Phuket News
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Phuket Police brutality at heart of mega-blockade
PHUKET: Four police officers were removed from active duty last night to bring an eight-hour blockade of Phuket’s critical Thepkrasattri Road to an end at about 11:30pm. The officers – Lt Akarapol Siwilai, Sub Lt Manus Faipetch, Sgt Maj Sansak Choti and Sgt Yongyuth Ritplud, all of the Tah Chat Chai Police Station – were transferred to Phuket Provincial Hall…
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Fire-preventing pump bursts into flames on old Phuket ferry
PHUKET: A pump meant to reduce the risk of fire by sucking up old oil short-circuited and burst into flames on a ferry in Ao Por on Tuesday afternoon. All three men working on the ferry when the flames broke out jumped overboard and were rescued by a nearby boat. “The ferry was old and the men were cutting up…
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Angry Phuket mob stages blockade over twin teen rape suspects
PHUKET: A mob of angry residents this afternoon blockaded Phuket’s critical main artery, Thepkrasattri Road, amid outrage over the twin teenagers who raped a pregnant woman in the area on Sunday night. The blockade, just north of the turnoff to Phuket International Airport, formed at about 2pm after villagers realized that police would not be bringing the twin brothers to…
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Anything to declare? Airport officials asked to target bags of undisclosed cash
PHUKET: Officers at Phuket International Airport have been asked to target people carrying large amounts of undisclosed cash in the ongoing battle to crack down on transnational crime. The request comes from Glenn Tankard of the Australian Federal Police (AFP). Mr Tankard was in Phuket early this month in his role as head of the Thai Transnational Crime Coordination Network…
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Teens confess to rape of pregnant Phuket woman
PHUKET: Twin brothers confessed yesterday to the rape, sexual assault, assault and robbery of a 25-year-old pregnant woman along a dark stretch of road in northern Phuket on Sunday. “The suspects face all four charges, including ‘use of a vehicle, in a robbery and evasion of police,'” Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Peerayut Karajedee told the Phuket Gazette. “They claim…
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Manchester United’s manager canned
PHUKET: David Moyes’s troubled reign at Old Trafford came to an abrupt end on Tuesday when the Scot was sacked after a hugely disappointing 10-month spell as manager after replacing Alex Ferguson last July. Announcing his departure in a terse, two line statement, United thanked Moyes for, “the hard work, honesty and integrity he brought to the role”. Veteran midfielder…
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Blackout in parts of northern Phuket tomorrow
PHUKET: Thalang District Electricity Authority (TDEA) has announced a major blackout scheduled to affect residents in Thalang tomorrow from 9am to 5pm. The scheduled blackout will affect areas along the southbound lane of Thepkrasattri Road, from the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Cooperatives Thalang branch to the LPG gas station in Baan Li Porn. Thalang Hospital will be affected, but…
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Phuket residents approve north-south Chalong underpass
PHUKET: Local residents yesterday voted to approve a route for the Chalong underpass: a two-way underpass stretching one kilometer long that joins Chao Fa West Road and Wiset Road. The selected route was chosen at the second public hearing for the project, held at The Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town. The chosen route was among four options presented yesterday. The…
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Kuwait’s MG7 Cricket Club take out Cup Final; CBBs win Plate Final
The 11th Annual Phuket International Cricket Sixes Tournament 2014 wrapped up on Sunday after eleven hard-fought matches. Match oneThe final play-off match one saw Wild Men From Borneo (WMFB) against the Southern Stars. The Wild Men went out and scored 33 runs with Scarface retiring hurt on 11. The Southern Stars won. Match twoThe first semi-final in the Plate division…
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PACC to dive in on Phuket corruption case on Monday
PHUKET: A Public-sector Anti Corruption Commission (PACC) team will begin its investigation on Monday into extortion charges lodged last month by 41 members of the Phuket dive community (story here). “At least nine PACC officers will form the investigation team. They will stay for as long as it takes to ensure that we have enough information to proceed with the…
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Pregnant woman kicked off her motorbike, raped in northern Phuket
PHUKET: Two men kicked a pregnant woman off her motorcycle, causing her to break a leg, then dragged her off the road and raped and robbed her in Mai Khao on Sunday night. The 25-year-old woman is five months pregnant. She was riding home alone from her job as a convenience store cashier when the attack occurred at about 10:30pm…
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Police believe French national killed during robbery
