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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Video Report: Phuket beach chair mogul pushes solutions to beach space battle
PHUKET: The Nai Harn Beach Chair Club president took to the sand on Saturday in an attempt to dissolve lingering tension between lounge chair operators and a group of expats after a conflict erupted on March 15 over shared beach space. Two weeks ago, during the “Clean the Beach Boot Camp” at Nai Harn Beach, a battle over space flared…
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Chalong top cop out after Phuket divers’ extortion charges
PHUKET: Graft charges levied against Chalong Police officers by the dive community have resulted in the transfer of the Superintendent of the Chalong Police Station to Thalang. “I moved Col Krittapas Dazintharasorn out of Chalong partly because of the extortion charges (story here), but also because he has been there a long time and developed close relationships with his men,…
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Phuket top cop confident body found is of missing Russian
PHUKET: Provincial Police Commander Ong-art Phiewruangnont today said he is “80 per cent sure” that the decomposed body found on Saturday (story here) is that of missing Russian Alexey Slabinskiy. The skull had been separated from the body and was no longer identifiable, and police are seeking to identify the remains with DNA tests and through dental records. “We are…
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Thalang thrash Laguna in Phuket’s JLL League cricket
PHUKET: In the much anticipated JLL League match on March 30, the Thalang Cricket Team defeated Laguna by 90 runs and now have an insurmountable lead in the Jones Lang LaSalle League points championship. Laguna, last year’s champions, haven’t been beaten in a JLL league match in the past two seasons but had no answers to Thalang in this match.…
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Phuket Poll: How good is Phuket Airport?
PHUKET: First impressions are critical in how people remember their holidays, and officials at Phuket International Airport are hoping that 12 million travellers judge their facility favorably this year. The sole runway and the main terminal cater to about 210 flights and 32,000 passengers per day. The main terminal can support up to 2,400 passengers per hour, but rush periods…
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No charges yet in Krabi boat collision case
PHUKET: Police have yet to charge anyone involved in the speedboat crash that occurred off the coast of Krabi in February, as they have not been able to determine fault, confirmed Sophon Kongthong of the Krabi City Police. Six people were injured, two of whom were hospitalized, after the Chainartnumchork 8 and the The Pimmasa 5 collided near the popular…
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Officers to inspect all Phuket dive shops, instructors as part of police extortion probe
PHUKET: Extortion charges against the Chalong Police have led to a proposed inspection of every dive company and working instructor in Phuket. Groups led by Phuket Employment Office staff will check the work permits of all 190 dive instructors working at the 114 dive companies on the island, Governor Maitri Inthusut said today. The immigration documents of customers will also…
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Governor pushes for black water solution after Karon Beach water runs foul again [video]
PHUKET: The Phuket governor was on-site yesterday when a fresh flow of black water washed into the sea at Karon Beach. Governor Maitri Inthusut happened to be on location to lead an investigation into black water and lines of trash that plagued the beach on Friday (story here). The governor denied that wastewater was the cause of the black water…
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After fatal building collapse, officials reassure that Phuket underpass is safe
PHUKET: Phuket Highways Office Director Samak Luedwonghad has called for confidence in the construction of the island’s first underpass in the wake of a fatal building collapse which killed 10 people in Samut Prakarn last month. The Phuket underpass, on the bypass road near the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall, is under construction by the same developer involved in the…
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Phuket rain brings flash flood
PHUKET: Heavy rain across Phuket last night brought on minor flash flooding in several parts of the the island. On Thepkrasattri Road in Srisoonthorn, north of Phuket Town, cars and motorbikes stalled as motorists attempted to plow through water that had flooded the road. “More than 10 people from Srisoonthorn Municipality were called in to help motorists as the flood…
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![ITF Seniors Tennis Tour comes to Thanyapura [Video] | Thaiger](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB4bWxucz0naHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmcnIHZpZXdCb3g9JzAgMCAzMjMgMjIwJz48L3N2Zz4=)
