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 Sports: Futsal soon “United’; World futsal cup draw
PHUKET: The island’s professional futsal (five-a-side indoor football) team Phuket United is set to begin pre-season training for the Thailand Futsal League (TFL) 2012-2013 season, scheduled to kick off unofficially by next month. Speaking on the phone from Bangkok, the team’s secretary, Samak Rattanatilok na Phuket, informed the Gazette that the team has finally received confirmation from the TFL about…
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Phuket ready for “hungry ghost’ festival
PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality has organized a wide range of activities for the annual Por Tor festival from September 2 to 15, including colorful street processions tomorrow and next Sunday. Promoted internationally by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) regional office in Phuket Town, the Por Tor festival has its roots from the Chinese “Spirit” or “Hungry Ghost” festival (zhong…
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Forensic test results delay trial of Nong Som’s killer
PHUKET: The delay in receiving test results from the Institute of Forensic Medicine at Police General Hospital in Bangkok has resulted police having to defer bringing to trial the killer of 17-year-old Sunisa “Nong Som” Saiyoy. Nong Som was killed by an intruder in her family home in Chalong on July 10 while her parents were still tending to their…
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Pedal power from Deep South arrives in Phuket
PHUKET: A sortie of 130 cyclists from Narathiwat arrived in Phuket this afternoon, pedaling their way from the troubled province in Thailand’s Deep South to Phuket Provincial Hall in just three days. There to welcome the cyclists was Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) Chief Dr Sak Tanchaikul. “This bike rally was a cooperative effort between the Phuket Public Health Office…
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Phuket Sports: Football season in its infancy
PHUKET: Last weekend was the second week of the new football season and even though it is still early, a familiar pattern seems to be emerging. Manchester City and Liverpool played out a thrilling 2-2 draw with Martin Skrtel the hero and villain of the game. The Slovakian international defender opened the scoring for Liverpool, but all his good work…
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Phuket Sports: F1 – Spa favors the brave
PHUKET: This weekend Formula 1 is back from an agonizingly long half-term break. And it’s Spa – one of my favorite tracks in F1 as it tests drivers more than any other in the world. Along with Monza it is the fastest circuit of year because the corners need to be taken flat out. The drivers will corner Eau Rouge…
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Chalong Mayor gets cooking at Phuket food, entertainment festival
PHUKET: The first annual “Chalong Food and Entertainment Festival” kicked off in Phuket last night, and will continue to offer a wide variety of food and beverage options, as well as staged entertainment through to Monday night. The five-day event is open from 4pm to midnight in the field opposite Wat Ladthi Wanaram (“Wat Tai”), on Chao Fa East Road…
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Cristiano Ronaldo: “It is the most difficult group in my opinion
PHUKET: “It is the most difficult group in my opinion and I think that’s the same for most people. But we are champions of Spain and we are ready to compete with everybody.” After the draw for the Champions League Group Stages the Real Madrid midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo admitted his team face a daunting task in Group D with Manchester…
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Phuket officials plan B20mn ‘final solution’ for Patong Hill road
PHUKET: The section of hill road between Patong and Phuket Town that caved in during the heavy rain last week has received makeshift repairs and is now open to traffic, thanks to an emergency injection of cash from the Department of Highways. The road was reopened after two days of reconstruction, explained Samak Luedwonghad, the director of the Department of…
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Phuket to get new police chief in latest reshuffle
PHUKET: Phuket will get a new provincial police commander as part of a nationwide reshuffle of top provincial-level officers. Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Chalit Kaewyarat today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette the results of the reshuffle announced at a meeting of the National Police Committee at Royal Police Headquarters in Bangkok yesterday. Deputy Prime Minister Chalerm Yoobamrung, who as…
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Six injured sea turtles beach in Phuket, Phang Nga in one day
PHUKET: The six Olive Ridley sea turtles that were found washed ashore on beaches in Phuket and Phang Nga on Tuesday were almost all suffering serious injuries from encounters with fishing equipment. Dr Kongkiat Kittiwattanawong, who heads the Endangered Species Unit at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), told the Gazette that the beachings were due in part to strong…
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Phuket Sports: Golf round up and Ryder Cup team updates
PHUKET: This week the PGA Tour made its way to New York State’s famed Bethpage Black Golf Course at Bethpage State Park, Farmingdale for the Barclays 2012 tournament. The course was in tip top condition to test the world’s best, with Fedex points and Ryder Cup spots on the line. The Bethpage Black course came to notoriety for being the…
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Search continues for killer Phi Phi speedboat
PHUKET: Krabi Police are still working to identify vessels that were at Tonsai Beach on Phi Phi Island when a French tourist was killed while snorkeling in the area on August 18. Police suspect a fast-moving speedboat struck and killed French national Olivier Raymond Philippe Jannequin. The police report into Mr Jannequin’s death included a statement from Phi Phi Island…
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Andrew Strauss: “It just hasn’t been a consideration”
PHUKET: “I first spoke to Andy Flower about it prior to the Kevin Pietersen incident rearing its head, it just hasn’t been a consideration.”England cricket captain Andrew Strauss has announced his retirement from the game. He put his decision down to a loss of form and denied it had anything to do with his public spat with Kevin Pietersen, which…
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Phuket Town flood victims apply for assistance
PHUKET: More than 100 Phuket Town families whose homes or businesses were damaged by flooding last week have registered for assistance through Phuket City Municipality. Peerapong Matra from the Social Welfare Department told the Gazette that Phuket City Municipality opened a flood-relief center on August 23, the day after Phuket Town flooded. “We initially wanted to close the center on…
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Loei woman found hanged at Phuket workers’ camp
