Phuket News
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Phuket FC look to swoop down on Krabi Andaman Eagles tonight
PHUKET: Despite a tough away draw last Saturday in Trat, Phuket FC are in high spirits ahead of tonight’s Yamaha League One (YL1) Phang Nga Bay derby match with Southern rivals, Krabi FC. The all-Southern match-up, both sides 13th of the 34-fixture YL1 2013 season, will be played at Phuket’s Surakul Stadium with a 6:30pm kickoff (click here for map).…
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Women’s beach volleyball tournament to hit Karon Beach
PHUKET: The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour is to return to Karon Beach this year after an agreement to continue staging the annual event was recently signed by Pentangle Promotions Co Ltd and the Thailand Volleyball Association with the Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). Several changes to the competition format have been made by the FIVB; the qualifying round is…
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Phuket motorbike thief blames island’s lack of public transport
PHUKET: A 24-year-old local handyman says Phuket’s lack of public transport is the reason he stole a motorbike to go visit a friend. Phuket City Police arrested Koson Hongthong yesterday morning at the old weekend market on Phang Nga Road in Phuket Town (map here). Mr Koson was found in possession of a Yamaha Fino that was reported stolen by…
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Phuket on alert for German fugitive
PHUKET: Police across Phuket are on alert for a German fugitive who managed to escape Australian police officers guarding him as they waited for a connecting flight at Suvarnabhumi International Airport.Carlo Konstantin Kohl, a 25-year-old burglary suspect, escaped from the airport’s “day room” – a waiting room for transit passengers who do not need to go through immigration formalities –…
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Phuket Police post YouTube video of gold shop suspect, unmasked
PHUKET: Police have posted a YouTube video showing the man they believe committed the gold shop murder-burglary in Phuket on April 8 in the hope that members of the public can identify him. The CCTV footage shows a man with a slight limp smoking as he walks back and forth in front of the C.P. Gold Master & Jewelry store…
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Phuket Immigration: Deporting, blacklisting foreigners for drug charges since 1979
PHUKET: Following the recent spate of foreigners being charged with minor drug offenses, the chief of Phuket Immigration today confirmed that all foreigners arrested for drug use, or any drug-related offense, are transferred to Bangkok and deported – following the Immigration Act BE 2522.“The law is not new. It has been in use since 1979. Any foreigners found guilty in…
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Phuket tourist safety, security tops Chinese ambassador’s agenda
PHUKET: The Chinese Ambassador to Thailand has placed tourists’ safety and security at the top of his agenda for his visit to Phuket tomorrow, the Phuket Gazette has learned.Ambassador Guan Mu will meet with Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa to discuss a range of issues affecting tourists and expats.“The Chinese Ambassador and his team are going to discuss Chinese tourists’…
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Longtail boats resume island tours after Krabi storm
PHUKET: Krabi longtail boat operators have resumed tourist services to outlying islands following storm seas capsizing much of the local fleet on Saturday. The move to resume tours to the islands in Thailand’s iconic boats comes despite warnings by the Thai Meteorological Department for small boats to stay on shore. The decision follows damage to 77 longtail boats on Saturday,…
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Phuket lifeguards linger on beaches another month, contract pending
PHUKET: Lifeguards are staying on Phuket’s key tourist beaches for another month, as the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (PPAO) wades through the Phuket Lifeguard Club’s contract again this year, beginning yet another saga (story here). To ensure the safety of tourists and residents at the approach of monsoon weather – often the cause of dangerous swimming conditions – the PPAO…
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Phuket Brake Failure: 10-wheeler flies off Patong Hill
PHUKET: The brakes on a 10-wheeled truck failed as it descended into Patong this morning, sending the heavy vehicle careening off the road and into a roadside ditch.No injuries were reported from the accident, Lt Col Nikorn Chuthong of the Patong Police said.Truck driver Somneuk Cherngthorn, 41, was delivering a small load of merchandise from Phuket Town at about 9:30am…
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Thai Football: Phuket Islanders halted by Trat Elephants
PHUKET: Picking up their seventh draw in 12 matches, Phuket FC let a two goal lead slip in their away match to Trat FC on Saturday night, which ended with a final score of 3-3. It was a roller coaster ride for the hundreds of fans across the island – tuned in to the live Football Siam TV broadcast –…
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Burmese man slashed in Phuket gas pump fracas
PHUKET: A Burmese man working as a pump attendant at a Phuket gas station was slashed yesterday after he punched one of five Burmese customers who did not have the money to pay for the gas they had just received. Patong Police inspector Pratuang Polmana arrived at Patong’s only gas station, the Esso gas station on Phra Barami Road (map…
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Rough seas along Krabi coast capsize 60 boats, two injured
PHUKET: Heavy weather wreaked havoc on the Krabi coast, across the bay from Phuket, flipping over 60 long-tail boats and injuring at least two this afternoon. Around noon today, rough seas capsized 10 longtail boats anchored close to shore, injuring one tourist, said Krabi Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Chief Thalerngsak Phuwayanapong. “One tourist was reported injured, and was transferred to…
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Islamic Festival kicks off, expects to draw record numbers in Phuket
PHUKET: The Alhamdulillah Talk-show Festival, expected to draw over 20,000 participants, is underway in Cherng Talay and will be running until midnight Sunday – rain or shine. “There will be talk shows about Islamic teachings and philosophy at the festival. We want to introduce Islam to the world, not just as a religion but also as a way of life,”…
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Steep road construction investigated, locals fear landslides across the bay from Phuket
PHUKET: Business owners’ fears of landslides that could be caused by a recently constructed road on a steep hill in the Ao Nang area across the bay from Phuket, led to an investigation on Thursday of the construction site.Locals also claimed that the road had been developed on Hat Noppharat Thara – Mu Koh Phi Phi National Park land. However,…
