Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
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Policeman stabbed while making arrest
PHUKET TOWN: A police officer was knifed while making an arrest at about 3 am on Sunday at the Sri Sena fishing port. Pol L/Cpl Rakchart Suksrinuan went to question Ruengsak Cholasarn, 33, following a complaint by Pairoj Kongchartthai, 19, that Ruengsak had stabbed him during an argument. K. Pairoj was admitted to Wachira Hospital with minor stab wounds to…
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Man found shot dead in palm plantation
THALANG: The battered body of a man was found by villagers in a palm plantation in Thalang on Friday. Pol Maj Pornthep Phutluecha of Thalang Police Station said that the man, estimated to have been 30 to 40 years old, was wearing navy blue trousers and a T-shirt. His arms were raised over his head and handcuffed together. He had…
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Aliens top gambling in arrest figures
PHUKET: Illegal immigrants topped the arrests statistics last month, with 421 people caught in raids from March 1 to 24, according to the latest figures released by police. Gambling dropped from its customary number-one spot, with 273 arrested in 91 raids, up from 176 arrests made in 82 raids during for the same period in February. Arrests for drug-related offences…
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Prison still brimming with drug offenders
PHUKET TOWN: Statistics released by Provincial Prison officials last week show that narcotics offenders, or those awaiting trial on drugs-related charges, make up more than half of the prison population. Of the 1,247 inmates, 523 men and 119 women are in for narcotics offenses. Of the remaining prisoners, 217 are being held for theft, 136 for murder or attempted murder,…
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A glorious act of philanthropy
PATONG: Any person whose face matches a photocopy of one of the passports seized in Haad Yai last week can claim 10,000 baht and a handwritten chit to reclaim the passport in Bangkok from a man waiting on Thaweewong Rd. Clutching his belt pouch tight, the philanthropist, who identified himself only as “Mr May”, said he will give 10,000 baht…
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Eco-tour firms protest tuk tuk ‘bullies&’
PHUKET TOWN: About 70 staff from five eco-tour companies gathered in front of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office on Phuket Rd last night to protest the “bullying” behavior of tuk tuk drivers in the Kata-Karon area. The protest blocked traffic for about an hour. Anupharb Thirarath, director of the TAT Phuket office, was handed a letter by the…
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Employers turn in 126 “unemployables’
PHUKET: In the latest development of the government’s crackdown on illegal aliens, 126 Burmese have been rounded up and will be shipped back to Burma within the next few days. Phuket Immigration made the arrests after tip-offs from Phuket employers. Three days ago, police publicly urged employers to tell police of any Burmese who are not fit to work as…
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Four arrested for credit card offenses
PHUKET TOWN: Police have nabbed one Malaysian and three Thais suspected of a major credit card fraud and forgery operation. Lee On Chin, a 49-year-old Chinese Malaysian, and Kiattikorn Rakkaew, 33, were arrested Tuesday in front of Daeng Plaza Hotel on Phuket Rd while using credit cards to draw money from an ATM machine. Prajak Nalita, 32, was arrested the…
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Rush to solve Laguna dispute
PHUKET TOWN: Thalang District Chief Kanthee Silapa yesterday set himself a deadline of three weeks from now to report his findings on the dispute over whether Thai Wah Development, Laguna Resorts and Hotels’ parent company, had encroached on government land. K. Kanthee announced his deadline – April 20 – at a meeting at Provincial Hall, which was attended by representatives…
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B2m damage in three-home blaze
PHUKET TOWN: A kitchen fire raged out of control and gutted three units of a two-story townhouse complex in Moo Baan Karn Kaeha yesterday afternoon. Total damage is estimated at more than 2 million baht. Five firefighters took nearly one hour to put out the blaze. No injuries were reported. The fire started in the kitchen of one of the…
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Koreans can be interpreters, not guides – Gov
PHUKET TOWN: In response to a long-standing dispute between Thai guides and Korean tour operators, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi yesterday announced that 99 Korean nationals will be allowed to register as tour-guide interpreters. The announcement was made at a meeting, attended by local government officials and Korean tour operators, which was arranged to resolve months of conflict. The conflict arose…
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Police officer robbed during Phuket stay
PHUKET TOWN: An Immigration Police officer from Surat Thani, working in Phuket on assignment, had his jewelry and his gun stolen from his hotel room at the S.T. Hotel on Sakdidet Rd on Saturday night. Pol Lt Parichat Jaturonphan, of Phuket Town Police Station, said that Pol Capt Sudjarit Vongsakate was staying at the hotel with his family. Lt Parichat…
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Burglars rob MP’s company of B1m
PHUKET TOWN: Burglars on Saturday night broke into exporting company Jianvanich Office, of which Phuket Democrat MP Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr is Managing Director, and stole cash and jewelry worth about 1 million baht. Pol Lt Parichat Jaturonphant, of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that at 11:30 yesterday morning, Apirak Vanich, 37, the company’s manager and K. Anchalee’s younger brother,…
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Lucky Complex operator out of luck
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has taken back management of the abandoned Lucky Complex in Saphan Hin after the company in charge of running it failed to pay rent on the building for more than two years. OrBorJor officials, including the president, Dr Prasit Koeysiripong, went to inspect the Lucky Complex on Saturday, shortly after the OrBorJor…
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Patong to get power boost
PATONG: To reduce the number of unscheduled blackouts in Patong, the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has installed a new substation opposite the Holiday Inn on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd. The substation – which has yet to be hooked up to the town’s power supply – has the capacity to boost power supply in the area from 33 kilovolts to…