PHUKET: Colleagues of a female construction worker found hanged at a workers’ camp in Phuket early yesterday evening have no idea why she decided to take her own life. Police were notified of the death at 5:45pm. Arriving at the camp with Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation workers, they found the body of 30-year-old Nuanchan Donphon hanged by the neck in a…
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Phuket expat Frenchman stands to lose B100mn home in national park land raid
PHUKET: A French businessman will have to suffer his 100-million-baht luxury villa in Phuket being demolished if the land it is on is ruled to be encroaching on national park land. The new chief of Sirinath National Park, Cheewapap Cheewatham, filed a complaint with police after a surprise raid on the property on Sunday. The raid was led by Sermyos…
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Phuket man dies of heroin overdose in gas station bathroom
PHUKET: A Phuket man died of an apparent heroin overdose in a gas station bathroom in Thalang yesterday. Staff at the Shell service station on Thepkrasattri Road southbound in Thepkrasattri Subdistrict notified Thalang Police of the death at 4:30pm. Arriving at the station with Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation workers, police found the body of a man slumped over in the middle…
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Officials launch drive to register illegal Phuket taxis
PHUKET: Illegal taxi drivers in key tourist areas in Phuket will have the chance to apply to become legal as part of the government’s campaign to resolve the decades-old problem of illegal drivers plying Phuket’s lucrative tourism trade. The news was announced yesterday by Provincial Land Transport Office (PLTO) chief Teerayut Prasertpol at a meeting of provincial officials, police and…
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Phuket police silent on top cop reshuffle
PHUKET: One of Phuket’s high-ranking police officers today said he was surprised by the announcement in a Thai-language newspaper that Phuket’s top-ranking police officer, Chonasit Wattanavrangkul, will be transferred out of Phuket. Speaking to the Phuket Gazette this morning, Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Chalit Kaewyarat said, “I do not know where the list of transfers printed in the newspaper…
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Officers “defuse car bomb’ in emergency response exercise at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: Officers from a variety police stations across the island yesterday took part in a multi-agency exercise to counter the prospect of a car bomb being detected and another bomb actually detonating at Phuket International Airport. Police from Phuket City, Tah Chat Chai and Thalang police stations were joined by Thalang Hospital staff to take part in the exercise, which…
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Village people file complaint over Phuket pub noise
PHUKET: Villagers in Baan Tha Rua in Srisoonthorn, just north of Phuket’s famed Heroines’ Monument, yesterday filed a group complaint against one entertainment venue in the area for noise pollution and closing after the regulated trading hours. Village chief Chalermpol Gerdsub handed the complaint to Prapan Kanprasang, chief of the Damrongtham Center (ombudsman’s office) at Phuket Provincial Hall. The complaint…
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Tour company offers compensation for capsized speedboat ordeal
PHUKET: The Phuket-based company operating tours on board the speedboat that capsized off Phi Phi Island in rough seas yesterday has vowed to cover all medical expenses for those injured in the incident and to offer compensation for the emotional stress suffered. Pongsak Pachantabut, the manager of Phuket New Generation Travel Company, today confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that there…
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Khon Baan Rao slides into clear majority in Phuket election
PHUKET: The Khon Baan Rao Party won 13 of 24 seats in the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) council election on Sunday, according to the preliminary vote count, giving the local “pink party” a clear majority.Khon Baan Rao, meaning “People from Our House” and led by PPAO President Paiboon Upatising, lost six of the 19 seats the party contested. The…
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All safe after Phuket speedboat capsizes in rough seas
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Police have confirmed that none of the tourists or crew on board a speedboat that capsized in the heavy seas off the coast of Phi Phi Island are missing.The 24 Chinese tourists on board the boat, Luk Pradu 26, arrived at Chalong Pier late this afternoon.Seven of them had suffered minor injuries and were taken to…
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Turtle tangled in fishing net rescued from Phuket beach
PHUKET: An adult Ridley sea turtle, tangled up in a discarded fishing net, washed onto Karon Beach alive, but injured, yesterday afternoon. The female turtle, weighing about 40 kilograms was spotted by a tourist on the beach. A lifeguard, alerted to the situation, contacted the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) Endangered Species Unit. “The turtle was washed ashore with a…
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Phuket ‘false rape’ victim Bamford to reveal all on Australian prime time TV
PHUKET: Stevie Bamford, the 21-year-old Australian tourist who in June confessed to Thai police that she had filed a false rape claim in Phuket, steps onto the Australian prime-time television show Today Tonight to reveal the ‘truth’ about her sexual assault in Thailand. In her original report of the incident to Patong Police, Ms Bamford claimed she was attacked by…
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Heavy rain blamed for Phang Nga bus accident
PHUKET: Police assess that heavy rain caused a bus carrying 20 passengers from Haad Yai to Phuket to overturn on a curve in Phang Nga yesterday, injuring 16 people. Lt Col Sanae Aukod of Phang Nga Town Police received notice of the accident, at the Phu Nga Thani curve, in Takdad, Muang, Phang Nga, at about 6pm. Police accompanied by…
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Push for new Patong Road in protected Phuket forest gains ground
PHUKET: Officials are hoping to have enough public support by October to start the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) for a 100-million-baht road through protected Phuket forest connecting Patong and Chalong. The EIA will be a critical hurdle for the project as the proposed route will cut through at least one kilometer of protected national forest in the Nakkerd Hills. In…
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Phuket Sports: Dragons still on fire despite the rain
PHUKET: A single goal in the final minutes of the first half was enough for Thai Yamaha 1 runaway league leaders, Ratchaburi FC to prevail over Phuket FC last night. Played on a damp pitch under overcast skies at Surakul Stadium, the match was one of the first for Phuket FC this season to be broadcast live on national cable…
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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