Phuket Sandbox

[stattointhailand]

How about U-Tapao to Singapore (or other Non Thai airport) to Phuket to U-Tapao (International flights are allowed to arrive ) Thinking outside the SAND box

[bamakmak]

Stats - just so you don't lay awake at night worrying about the flight crew returning to Phuket each day, they actually are in compliance with the Phuket-entry rules. The regulations state that anyone scheduled to depart on a flight from Phuket ARE ALLOWED entry to Phuket the day of departure.

So, if the flight crew is returning each morning from U-Tapao to Phuket and are scheduled to depart to U-Tapao later that same day, they are in compliance.

[noosard]

Sandbox rapist/murderer arrested
#375:325

[Drunk Monkey]

Sandbox rapist/murderer arrested
#375:325

Saw something briefly on the late news .. any update / info on the alleged perp

[grievous]

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/crime/u ... UXqYMbiIVU

They have someone!

[noosard]

https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/ge ... ket-murder

[Drunk Monkey]

https://thethaiger.com/hot-news/crime/u ... UXqYMbiIVU

They have someone!

Thanks ..rather a strange report with vagueness surrounding the perps nationality and terms such as ""wrapped up"' and ""scapegoat "' included ?? ... on the TV news it said nationality unknown / no fixed nationality...or similar.

Lets hope they got the guy..the right guy ...if so well done RTP

DM

[Niggly]

Seems a bit odd to me that the RTP has leapt straight into denying the suspect is a scapegoat. You’d think they’d just get on with the job in hand

Phuket murder suspect 'no scapegoat'
Bangkok Post
08/08/2021, 04:00



Police say the 27-year-old man detained yesterday for the murder of a Swiss tourist at a local waterfall is a legitimate suspect and not a scapegoat as some netizens have claimed.
The man confessed to attempting to rape Nicole Sauvain-Weisskopf though says he did not intend to kill her.
He ended up killing her by strangling her and forcing her head in the water after she resisted, according to a police source. She was lying face-down in the water among the rocks. Her body was covered with a black sheet.

The man, who lives in the area, had gone to the area to collect wild orchids and spotted the woman.
The suspect was identified as Teerawat Thothip, a resident of Thalang district in Phuket.
The suspect, known locally as "Bang Lee", told investigators he spotted the tourist when he went to the waterfall.

He said he became aroused and grabbed her, but the woman resisted. They fought, and he forced her head into the water until she died. He fled the scene, according to the source.
A criminal background check showed the man, a former professional kick boxer, was last year arrested and charged with possession of narcotic drugs.
National police chief Pol Gen Suwat Jangyodsuk travelled to Phuket on Friday with a team of investigators to oversee the case, the first serious incident to be reported since the Sandbox programme began on July 1.
He told reporters yesterday that officers had some "good news" and the case was "all wrapped up". He will hold a news conference at 10am today to give more details.
Given the intense pressure on police to solve the case, online sleuths have been weighing in with speculation that officers would look to find a scapegoat quickly.
Pol Maj Gen Nanthadet Yoinuan, deputy chief of Provincial Police Region 8, said this was not the case, as investigators had obtained firm evidence.
Sauvain-Weisskopf, the 57-year-old deputy protocol chief of the Federal Assembly of Switzerland, was found dead wearing only a T-shirt and jacket at Tone Ao Yon waterfall in tambon Vichit of Muang district on Thursday afternoon.
The woman had arrived at Phuket airport on July 13 as a tourist under the Phuket Sandbox scheme, which began on July 1. It allows in vaccinated foreign tourists in an effort to help revive a sector decimated by Covid-19.
Police began tracking the suspect, who lived not far from the murder scene, after he was caught on security camera driving a motorcycle near the scene, said the source.
Prior to his arrest, the police spotted the man riding the motorcycle. They gave chase to simply seize the motorcycle for inspection. However, when the police pursued the man to his home, they realised he was actually the one they were looking for, said the source.
DNA samples were collected from the suspect and sent for inspection in Bangkok for matching with some DNA specimens collected from the body of the victim.
Pol Maj Gen Nanthadet Yoinuan, deputy commissioner of the Provincial Police Region 8, insisted the police have solid evidence to pursue the case.
Meanwhile, security in Phuket will be tightened for safety reasons, according to the police chief.
A survey was being conducted to identify tourist attractions in Phuket which may possibly lack sufficient security.
They will be closed temporarily as security is improved, while screening of visitors to the resort island at the main security checkpoint will be heightened, said Pol Gen Suwat.
Earlier, police released the timeline of the victim's activities since her arrival in Phuket, ending with her 18-minute walk alone from her hotel near Ao Yon beach to the waterfall, about 1.4 kilometres away, on Tuesday. After finding the body they took some people in for questioning. One of them acted suspiciously and had some bruises on his body.

