitivedamages (damages exceedingcompensation and meant topunish the defendant). This de-ters people from filing lawsuitsand attorneys from acceptingcases from low-income clients.Even in egregious tort casesconcerning severe injury or lossof life, an imbalance of wealthand power among the partiesusually results in a one-sidedsettlement. This may be theonly route for lower-incomeindividuals to get any financialrecourse.

The lack of a justice systemhas been exasperated by thereduction of community andthe use of village elders to me-diate settlements betweenparties. In an increasing net-worked world, people are lessinvolved in their local commu-nities, which has led to anincreased breakdown of com-munity foundations. Whenthere are conflicts, the averageThai person does not have aperson or place to assist in set-tling their disputes.

There are potential solutionsto the lack of access to the courtsystem. One solution is to al-

low punitive damages for tortscaused by outrageous or irre-sponsible conduct by adefendant. If someone is drunkdriving and destroys thevictim’s property or causes per-sonal injury, the compensationfrom punitive damages couldbe an incentive for the victimto seek restitution through thecourt system.

Another possible solutionwould be to create a local arbi-tration system to replace theloss of respected village elders.An arbitrator can resolve con-flicts without the legalformalities of a traditional courthearing, thereby making itmore accessible for regularpeople. The government arbi-trator can issue a courtenforceable decision or attemptto prod the parties to negotiatea fair settlement.

A large segment of thepopulation feel that they do nothave access to the justice sys-tem. Disillusionment in thelaw has become the norm. Thiscan lead to the breakdown ofcivil society. Growing disen-chantment with the legalsystem contributes to the feel-ing of the lack of justice.Something should be done toreform Thailand’s legal systemto allow tort victims greateraccess to the court system.

Mr Robert R Virasin is a licencedU.S. Attorney and managingdirector of Virasin & Partners. Mr.Yutthachai Sangsirisap is alicenced Thai Attorney at Virasin& Partners. They can be reachedat [email protected] or atwww.virasin.com.


The residential areas around BTS Skytrain stations attract affluent individuals with inherited wealth, civil servants, private-sector employeesand students. Photo: My Train Pix

THE resale prices of condo-minium units near the SanamPao, Ari and Saphan KhwaiSkytrain stations have surgedby 50-60 per cent in five to sixyears because of high residen-tial density, according to PlusProperty Co, the property-man-agement arm of Sansiri.

A survey by the firm showsthat the areas around thesestations attract affluent indi-viduals with inherited wealth,civil servants, private-sectoremployees and students,while the number of newprojects is limited, due to thedifficulty in finding largeenough sites.

These areas boast conve-nient transport because of theirproximity to the BTS Skytrain.Once the Bang Sue interchangestation becomes operational,condominium prices are ex-pected to climb further.

The rental market is still bus-tling, with high demand amongboth Thai and foreign tenantscontributing to returns on in-vestment of 5-7 per cent for aone-bedroom, 30-square-metercondo, Anukul Ratpitaksanti,deputy managing director, saidon November 15.

A survey conducted in thefirst half of the year found asupply of 2,184 condos, ofwhich up to 91 per cent have

Condo prices in central Bangkokjump 50-60 per cent in six years

been sold. The average was 12units sold per month.

There are only nine high-riseunits available from threecondo projects near Skytrainroutes, and they are being soldat an average price of 160,000baht per square meter.

The are 197 low-rise unitsfrom 12 condo projects avail-able, and they are being sold at

an average price of 102,000baht per sqm.

This shows that these areasremain in high demand amongconsumers, especially for high-rise condos near Skytrainroutes.

In the second half of theyear, only 1,371 units fromtwo new condo projects willbe entering the market, with

average opening prices at160,000-170,000 baht persqm.

The high prices are due tolimited availability of largesites near Skytrain stations, orextremely high prices forland.

This has contributed to de-mand expanding for condoslocated on secondary roads or

a short distance down sidestreets, since the units can stillbe considered near to Skytrainstations.

“The price of land near theSanam Pao, Ari and SaphanKhwai BTS stations during thepast five years has increased byan average of 5-25 per cent peryear,” Mr Anukul said.

– The Nation

LEADING RESIDENTIALdevelopers plan to launchprojects with a combined valueof 200 billion baht next year,after cutting back on furtherlaunches this year during a pe-riod when commercial bankscontinue to tightly restrict theapproval of mortgages and de-mand among home-buyers hasfallen away sharply.

