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Phuket TV - PHUKET XTRA: VIDEO: Private Patong Hill Rd to open Monday, Health Ministry makes cannabis changes || November 30

Phuket TV - PHUKET XTRA: VIDEO: Private Patong Hill Rd to open Monday, Health Ministry makes cannabis changes || November 30

What does it take to win an election in Phuket?

What does it take to win an election in Phuket?

Closing Nai Harn Beach at nightfall

Closing Nai Harn Beach at nightfall

How to contact Honorary Consuls in Phuket

How to contact Honorary Consuls in Phuket

Handling waste at Kamala

Handling waste at Kamala

Are special motorbike licence plates legal?

Are special motorbike licence plates legal?

Are businesses in Phuket national parks legal?

Are businesses in Phuket national parks legal?
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What does it take to win an election in Phuket?
What does it take to win an election in Phuket?
Sunday 3 January 2021, 11:00AM
Phuket last month saw its first President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organisation (PPAO, or OrBorJor) elected in six years. But voter turnout was very low, and a winner announced. Here, the chief of the Phuket office of the Election Commission of Thailand explains how.
Closing Nai Harn Beach at nightfall
Closing Nai Harn Beach at nightfall
Tuesday 4 August 2020, 05:09PM
Do lifeguards have the authority to tell people to leave the beach when after sun sets? Read on...
How to contact Honorary Consuls in Phuket
How to contact Honorary Consuls in Phuket
Sunday 1 September 2019, 01:00PM
Ever needed to contact an Honorary Consul in Phuket, but didn't know how? Well, here's the list that the police get...
Handling waste at Kamala
Handling waste at Kamala
Sunday 13 January 2019, 11:00AM
QUESTION I am a tourist and I recently saw some different coloured bins at Kamala Beach and wondered what the different coloured bins are for? Is it for separating recyclable waste? If so, is trash separated at the point of disposal, and hence disposed of properly for recycling? What happens to the waste put into these bins? Does the local council have a way of recycling waste, or at least making sure it gets to the right people who can recycle it? – Kendra, from USA   ANSWER The Kamala Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor) uses bins of three different colours for the public to dispose of their general litter. Green bins are for general waste such as food, yellow bins are for recyclable waste such as plastic bottles or even something that could be sold, and red bins are for “hazardous materials”, which includes batteries, paint cans, fluorescent light tubes and so on. We have a lot of these throughout Kamala subdistrict, about 120 bins in total. We provide one green bin for every three to five households in the area for residents to use together, while yellow bins are placed in front of Kamala Mosque and in front of houses of community leaders and local environmental officers in every village in Kamala. Red bins we have placed in public park areas and in front of the 30th Rajaprajanugroh School Phuket. We empty the bins twice a day: once in the morning to collect the waste put in the bins during the night, and again late in the afternoon to collect the waste put in the bins in the daytime. Waste from the red and green bins is taken to the solid-waste separation and disposal facility at Saphan Hin. There, waste from the green bins will be incinerated and the waste from the red bins will be stored until there is enough material to economically transport it to a facility outside Bangkok for safe disposal there. Waste from the yellow bins is sold to local people who collect recyclable waste, and they sell it on to a larger merchant dealing in recyclable waste. The money raised, only about B200-B300 a month, is donated to a local temple or mosque. We do have an area behind Kamala OrBorTor office where some waste is stored. This is usually for burying items like discarded old sofas or branches of trees that we cut in the Kamala area. – Somsak Chaochang, Chief of the Health Division, Kamala Tambon Administration Organisation (OrBorTor).
Are special motorbike licence plates legal?
Are special motorbike licence plates legal?
Sunday 14 October 2018, 11:00AM
Lucky licence plates are nigh a Thai tradition, but can you get them for your motorbike? Read on...
Are businesses in Phuket national parks legal?
Are businesses in Phuket national parks legal?
Sunday 25 February 2018, 02:00PM
We read about crackdown after crackdown on private businesses set up within national parks in Phuket and elsewhere in Thailand, but there are businesses openly operating in plain sight within the same parks. Are these businesses legal? Read on to find out...