ITF Seniors Tennis Tour comes to Thanyapura [Video]
PHUKET: Thanyapura Phuket says it is honored to be hosting its very first International Tennis Federation (ITF) seniors event next week, with play taking place from Monday, April 7 to Saturday, April 12. Careful not to let the word “Seniors” lead you to imagine elderly people with walking canes donning their tennis whites for a friendly rally. The six days…
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Action stunt leaves fleeing Phuket thief with broken neck
PHUKET: A man broke his neck after falling from the fourth floor of a Phuket apartment building while trying to escape two women who caught him red-handed stealing from their room. Patong Police were notified at about 1pm yesterday that 32-year-old Mongkolchai Na-Tawan had fallen after trying to jump from a fourth-floor room in one apartment building into another room…
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Phuket Countdown to confusion
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has learned that Phuket has been named as the pilot province for a nationwide project that will eventually see all “countdown” traffic lights retrofitted to show Thai numerals instead of the more popular Arabic numbers currently used in most countries, including Thailand. Deadline for completion of the 187-million-baht Phuket project is October 15. The move is…
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Phuket lawyer wins senator poll, “No Vote’ comes second
PHUKET: Unofficial results of yesterday’s senatorial election on the island indicate that local lawyer Chaiyot Panyawai, 47, has won the contest to become Phuket’s new representative in the Upper House. Mr Chaiyot, president of the Phuket branch of the Lawyers Council of Thailand, garnered 19,262 votes, confirmed Phuket Election Commission (PEC) Director Kittipong Thiengkunakrit. Voter turnout was low yesterday, with…
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Russian withdrawal: Chinese tourist scammed out of B400,000
PHUKET: A Chinese tourist issued a warning to other Phuket visitors of skimmer gangs after thieves in Russia withdrew 400,000 baht from his account. “On March 24, my bank called to ask me where I was, because my account showed several withdrawals in Russia between March 22 and 24,” said Haohao Sun. “At the time the 400,000 baht was taken…
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Body of Russian expat, kidnapped in Phuket, believed found
PHUKET: Police have found a body they believe is that of missing Russian expat Alexey Slabinskiy, first reported as suspected of being kidnapped three weeks ago (story here). “We learned that the suspects – Russians Oleksandr Boychuk, 44, and Aleksandr Novichkov, 58 – had rented a house in Soi Koktanode in Cherng Talay,” Provincial Police Commander Ong-art Phiwruangnont told the…
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Drunk Aussie tourist marks rough landing in Phuket
PHUKET: An Australian man who passed out drunk during his flight to Phuket was carried off the plane still unconscious on arrival yesterday and rushed to Thalang Hospital. The man, named by police as Christopher Lazarus Boubis, 39, later regained consciousness in the emergency ward at the hospital, but immediately went on a rampage through the facility. “He was shouting…
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Phuket PDRC factions unite for mass protest
PHUKET: The two factions of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) anti-government protesters in Phuket united today to march through Phuket Town and stage a motorcade along Phuket’s west coast. The Krabot Rak Chart faction led by former Rassada Mayor Suratin Lian-udom massed in front of the Phuket Revenue Office on Narisorn Road, before joining fellow PDRC supporters led by…
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Police chase ends with ditched truck, seriously injured man
PHUKET: A man who sped through a police checkpoint early yesterday morning was seriously injured after crashing his pickup truck into a roadside ditch while trying to escape Phuket police officers. Ekkapot Fungwittaya, 27, charged through the checkpoint, near the Thalang Health Center on Baan Reang Road in Thalang, just after midnight. Thalang Police gave pursuit, chasing him as he…
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Death of workers in sewer both accident and mistake, says manager
PHUKET: Workplace health and safety officials will investigate the deaths of four sewer maintenance workers who died of asphyxiation in a Phuket Town sewer on Wednesday morning. “We will start our investigation on Tuesday, when we will interview representatives from the contractor and the municipality to establish precisely what happened,” Yudhakarn Ovasith, chief of the Phuket Provincial Labour Protection and…
