Phuket News
-
Phuket mobile phone operators vent over ‘overzealous’ consumer-protection policing
PHUKET: Mobile phone operators from Phuket’s major shopping malls protested this morning at Phuket Provincial Hall over what they see as an over-zealous interpretation of consumer protection laws. About 30 mobile shop operators from Big C, Central Festival and Jungceylon came to file a complaint to Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut, incensed that Consumer Protection Police Division officers arrested two vendors…
-
Phuket bus overturns in Surat Thani – one dead, 29 injured
PHUKET: One person is dead and 29 others injured after a bus from Phuket heading for the Northeastern province of Nong Khai overturned in Surat Thani province yesterday afternoon.“We took 12 passengers to Baan Takhun Hospital and 17 to Phanom Hospital,” said Sophol Rakthao of the Phanom Police.“The driver, Anuchit Thongnuapaed, 32, was pinned behind the wheel. Rescue workers managed…
-
Phuket Immigration cracks down on yachting, marine industry
PHUKET: Phuket Immigration chief Sunchai Chokkajaykij today confirmed that his office has launched a crackdown on foreigners working illegally in Phuket’s yachting and marine industry.The news follows the arrests of a German man and a Swiss man who were caught building their own boats on their own properties in Chalong late yesterday afternoon.“We have been targeting foreigners working illegally for…
-
Myanmar national ignores warning flags, drowns at Karon Beach
PHUKET: A Myanmar teenager swimming in an area marked with red flags drowned at Karon Beach yesterday.Mr Pannyo, 17, had gone to the beach with two friends around 3pm, said Uten Singsom, head lifeguard at Kata-Karon beaches.“They were at the beach around low tide. Mr Pannyo’s friends stayed close to shore, but he swam out about 30 meters,” Mr Uten…
-
Nigerian tourist attacked and robbed of his rented motorbike
PHUKET: A Nigerian tourist was attacked and robbed at about 6pm yesterday by two men of Caucasian appearance. Police found Collins Ugwoeluchukwu, 26, with a bruised face near Phuket Fantasea in Kamala.Mr Ugwoeluchukwu was taken to the police station for further questioning and provided with first aid.He told police that while he was riding his motorbike, a pick-up truck cut…
-
Phuket Governor proposes more tuk-tuks for the island
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut proposed an increase to the number of tuk-tuks legally operating in Phuket after he took a walking tour of Patong today. The number of tuk-tuks allowed to operate on Phuket was capped at 1,200 about 10 years ago. However, there are many illegal tuk-tuks operating on the island, which has caused Sakol Srisompoch to lead…
-
No limit on divers at Phi Phi Island ahead of high season
PHUKET: A call by experts to restrict the number of tourists diving at sites off Phi Phi Island to reduce the stress to coral reefs went unheeded, as marine national parks along the Andaman coast ready to open for high season on October 15. However, a top official at the Phi Phi national park has assured that efforts are ongoing…
-
Phuket wait for Australian Honorary Consul may take months
PHUKET: Phuket may be without an Australian Honorary Consul for months after the current consul, Larry Cunningham, retires from the post on September 30.“Applications have been received and the selection is currently in process,” Mr Cunningham told the Phuket Gazette this morning.“I don’t know how many people have applied. It’s being done through the embassy, not me,” he said.“It might…
-
Phuket Police praised for quick work in Brazilian snatch case
PHUKET: Phuket Police have been praised for their quick work in arresting two youths after a Brazilian tourist had her camera snatched in Kata early Monday morning. Officers led by Karon Police Deputy Superintendent Sophon Borirak arrested Karon resident Kanin Kongchana, 22, and a 15-year-old Myanmar national at a rented room in Patong at 7pm Tuesday. The pair were found…
-
Man decapitated in Phuket hit-and-run
PHUKET: A man was decapitated in a hit-and-run accident on Thepkrasattri Road last night.Responding to the accident report at about 9:30pm, police found a crowd gathered around the body of Tin Ohn Thong, 44.The man’s body was lying near the median strip on the northbound side of the road in Srisoonthorn, near the Karn Keha housing estate.A damaged bicycle was…