PHUKET: Police believe a French national found dead in his rented Phuket bungalow on Friday was killed in the midst of a robbery. Officers are now working on identifying two suspects recorded by the resort’s CCTV cameras. The body of Fabrice Boigeol, 37, was found lying in a pool of blood partially under a stripped mattress in a room at…
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Chinese tourist drowns while snorkelling, prompts life jacket warning
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has issued a warning over the improper use of life jackets following a Chinese tourist drowning while snorkelling off Racha Yai Island on Saturday. Chalong Police were notified of the tourist’s death at about 3pm after the body of Ting Hong, 29, had been transferred from Racha Yai Island to…
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Tattooed body found off Phuket beach, believed to be foreigner
PHUKET: Police are trying to establish the identity of a body, believed to be of a foreign man, found floating off Pansea Beach this morning. The gruesome discovery was made by Santisuk Patkhim, a beach guard at the upscale Amanpuri Resort. Mr Santisuk secured the body then called Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers to help bring it to shore. “So far…
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Governor orders probe into “reckless’ bungy-jump operators
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut has ordered police to investigate the illegal construction site of the Phuket bungy-jump tower where two men died and one was seriously injured on Friday (story here). “I received a report that the bungy-jump tower was illegal. The owners were issued a permit to construct a building 12 meters tall, but they erected a structure reaching…
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Phuket officials order a halt to deadly bungy jump
PHUKET: Officers have ordered a halt to any further development of the illegal bungy-jumping site in Phuket where two men died and one was seriously injured Friday night. “It was built more than four times higher than had been approved,” said Chalong Mayor Samran Jindapol. The Chalong Municipality had approved construction of a 12-meter jump tower. However, the final construction,…
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Phuket laundry raided over wastewater poisoning canal and wells
PHUKET: A commercial laundry in Chalong has been ordered to restrict its operations pending an inquiry into untreated wastewater poisoning of private wells and killing fish in a nearby canal. Officials led by Chalong Mayor Samran Jindaphol Friday morning raided the laundry, located along a dirt track off Soi Klumyang, about 300 meters south of Wat Chalong. “Just the stench…
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Police begin hunt for French murder suspects
PHUKET: Police are hunting for suspects involved in the killing of a French national who was found dead in a Phuket rental room yesterday. The body of Fabrioe Boigeol, 37, was found lying partially under a stripped mattress in a room at the Morgot Resort in Chalong at about 1:45pm (story here). “Police and forensic investigators are checking CCTV in…
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Two dead in Phuket bungy jumping accident
PHUKET: Two men died and one was seriously injured in a Phuket bungy-jump test last night after the lift they were on crashed to the ground. The owner, Tossaporn Suksri, 27, and his mechanic Pitakchai Wongsricha, 30, were waiting in the lift for their turn to test the jump when a malfunction caused the platform they were standing on to…
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Video Report: Phuket’s B70mn one-stop yacht center to open Monday
PHUKET: Two years behind schedule and 70 million baht in the making, Phuket’s long-awaited one-stop yacht center will open with a two-week trial period, starting on Monday. “Officers involved in yacht-arrival services, such as immigration, customs and the harbor master, are now moving into their new offices,” Phuket Marine Chief Phuripat Theerakulpisut told the Phuket Gazette. The rotunda-style building at…
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Thongchai caps a memorable week at the Masters
PHUKET: EurAsia Cup star Thongchai Jaidee of Thailand capped a memorable week at the Masters Tournament when he signed off with a one-over-par 73 to finish in a share of 37th place at the year’s opening Major last Sunday. The 13-time Asian Tour winner, who led Team Asia to a stunning fightback draw against Europe last month, made the cut…
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Video Report: ITF Seniors Tennis tournament at Thanyapura a success
PHUKET: Thanyapura Phuket ITF Seniors Tennis Tournament organizers said they were very pleased to see such a great turnout of players at the event, which took place from April 7 to 12. Many players also expressed their gratitude to the event organizers and praised the quality of the facilities where the tournament took place. It was a good start for…
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Phuket closes Songkran Seven Days of Danger with one dead, 22 injured
PHUKET: The Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign drew to a close at midnight last night with Phuket amassing a tally of one death and 22 people injured during the week-long holiday. Saeree Panitkul, the chief administrative officer at the Phuket Provincial Office, reported the news at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket) this…