Is blurring licence plates on tourist buses, vans and taxis legal in Phuket?
Is blurring licence plates on tourist buses, vans and taxis legal in Phuket?
Sunday 11 February 2018, 11:00AM
It seems that nearly every time you wait at a set of traffic lights in Phuket, there is a tourist minivan or even bus with licence plate so blurred it looks like the damage was done intentionally. Want to know what the legal position on this is? Read on...
When the road hazard in Phuket is a building
When the road hazard in Phuket is a building
Sunday 21 January 2018, 11:00AM
For more than a decade the incomplete building on the street that has become known as “Soi Banzaan” in Patong has stood blocking half the street, with not a single step by officials the rectify the “ultimate road hazard”. Want to know why it is there and why nothing is being done about it, read on for the very limited responses The Phuket News has been able to obtain from the officials themselves...
Which heavy vehicles are banned from travelling over Patong Hill?
Which heavy vehicles are banned from travelling over Patong Hill?
Wednesday 29 November 2017, 10:04AM
Are you still seeing tour buses, trucks and large vehicles from crossing over Patong Hill at different times of the day? Read on to find out what exactly the ban really is.
Turn down the volume!
Turn down the volume!
Tuesday 7 November 2017, 10:55AM
QUESTION I would like to let you know as briefly as I can about an incident of “extreme public disturbance” near Chalong Circle recently. Talad Kaow Ta, a newly opened “market” organised by Arrow Media with many shop booths/space for rent opened directly opposite Chalong Police Station on Sept 1. They have been playing live and recorded music over the past weeks, very loud, late into the night. Our neighbourbood community complained to Arrow Media and the landowner as well as the police. The landowner agreed to have the music played at a lower volume, intersecting with football games shown on the big screen. However, the landowner asked to be allowed to have two events each month, but said that they would stop the loud noise at 10:30pm. On Sept 23, they started playing very loud music at around 4:45pm. It was shockingly loud that exceeded any past New Year events (fireworks, etc.) in Chalong Bay area. My windows, walls, and floor were vibrating, buzzing and hissing with the loud music base droning. 8. My Thai neighbour telephoned the landowner and the police to complain about this noise disturbance. The police and landowner eventually came to our soi to inspect our suffering. The landowner insisted that the sound level had been turned down, although that was absolutely not the case. The police did not make any comments. Although a touch lowered, this excruciating volume and base droning disturbance did not stop by 10:30pm as promised. I called the police at 11pm, but nothing was done. They continued to play their music. At 11:30pm, the noise attack was still on-going. I was too tired to keep track after midnight, but sometime after midnight I did notice that they had turned out their gross bright lights. Music was still playing, at a lower level – but it was beyond midnight. Before I was totally out (to sleep), I could still hear music playing at Talad Kaow Ta at 1am. I chose not to telephone the police again due to the lack of results in previous attempts. I know of someone who is staying somewhere near Club O2, a venue much further away from our disturbed neighbourhood, further away from Kan Eang @Pier restaurant. He was also very alarmed and disturbed by this atrocious sound attack. I have not checked with other people who live nearby, example, the likes of Julapan/Jula Place (hotel), the HomePro area, etc. I have recorded nine minutes of the noise disturbance on my cell phone, hoping that the device could capturing the torturing sensations that I was experiencing. What else could be done about this? – AL, Chalong   ANSWER Chalong Police received the complaint on Sept 23 and it is recorded that police officers arrived at the scene. But sometimes police cannot do anything regarding this issue because we don’t have sound-measuring devices to have the evidence to prove the noise created it is over the legal limit. Police are able to grant “permission to use sound”. This particular market had obtained permission from police, but if noise is seriously disturbing people, we will assist to regulate it. As this situation triggered complaints and was disturbing neighbors, the complaint was passed to the Chalong municipal health authorities. – Cpl Thanoo Glaiput, Chalong Police   We do have a record of the complaint filed regarding this incident. A health official of Chalong Municipality went to the Kaow Ta market to speak to the manager and the manager agreed that the