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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Hanging on jugs at Krabi Rock and Fire Climbing Comp 2012
PHUKET: The karst topography and stunning beach-side limestone edifices of Krabi once again played host to the Krabi Rock and Fire International Contest on April 28 and 29. The 2012 event, organized by the Krabi Rock Climbing Club and the Tourism Authority of Thailand, is designed to highlight Railey and Ton Sai as world-class rock climbing destinations. The contest was…
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Phuket readies for Phuket Games 2012
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa today opened a “coordination center” to act as an information kiosk and souvenir shop for the Thailand National Youth Games 2012, dubbed the “Phuket Games 2012”. An estimated 14,000 athletes, fans, spectators, supporters and coaching staff expected to arrive in Phuket during the coming week for the event, which will run from May 26…
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Phuket sports: Premiership league season review 2011/12
PHUKET: This season’s Premier League has been one of, if not the most exciting seasons in recent memory. Not since the title decider between Arsenal and Liverpool in 1989 has a season ended with so much drama.The battle between the two Manchester clubs for supremacy was of course the highlight of the show, with both sides stretching out eight point…
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Phuket tourists left to save themselves from dangerous surf
PHUKET: Beach vendors have expressed their fears that it is only a matter of time before someone drowns at Phuket’s popular Nai Harn Beach, as distressed tourists are seen daily in the strong surf. “Since April, Thais and foreigners who regularly hang out at Nai Harn Beach, such as surfers, have often had to go out and save people who…
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Heavy rains prompt Phuket flood, landslide warning
PHUKET: While the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) today upgraded its “heavy rain warning” for Phuket and the Andaman coast to a flood caution, the Phuket provincial office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) has issued a flood warning for risk areas across the island “We sent the warning letter to every local administration yesterday, warning of possible…
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Phuket sports: Bang Jo boys bring it home
PHUKET: Youth futsal teams comprised of boys from Bang Jo and Cherng Talay on the North of the Phuket came in second and forth place at the Honda Super Cup Futsal Championship recently. The teams qualified for the tournament after winning at Nai Yang, Patong and Kathu. Bang Jo United’s ‘Under 11 years old’ (u11) Team A was awarded a…
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PHUKET GEM HEIST UPDATE: Turk to face drug charges first
PHUKET: The Turkish national who was arrested in connection with the 30-million-baht gem and jewelry heist in Phuket on Monday will face drug possession charges before being handed over to the Phuket Police to face charges related to the gem heist. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul told the Phuket Gazette that Riza Balkan, 49, was found in possession of…
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Phuket lifeguards likely back on duty “by Monday’
PHUKET: The Phuket Lifeguard Club has submitted an offer to restore lifeguard services at Phuket’s key tourist beaches, an offer that is likely to be agreed to by Monday, the Phuket Gazette has learned. The news comes after two rounds of offers by the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) to receive applications to provide the services. Both rounds failed to…
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PHUKET GEM HEIST: B5mn in jewelry still missing
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul this afternoon confirmed that 173 items have yet to be recovered from the jewelry and gem heist in Phuket yesterday morning, despite police having three foreigners in custody. The missing valuables are estimated to be worth about 5 million baht, he told a press conference at Phuket City Police Station today. Presented to…
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Mexican, Malaysian suspects named in Phuket gem heist
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have released the names of two suspects arrested in connection with the theft of 30 million baht of jewelry, diamonds and other gems from a parked car in Phuket yesterday morning. Mexican national Ruben Dario Zapata Gonzalez and Malaysian national Rosulina Binti Abu Bakar were presented at Phuket City Police Station at 10am today. Also present…
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No drugs, no phones, Phuket Prison to gain ‘White’ status
PHUKET: Phuket Prison is to be awarded “White Prison” status after regular inspections of the provincial detention facility declared it free from drugs and illegal mobile phones. Department of Corrections Deputy Director General (Administration) Somsak Rangsiyopas announced the news at Phuket Prison yesterday at the opening ceremony of a scout training program for young inmates. “We have had many inspections…
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Police arrest three foreigners for B30mn jewelry heist
PHUKET: Police have arrested four people in connection with the theft of 30 million baht of jewelry in Phuket yesterday morning while they were heading for the Malaysian border. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that the suspects were arrested by Trang Highway Police officers at a checkpoint in Sikao District, in Trang province. The…
