Phuket News
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Patong bar raided for baraku, hookahs
PHUKET: Kathu District officials raided a bar in Patong early Saturday morning for selling hookah tobacco and providing water pipes – a smoking style called baraku in Thailand – to customers, mainly tourists. Barkeeper and Myanmar national Tan Ser U was arrested in the raid of the Red Sky Bar on Sirirat Road at the southern end of Patong at…
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New police station near airport, more officers slated for Phuket
PHUKET: National police chief Somyot Pumpanmuang has backed a new police station to be set up near Phuket International Airport, Region 8 Police Commander Decha Budnampeth told the Phuket Gazette today. Maj Gen Decha yesterday personally escorted Gen Somyot, who arrived in Phuket on Friday, to inspect several potential sites near the airport for the new police station. “I proposed…
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French expat survives savage hatchet attack
PHUKET: A French businessman was savagely attacked with a hatchet last night after arriving at his home in Cherng Talay yesterday. Eric Seigneurin, 53, who had just arrived home with his wife from their restaurant business, was attacked as he got out of his car at about 12:15am. “After Mr Seigneurin got out of his car, a man wearing a…
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Phuket Valentine’s Day event to offer new homes to hermit crabs
PHUKET: In an effort to inspire a love of nature, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) is organizing a Valentine’s Day event aimed at donating new shells for the humble hermit crab. Hermit crabs have soft, spiral-shaped abdomens which are vulnerable to predators. They protect themselves by salvaging the empty shells of other crustaceans and other objects, sadly sometimes…
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Russian tourist caught in Phuket cocaine bust
PHUKET: Police have arrested a Russian tourist for selling cocaine at a shopping center car park in southern Phuket after he tried to sell the drugs to an undercover police officer. Officers arrested Anton Rybak, 25, on Friday after a sting operation at the car park of the Makro store in Rawai, said Lt Col Kritsana Yardkham, senior inspector of…
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Village CC win over Patong CC lifts them off the bottom
PHUKET: Village CC secured their first win of the season last Sunday with a win over Patong CC to to move off the bottom of the senior league table. Village were looking for their first win of the season, whilst Patong in second place were looking to go top of the league. Patong won the toss and elected to bat.…
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Healthy newborn girl found beside Phuket trash can
PHUKET: Police are searching for the mother of a healthy newborn girl found abandoned beside a trash can in front of a house in Srisoonthorn, Thalang, last night. Manit Limmanee had just left his house on his way to the local grocery store at about 7:30pm when he heard a baby crying. “At first, I thought it was a cat,…
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Power pole transformer suspected of setting house on fire
PHUKET: Police are investigating whether a power transformer sparked a blaze in Thung Thong late last night in which the front of a house was set afire, with a car and a motorbike damaged, and another motorbike completely destroyed. Firefighters were called to the scene, in the Irawadee housing estate, at about 11:50pm. They took about 30 minutes to douse…
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Phuket FC season opens in Trat
PHUKET: The island’s premier football club, Phuket FC, will open their 2015 campaign in the Yahama Division 1 national football league against Trat on Valentine’s Day, with the modest goal of surviving the hotly contested division. “It is challenging to have new players join the squad and getting the whole team playing well,” a realistic Songyod “Coach Daeng” Klinseesuk told…
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BIS youth soccer camp open to all
PHUKET: Time is running out to register for the 3rd BISP Football Camp, to be held on February 16-18. The deadline for entries is February 10. The camp offers boys and girls aged 10 to 18 specialized football training by BISP Cruzeiro Football Academy Head Coach Jonathas Candido and Strength & Conditioning Head Coach Christopher Gaffney. “Our focus is to…
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Tourists witness enraged man beating van driver
PHUKET: Two Phuket tourists were whisked away from a violent confrontation after their van driver was threatened at gunpoint and beaten by a road-enraged driver in Thalang. A man, who police declined to name, cut off the tourist van off on Monday, demanding that the driver get out of the vehicle to account for his driving. Van driver Thatchai Saisa-ard,…
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Phuket beachfront estate faces court probe, trial
PHUKET: An inspection team yesterday investigated the site of an upscale estate by the Eva Group in Rawai ahead of a trial to be held “as soon as possible”. The inspection was led by Tawatchai Sontiwanit, chief judge of the recently formed environmental division of the regional Administrative Court responsible for Phuket. Nitisak Chobdamrongtham of the Architect Council of Thailand…
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Top cop downplays rumor of bombers hiding in Phuket
PHUKET: The island’s top-ranking policeman has downplayed rumors that the men wanted for detonating two pipe bombs outside the Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok last Sunday are hiding in Phuket. “Please keep calm, do not panic and do not trust rumors. We have yet to see any evidence that the suspects are here,” Maj Gen Patchara Boonyasit told the…
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Rugby Six Nations: England to face Welsh dragon’s fire
PHUKET: England must “smash everything in red”, maintain cool heads and silence a raucous Millennium Stadium crowd when they meet Wales in their Six Nations championship opener in Cardiff on Friday (kickoff 3:05am Saturday, Phuket time), England World Cup winner Neil Back said. Stuart Lancaster’s side suffered a humiliating 30-3 defeat on their last visit to the Welsh capital in…
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Phuket Police nab serial burglars in Thalang
PHUKET: Two Phuket burglars thought to have been involved in a series of recent robberies of homes in Thalang have been arrested, police announced today. The master thief, 26-year-old Saroj Seubsot, and his accomplice Prasert Thothip, 20, were detained after police discovered a large number of items at Mr Saroj’s house that were linked to the robberies. “Mr Saroj confessed…
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Teen drug runner busted with B100k in meth
