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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Pheu Thai’s Prompong guarantees action in Phuket Freedom Beach land title probe
PHUKET: Government Spokesman Prompong Nopparit has confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that the investigation into two land titles being illegally issued for 65 rai at Phuket’s pristine Freedom Beach has now been handed over to the Land Department and the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) for further action. Speaking to the Gazette yesterday, Mr Prompong also confirmed that the Parliamentary Committee…
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Phuket earthquake victims receive government payout
PHUKET: Residents in Phuket’s Srisoonthorn subdistrict whose homes were damaged by the April 16 earthquake received payouts from the government yesterday to assist in repairing their living quarters. Thalang District Chief Naruenart Supattaraprateep led the proceedings in handing out cash cheques provided by the Phuket Provincial Office to 410 residents. The funds were made available through the Provincial Office’s 50-million-baht…
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Protestors rally against red-shirt villages in Phuket
PHUKET: Hundreds of members of the “We Love Phuket Club” arrived at Provincial Hall this morning to submit a letter of complaint against a planned rally by red-shirt activists at Nai Yang Beach on Sunday.“We Love Phuket Club” President Boonsupaa Tanthai said that the red-shirt rally would be led by Surin Yotharak and Suchart Phetcharat, who are both locals of…
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Phuket Gazette media partner Nation Group inks deal to enter Myanmar market
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette‘s media partner organization Nation Multimedia Group (NMG) Plc has signed a comprehensive agreement of cooperation with Myanmar’s Eleven Media Group Co Ltd. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed in Yangon last Friday by Nation Multimedia Group chairman Suthichai Yoon and Eleven Media Group chairman and CEO Dr Than Htut Aung, is a precursor to the formation…
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Grounded dive boat back in Phuket
PHUKET: The dive boat forced to ground on Koh Gai island after its hull cracked in stormy weather last weekend was re-floated and towed back to Phuket yesterday. Though frightened, none of the 16 people on board the Parapis 7 during the grounding were reported as suffering any injuries, according to eye-witnesses who carried out the rescue. Narong Chaimo, general…
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Phuket go-go dancer survives suicide plunge
PHUKET: A broken-hearted transgender person is in intensive care at Patong Hospital after surviving a suicide plunge from a Phuket hotel last night. A local media report listed the identity of the survivor as “Nong Yok”, a 33-year-old dancer at a night venue named as the “Russia A-Go-Go” club. According to the report, Nong Yok tried to end her life…
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Pile-driving tower crushes three homes in Krabi
PHUKET: Residents of a small community in Khlong Hin subdistrict, Krabi, got a rude awakening yesterday morning when a 15-meter-high pile-driving tower came crashing down onto their homes. Fortunately there were no injuries, but three homes were flattened and 10 motorbikes badly damaged. Ao Leuk District Police duty officer Prasan Khongkaew was notified of the accident at 8:30am. Racing to…
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Police suspect arson in Phuket government building blaze
PHUKET: Phuket Police are seeking a man seen running from the site of a pre-dawn arson attack at the Thalang District Office compound earlier today. Thalang Police, notified of the fire at 4am, raced to the scene with Thalang Municipality firefighters. It took firefighters just 15 minutes to extinguish the blaze, but not before it reduced to ashes a bamboo…
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Phuket beach tout turf war targets Cambodians
SPECIAL REPORT A FURIOUS beach brawl between rival groups of migrant Thai and Cambodian beach peddlers in February has led Karon Municipality to draft regulations to register all peddlers and rid the sands of illegal alien workers. Phuket Gazette senior reporter Atchaa Khamlo reports. PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak arrived at the Karon Municipality office in Kata on April…
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Phuket’s poor turn out for annual alms festival
PHUKET: More than 1,000 of Phuket’s poorest people were at the Kusoldharm Foundation headquarters in Phuket Town yesterday to receive donations of food as part of the annual Te Krajard merit-making ceremony. Starting at 2:30pm, Foundation President Benjawan Tamphanuwat led Kusoldham workers in handing out 4,800 packs of rice, each weighing five kilograms, as well as packs of other dry…
