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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Gas station attendants criminally responsible for customers who don’t hang up
PHUKET: Gas station attendants will be held legally responsible for ensuring that drivers turn off their engines and put away their cell phones at the pump, officials from the Department of Energy Business (DOEB) confirmed Sunday. DOEB issued a new law to this effect, according to which, if gas station attendants are caught disobeying regulations, they will be fined a…
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Mayor Somjai takes to the streets following heavy rains
PHUKET: Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana took to the streets to hear out locals’ complaints after a deluge of rain during the past week caused flooding and chaos on the island. Mayor Somjai knocked on doors on Amphor Road and discussed solutions with residents who live by the canal, about flooding in the area. She also visited the Phuket Post…
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Phuket Muslims prepare for arrival of Ramadan
PHUKET: Muslim clerics in Phuket are to scour the skies to see if the moon is visible on June 5 to determine the beginning of a month of fasting for Ramadan. The sighting of the moon is the traditional requisite for proclaiming the arrival of a new month on the Islamic lunar calendar, said Phuket’s Islamic Committee Secretary Piyadet Chuachalard.…
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Darasamuth underpass to close Tuesday night
PHUKET: The Darasamuth Underpass is to close temporarily from 11pm Tuesday night until about 5am Wednesday, confirmed Samak Luedwonghad, director of the Phuket Highways Office. “We have to close all three lanes to improve and maintain the electric system and ensure the efficiency of tunnel lights,” said Mr Samak. “Motorists are advised to use alternative routes during that time.” Mr…
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Briton’s body found four days after Samui speed boat sank in storm
PHUKET: The search for a British national, who disappeared after a speedboat sinking near Koh Samui on Thursday afternoon, is over, after officials reportedly recovered the man’s body yesterday. Samui District chief Paiboon Omak accompanied divers, who found the body of 46-year-old Jason Robert Parnell. “Due to heavy winds and quick, murky currents, foreign specialists joined us to help recover…
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Ten charged in White Shark inspection so far
PHUKET: Ten land owners are being charged after a Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) team investigated 24 plots of land for alleged mangrove encroachment on Phuket. The investigations are part of a nationwide operation to reclaim ‘national treasures’ across 24 provinces. The team will inspect a total 34 plots of land covering about 2,200 rai on the island…
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Ukrainian tourist wakes up to real nightmare
PHUKET: A Ukrainian woman reportedly woke up to a strange man in her room yesterday, who grabbed her cellphone before bolting down the stairs, she told police. Oleksandra Drobinova, 29, said that she was asleep in the afternoon, when she woke up to see a stranger, who she believed to be Thai, pick up her phone off the dressing table.…
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White Sharks hunting for encroachers in Phuket mangroves
PHUKET: A new taskforce set up by the National Parks Department, known as ‘White Shark’, launched an investigation into alleged encroachment of more than 2,200 rai of mangrove forest in Phuket. The taskforce mustered 200 officials to check several plots in Phuket. Officials estimate encroachment of the mangrove forest has cost the state 250 million baht. Officials were split into…
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Tourists abandoned in stormy sea after illegal longtail sinks off Krabi
KRABI: A boat captain abandoned four tourists in rough seas, leaving them clinging to rocks, after his overloaded longtail boat capsized near Wang Sai Seafood restaurant, en route to Ao Nang from Railay Friday afternoon. The boat was overloaded with nearly twice the vessel’s maximum capacity of eight people. Canadians, Polish and Spanish men and women were among the passengers…
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Environmentalist praises tourist’s arrest
PHUKET: A marine expert and environmentalist is calling for help in keeping tourists from taking coral and other marine life out of the country. Thon Thamrongnawasawat, a member of the National Reform Council (NRC) and a marine expert and activist, expressed his concerns on social media after receiving a large number of reports by airport staff that tourists were taking…
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Vachira Hospital thanks blood donors on 49th anniversary
PHUKET: Vachira Phuket Hospital on Monday awarded certificates and souvenirs to more than 50 regular blood donors to the hospital’s blood bank. The ‘thank you’ event for blood donors and more than 70 supporting organizations was hosted by hospital director Dr Jessada Chungpaibulpatana at the hospital’s Baan Khun Poom building and coincided with the blood bank’s 49th anniversary. Among the…
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Last of the Rohingya escapees captured
PHUKET: The last of 21 Rohingya escapees, who broke out from a Phang Nga Immigration Detention Center early Monday morning, were finally arrested last night, officials confirmed. “We received reports from locals in Baan Thai Thoi that the Rohingya men were spotted inside a mangrove forest and shrimp farm,” said Songyot Nakrit, Tum Bor Put village headman. “The men had…
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Traffic disruption at Bang Ku Underpass intersection today
PHUKET: Work to move electricity poles in Koh Keaw today is causing tailbacks on Thepkrasattri Road. Phuket City Traffic Police Lt Col Teerawat Leamsuwan informed the Phuket Gazette that the roadside work means traffic in the left southbound lane to the Bang Ku Underpass intersection is reduced to a single lane. “The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) is moving the…
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Heavy winds send bus teetering off pier [video]
PHUKET: In a scene straight from “The Italian Job”, a shuttle bus was blown half-way off of Chalong Pier and left hanging in delicate balance, as Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) workers attempted to haul it back onto the roadway. Officials said the heavy winds this morning were responsible for blowing the bus nearly off the pier from its parking…
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Tourist arrested for feeding fish
PHUKET: A Chinese tourist was arrested yesterday for feeding fish at Koh Kai. The arrest of Hongzhi Zhou, 45, was the first time a tourist has been detained after emergency powers were granted to law enforcement officials by the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Region 6 on May 24 to protect marine life. The measures, referred to as…