PHUKET: A 17-year-old was busted with more than 100,000 baht worth of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) by Phuket City Police early this morning. The minor, who police named only as Mr Nuom, was found in possession of 200 grams of ya ice hidden inside a facial cleanser box, and ready for delivery to customers at Goodnight Resort, said Lt Col…
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Phuket laborer slashes girlfriend’s neck in jealous rage
PHUKET: A laborer was apprehended by fellow workers at an on-site construction camp in Rawai yesterday, after he slashed his girlfriend’s neck with a kitchen knife in a fit of jealous rage. The woman, a Myanmar national named by police only as Ms Yorla, 25, is still recovering at Vachira Phuket Hospital, said Capt Patiwat Yodkwan of the Chalong Police.…
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Canadian found dead by Thai girlfriend in Phuket
PHUKET: Police have yet to rule out foul play in the death of a Canadian man allegedly found hanged by his neck from the cement ventilation holes in his bathroom this afternoon. The 29-year-old expat originally from Prince Edward Island, whose name is being withheld until next of kin have been notified, was found dead by his Thai girlfriend in…
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Phuket Old Town plays host to Sketchwalk 2015
PHUKET: Some of Phuket’s most beautiful and historical locales will play host to the second annual Phuket Old Town Sketchwalk event this year from February 20 to 23. The Phuket Old Town Sketchwalk – organized by the Phuket Sketchwalk Club, Phuket City Municipality and The Attitude Club Co Ltd – will feature many special events, including sketchwalks in Phuket Old…
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Phuket teacher answers prayers of mum with deaf son
PHUKET: The deaf man who disappeared from his family home last week has been found alive and well, and may soon undertake schooling thanks to a teacher at Phuket Punyanukul School for special children. Therdsak Sankaeo, 22, disappeared from his home in Phuket Town on January 27, prompting his mother, Ms Saithong, to make a public plea to find him…
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Police raid bags nigh B3mn in counterfeit goods
PHUKET: Fake brand-name products valued at nearly 3 million baht were seized on Tuesday in police raids on shops in Patong. The early evening raid, led by officers of Economic Crime Division 4 (ECD 4), resulted in the seizure of more than 2,200 counterfeit items masquerading as luxury brands, including Louis Vuitton, Channel, Prada, Nike, Adidas, Calvin Klein and Billabong,…
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Police bust yields more than 14 kilos of kratom
PHUKET: Police arrested two kratom dealers and one user yesterday, following a tip-off that netted more than 14 kilograms of kratom leaves and a list naming more than 100 kratom customers. Lt Col Sutthichai Thianpho of the Patong Police led the raid that took detectives to the house of a suspected dealer in Soi Phra Barami 9. “On arriving in…
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New tour guide regulations rolled out at Phuket airport
PHUKET: The Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) Phuket Office is cracking the whip on tourism businesses in Phuket, conducting island-wide raids and imposing stricter requirements for tour companies. “We checked the documents of tour companies and guides collecting incoming tour groups from Phuket International Airport, but did not find any illegal activity,” Santi Pawai, director of the MOTS Phuket…
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Phuket Marine Police step up human-trafficking raids on fishing boats
PHUKET: Marine Police searched six Phuket fishing boats today and checked the documentation of 155 crew in their efforts to stamp out human trafficking in the region. The mass raid targeted vessels at the Tah Jeen Canal, near the fishing port area in Rassada, where Marine Police arrested two Myanmar nationals last night. “We found no illegal workers today,” said…
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No change in Phi Phi national park fees
PHUKET: The entrance fees to the national park at Phi Phi Island remain unchanged, with foreign adults charged 400 baht per visit, a top park official there has confirmed. “There have been no changes to the national park entry fees at Phi Phi,” said Boonname Chauyradom, assistant park chief of the Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Ko Phi Phi National…
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No Phuket security boost in wake of Bangkok bomb blasts: Police
PHUKET: There will be no boost in security by police following the two bomb blasts outside the Siam Paragon shopping mall in Bangkok last night, one of Phuket’s top cops confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha earlier today ordered police in the capital to ramp up security following two pipe bombs detonating on a pedestrian…
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Bill Barnett launches new book: Collective Swag
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette‘s “Island Fever” columnist, Bill Barnett, is back with his third book, Collective Swag, a phantasmagorical collection of rabid essays on everything from the evils of low-cost travel to blunders in modern architecture. Reading his frantic, caffeine-charged chronicle of life on the road throughout the Indian subcontinent and the Asia-Pacific region is a sure cure for elevator…
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Ghostrider killed in hit-and-run
PHUKET: Police are hunting the driver of a sedan that killed the passenger on a ghost-riding motorbike in the northbound lane of the bypass road this morning. “Anukul Polrop, the 25-year-old driver of the bike – which was travelling in the wrong direction on the road – was taken to Vachira Phuket Hospital,” said Maj Rachan Panwai of the Phuket…
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Motorcyclist without helmet dies in road collision
PHUKET: Police are trying to identify a man who died in Wichit yesterday after the motorcycle he was riding struck the side of an oncoming car. The man was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident. Wichit Police and Ruam Jai Foundation rescue workers were called to the scene, in Soi Thep Anusorn, at about 12:30pm. The…
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Patriots beat Seahawks for first Super Bowl win in 10 years
PHUKET: The New England Patriots were crowned Super Bowl champions on Sunday after defeating the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 to capture their first National Football League title in 10 years. The victory put New England alongside five other teams with at least four Super Bowl wins while Tom Brady joined Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw and childhood idol Joe Montana as…
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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