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Phuket very tolerant of gay lifestyles: Gazette poll
PHUKET: Phuket society is very tolerant of people with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) lifestyles, according to the results of the latest Phuket Gazette readers’ poll. The poll, run to coincide with the Phuket Pride Festival held in Patong late last month, asked readers: “Overall, how tolerant is Phuket society of LGBT lifestyles compared to other places you have…
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Cop killer caught in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket City Police yesterday arrested an alleged hit-man and cop killer wanted in connection with two murders last year, one in Phuket and one in Trang. Samut “Moot” Keukgong, 44, was arrested by Phuket City Police at about 3:30pm at a snooker hall in Rassada, said the Phuket City Police report. Mr Samut signed a statement denying a charge…
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Phuket City Police chief transferred amid underage nightlife staff probe
PHUKET: Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chitchai has been removed from active duty pending an investigation into underage staff working at Phuket Town nightclubs. Col Chote told the Phuket Gazette today that he received the instant transfer order on Saturday. “I received the order from Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul on Saturday to transfer to Phuket Provincial Police Station…
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Expert in earthquake-proof building design helps ease Phuket fears
PHUKET: One of Thailand’s leading experts in earthquake-proof building design has offered to conduct computer simulation tests to ensure that major buildings in Phuket do not succumb to the recurring tremors the island has been experiencing since April 16. The news was delivered directly to Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha by Assoc Prof Dr Paiboon Panyakapo, who heads the Engineering Institute…
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Switzerland appoints Honorary Consul for Phuket
PHUKET: The Swiss Embassy in Bangkok has appointed long-time Swiss resident Andrea Kotas Tammathin as its first honorary consul for Phuket. Mrs Tammathin was formally presented to Phuket officialdom on Friday afternoon, when Swiss Ambassador Christine Schraner Burgener and Head of Chancery Bernhard Bienz met Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa at Provincial Hall. “The consulate is the first contact point…
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Samson Kiplagat Tennai celebrates Phuket Trail Masters win
PHUKET: The second edition of the Columbia Trail Masters event was held at the Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC) on Sunday morning with far larger than expected crowds and participants making it a huge success. There were more than 350 runners of all ages competing in a 3km fun run, a 10 km trail run, and a 21.5km half…
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Phuket underpass project unveiled
PHUKET: Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak at Phuket”s Boat Lagoon Resort Tuesday, chaired the third and final public hearing on the Bang Khu intersection improvement project, at which it was announced that a two-lane underpass construction had been selected over other designs. At the meeting, project manager Kaweerat Deeprasertwong announced the selected design for the two-lane underpass. “We chose this design…
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Phuket sports: F1 rumors, rules and rumblings
PHUKET: The three week gap between grand prix events is to accommodate FIA approved testing of upgrades at Mugello, near Florence. It is also time the “rumor and disinformation mills” upgrade. Mugello is not an F1 circuit, and according to hearsay teams are ambivalent about testing on an unknown track. McLaren scheduled test drivers only, although Lewis Hamilton suggested he…
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“Gold Den’ bandit back in Phuket for re-enactment
PHUKET: Phuket City Police yesterday led a recently-arrested gold shop bandit “Den” through a re-enactment of his June 2011 heist of a Phuket Town gold shop. The suspect, Krittasak “Den” Heetkaew, was arrested at his Bangkok apartment on Thursday and confessed to the Phuket heist and several others using the same modus operandi. Yesterday afternoon’s re-enactment was led by Phuket…
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Speed bumps: more harm than good
PHUKET: Among the many factors conspiring to make Phuket roads some of the most dangerous in Thailand is the proliferation of poorly-designed, poorly-marked and poorly-maintained speed bumps that needlessly cause untold millions of baht in car damages and wasted fossil fuels every year.The Phuket Gazette does not refute the effectiveness of speed bumps at slowing down traffic. Speed bumps do…