-
Phuket father’s cash-quest was for wrong kind of drugs
PHUKET: The man who claimed he was stealing an air-conditioning compressor to buy medicine for his sick son tested positive for drugs after his arrest on September 12. The owner of the garage where the bus was parked first told police that he did not want to file a complaint against 28-year-old Chaiwut Kongkhaoriab. “He told us that he didn’t…
-
New threat claims from Central Festival Phuket taxi drivers, new denials
PHUKET: Five taxi drivers at Central Festival Phuket claim that they were threatened and suspended from working there by the leaders of the taxi organization that operates at the popular shopping mall. The witnesses said they were verbally threatened and forbidden from working in the Central taxi queue, reported Karn Doonyalit of the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) on September…
-
Phuket protest rails against bridge name, rubber rights
PHUKET: About 200 villagers rallied at Phuket Provincial Hall on Tuesday to push for a bridge name change that is already on its way and for the right to plant and farm rubber trees on land that is deemed to be within a protected forest. Protest leader Utai Suksirisampan of the Phuket and Phang Nga Co-operative Network handed the villagers’…
-
Tourist Police roadshow swings by Phuket
PHUKET: The Thai Tourist Police Road Show arrived at Patong’s Soi Bangla on Saturday, as Tourist Police showed off facilities to help tourists gather information and enhance their safety. A trailer on site was stocked with brochures and digital facilities to provide tourists with information. Police were encouraging tourists to use the popular “Tourist Buddy” application, which allows users to…
-
Phuket motorbike driver with axe to grind arrested
PHUKET: A friendly argument took a serious turn yesterday morning when a Patong motorbike taxi driver took out an axe and struck a colleague twice, sending him to the hospital. When police arrived at the motorbike taxi queue in Soi Kebsap (map here) just before 10am, they found only a pool of blood, said Maj Jakkrapong Luang-aon of Patong Police.…
-
Motorbike dumped in pond mystifies park-goers
PHUKET: Police and local residents are scratching their heads over a motorcycle found dumped in a pond at Rama IX Park (King’s Park) in Phuket Town (map here) yesterday morning. The abandoned bike – apparently in good condition – was first noticed by park users doing their morning exercises. “The bike, with a Ratchaburi license plate, Kor Mor Ror 407,…
-
Phuket’s legal tuk-tuk drivers warn against officials’ inaction in Patong
PHUKET: A group of legal tuk-tuk drivers have presented the Phuket Governor’s office with another formal complaint – the third so far in their campaign to stamp out the illegal tuk-tuk trade in Patong. As on the two previous occasions (stories here and here), the tuk-tuk drivers were led by Sakol Srisompoch. Their urgent concern is that illegal tuk-tuk drivers…
-
Russian body found off Patong Beach
PHUKET: Beach guards recovered the body of a Russian man at Patong Beach late this morning.The body of Tsymbalyuk Alexey, 45, was brought back to shore at about 11am. Police suspect that he died about three hours earlier.“He was only wearing black trunks when he was found, he might have gone swimming alone, as nobody witnessed him drowning,” said Teerasak…
-
Million-baht blaze ravages Phuket air-conditioner store
PHUKET: Police believe a short-circuit started a fire that caused a million baht in damage at an air-conditioning store in northern Phuket this morning. The fire was reported at 8:30am by 25-year-old shop owner Panida Mekthavornsawat, who arrived to open her New Kee Equipment store only to find smoke billowing out from the roof. The store, located about 500 meters…
-
Phuket Police on standby to counter rubber protests
PHUKET: Phuket Police are on standby for deployment to Nakhon Sri Thammarat to reinforce officers there working to contain protests by palm oil and rubber farmers. Many protesters were injured when tensions flared at the protests at Nakhon Sri Thammarat’s Cha-uat District yesterday. One protester was shot in the leg as a mob set a police detention truck on fire…
-
Phuket dengue numbers critical, says public health chief