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Babies thrown away throughout history
PHUKET: Child welfare and safety issues have been much in the news recently and our special report this week explores for our readers some of the options available locally to young mothers who are either unwilling or unable to support children they have given birth to. Few news stories generate greater emotional resonance than reports of abandoned babies. Yet it…
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Navy defamation case proceeds against PhuketWan
PHUKET: Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian of local blog PhuketWan were released on bail yesterday on charges of criminal defamation and other offenses in connection with a story they published on trafficking in Rohingya. Mr Morison, an Australian, and Thai national Ms Chutima published a story last July that contained excerpts from a Reuters Special Report alleging that some Thai…
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Celebrity comedian Teng a no show for Phuket Town
PHUKET: Anti-government protesters have prevented another well-known celebrity from performing in Phuket, this time the nationally renowned comedian Pongsak Pongsuwan, better known by his stage name Teng Terdtheong. Mr Teng was set to appear in the Sam Cha Carniwow event at Saphan Hin in Phuket Town tonight. “Event organizers from Workpoint Entertainment confirmed that Mr Teng, a popular comedian and…
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Phuket officials threaten protest over Club Med lease
PHUKET: Kata-Karon officials yesterday threatened public protests if the lease for the Club Med resort located on 39 rai of public land along the Kata beachfront is renewed. The 30-year lease, which began in 1985, will expire on September 24 next year. “For 30 years we have been waiting for the contract to expire,” said Kamnan Winai Chidchiew, who led…
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Korean Association Phuket calls for donations to aid victims of ferry disaster
PHUKET: The Korean Association in Phuket is collecting money to help those affected by the sinking of the South Korean ferry on Wednesday – both survivors and victims’ families. As many as 271 of the 475 passengers on board when the ship began sinking are still unaccounted for (story here). Many of those missing are schoolchildren. “We have called on…
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Wolfpack gore the Galahs to retain Cricket 7s title
PHUKET: Australia’s Wolfpack retained their title by winning the 11th Annual Phuket International Cricket Week 2014 Kata Group International Cricket 7s at Republic Phuket Football Ground last weekend. Captained by Australian Indoor Cricket Team champion Will Badger, the Wolfpack fought back to defeat the Galah Cricket Team, who had been admirable opponents during the Kata 7s. Wolfpack had defeated Phuket…
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Phuket survives Day 6 of Songkran road-safety campaign
PHUKET: No road deaths were reported in Phuket yesterday, the sixth day of the Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign, but one more injury was added to the official tally. During the 24 hours from midnight on April 15 to midnight on April 16, only one victim of a road accident was reported admitted to a hospital for…
Phuket is a province in the south of Thailand. Phuket's beaches face the Andaman Sea allowing the west coast beaches fantastic sunsets right throughout the year. If you're looking for news in Phuket, go to thethaiger.com/phuket Or follow our instant news in our Facebook pages.
The good news is that Phuket is famous for its foodie scene with an enormously diverse range of local and international foods - Phuket and southern favorites, street food along with international choices catering for the 12 million visitors to the island each year. Thaiger follows Phuket news and information 24 hours a day with regular updates.
Phuket is only 'just' an island with a 300 metre bridge linking it to Thailand's mainland. We're always reporting in the news that the channel beneath is frequently dredged to maintain Phuket's status as an island. On the other side of Sarasin Bridge is the Province of Phang Nga.
Getting to Phuket is easy as the island has land, air and sea connections. Phuket is also used as a take-off point for local island trips as Thailand's largest island is surrounded by over 30 pristine islands. Koh Phi Phi and the famous Maya Bay are always in the news and would be the best known of the island's just off Phuket's shores.
Phuket is an island and a province. It's the largest island in Thailand – 48 km north to south, 21 km east to west.
It's about 20% smaller, in area, than Singapore but much less densely populated. Whilst the island nation of Singapore boasts a population of nearly 6 million, Phuket has a permanent population of around 400-450,000 (but varies a lot with the influx of tourists and a workforce that is always changing). Most of Phuket remains jungle and tropical rainforest despite an acceleration of development over the past 20 years.
Unlike some of Thailand's other popular islands (that are in the Gulf of Thailand), the news is that Phuket is located in the Andaman Sea.
Phuket is 878 km north of the equator.
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