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Officials to sue 29 for Phuket national park encroachment
PHUKET: Officials from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (MNRE) announced a plan on Wednesday to sue 29 landowners found to be encroaching on Phuket’s Sirinath Marine National Park land. “Right now we plan to sue the landowners for encroachment onto a total of 1,500 rai. I want to get back as much of Sirinath National Park as we…
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Blood Heroes Unite: Phuket Regional Blood Center announces April donation opportunities
PHUKET: Those looking to be “Blood Heroes” will find it hard not to stumble upon a willing needle as the Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) will offer a plethora of opportunities to donate in April. “We are calling for donations in anticipation of an increased number of accidents, and thus a higher demand for blood during Songkran,” said PRBC Chief…
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Carving a niche in the black market
Special Report Six men were arrested in November for illegal possession of more than 50 kilograms of eaglewood. One of the men was caught with an illegal .45 handgun under his pillow. Today, those six men roam free, all released on suspended sentences. Here, the Phuket Gazette‘s Irfarn Jamdukor investigates the island’s illegal logging trade. PHUKET: Six men were arrested…
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Brazen thief steals Phuket Police officer’s motorbike
PHUKET: A Phuket Police officer has become the latest victim of motorbike theft on the island. Sen Sgt Maj Narong Wilairat reported at 6:30am that his motorbike was stolen from in front of his police accommodation just meters from the main building at Chalong Police Station. “My son used the motorbike – a red Honda Click Phuket license plate ‘Khor…
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Phuket firefighters stage full-scale drill at Patong resort
PHUKET: Patong Municipality held its annual full-scale fire and evacuation drill this week, complete with a Navy helicopter airlifting a survivor to safety from a beachfront resort’s rooftop. Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada presided over the exercise on Wednesday, joined by Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan, Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Phuket office (DDPM-Phuket) Chief San Janthawong and Patong…
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PACC Dives in on extortion charges
PHUKET: Charges of extortion lodged by 41 members of the Phuket dive industry will be investigated by national-level anti-corruption officers who arrived on the island today. Public-sector Anti Corruption Commission (PACC) Secretary Prayong Preeyachitt promised a thorough investigation that would conclude with legal action against any officer found guilty of extortion. The charges stem from a round-up of dive instructors…
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Phuket Poll: Better driver training best way to stop Patong Hill carnage
PHUKET: More than half of the respondents to a Phuket Gazette poll said that better training for tour bus drivers was the best way to stop the carnage on Patong Hill. Two people crushed to death by a runaway bus in December (story here) sent officials scrambling for ideas on how to prevent more needless deaths on the notorious slope…
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Phuket lounge chair touts battle boot campers for beach space
PHUKET: A Phuket exercise and beach-cleanup group saw an abrupt end to their activities on March 15 when lounge chair touts battled them for space on Nai Harn Beach. “Clean the Beach Boot Camp” is a free event held every two weeks aimed at bringing together local expats and giving back to the community, explains Krix Luther, the health and…
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Phuket protesters to stage mass rally on Saturday
PHUKET: Anti-government protesters will stage a mass rally in the heart of Phuket Town this Saturday in support of the People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) protests in Bangkok. “Our rally will start in front of Provincial Hall [map here] at 8:30am, and from 9am we will parade through Phuket Town to show our strength to the government,” protest co-ordinator Amnuay…
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Hydrogen sulfide kills four, injures four in Phuket sewer
PHUKET: Four workers were killed by hydrogen sulfide fumes in a Phuket Town sewer this morning, and four others remain hospitalized after attempting to rescue them with inadequate equipment. The four who died had been tasked with maintenance of a sewer access point about 100 meters from Tesco Express on Srisena Road, and they succumbed to the fumes one by…
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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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