PHUKET: The chief of Phuket’s Public Health Office has admitted that the “333” anti-dengue campaign launched in April (story here) has failed and called for support to re-apply the program with more manpower after dengue cases in Phuket reached their highest number in 26 years. “Everyone needs to be concerned about this,” Dr Bancha Kakhong told a meeting held yesterday…
-
Patong apartment security guard arrested on statutory rape warrant
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested a security guard at a Patong apartment complex on an outstanding warrant for statutory rape in Samut Prakan, near Bangkok, eight years ago. Patong Police Superintendent Chiraphat Pochanaphan told the Phuket Gazette today that the man, 36, originally from Phetchabun, was wanted on an arrest warrant issued by Samut Prakan Provincial Court on July 4, 2005.…
-
Rayong’s Wild Stallions prevail over Phuket FC
PHUKET: Allegations of match-fixing and crooked referees have become rampant in the Facebook fan club forums of many Thai football teams, including Phuket FC, as the Yamaha League One enters its final stretch of the 2013 season. Although no concrete ties have been made between match-fixing and the shooting earlier this month of controversial Thai referee, Thanom Barikut, there is…
-
Phuket officials bag six kratom, dope peddlers in 24 hours
PHUKET: A Rassada village headman busted five men for possession of kratom and marijuana on Saturday – and yesterday, in concert with the Phuket Internal Security Office (PISO), arrested a man bringing kratom leaves to Phuket by bus. PISO deputy chief Thammarong Chuayaksorn and Baan Bang Chi Lao village chief Sangkom Sinthupradit, acting on a tip-off that kratom would be…
-
Phuket gold thieves out of gas, out of luck
PHUKET: Thieves attempting to cut open a safe in a locked strong room at a gold store in Patong on Saturday night most likely ran out of gas for their blowtorch, forcing them to leave empty-handed, say police. Nuchapha Jetsadaruk, the 49-year-old sister of shop owner Sasithorn Jetsadaruk, arrived to open the Yaowarat Gold Shop 9 on Sainamyen Road (map…
-
Depressed man carrying a knife coaxed off highway and into hospital
PHUKET: A severely depressed man found despondently wandering along Thepkrasattri Road carrying a knife was taken into the care of Thalang Hospital on Saturday. “When we arrived, we saw the man in front of Muang Thalang School, walking on the median of Thepkrasattri Road and then into an adjacent rubber plantation. He was holding a knife in his right hand…
-
Phuket Tourist Court to open late this month
PHUKET: The Phuket Tourist Court will open late this month, while another five such courts will open across the country before year’s end, Court of Justice spokesman Sitthisak Wanachakij has announced. The specialized court, set up to expedite cases involving foreign holiday-makers – about 20 million tourists visit Thailand every year – will encourage negotiations between parties and will video…
-
Two Phuket cop-kickers caught
PHUKET: Police have arrested two of the four suspects they believe are responsible for assaulting police officers trying to make an arrest of a suspect wanted for attempted murder and other charges (story here). “I was trying to arrest Wirat ‘Kam’ Prabpet, 36, wanted for attempted murder, possession of illegal firearms and mugging,” said Cherng Talay Deputy Superintendent Sommai On-khum,…
-
Greek claims Thai girlfriend swindled him out of Phuket property, two million baht
PHUKET: A distraught Greek was found lying in the middle of the road in front of a property that he claimed his girlfriend had cheated him out of, along with about two million baht. When Konstantinos Vardas’s mid-road protest caused a traffic jam in the vicinity of Tha Reua Temple, Thalang Police and Kusoldham rescue workers were called to the…
-
Thief snatches 5,000 baht from 7-Eleven cash till
PHUKET: Police are searching for a snatch thief who stole 5,000 baht from a cash till at a 7-Eleven in Wichit late last night. “The store’s staffers looked very frightened when we arrived, ” said Wichit Police Superintendent Chaowalit Petchsripia. “The thief was a dark-skinned man who looked about 20-to-30 years old. He was between 1.60 and 1.65 meters tall,…
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.
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.