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FC Phuket host Saraburi FC today
PHUKET: FC Phuket will be seeking their first home win of the season when they kick off against Saraburi FC “Warlords” at Surakul Stadium this afternoon. The Southern Sea Kirin, now 15th in the table with 7 points, will be hoping to collect all three points against Saraburi, who are still winless on the road after seven matches and sit…
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Austria-Phuket Community Center burns again
PHUKET: Another fire broke out at the Austria-Phuket Community Center in Phuket Town last night, the second blaze there in less than 24 hours. Police once again suspect teenagers, who probably broke into the building to take drugs, were responsible. Phuket City Police at 9:10pm received a report of the fire from local residents in the densely-populated area, on the…
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PHUKET ALERT: Monsoon comes, Patong Hill road goes
PHUKET: The monsoon season has officially arrived in Phuket and is already taking its toll, causing a landslide along a stretch of Patong Hill road that the Highways Department was hoping to shore up by year’s end. Sampawat Wannasangkam of the Patong Municipality Department of Disaster Mitigation and Prevention said his office received a report of the slide at around…
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Taxi, tuk-tuk co-ops blame “unfair rules’ for problems
PHUKET: Groups of tuk-tuk and taxi operators in Phuket blame “unfair regulations” as the underlying cause of most problems faced by tourists who use Phuket’s public transport services. The accusations were made during a meeting of senior government officials, including Government Spokesperson Prompong Nopparit, at Phuket Provincial Hall on April 27. Tuk-tuk representative Darun Suksai, the “president” of a consortium…
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Phuket police officer held for off-duty killing
PHUKET: A Phuket police officer and his brother are being detained at Phuket Provincial Court tonight after both were charged with accessory to murder over a fatal shooting in Phuket Town’s red-light district early this morning. Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Jamroon Plaiduang told the Phuket Gazette that the shooting occurred at about 2:30am in Phuket Town’s infamous Phun Phol…
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Phuket teenage drug addicts blamed for community center fire
PHUKET: Phuket City Police believe that a fire at the Austria-Phuket Community Center in Rassada in the early hours of this morning was started by a group of teenage drug addicts known to frequent the area. It was the second time the center had been set on fire within a month. Phuket City Police received a report at 1:10am from…
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Phuket sea gypsies celebrate their heritage
PHUKET: Preparations for the first of the twice-yearly sea gypsy Loy Reua festival are underway at Laem Tukkae on Koh Sireh, on the east side of Phuket Town. The festival is renowned as a celebration of local culture during which sea gypsies build a boat by hand and adorn it with garlands, then place inside it personal items and set…
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No lifeguards on beaches as Phuket enters surf danger season
PHUKET: As the southwest monsoon sets in and Phuket enters the most dangerous period for beach swimmers, the Phuket lifeguards have yet to return to their towers at popular tourist beaches along the west coast. The news comes as the Phuket Gazette today received confirmation that not a single company or organization bid for the government contract to provide lifeguard…
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Phuket United gets Gov Tri’s backing
PHUKET: Last year’s CAT Regional Futsal Tournament champions Phuket United have been assured financial support from “Phuket’s father”, in a gesture that will ensure the team can compete in the prestigious Thailand Futsal League (TFL) for the upcoming season. Club administrators met with Phuket Governor Tri Augaradacha at his office on Tuesday. Their first agenda was to appoint the governor…
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Speed radar project most helpful: Phuket poll
PHUKET: Phuket Gazette readers overwhelmingly think the installation of radar speed cameras to monitor road traffic and automatically fine violators will be the most helpful of six projects recently approved for Phuket by Cabinet, according to our most recent online poll. In the poll launched March 23, readers were asked which of six projects approved by Cabinet during the “Mobile…
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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