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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Phuket fishermen save severely injured sea turtle
PHUKET: Local fisherman saved an olive ridley sea turtle that washed onto a Phuket beach missing a flipper today. The fishermen notified Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers, who collected the turtle from Sai Kaew Beach and transported it to the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) at Cape Panwa. “The turtle’s shell was damaged and its front flipper had been cut off.…
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Myanmar thugs threaten farmers at gunpoint in Phuket land grab
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut led about 50 Army and Navy armed personnel yesterday to investigate claims by villagers in Wichit that a gang of thugs from Myanmar hired by an “influential person” had threatened them at gunpoint to vacate their land. The sortie into the Nakkered Hills National Forest, near the Bang Wad Reservoir, took place after 20 families…
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Breaking News: Phuket land verification center to end national park encroachment
PHUKET: A land legality verification center will be established on Thursday to help investors be assured that the property they are purchasing is not encroaching on national park land or Phuket’s famed beaches. “We will set up a center where prospective investors can establish that the land documents, as well as the land they are looking to acquire, are legal,…
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Brazil without captain as nation awaits Germany clash
PHUKET WORLD SPORT – World sport selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brazil without captain as nation awaits Germany clash Reuters/Phuket Gazette Brazil will be without captain Thiago Silva for their World Cup semi-final against Germany after FIFA on Monday rejected an appeal against his yellow card, denting home hopes of lifting the trophy for the sixth time.…
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Coup leaders invite corruption complaints from Phuket
PHUKET: The island’s representatives of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) are inviting residents and tourists to file anonymous complaints of suspected corruption, as well as suggestions for coup leaders on how to improve the country. Any complaints filed as highly confidential will be treated as such, the island’s leading authorities have assured. “You can report any trouble…
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Phuket begins fight against slavery on fishing boats
PHUKET: The nationwide push to eradicate slavery in Thailand’s fishing industry started in Phuket today as the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) began to receive lists of migrant workers employed in the field. Following the order by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), fishing boat operators have until July 21 to report the names of their migrant workers…
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Phuket Provincial Hall smoked out during parlor fire
PHUKET: A fire erupted in a private reception room at Phuket Provincial Hall after an air-conditioning unit short-circuited this afternoon, causing about 30,000 baht in damage. “We were notified by an officer in Provincial Hall at about 4pm that a second-storey parlor had caught fire,” said Lt Col Kritsana Jannit of the Phuket City Police. “Firefighters from Phuket City Municipality…
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Italian tourist in Hong Kong graft trial under Phuket Police protection
PHUKET: The Italian tourist stabbed in a random gang attack in Phuket last week has been placed under 24-hour police protection. Antonio Papaleo, 44, was stabbed twice in the abdomen during a bungled bag snatch at 3am last Thursday. At last report, police had arrested seven of the nine suspects, most of them teenagers (story here). Mr Papaleo arrived in…
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Breaking News: Army launches offensive against Phuket Airport taxi drivers
PHUKET: Soldiers, Navy personnel and a battery of local officials arrived in force at Phuket International Airport this morning to launch a campaign to arrest all taxi drivers illegally picking up passengers at the facility. Security personnel barred any taxis from exiting the airport car park without first obtaining permission to leave. “We have a list of all the drivers…
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No typhoon, but heavy rain and big waves lead to Phuket boat warning
PHUKET: Heavy rain and wave heights that could reach four meters have led Phuket authorities to issue a small boat warning in effect through Thursday. “We are monitoring the waves, which are expected to be about 2-4 meters high,” said Santhad Panbanpeaw, director of the Thai Meteorological Department’s Phuket Office. “Small boat operators must be cautious and check the weather…
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Turkish tourist ignores red flags, drowns
PHUKET: A Turkish man yesterday became the sixth person to drown in Phuket waters this year. Yalcin Dagdelen, 45, a guest at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort, had been warned by hotel beach guards not to go swimming, but entered the water anyway, Kata-Karon lifeguard chief Uten Singsom told the Phuket Gazette. “The waves were very strong. Mr Dagdelen was…
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Phuket police welcome stricter traffic law regulations
PHUKET: Phuket police have voiced their support for the recently announced national clampdown on traffic scofflaws. Announced by Bangkok’s Deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner Adul Narongsak on June 25, the clampdown would mean tougher measures against those who ignored traffic tickets and repeat violators of traffic laws (story here). Electronic tickets would be issued, allowing police and land transport offices to…
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Miss Myanmar finalists tour Phuket
PHUKET: Finalists of Miss Universe Myanmar 2014 landed in Phuket yesterday and will spend the next four days exploring the island and engaging in pre-training activities for the international beauty pageant. The 20 women are preparing for the pageant final, which will be held at the National Theater in Yangon on July 26. Today, the women did batik painting in…
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DNA tests confirm Phuket sea gypsy village “of 100 years’
PHUKET: DNA tests on skeletal remains unearthed at the sea gypsy village in Rawai have confirmed that seafaring nomads have used Phuket’s southern beach to call home for more than 100 years. “The bones were buried deep in the ground at least 60 years ago,” said Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Director Chatchawal Suksomjit. The DNA from the bones matched…
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House robbed, car stolen while Phuket resident sleeps
PHUKET: Police are trying to track down a thief who robbed a house in Pa Khlok while the home owner was asleep, then stole his car and dumped it on a quiet street in Phuket Old Town early this morning. A resident on Bangkok Road notified Phuket City Police of an abandoned Toyota Fortuner parked in front of his house…