“We have had to delay thelaunch of five residentialprojects during the remainderof this year after seeing a fallin residential demand,” PruksaReal Estate co-chief executiveofficer Lersak Chuladesa saidrecently.

“Pruksa originally plannedto launch 25 projects worth25bn baht during the rest of theyear, but the company revisedits plan and will now launch 20projects worth 20bn baht be-

cause of a market slump,” hesaid.

However, the developerplans to launch more than 50projects – including the fivecarried over from this year –during the course of 2017, witha combined value of over 50bnbaht.

“We believe residential de-mand will recover next yearwhen the government starts toinvest in infrastructure projectsworth more than 600bn baht,”Mr Lersak added.

“Property Perfect is also de-ferring 10 projects worth15.2bn baht until the first halfof next year,” said WongsakornPrasitvipat, the company’schief business officer.

“We have had to delay thelaunch of four condominiumprojects worth 5bn baht and sixdetached-housing projects

worth 10.2bn baht during therest of this year, after witness-ing a drop in demand since thethird quarter,” he said.

“The decision means Prop-erty Perfect’s pre-sales target of15bn baht for the full year willnow likely be off by some 20per cent, coming in at about12bn baht,” he added.

“However, the company willuse an integrated marketingstrategy to drive pre-sales at itsexisting projects through to theyear’s end,” Mr Wongsakornstressed.

“We believe next year’s resi-dential market will be betterthan this year’s, when house-hold debt declines after allrepayments have been madeunder the first-car scheme bythe end of this year. This willcreate room for people to get anew loan from the bank to buy

a home next year,” he ex-plained.

Meanwhile, Kanda Propertychief executive officer IssaraBoonyoung said his companyplanned to launch six residen-tial projects worth up to 10bnbaht combined next year, thanksto the government’s investmentin infrastructure projects, whichwill kick off in earnest duringthe course of the year.

Nirvana Development, asubsidiary of Singha Estate,plans to launch six projects to-gether worth 10bn baht nextyear.

Ocean Property, the real-es-tate arm of Ocean Life Insu-rance, also plans new launchesin the year ahead, with fourresidential projects worth 2.6bnbaht in its sights.

“We have a four-year businessplan from 2017 through 2020 to

launch up to four projects worthup to 4bn baht each year, whichwould boost our annual sales bydouble digits.

Meanwhile, a survey by TheNation has found that severalother leading developers are alsoplanning to launch more residen-tial projects in 2017, havingdeferred some from this year.

For example, LPN Develop-ment plans to launch up to 10condominium projects valuedat more than 10bn baht com-bined next year, while Land &Houses will launch between 13and 15 residential projectsworth over 20bn baht.

AP (Thailand) plans 20 to 25residential launches worth over30bn baht combined during theyear, and SC Asset Corp hasplans for about 10 new projectsvalued at more than 15bn baht.

– The Nation

Q4 launches postponed until next year


MALAYSIAN-based, low-cost airline Malindo Air com-menced direct flights betweenKuala Lumpur and Phuket onNovember 10.

The airline is now operat-ing four weekly flights to theprovince on Wednesdays,Thursdays, Fridays and Satur-days with a Boeing 737-800aircraft with 12 seats in busi-ness class and 150 ineconomy class.

The new route is expectedto help stimulate tourism toPhuket, which has suffered

declines in the past month ashotels on the island reportedlower tourist numbers thanusual at the start of the peakseason.

Malindo flights are expectedto be filled mainly with Asiantourists from Malaysia and In-donesia – in competition withAirAsia and Malaysia Airlineson the Kuala Lumpur-Phuketroute. Phuket is the carrier’sthird direct destination in Thai-land following Bangkok andChiang Mai.

– Phuket Gazette

New direct flightsto Phuket take off

Malindo Air is now operating direct flights to Phuket from Kuala Lumpur.Photo: Ian Moy

A NEW addition to Phuket’s‘boutique hotels’ this year is theWabi Sabi Boutique Hotel Ka-mala Phuket. Operated by theWabi Sabi Boutique HotelsGroup, the new 38-suite resortopened in January as a com-pletely non-smoking, all-suitesboutique hotel.

Located off Kamala Beach,the resort is aimed at offering apeaceful ‘zen-like environ-ment’ with botanical gardenstargeting honeymooners and

corporate guests specificallywith a non-children-friendlypolicy.

The designers went with amotto of simplicity – ‘less ismore and luxury’ – as well asincorporating eco-friendlyfeatures such as water preser-vation and recyclingprograms to limit its carbonfootprint.