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Amateurs tee off at first Open
PHUKET: The Phuket Country Club will host the Phuket Golf Association’s first Amateur Open this Saturday. The event is open to both Thai and tourist amateurs and will feature cash and prizes, said Phuket Golf Association Chief Terayout Prasertphol. “The competition will follow the rules of the United States Golf Association (USGA), The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St…
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Baron builders block sea gypsies with boulders
PHUKET: Sea gypsies in Rawai threw stones and insults at builders from Baron World Trade Co yesterday after the construction company made a wall of boulders to block access to the site and began digging on the disputed land. About 100 sea gypsies gathered to stop construction workers while police and army officers looked on. The sea gypsies claimed the…
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Fierce storms cause more than B300,000 worth of damage
PHUKET: Fierce storms this week caused more than 300,000 baht worth of damage to at least nine houses in Phuket, toppling trees and causing landslides in several areas. The heavy downpour this morning toppled several trees and damaged two houses in Ao Po and seven other houses were damaged in Thalang on Tuesday. “There was a landslide in the Ao…
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Phuket lifeguards exasperated by ignorant tourists [video]
PHUKET: Lifeguards at Phuket’s beaches are exasperated by tourists blatantly ignoring warnings not to swim and risking their lives playing in the rough waves. “A lot of beachgoers are completely ignoring the red flags, and they won’t even listen to the lifeguards when we try to stop them,” said Singsom, the head lifeguard at Kata-Karon. Despite the frantic whistling of…
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Police officer faces murder charges for death of Rohingya detainee
PHANG NGA: Police are preparing to file charges of murder with intent against a police officer who shot a Rohingya man after a group of 21 Rohingya men escaped from Phang Nga Immigration Detention Center early Monday morning. (story here). “According to witnesses, Muhammad Kornee, 18, threw a big rock at one of the officers and the officer used his…
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Police capture more Rohingya on the run
PNANG NGA: Police last night tracked down eight more of the 21 Rohingya detainees who fled from Phang Nga Immigration Detention Center early yesterday morning. The men broke out of the center at 3am yesterday and split into two groups; one group heading for the sea and the other into forested hills. One of the escapees was fatally shot during…
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Phuket number plate auction raises B22mn for crash victims
PHUKET: The sale of lucky licence plates raised 22 million baht this week to fund road safety campaigns and rehabilitation programs for traffic accident victims. More than 300 lucky licence plates were auctioned off at the 11th annual two-day event organized by the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) and held at the Phuket Merlin Hotel on May 21 and 22.…
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Russian expat dead in Phuket with needle in arm
PHUKET: The body of a Russian man with a needle embedded in his left arm was discovered at an apartment near Khao Rang in Phuket City yesterday. The man has been identified as a 38-year-old computer programmer. The Gazette is withholding his name until his family has been notified of his death. The body was discovered by a concerned colleague,…
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Rohingya detainee shot dead in escape bid
PHANG NGA: A male Rohingya migrant was shot to death during an escape bid from the Phang Nga Immigration Detention Center this morning. The escapee was one of 21 Rohingya who broke out of the center at 3am and split into two groups. Fifteen of them made their way down a waterway leading to Phang Nga Bay. The other six…
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Appeal underway for Koh Tao double murder suspects
SAMUI: The mothers of two Myanmar migrant workers sentenced to death for the murder of two British travellers on Koh Tao in 2014, arrived in Samui yesterday to file an appeal against their sons’ convictions. Phyu Shew Nu and May Thein, mothers of suspects Wai Phyo and Zaw Lin respectively, came armed with about 200 pages of documentation to state…
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Andaman storm to batter Phuket, Southern Thailand
PHUKET: The Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) on Saturday issued a storm warning about heavy rains and increasingly strong winds for the remainder of this week in Phuket and other areas in the Andaman and Southern Thailand. The following areas are placed on high alert: Phuket, Ranong, Phang Nga, Krabi, Trang and Satun. Residents are warned to remain cautious due…
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Man dragged out to sea by body-snatching wave at Nai Thon Beach
PHUKET: A search and rescue operation is underway to locate a man dragged out to sea at Nai Thon Beach last night. He was reportedly pulled out by a wave while walking along the beach and dragged away by the strong currents. “Wichit Sophon, 30, was reported missing by his girlfriend Sompong Noinak, 30, at about 8pm. Ms Sompong was…
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Leicester City FC takes time out in Phuket
PHUKET: More than 70 players and staff from the English Premier League’s Leicester City Football Club touched down at Phuket Airport yesterday for a three-day stopover before traveling to Myanmar on Sunday. The team arrived in Phuket on an AirAsia flight from Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport at about 1.35pm and were given a warm welcome by Airport Director Monrudee Gettuphan…
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Phuket crisis negotiators stop suicidal woman from jumping off clifftop
PHUKET: Crisis negotiators last night talked down a woman threatening to commit suicide by jumping from the top of Promthep Cape. Rawai Mayor Aroon Solos and municipality staff learned of the impending suicide attempt when the distraught woman posted her plans on Facebook while commemorating Visakha Bucha Day. The Facebook post by Noo Noi Nang Fa (Little Angel), written in…
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Tour boats warned to steer clear of dolphins off Phuket
PHUKET: Officials have warned tour guides and boat operators to stay at a safe distance from marine life, after a large pod of dolphins was spotted near Koh Mai Thon off the southeast coast of Phuket. Suchat Rattanaruengsri, head of the Marine and Coastal Resources Conservation Division Region 6, was joined by marine experts and officials as they looked into…
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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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