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Slithering World Cup spectator makes unwelcome appearance in Phuket
PHUKET: A three-meter long python’s attempt to crash a World Cup viewing party in Phuket early this morning was foiled when the owner of the house called rescue workers to relocate the reptile. “I was watching the Brazil-Columbia match at about 4:30am when I heard a sound in front of my house,” said Boonrit Jitkeaw, owner of the house in…
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Phuket protest wins Thai guides promise of Chinese national ouster
PHUKET: The return of a mob of about 100 Thai-national Chinese tour guides outside the office of a major tour company in Phuket Town yesterday won them a promise that the company will stop hiring Chinese nationals as guides. Led by fellow tour guide Choochart Rungrattanapaiboon, the protesters massed outside Tranlee Travel Co Ltd, brandishing signs and voicing allegations of…
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Seven arrested for stabbing theft attacks on Phuket tourists
PHUKET: Seven suspects have been arrested and charged with theft and attempted murder for the stabbing of two tourists, one in Kata and one in Karon, early Thursday morning. Police arrested Ekkawat Ninpoo, 20, at his house on Koh Sireh yesterday. He confessed to the stabbings and accepted charges of theft and attempted murder. Police withheld the names of the…
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World Cup: Neymar out of Cup as Brazil and Germany make semis
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Neymar out of Cup as Brazil and Germany make semis Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Hosts Brazil suffered a huge blow when they lost leading forward Neymar for the rest of the World Cup through injury on Friday as they set up an epic-looking semi-final against…
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DSI digs deep into land records to recover Sirinath National Park
PHUKET: The new Director-General of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) today announced that his officers will order the Land Office to hand over records and copies of land titles for plots along the border of – or allegedly in – Phuket’s Sirinath National Park. The Land Office had repeatedly refused to hand over land register documents to Department of…
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Tiger Disco inferno trial to begin April 2015
PHUKET: The long-awaited manslaughter trial over the deaths of four people in Patong’s Tiger Disco inferno, in August 2012, will begin with its first witness testimony in April 2015, confirmed the case public prosecutor. Tiger Group CEO Piya Isaramalai and Sara Entertainment Co Ltd each face one charge of causing death through negligence under Section 291 of the Thai Criminal…
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Dodging the dengue fever bullet
Special Report Phuket consistently has among the highest number of dengue sufferers in the country, and the disease has killed one 24-year-old woman in Patong and hospitalized hundreds of others on the island already this year. Yet hope is on the horizon. French company Sanofi Pasteur has a vaccine in the works that may be ready for deployment by late…
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Man wanted for Phuket slasher attack surrenders to police
PHUKET: The man wanted for beating his female partner and hacking the back of her neck with a machete in central Phuket two weeks ago has surrendered to police. The suspect, Thikamporn Teerathiopartsawad, 24, now faces a charge of attempted murder. Mr Thikamporn’s girlfriend, Amporn Parawech, 23, dragged herself into a neighborhood store near her rented house in Thalang late…
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Driver escapes serious injury in Phuket pick-up truck flip
PHUKET: A man escaped serious injury yesterday when the pick-up truck he was driving flipped over on Thepkrasattri Road. Worawit Jawaort, 32, was crawling out of the vehicle when police arrived at the scene, a few hundred meters from the Baan Hongyok School in northern Thalang, at 9am. “Mr Worawit didn’t appear to have any serious injuries, just a few…
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Optimism rules Phuket beach after clear out, cleanup
PHUKET: Kamala was added to the list of Phuket beaches cleaned up and cleared of all illegal establishments today as local officials and residents disposed of the last pieces of rubbish left behind by businesses. “All beach vendors removed their buildings last week. Today, we went to clean the area because the shop owners left a lot of garbage behind,”…
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Phuket shortcuts proposed to bypass the bypass
PHUKET: A new shortcut from the Heroines’ Monument to Kathu has been proposed to alleviate congestion at Koh Kaew, Ban Khu and Tesco Lotus intersections. The road would start about 300 meters west of the Heroines’ Monument on Srisoonthorn Road and run south 1.3 kilometers to join Route 3004, which connects to Soi Han Farang and passes the British International…
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Phuket hospital praised for earthquake emergency-response drill
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut hailed the annual emergency evacuation drill at Vachira Phuket Hospital yesterday an “impressive” success. The afternoon drill featured an earthquake simulation in which participants pretended that the building was shaking and items were falling off the shelves. They also carried out a fire drill and recreated the scenario of staff losing track of patients in the…
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Phuket’s Bang Jo Prison declared ‘white’
PHUKET: An early morning raid of Bang Jo Prison turned up no drugs or contraband today. More than 90 officers, led by Phuket Prison Chief Rapin Nichanon, began the search at 5:30am. Each of the 68 inmates was searched, as were their lockers, sleeping quarters, the infirmary and other areas where officers believed contraband could be hidden. “The facility was…
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Sidewalks near Heroines’ Monument cleared of vendors for pedestrian safety
PHUKET: Shops obstructing the sidewalk along Srisoonthorn Road east of the Heroines’ Monument in Phuket have been cleared out in an effort to improve safety for pedestrians. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut and Srisoonthorn Mayor Worawut Songyos inspected the area yesterday after having ordered vendors on both sides of the road to remove their structures on Tuesday. “We are enforcing an…
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Phuket boy, 14, drowns in heavy surf at Karon Beach
PHUKET: A boy who was to turn 15 years old in five days drowned at Karon Beach this morning. Kunakorn Saetiaw was seen swimming with friends at about 6am. His body washed ashore about 30 minutes later. “The boys went into the surf even though there were red flags along the beach marking the area as dangerous for swimming,” Kata-Karon…
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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