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Governor CEO experiment “a success’
PHUKET TOWN: After five months, the experiment of having a governor CEO run Phuket has proved to be a success, says Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Interior, Yongyuth Wichaidith. Speaking at the opening of the new Patong Municipality Office yesterday, K. Yongyuth said the appointment of Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi has led to issues being dealt with faster than under…
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Long-tail owners win klong dispute
BANG TAO: Following a protest by local long-tail boat owners, the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) has ordered a halt to a land modification project by a local landowner. The protest, by Bang Tao boetmen, came after the landowner started filling in the klong, apparently intending to shift the course of the canal so that he could expand his…
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Immigration Dept: corruption exposed
PHUKET: A major investigation has been launched into the activities of Immigration officers in Patong after the seizure of some 40 passports in Haad Yai in recent days. The passports were on their way back from Malaysia after being sent for “visa run” renewals and are now in the possession of the Immigration Department in Bangkok. Among those whose passports…
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Cool relief blows across Phuket
PHUKET: After months of searing heat and little rain, blessedly cool weather reached Phuket today – but the relief will probably last no longer than 36 hours. Tawat Tantamanu of the Southwestern Regional Meteorological Center told the Gazette that the drop in temperature was caused by a low-pressure system moving up from Malaysia. “It has brought clouds and showers this…
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Fleeing Patong bombers dump grenade
PATONG: Police suspect that two young men who dumped a hand grenade in a garbage bin around midnight last night had been on their way to bomb an entertainment venue in Soi Bangla. A tuk-tuk driver alerted police after seeing a passenger on a motorbike holding the grenade. Officers were dispatched to cut off the men’s route into Rat-U-Thit 200…
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Cobra tale ‘poisonous nonsense&’ – Super Cheap
PHUKET TOWN: The Managing Director of Phuket Town’s famed Super Cheap emporium admitted to being furious today about what he sees as a venomous whispering campaign, probably inspired by business rivals. The story going the rounds yesterday and today was that a 40-year-old woman shopping at Super Cheap went to take onions from a display in the vegetables section. As…
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Shark: Will it? Won’t it?
PATONG: Reports that the Shark Club will reopen soon continue to surface – but so far none of the reports appears to have teeth. Earlier rumors that the club would reopen did, however, spark a visit to the venue in the early hours of Friday by the Chief of Kathu District, Suthin Uthaithamrong. K. Suthin told the Gazette that he…
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Play fair, Songkhran revelers told
PHUKET: Police have issued a list of instructions to prevent next month’s Songkhran revels from getting out of hand. The list came with a plea from Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, for people to indulge in traditional water play from April 13 to April 15 without drunkenness or lewdness. In past years, people’s clothes have…
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Airport traffic in February take-off
PHUKET: Passenger traffic at Phuket International Airport rose by 8.85% in February compared with the same month last year, according to figures just released by airport officials. The statistics show that 376,829 passengers arrived at, or departed from, the airport, compared with 346,179 last February. The number of international passengers rose by 17.94% to 156,185, while the number of passengers…
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Phuket ax man kills, then flees
PHUKET TOWN: A fierce argument between two laborers ended when one hacked the other to death with an ax, then fled. Police are still hunting for the killer. Officers were called to a construction camp in Sakdidet Soi 9 soon after 10 pm on Wednesday where they found a man, dressed only in blue jeans, with deep wounds at the…
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Mutilated body washed up in mangroves
THALANG: Police have no clues in the hunt for a killer or killers who disemboweled a man and dumped his mutilated body at sea. The body washed up among mangroves near the Fishery Center at Moo 4, Baan Laem Sai, where villagers found it about 6 pm yesterday. The victim’s throat had been slashed with such force that his head…
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Shark rumor sparks official check
PATONG: Government officials checked the Shark Club last night after hearing a rumor that the venue, closed permanently on the orders of Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, was planning to reopen tomorrow night. Chief of the Phuket Provincial Governor’s office Lertkiat Vongpuaphan visited the Shark Club in Patong to investigate the rumors, an officer in the Governor’s office told the Gazette.…
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Villagers fight to save klong
BANG TAO: About 30 villagers are fighting to preserve a public klong [canal] they say is being filled in by a private company against their wishes. Villagers of Baan Bang Tao submitted a complaint to the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) at an extraordinary meeting yesterday. The villagers say 10 fishing boats could once park in the klong behind…
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Briton drowns at Patong Beach
PATONG: A British man who had been living in Phuket for 10 years drowned at Patong Beach today. Police named him as Anthony Lord, 71, of Soi Sainamyen, Patong. Mr Lord appeared to get into difficulties about 10.15 am and although other swimmers raced to his aid, they were unable to save him. Pol Maj Sanguan Muangtham, Inspector of Kathu…
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German tourist dies of head injuries
KAMALA: A 40-year-old German tourist was found dead on a stairway with severe head injuries early this morning. Police believe his death was accidental but have not ruled out foul play. Police named the man as Peter Otto, of Kamala Buri Guesthouse. Other guests heard what sounded like Mr Otto’s door opening about 4 am, and then heard someone falling…
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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