volume of noise would be reduced after 10pm during future events. If it occurs again, you may directly call the Chalong Municipality at 076-383775 and we will come to help settle a long-term compromise. In general, if you are experiencing noise disturbances near or around your residence, you can call your local municipality and a health division official will come to help and will bring equipment to measure the loudness of the source. The legal sound limit in Thailand by law is 90 decibels over an eight-hour Time Weighted Average (TWA). If the noise is over this limit, the health officer will have authority to request that the respondent lowers the sound volume. Sometimes the noise is within the legal limit but still causes a disturbance and irritation to those around. In cases like this, the official will help to settle a compromise between the complainant and the respondent that the respondent must adhere to so that the noise causes the least disturbance possible to surrounding residents. – Suthep Gaewgaet, Senior General Service Officer,Health Division, Chalong Municipality
How do I know whether gold I buy in Phuket is real?
How do I know whether gold I buy in Phuket is real?
Sunday 6 August 2017, 01:00PM
Recently, there have been a number of incidents of gold fraud in Phuket, the most recent totalling 3.6 million baht in damages. Read about out some of the ways to prevent being subject to the foolery...
How to find out which Phuket hotels are legal
How to find out which Phuket hotels are legal
Sunday 12 March 2017, 09:00AM
The crackdown on illegal hotels in Phuket began last year, and the amnesty ended on Jan 31, but how does anyone know which hotels in Phuket are legally registered? Read on to find out...
How’s your syphilis? Phuket work permits still require tests
How’s your syphilis? Phuket work permits still require tests
Sunday 26 February 2017, 11:00AM
Any expat who has applied for work permit in Phuket knows the drill. Each year a medical test is required to renew the work permit, and each year the expat is tested for syphilis. Why this is so baffles many expats on the island. Read on to the officials' explanations of why this is required.
Phuket Town minivans still running to Patong
Phuket Town minivans still running to Patong
Monday 30 January 2017, 10:00AM
Did you know that air-conditioned vans operate from the old bus station in Phuket Town to Patong and back for fares as little as B50? If not, read on...
Tourists driving in Phuket: get legal, or get fined - or worse
Tourists driving in Phuket: get legal, or get fined - or worse
Sunday 18 December 2016, 10:00AM
Tourists from all over the world come to Phuket and rent a car or motorbike during their holiday, but are they allowed to use their license from their home country to drive a rental vehicle on the island?
Phuket traffic fines in clear view
Phuket traffic fines in clear view
Wednesday 30 November 2016, 10:18AM
Have you ever been stopped by traffic police for a moving violation and not known what the fine was? Read on to find out what the fines really are, and will police in Phuket start posting the amounts in English at police stations across the island.
Filing the big complaints: How to make sure malfeasance, corruption is exposed
Filing the big complaints: How to make sure malfeasance, corruption is exposed
Sunday 9 October 2016, 10:00AM
Know of something in Phuket that should get the right kind of attention from the right kind of people? Here's a list of offices tasked with receiving complaints from the public about corruption, encroachment and a host of other criminal social ills that plague this island.
Is the Phuket Airport bus still running to Patong?
Is the Phuket Airport bus still running to Patong?
Tuesday 20 September 2016, 09:26AM
The regular bus service from Phuket International Airport to Patong was launched years ago and later extended to pick up and drop off passengers at Kata-Karon, but recently the service has fallen off the radar. Is the Airport-Patong bus still running? If so, what are the latest details? Read on to find out…
One in a million: All you need to know about winning the Thai Lottery
One in a million: All you need to know about winning the Thai Lottery
Sunday 21 August 2016, 11:00AM
So you’ve heard all about the Thai lottery but never knew how it worked? Here’s your definitive guide to the Thai government lottery, what the major prizes are, and how to claim them.
Where to report abuse of wildlife animals?
Where to report abuse of wildlife animals?
Wednesday 10 August 2016, 09:10AM
With the ongoing reports of beach touts using protected animals to gouge money from tourists in public areas, many people are asking who to report such cases to. Here's your answer…
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