Guests can choose fromnine different categories ofroom, ranging from 50 square

meters to 110sqm.According to the owners,

the resort has Japanese aes-thetics and a Japanese worldview centered on the accep-tance of transience andimperfection.

Plans for a second phase ofthe property include the additionof detox programs, a wellnessspa, yoga and tai chi as well asa garden farm with organicherbs for Thai cooking classes.

– Phuket Gazette

Wabi Sabi banks on zen-styleboutique for honeymooners

Wabi Sabi Boutique Hotel Kamala Phuket targets honeymooners. Photo: Wabi Sabi Boutique Hotels Group


P R O P E R T Y F O R S A L E

UNIQUE MINI RESORTNear Laguna, 4 pool villas, moneymaker appraised 35 millionbaht. Fire sale offer by 83-year-old owner. Must sell. Tel: 089-594 4067.

POOL VILLAContemporary Thai style, ex-tremely spacious, 3 bed-rooms, European kitchen,quiet but highly convenientlocation near the sea inChalong. 9 million baht, fullyfurnished. Located in Palai,Chalong. Tel: 076-282522,085-438 2289 (English), 084-850 1701 (Thai). Email:[email protected]

NAI HARN VILLAFOR SALE

4-bedroom house with pooland large garden. Tel: 081-894 2733. Email: [email protected]

2-STOREYSINGLE HOUSE

FOR SALE

Burasiri Village. Koh Kaew.Next to BIS. 3 bedrooms(master bedroom with en-suite and walk-in closet), 3bathrooms. Fully furnished,4 aircons, kitchen with se-parate pantry. Parking for 2cars. Communal swimmingpool, garden and fitness.

For sale: 6.6 million baht orsell down payment: 400,000baht. Long-term rent:45,000baht monthly, 520,000 bahtyearly.

Tel: 089-840 5290 (Thai),094-579 5666 (Thai / Eng.)

CHALONG STUDIOBeautiful 30sqm studio apart-ment, fully furnished with highstandard amenities and readyto move in. Chalong area withview over Phunaka Golf driverange. Low maintenance feesand close to all facilities. Forsale: 1.49 million baht. Email:[email protected]

1 RAI 180° OCEAN VIEWYAMU HILL

1 or 2 rai, 180° ocean view. 24hrsecurity, water & electricity sup-ply. Freehold. 5.7 million baht/rai. For more information, pleasecall 084-625 5090 (English).Email: [email protected]

KAMALA PROPERTY3-house property with520sqm for quick sale at 8million baht. Tel: 098-7369588.

POOL VILLA RAWAI

4-bedroom & 3-bathroomguesthouse. Chanote title.974sqm land, 300sqm build-ing. 12.5 million baht. Pleasecall 085-796 5771 or sendemail to [email protected]

LARGE LUXURYHOUSE FOR SALE

3 floors, 740sqm, 4 bed-rooms, 5 bathrooms withswimming pool, walled gar-den, private parking, locatedin Saiyuan - Rawai, Phuket.12.5 million baht. Tel: 076-613860, 095-061 2868.

NEW SEAVIEWRESORT FOR SALE

Luxury designer B&B orhotel with spa, ample park-ing, rooftop bar, swimmingpool, 49 million baht. EsterPak. Karon. Tel: +1-415-9315001, 081-271 1534(English & Thai). Email:ester.y. [email protected],http://eden-oasis.com

PHUKET VIEW POINTSugar Palm Condominium,Suan Luang. Top floor (11th).Corner unit. Panoramic view;park, city, mountain andseaview. 2 bedrooms, 2bathrooms, 2 balconies.96sqm. Built-in furniture.Asking price: 4.9 millionbaht. Tel: 089-593 8690 (En-glish), 088-762 3837 (Thai).Email: [email protected]

HOUSE FOR SALE / RENTLocated in Boat Lagoon, 3 bed-rooms. For more information,please contact Alex. Tel: 097-230 5717.

LAND NEARBIG BUDDHA

Over 3 rai. 6.5 million bahtper rai. Or smaller plots from1.7 million baht. For moreinformation, please call 081-538 4588.