[Niggly]

Push to promote Phuket after murder
Bangkok Post

12/08/2021, 05:00

A heavy tourism marketing drive will be launched overseas to spread the message of Phuket being safe after the murder of a Swiss woman and as the US placed Thailand on the list of countries with a Covid-19 alert, according to the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).
The murder case has no immediate impact on tourism bookings through the Phuket sandbox programme, as reported by 29 TAT offices overseas, said Nanthasiri Ronsiri, director of TAT's Phuket office.
However, in the longer term, the pandemic might put pressure on Phuket's tourism outlook, especially with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adding Thailand to the highest Level 4 list of countries -- "very high" -- which urges fully vaccinated US citizens to avoid travel to Thailand due to the risk of exposure to the virus and its variants.
The priority now was to communicate to people overseas and tour operators that Phuket, being the most vaccinated province, is far removed from the pandemic situation in the rest of the country, said Ms Nanthasiri.
The message must be put out urgently with a heavy marketing campaign to be implemented.
Phuket has a strong public health safety record and is medically equipped in terms of personnel and facilities to handle the pandemic, she said.
Meanwhile, the provincial health office has reported a steady rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in Phuket, especially among migrant workers from Myanmar employed mostly in the fishery industry.
Koosak Kookiatkul, head of the office, said Phuket logged 297 new Covid-19 cases last week, and 328 so far this week.
"New cases are coming on a wave of the Delta variant, which spreads 60-70% faster than the outbreak in April," he said.
"There are more patients as we have more visitors and inbound workers."

[stattointhailand]

600 cases in a week and a half seems rather more than a "manageable" increase on the 90 a week that was supposed to be the limit

[bamakmak]

Live from Phuket!

Ok, so I got back to Thailand today via the Sandbox. We'll see how it goes during the next 14 days.

As I had mentioned earlier and, now that I'm here, I want to say again that for the basic tourist traveler, you are nuts coming back under the Sandbox. From my experience, the COE experience was not fun.

Ultimately, I had to apply for a COE three times, the last two times because of the airline rescheduling my flight. The last and final hiccup happened last Tuesday (10 August), just 8 days before departure. My flight from Chicago to Doha was cancelled and I was re-booked on another flight that left 5 hours later. I was still scheduled to arrive in Phuket as originally planned.

I called the Thai Consulate and they insisted that, even with only 8 days before departure, I had to begin the whole COE application process from scratch! Because of Thailand's Mother's Day, that provided only 5 working days for Thailand to approve my new COE. Thank goodness they expedited the application and I got the final approval on 16 August.

I was also wrong when I said earlier that I only had to load the ThailandPlus app on my phone. I based that on my silly assumption that because it was the only app that the Consulate referenced and which they actually provided a link, that would be it for phone apps. But when we arrived at Phuket airport, they couldn't have cared less about that app. They wanted the Morchana app, and we had to load that on our phones at the airport.

But, in any case, I'm happily sitting at the Patong hotel now.

[stattointhailand]

After that fiasco you deserve a nice relaxing 14 days in the sandbox ........ enjoy

[bamakmak]

Thanks Stats. We did have the foresight to purchase 1 liter insulated, opaque drinking containers before we left the USA to take to the restaurants and beach now that alcohol is banned at those places!

[Niggly]

I was also wrong when I said earlier that I only had to load the ThailandPlus app on my phone. I based that on my silly assumption that because it was the only app that the Consulate referenced and which they actually provided a link, that would be it for phone apps. But when we arrived at Phuket airport, they couldn't have cared less about that app. They wanted the Morchana app, and we had to load that on our phones at the airport.

Good sandbox report, thanks

Hope you have better luck with the MorChana app than me. It’s been constantly crashing, forgetting all data, forcing re-registration & being generally useless since the latest update in July

[marjamlew]

From TNR on Twitter. Classic move. 40 - 60 split between the resort and governor?

[Giggle]

Reeks of desperation.

[samster]

For anyone planning similar....

I arrived in Phuket 23/9. Highlights so far:-

- Documentation process was lengthy and tortuous but, from the RTE perspective in London efficient.
- Airline (Etihad) were excellent. As a (previously) frequent flyer I was upgraded on both legs MAN/AUH/HKT
- Process at UK airports was smooth and, given fewer passengers, quick
- Arrival at HKT was very well managed. I was processed, tested and out of airport less than an hour after disembarking
- Had to stay in room for 6 hours on 1st day until negative test came back. Temperatures are taken and recorded daily.
- Phuket is dead. Bangla Road is effectively closed as is Central Plaza and Jungceylon ..... also, sadly, Hooters.
- The locals are struggling. I have spoken to a few in my transactions renting m/c, shopping, restaurants and they're broke.

Anyone need any practical advice, PM me.

[pipoz4444]

Hi

Has anyone recently flown from Phuket to Udon Thani or vice versa?, or does anyone plan to do it in the near future.

If so, I just wondered which Airline you choose

pipoz4444

[marcus1]

Air Asia are flying as of next month.
Booked to fly on the 2nd from Udon and return 9th...(Direct and return flights).
Great price too.
Approx 1500 baht each way...
Bargain.

[stattointhailand]

With luck they may have allowed the re opening of the entertainment venues by then or at least started to turn a blind eye again to those that open illegaly