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Phuket Sports: FC Phuket in southern stalemate
FC Phuket played Southern regional rivals Phatthalung FC, which ended in a 1-1 draw, in a heated match last night in Phatthalung Town. Following a tense yet scoreless first half, Phatthalung’s leading scorer Siwapong Jarersin broke the deadlock three minutes into the second half, his sixth of the season. Phuket answered seven minutes later with a strike by Thawadech Aunthong…
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Phuket Police dragnet fails to recover B30mn in stolen jewelry
PHUKET: Police are searching vehicles leaving the island and passengers departing via Phuket International Airport are being subjected to more rigorous bag searches following the theft of 30 million baht of jewelry from a parked van near Phuket Town this morning. The theft was discovered at about 9:45am by Thongsak Chintakanroek, whose Toyota Alphard Hybrid had a window smashed and…
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Phuket Red Shirt Village rally just a “test’, says local leader
PHUKET: One of the men named responsible for organizing a red-shirt rally near Nai Yang Beach yesterday has denied any intent of establishing a “red-shirt village” in Phuket. The true aim was to determine how many people would protest against such a rally, said Surin Yotharak, a local village leader in Tambon Sakoo, the subdistrict immediately south of Phuket International…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket Police launch manhunt for three foreigners in B30mn jewelry heist
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette has received confirmed reports that police have launched a manhunt for three foreign men who carried out a smash-and-grab robbery of about 30 million baht in jewelry this morning. The three men allegedly smashed the windows of a Toyota Avanza parked behind the Big C supercenter on the bypass road at 9:45am with an umbrella and…
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Poll: Will Bang Khu underpass project improve Phuket traffic?
PHUKET: The final design for the 450-million-baht underpass at the Bang Khu Intersection in Koh Kaew has been approved. Although Thepkrasattri Road will be widened to eight lanes in the area, southbound traffic will still have to wait at a stop light before accessing the bypass road. In our new poll, the Phuket Gazette asks readers how this project will…
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Phuket joins Andaman fight against coastal erosion
PHUKET: Phuket has joined an Andaman-wide project spearheaded by the Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Haad Yai Campus to combat coastal erosion throughout the region. At the recent sea gypsy Loy Reua ceremony at Laem Tukkae last weekend, newly-elected Rassada Mayor Phudit Raksaraj explained to the Phuket Gazette that Rassada Municipality was working with the PSU Haad Yai Campus and…
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Phuket Town power cables going underground
PHUKET: Phase two of the project to remove the unsightly cables that have been obscuring the classic Sino-Portuguese shopfronts along the streets of Old Phuket Town for decades continues today as workers pull down the power poles along Deebuk Road. The removal of the power poles on Deebuk Road today follows the removal of overhead power cables and the corresponding…
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Phuket authorities call for peaceful red-shirt rally on Sunday
PHUKET: With concerns of 500 members arriving to join the red-shirt rally in Phuket on Sunday, and at least 1,500 yellow-shirt supporters staging a mass rally at Phuket Provincial Hall at the same time, Phuket authorities yesterday called for both sides to respect each other group’s democratic rights and to not engage in any conflict. The news came at a…
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Taiwanese airline captain drowns at national park north of Phuket
PHUKET: A Taiwanese airline captain has drowned and his Thai boatman remains unconscious after an accident in Khao Sok National Park, Surat Thani, several hours drive north of Phuket. Col Jarun Uchuphap, Superintendent of Baan Takhun Police Station, told the Phuket Gazette today that the accident occurred yesterday afternoon on the Chiao Lan Reservoir, a popular tourist nature reserve also…
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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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Brisk business at Phuket City Pawnshop as schools re-open
PHUKET: The Phuket City Municipality Pawnshop is reporting brisk business this week as parents pawn off gold to pay for back-to-school supplies for their children. Mr Boonsong Korecharoen, accountant and acting manager of the shop on Kamoraphat Road, told the Phuket Gazette that recently they had been dealing with a daily volume of about 400 people. About 99 per cent…
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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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Phuket offers new twist in War on Drugs
PHUKET: The Koh Kaew Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) has launched a project that may be a precursor to a shift in strategy in the War on Drugs in Phuket. The organization is inviting drug users who wish to turn their lives around to join a rehabilitation camp under the “One Local Administration Organization, One Drug Rehabilitation Camp” project. As part…
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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…
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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