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Nine dead in Phuket wedding guest truck crash
PHUKET: Nine died and seven were injured after two pickup trucks – one carrying wedding guests returning to Trang from Phuket and one ferrying road construction workers – collided in Krabi last night. Police were called to the scene at the dangerous curve known as harm tai (“forbidden to die”) in Sai Khao district at 8pm. There they found two…
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Phuket Sports: May the tread be with you – F1
PHUKET: Last week, the world’s press was attacking Pirelli for its tyres. This column supported Pirelli, and received grumpy responses from those who supported the Red Bull tirade (click here for article). When Pirelli agreed to change their tyres from the Canadian GP, Ferrari and Lotus felt Red Bull had pressured Pirelli into conforming to their demands. The ‘Tyre Wars’…
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Governor: Phuket’s billion-baht prison desperately needed
Phuket’s billion-baht prison slated for construction in 2015 will provide welcome relief to the inmates at the current facility, whose number is now more than three times the century-old prison’s original capacity. With Cabinet approval already secured for the funding, all that remains to make the dream prison a reality are for the plans to be finalized and the construction…
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Phuket Sports: Laying odds for French Open; Murray ruled out
PHUKET: If I were a gambling man, which thank the Lord I’m not, then a punt on Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal would seem an obvious bet for the French Open. But even linked together as a double, the odds would be prohibitively short. Why? Just look at their 2013 records. Rafa, back after a seven month lay-off, has reached…
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Phuket Sports: Champions League Final preview; Football round-up
PHUKET: Borrussia Dortmund central defender Mats Hummels looks set to be fit for Saturday’s Champions League final against German rivals Bayern Munich, despite an ankle injury picked up in the Bundesliga season finale. Dortmund midfielder Mario Goetze, who will join Bayern next season, is also racing to recover from a muscle injury in time for the final at Wembley. Dortmund…
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Gold shop thefts on the rise, police practice response
PHUKET: With millions of baht worth of gold being snatched from Phuket gold shops over the last year, Phuket police and gold shop owners joined together for a gold shop crime drill earlier this week. “The recent increase in the number of gold shops and supermarket robberies has made it necessary for shop owners and police to know exactly what…
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Phuket Tourist Police murder case on hold
PHUKET: The investigation into a Phuket Tourist Officer involved in a gunfight with neighbors that left two men dead and two, including the officer, injured on March 20 (story here) has come to a standstill. Police are still waiting for results from the Office of Forensic Science Police to determine whether the bullets that killed the two men were fired…
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Visakha Bucha Day underway in Phuket, alcohol sales halted
PHUKET: People gathered across Phuket and Thailand today to offer alms to Buddhist monks at merit-making ceremonies to mark Visakha Bucha Day.The public holiday commemorates three important events in the life of the Buddha: his birth, enlightenment and passing away. These events occur on the same day of the year in the Buddhist calendar: always on the full moon during…
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Phuket Python excites early morning Patong crowd
PHUKET: An excited crowd was drawn to Soi Nanai at the unusual time of 7:40am this morning as Phuket rescue workers attempted to dislodge a three-meter long Python from a drain.A startled shopkeeper had called rescue workers after spotting the moderately sized snake in the drain below her.Rescue workers were able to lift the grate and safely extract the python…
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Mob violently bounces Aussies from Kangaroo Bar
PHUKET: Two drunk Australians were beaten down by a mob on Phuket’s famous party street, Soi Bangla, early yesterday. At about 1:30am Patong Deputy Superintendent Akanit Danpitaksat arrived on Soi Bangla (map here) to find both Australians sitting in the middle of the road covered in blood. Having only recently arrived in Phuket, the two men* Anotny Souners, 26, and…
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Phuket illegal taxi driver charged with sexual assault
PHUKET: The illegal taxi driver accused of holding a 19-year-old Chinese tourist captive in his vehicle for five hours has been charged with sexual assault, the Phuket City Police chief confirmed. Paitoon Kruain, 32, who operated an illegal taxi picking up tourists at Phuket International Airport, presented himself to police for questioning last Saturday (story here). After intensive questioning by…
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Phuket house construction worker dies in fall
PHUKET: A Phuket construction worker died yesterday after falling from scaffolding at a house being built in Thalang. Thalang Police were called to the site, in Soi Lak Maung in Baan Muang Mai, at about 10:30am. At the scene they found Manit Mongkhon, 42, from Nan Province in Northern Thailand, dead from a fatal head injury. Coworkers Sataphon Phaojumroon, 49,…
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Phuket shop owners urge mayor to reverse parking ban
PHUKET: More than 30 vendors with stores located opposite Vachira Phuket Hospital in Phuket Town have appealed to the Phuket City Mayor to reverse the decision to install no parking signs in front of their shops. The new signs, which prohibit parking in the area from 7am to 6pm, were installed on May 16 as a way to try to…
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Phuket Governor faces taxi doubleheader at Phuket International airport
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut was met en masse late yesterday by the drivers of a second taxi company after having already been dragged to Phuket International Airport due to an all-night vigil held by the illegal taxi drivers of Mook Andaman co-operative outside his official residence Tuesday night (story here). After concluding his meeting with Mook Andaman, with no…
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Phuket drowning victim identified as British national
PHUKET: Police have identified the man whose body washed ashore on Patong Beach early yesterday morning (story here) as 37-year-old Jeremy Thomas O’Neill. Because Mr O’Neill’s body was found without any identifying documents, police circulated a photo of him to hotels in Patong hoping he would be recognized, Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Akanit Danpitaksat explained. His identity was confirmed when…
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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