A new daily wrap of Thailand news, with a Phuket perspective. Reports from national and international media, with translations into English from Thai.

australian associated press Media attention has been the big driver behind the release of Annice Smoel, says a lawyer. Ms Smoel and husband Darren were on a flight back to Melbourne on Thursday. Bernard Murphy, of law firm Maurice Blackburn, told Fairfax Radio: ''The court hearing came out of the ether and essentially a deal evolved which was 'you plead guilty, we'll pay the ($38) fine, we'll apologise and you go home.'' He said the quick about-face was brought about by a variety of causes ''but the driver has been the media and the public focus the media gave.'' He said Ms Smoel's plea of guilty to stealing the bar mat was a major concern but he believed the court would have found her guilty anyway. Mr Murphy said that as she was being deported officials told her she would be welcome back any time.


heraldsun.com.au Three Australian women have told of being pursued and interrogated after a visit to the Aussie Bar in February. Bar staff accused the trio of stealing a bar mat but in the end, a 19-year-old man confessed. One woman said they were questioned by six security staff for about 90 minutes while police watched. ''One security guard said to me, 'Do you know what it's like for girls like you in a Thailand prison?','' she said. The man was put in handcuffs but later let go. In another incident last February, a Wollongong man says he saw two Thai policemen interrogate two young women at the same bar after they allegedly stole a bar mat, with 8000 baht demanded for their release.

news.com.au The arrest of Melbourne's Annice Smoel, accused of stealing a bar mat from the Aussie Bar in Patong, has reignited debate about Australians behaving badly abroad, reports The Advertiser. Latest figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade show that in 2008-2009, 970 Australians were arrested abroad - 507 are serving time in foreign prisons and so far this year, there have already been 790 arrests. For the first time, the number of Australians arrested overseas is likely to surpass 1000 this year.

Kom Chad Leuk Michael Brian Smith, 46, from Northern Ireland, has been arrested by police in Bangkok over US$150 million missing from a company in the United Arab Emirates, where Mr Smith worked as a personnel manager. Mr Smith was arrested when he came to Thailand to visit his Thai wife. Extradition proceedings are expected to begin soon.

reuters The trial of Aung San Suu Kyi is outrageous and Burma's planned 2010 election will be illegitimate because of its treatment of the opposition leader, says US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. ''They intend to hold elections in 2010, which from the beginning will be illegitimate because of the way that they have treated her,'' Clinton told a congressional hearing. In a rare concession after days of international outrage, some 30 diplomats and 10 Burmese journalists were allowed to watch part of the third day of her trial in notorious Insein Central Prison.

The Nation: The Phuket Tourism Association has forecast that hotels would see occupancy rates as low as 25-30 percent, compared to 60 percent in the low season last year. Phurit Maswongsa, PTA vice president for marketing, said the spread of H1N1 virus was one of the main problems hitting the industry. Revenues for operators in Phuket would dip 50 percent on last year. Tourists from Australia, the Middle East and India continue to visit in numbers, with Thailand's political stability another concern. High season occupancy is expected to be down 20 percent, to 50-60 percent.

thejakartapost.com The global financial crisis has not affected Bali's tourism industry, say experts. Aloysius Purwa, chairman of the Bali branch of the Indonesian Association of Travel Agencies, said Bali had experienced significant growth in tourists visiting from January to May 2009. The number from China, Malaysia and Taiwan has increased, while Japan and Australia have remained the island's top markets. Foreign tourists visiting Bali in March 2009 reached 168,205, a 4.66 percent increase from the same time last year. Purwa said he did not have any idea whether the flood of foreign tourists was related to the current political situation in Thailand, a significant competitor to Bali tourism industry.

asiaone.com The Bank of Thailand defied expectations to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 1.25 percent on Wednesday, saying the current rate was low enough to support recovery. The bank's Monetary Policy Committee said the four cuts since December had done enough to spur the economy, which it expects could shrink by as much as 3.5 percent this year. Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has said the contraction could be as great as five percent. But the decision to freeze rates surprised the financial market.

The Nation Krabi Governor Siwa Sirisaowalak says all sides should wait for result of investigation into the deaths of two foreign tourists on Phi Phi Island. He was referring to an article in a newspaper by fcolumnist Nitipoom Navaratna which claimed that the two women died of food poisoning early this month. Khun Siwa said: ''We have not known yet the cause of deaths. The Forensic Science Laboratory are performing an autopsy.'' Krabi's deputy chief doctor Bancha Khakhong said more than 90 per cent of the restaurants on the island met the health standard.


Freed Aussie Mum Says: 'I'm So Glad It's Over'
Updating News Annice Smoel is free and heading for Australia. Phuketwan was present when the Governor of Phuket paid her fine and wished her well this afternoon.
Freed Aussie Mum Says: 'I'm So Glad It's Over'

Phuket's Beer Mat Martyrs and Cultural Chasms
Opinion/Analysis The Annice Smoel case is sad for her, and for her four children. Yet it could all have been prevented if her Government had been proactive and media savvy.
Phuket's Beer Mat Martyrs and Cultural Chasms

Dream Resort Brings Life to Phuket's Hills
Latest A resort with a difference demonstrates that not all the action need be on Phuket beaches. There's life in the hills, and a lot more of it to come.
Dream Resort Brings Life to Phuket's Hills

Temper Tantrums Call for a Phuket Tourist Court
Latest The arrest of an Australian woman over what seems a silly bar prank exposes again the problem of resurrecting Phuket's tourism industry across a cultural chasm.
Temper Tantrums Call for a Phuket Tourist Court


MediaWATCH: Bar Pranks and Burma's Justice
Latest The eyes of the region are on the trial of Aung San Suu Kyi, while Australia's focus is on a bar prank in Patong; An accused woman's four daughters want her home quickly.
MediaWATCH: Bar Pranks and Burma's Justice

MediaWATCH: Aussie Mother's Patong Arrest Limbo
Latest An Australian mother arrested in a Patong bar finds herself in limbo on Phuket, facing a long jail term over a petty theft she says was a prank by friends; Latest on Aung San Suu Kyi.
MediaWATCH: Aussie Mother's Patong Arrest Limbo

MediaWATCH: Flu Surge Sweeps Japan
Latest: Japan becomes alarmed as H1N1 breaks out in schools; WHO may move to pandemic Level 6; PM talks of orange as the new red and yellow; Aung San Suu Kyi faces trial today.
MediaWATCH: Flu Surge Sweeps Japan