THE BAY SKYCLIFF

A development of 56 newmodern residential housesand commercial buildingslocated in the heart of Phu-ket Town, Soi Saphan Hin.The development offers allfunctions to support yourlifestyle within landscapedgrounds with views of mas-sive green space & forest.Now ready to move in. Tel:095-429 5700. Email: [email protected]

LAND FOR SALE34 rai or 2 plots of 17 rai. Cha-note. Mountain and sea view.Easy access at Cherng Talay.Price: 3.5 million baht per rai.Located in Cherng Talay. Tel: 089-729 6244. Email: [email protected]

BEACHFRONTPOOL VILLA

FOR SALE / RENT

Chalong Bay. 1 rai. 3 bed-rooms. Tel: 089-649 9939.Email: [email protected]

6-ROOM VILLA4 MIN FROM BIS

Modern looking 1 floor, 6 roomsand 18m pool. 387sqm livingspace. Ideal home for British IntlSchool family. View to offer. Lo-cated in Koh Kaew. Tel: 087-8917331 (English). Email: [email protected]


P R O P E R T Y F O R R E N T

KATHU HOUSE FOR RENT3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, fullyfurnished, 3 aircons. Tel: 065-041 1634.

STUNNING OCEAN VIEWS4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, fur-nished villa, large pool with salasetting in gardens. Cape Yamuarea. 15-minute drive to BIS &UWC Schools. Rent: 90,000baht / month. For more informa-tion, please call 086-279 6283.

RAWAI BUNGALOW8,000 baht, aircon, WiFi, fullyfurnished + kitchen, quiet, largeterrace. Email: [email protected]

CHALONG AREAHOUSE

1-3 bedroom. Quiet area.Fully furnished. Tel: 081-8924311. http://palaigreen.weebly.com

APT FOR RENTNAI HARN BEACH

125sqm. 2 bedrooms, 2bathrooms, swimming pool.55,000 baht / month for longterm. Tel: 081-746 2777.

GREAT CONDO LOCATIONLong-term rent. DCondo Mine,6th floor, new fully furnished, 2-bedroom, 2-bathroom condo withkitchen. 100m swimming pool,gym, internet, 2 cable TVs, 3aircons, washing machine, park-ing, security. Close to all shop-ping malls. 28,000 baht/month.Kathu. Tel: 081-893 9127, 087-886 7895.

3-BEDROOM HOUSEFOR RENT

40,000 baht. Quiet locationnear Wat Chalong. 3 bed-rooms. 4 bathrooms. Se-cure small estate. Uninter-rupted lake and mountainviews. Parking for three cars.Swimming pool. Internet,cable TV, pool maintenance,gardener all included inprice. Available until Novem-ber 30th, 2016. Tel: 093-7934258 (English), 085-6960078 (Thai).

HOUSE FOR RENTBoat Lagoon Phuket. 2 bed-rooms, fully furnished. Email:[email protected] NEW VILLA

THALANG5-bedroom 5-bathroom 2-storey villa, pool area, quietlocation, near PIA Interna-tional School / ThanyapuraHotel, long or short term.Negotiable. Tel: 081-5382110, 096-975 9628.

40 METERS OFBEACHFRONT LAND

FOR LEASE2,400sqm land at Chalong Bay.Tel: 081-826 9390.

VILLA, 5 MIN FROMMARINA

2-bedroom villa for rent with 2ensuite, covered car park, newkitchen, fresh painted ward-robes, new fridge. Available forrent also as 4-bedroom house.Located in Ao Po. Tel: 081-5371356, 090-868 0695. Email:[email protected]

HOUSE FOR RENT10MIN TO AIRPORT

2 bedrooms, living room, bigsala, garage, aircon, fastinternet. 20,000 baht/month.For more information, pleasecall 081-719 7015. Email: [email protected]

RAWAI VILLAFOR RENT

4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms.Short/long-term available.LINE ID: dallas26. For moreinformation, please call 085-392 6666. Email: [email protected]

LUXURY 1-BEDROOMAPARTMENT

Ground floor, 65sqm, centralPatong. Short or long term rent.Please send email for detailsand photos. Email: [email protected]

EXCLUSIVE PRIVATEVILLAS FOR RENT

310sqm total area & 85sqminternal, modern fully fur-nished & equipped, 2 bed-rooms, 2 bathrooms, eachwith queen-sized bed andaircon, Smart LCD TVs, pri-vate outdoor plunge pool,CCTV security and remote-control gate, situated inquiet Chalong area near BigBuddha, close to fresh mar-kets, convenience stores &restaurants, only 10 minutesfrom beach. 35,000 baht/month. Contact Nina. Tel:089-729 6244, http://www.ivp.global

KATHU HOUSEFOR RENT

3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms,fully furnished, 3 aircons.For more information,please call 087-266 7191.

