It’s been about eight months since the tragedy of One-Two-Go flight OG269. The latest development in that saga is an online petition that has surfaced with, at the time of writing, more than 4,500 digital signatures calling for Thailand’s prime minister to investigate Udom Tantiprasongchai, chairman of One-Two-Go.

There are some pretty strong allegations going around. From the website:

• Mr Tantiprasongchai personally encouraged One-Two-Go and Orient Thai pilots to fly unsafe airplanes.
• Mr Tantiprasongchai paid bonuses to One-Two-Go and Orient Thai pilots for exceeding legal maximum flying hours and encouraged other unsafe behaviors.
• Mr Tantiprasongchai bribed Thai aviation authorities (the DCA) to overlook these improper activities.

While it wouldn’t surprise me if these are true, I suspect the same could be said of all Thailand’s budget airlines.

Perhaps the most disturbing snippet from the website is that the seats from the plane’s wreckage are alleged to be for sale around the island. I have yet to hear anything about this, but it’s certainly an odd thought.

There is some pretty damning evidence working against One-Two-Go. Take some time to read through the website and let me know what you think. The problem with this type of website is that it can all become a bit Zeitgeist, in that people immediately assume everything laid out for them is true. They then take these so-called “truths” and run with them.

I’m still surprised that people refuse to fly with One-Two-Go. I have as much faith in One-Two-Go as I do any of the budget airlines, yet every time I mention to someone that I might fly One-Two-Go, I receive a look of disbelief.

Is it only a matter of time before we see another air crash?

Phuket is one of the most popular destinations for visitors to Thailand. Predicted tourism figures this year point to in excess of five million visitors to the island. With all the websites out there offering information about Phuket, you’re going to want to choose a reputable Phuket guide in order to plan your trip.

Once you have your Phuket guide sussed out, the next step is to figure out what you want to do during your time in Phuket. Speaking from experience, Phuket is a highly underrated destination that a lot of visitors to Thailand are beginning to turn their noses up to.

Most Phuket guides will gloss over the truth of what the island is like, seemingly selling the entire island as a paradise. It isn’t, of course.

Patong is like hell on earth for some people, which is ironic because it’s often the only part of Phuket that some visitors see. Basing your perception of Phuket solely on Patong nightlife is silly because Phuket has a lot more to offer than the bars and clubs in Patong.

Most Phuket guides are also written by older folks who are trying to sell you a product, usually hotels. What Phuket needs is more websites written by young people, for young people. Phuket often feels as if it is losing its youthful edge and becoming overrun by sex tourists and retirees. It doesn’t have to be like that.

Phuket has a lot to offer. There are some fabulous beaches, some really cool cultural sites and some decent nightclubs. Phuket nightlife is often thought to contain nothing more than go-go bars and beer bars, but there is a lot more to the island than people give credit for.

Many Phuket guides will sing the praises of Seduction disco or Timber Hut nightclub, but few will mention Oasis or Barzah.

What is most surprising is that Phuket has a pretty lively DJ scene. We”re talking real DJs spinning the latest club tunes, with everything from breaks to drum n bass. Phuket is a diverse island with a lot to offer. While there is a lot of development, you have to remember that Phuket is a large enough island that you can escape the bad stuff and find your own corner with ease.

A visit to Phuket comes highly recommended.

Well that didn’t take long. After a regional manhunt, Akkaradej “Chon” Tunkae has been arrested on suspicion of murdering Swedish tourist Hanna Charlotta Backlund. Although he’s been hung, drawn and quartered by the Swedish press, it’s important to remember that this guy hasn’t been proved guilty yet.

I don’t have any more details because we just got word of this.

Addendum: A little update. It looks like the suspect actually gave gave himself up, which means he won’t face the death penalty. Apparently he was found in Ranong on his way to Burma.

Full story on the Gazette later today. I’ve had enough with this story for now.

Swedish national Hanna Charlotta Backlund, 26, was found murdered at Mai Khao in Phuket on Saturday. According to reports, the body was dressed in a swimsuit and her throat had multiple stab wounds. There were also lacerations to her back, midriff and hands.

Police said that this was an attempted rape. When looking for a motive for an attack on someone wearing nothing but a swimsuit and with no valuables on them, this is clearly not an attempted mugging. Police also said that a group of three or four people are responsible.

“Emma [Hanna’s friend] left the resort to buy some water and she told Hanna that she will join her sunbathing later. About 30 minutes later, she returned to find Hanna dead,” police told the Gazette.

Emma, told police that the pair often sunbathed topless. Although she said that they normally did it when no-one was around, it’s open to speculation whether this played a part in Hanna’s tragic death.

This is eerily reminiscent of the Katherine Horton incident in which the British tourist was raped and murdered on Samui in 2006. When that happened, Thaksin made a song and dance about catching the killers because of the potential impact such a case could have on tourism. Now that we have another young woman murdered in a possible botched rape, there really is nothing the current government can do to prevent a backlash.

With no witnesses and a recent spate in Phuket of unsolved cases involving murdered foreigners, this could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. At least in the case of Katherine Horton her killers were brought to justice and given the death penalty.

At the moment, the Post, Nation and, obviously, the Gazette have picked up this story along with IHT.

Addendum: CNN has also picked this up.

Addendum II: Remember what I said about Thaksin stepping in to speed up the case after Katherine Horton was murdered? Well, we have a similar situation with this case. From The Nation:

Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat visited Phuket late Sunday night to ask police to speed up probe into the murder of a tourist on a popular beach of this island province.

Weerasak arrived at the Phuket International Airport at 11:55 pm to find out the progress of the probe into the murder of Charotta Hanna, 27.

Weerasak asked police to brief him the details of the beach and the attack.

Phuket Police chief Pol Maj Gen Decha Butrnamphet reported to him that the Phuket Tourism Association offered Bt100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the murder.

There is clearly some concern how much this will affect tourism, much more so than with previous murders. One hundred thousand baht is a hefty sum. I predict that there will be arrests made by the end of the week.

This is a sad story that I touched on briefly the other day. Henrik Rasmussen, 47, was a Danish tourist holidaying with his cousin. Henrik suffered from Down syndrome and went missing from Royal Paradise Hotel in the early hours of January 28.

Despite a reward of 10,000 baht being offered and various search parties looking for Henrik, there was no news until his bloated body turned up in a khlong behind the hotel. He had, according to police, been dead for about five days.

Henrik had the mental capacity of a 12-year-old and, according to the cousin, he had become confused and disoriented and may have left the hotel thinking he was in Denmark to look for a lost cellphone. For about five days, he was somewhere in Patong. Four-hundred leaflets featuring Henrik’s photo were given out and not one person said they had seen him.

I find it hard to believe that a 47-year-old Danish man with Down syndrome wasn’t seen, especially staying in the heart of Patong. Police noted that the body was not reported until the reward had been raised to 20,000 baht.

There were three wounds to the body, although it’s unclear at this stage how they got there. We still don’t know whether this is a case of murder or just a tragic accident.

Before the body was discovered, the Danish family had said how outraged they were by the lack of support received from the local police. Obviously, the police weren’t looking very hard because the body turned up right next to where Henrik was staying.

Even before the body was found, I had said to our new sub editor that the police wouldn’t do anything and that there was no chance of them going out of their way for a missing-person case.

The Thai papers have been reporting all sorts of mistakes. Thai Rath reported in a front-page story that Henrik was a successful real-estate businessman whose head had been almost severed off.

I have little hope of there being any resolution in this case and I’m surprised that this hasn’t, to my knowledge, been covered in The Nation or the Post.