6TH FLOORFURNISHED CONDO

FOR RENT

Long-term rent. Great loca-tion, fully furnished 2-bed-room/2-bathroom condowith kitchen next to newDuty-Free Mall, overlook-ing lake. 100m swimmingpool, gym, internet, 2 cableTVs, 3 aircons, washing ma-chine, parking. Security.Close to all shopping malls.25,000 baht/month. Lo-cated in Kathu. Please call081-893 9127 (English),087-886 7895 (Thai). Email:[email protected]

LONG-TERM RENT(MINIMUM 1 YEAR)

In small friendly atmos-phere building close to themarkets & shops in KataBeach center with indoorpool, sauna, elevator. 1)65sqm apartment, com-pletely furnished, first floor,close to the pool. 24,000baht/month. 2) 60sqmapartment, third floor, newluxury furnishing (neverused). 24,000 baht/month.3) Fourth floor 60sqm apart-ment also new furnishing.26,000 baht/month. Tel: 081-788 8280. Email: [email protected]

HOUSE FOR RENT

Quiet location on Chao FaWest Road. Short / long-term rental. 2 bedrooms, 2bathrooms, shared pool,cable TV, security camera.Tel: 089-724 3669.


G E N E R A LC L A S S I F I E D S

J O B S / R E C R U I T M E N T

HOUSEKEEPER WANTEDIN KAMALA

Exceptional candidate requiredmust be hardworking, honest,have 5-star hotel or villa manage-ment experience. 4 hours daily,Monday-Friday, weekends off.Must speak basic English. Thai/ Burmese only. Apply to [email protected]

FEMALE GALLERYMANAGER

Art gallery in Phuket Town needsThai female with previous salesexperience. Good English andChinese essential. Great salaryoffered. Located in Phuket Town.Send CV by email. Tel: 087-8848271 (English & Thai), 086-5097510 (English). Email: [email protected]

RESTAURANTFOR SALE

Restaurant located in BoatAvenue, Cherng Talay. Hightraffic area, great location.Fully equipped, ready to go.Buy now and reap the ben-efits of the high season. Tel:081-090 1608. Email: [email protected]

REFRIGERATORFOR SALE

Only 1 year old. Price: 40,000baht. Tel: 082-421 6414.

HOUSEHOLDITEMS

OPERATIONS ASSISTANTRequired at weddings & eventscompany in Cherng Talay. Musthave experience in events andwork under pressure. Good orga-nizational skills, hard working,good administration skills. Tel:089-973 2159. Email: mee [email protected]

BULLETINS

CLUBMEMBERSHIP

AVAILABLE

BUSINESSOPPORTUNITIES

INVESTOR WANTEDVery successful property busi-ness in Phuket offering joint ven-ture/partnership opportunity. Tel:095-036 4962.

BAR &RESTAURANTEQUIPMENT

RESTAURANTEQUIPMENT FOR SALE

Lots of equipment in good condi-tion for sale. Stainless steeltables, dishwasher, etc. Locatedin Phuket Town. Tel: 093-7835609 (English & Thai). Email:[email protected]

SIAM SUNSHINEConstruction. Renovation.Shopfitting. Please call 063-118 3839.

BUILDINGPRODUCTS &

SERVICES

BABYSITTER SERVICEAvailable for kids 2 yearsand over, English speaker,able to teach and assisting inhomework, driving capability.Thalang. Tel: 095-429 3636.

BUSINESSPRODUCTS &

SERVICES

SMALL BUSINESSESFOR SALE

Various businesses ranging fromfood, manufacturing, technology,beauty, medical are for sale orare waiting for investment. Tel:093-539 6665. Please visit ourweb-site at www.tinybiz.co/list-of-business.html

LIVE-IN NANNY30+ years old to cook, clean,drive car, take care of 2 children,know some English. Good sal-ary. Tel: 064-243 8528.

GOLF MEMBERSHIPPhuket Country Club lifetimefamily membership. 450,000baht. Shared transfer (30k ea).Tel: 091-034 0495, 082-8053403. Email: [email protected]

BUILDINGRENOVATIONS

Villa constructions and reno-vations. Electric works,plumbing and maintenance.Located in Kathu. Tel: 076-390539, 083-394 8337 (En-glish), 080-141 4577 (Thai).Email: [email protected], www.zionproperty.com


B O A T S & M A R I N E

G E N E R A L A V I A T I O NW H E E L S&

M O T O R S

GIANT OCR RACE BIKEBrand new junior 24" wheels, 8-14 years. Asking price: 14,000baht (new price: 24,000 baht).Tel: 084-625 5090.

ZIPP CARBON RACEWHEELS

404 tubular, perfect condition.Asking price: 41,000 baht (new110,000). No box. Tel: 084-6255090.

BICYCLES

FOR SALE RIB 680New RIB: 6.80m, PVC.280,000 baht. New trailer in-cluded in the price. Can beseen in Phuket. Please call095-389 0290 (English),090-071 7612 (English &Thai). Email: [email protected]

CUSTOM WORKBARGE FOR SALE

Built 2004, length 24.4,width8.0, hydraulic ramp 4.3,small crane, hydraulic an-chors bow & stern, twin driveHino V 10’s, great condition.For sale: 9.5 million baht orbest offer. For more informa-tion, please call 094-2078993. Email: [email protected]

NISSAN NV PICKUPBody very good, minor damage,aircon, engine is bulletproof! Sil-ver, petrol, manual, excellentcondition. 65,000 baht. Tel: 076-240612, 083-180 1130. Email:[email protected]

TRUCK FOR SALEPrice: 250,000 baht. Contact:Julie. Tel: 082-421 6414.

AVANZA MINI VANPrice 350,000 baht. Please con-tact Julie. Tel: 082-421 6414.


Entertaining Phuket beat by beatBy Sahar Aftab Paliwala

GARRY Holden is a well-known Phuket entertainer andfounder of the upbeat, onlineradio station ‘Phuket Vibe’. Hewas born in the UK, where hesays he grew up religiously lis-tening to the Top 40 charts onBBC Radio 1, waiting for hisfavorite tracks to come on.That is where his interest inradio and being a DJ took seed.

“I was never a massive aca-demic, hence my choice toexplore the entertainmentworld,” says Garry.

He first came to Thailand onhoneymoon with his wifeJackie in 2004.

“We fell in love with Phuket,Thai people and their culture,”he reminisces. “So much so,that we basically only returnedto the UK to sell our house andmove out here. We have nowbeen living and working herefor 11 years.”

It is impossible to be unaf-fected by Garry’s infectious,jubilant personality when youmeet him and it is this same vibethat he brings to his radioshows. When asked how oldhe is, he responds “Oh, not

over the hill just yet!” It is thistongue-in-cheek humor thatmakes him the ideal host of theLate Late Breakfast Show.

“The Late Late BreakfastShow is a fun, upbeat show.With somuch doomand gloomeverywhere,I like to helptake people toa happy placewith musicfrom the 80s,90s and asprinkle oftoday’s hits.It’s mixedwith fun,laughter and a little silliness,”he says.

“The show starts at 10am,as not everyone is an earlybird,” he smiles. “It’s heard allover the world, and brings asmile to many faces, I hope.”

The three-hour weekdayspecial covers everything fromshowbiz and entertainment toriddles and competitions, to-gether with Garry’s selectchoice of tracks, for a fun andlively way to start your morn-ings in Phuket.

Garry is also well-known forbeing the only British contes-tant chosen for Season 1 ofThe Biggest Loser Asia in 2009,which was the Asian version ofthe competitive US reality tele-

vision series TheBiggest Loser.Although Garrywas eliminatedin week five ofthe competition,he kept up hisfitness regimeof his own ac-cord, to shed awhopping 45kgin five monthsand emergelooking younger,

fresher and healthier.Within a year of his exit from

the show, Garry had partici-pated in a half marathon, atriathlon and an Ironman 70.3competition, making him thefirst The Biggest Loser Asiacontestant to do so. He saysthat it’s important to havegoals, and if, along the way,he can inspire even one over-weight person to get off thesofa, then it’s all worthwhile.He also participated in fun runsand charity events to encour-

‘With so much doomand gloom everywhere, Ilike to help take peopleto a happy place…mixed with fun, laughterand a little silliness’– Garry Holden

Founder of Phuket Vibe

age both children and adults toadopt a healthylifestyle and in-dulge in sportsand exercise.

T h e s edays, Garry ismore focusedon his radiowork. He hasdone DJstints inm a n ycoun-

tries worldwide, and consid-ers himself lucky to be living

the dream after years of be-ing a club and mobile DJ,to successfully movingacross to radio with hisown station.

The Late Late BreakfastShow runs on Phuket

Gazette Radio ,Monday to

Friday from10am to1pm.

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PhuketGazette 20,000 IN CANDLE-LIT CEREMONY …November 19 - 25, 2016 Now inside THE NATION every Saturday 64 Pages / 20 Baht PhuketGazette.net PHUKET’S LEADING NEWSPAPER... SINCE