Phuket News
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Phuket update: Krabi footballer accused of rape released on bail
PHUKET: The professional footballer signed with Krabi FC who stands accused of raping an American exchange student has been released on bail, the Phuket Gazette has learned. An officer at the Krabi Provincial Court confirmed that the man was presented to the court and released on bail, but the officer declined to give any further information. “I was given orders…
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Phuket bar operators fined for holiday trading
PATONG Police arrested and fined some 12 bar operators for selling alcohol on the Buddhist holiday, Visakha Bucha Day, on June 4. Comments from bar owners that no warning was given for bars to close for the holiday fell on deaf ears, although one bar owner pointed out that only months ago a senior police officer in Phuket was reported…
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Thais in Phuket confident in English skills, but foreigners disagree
PHUKET: The results of the latest Phuket Gazette online poll show that a strong majority of foreign and expat residents find English-language skills in the local tourism industry very poor – but the small fraction of Thais who took part tended to rate them quite highly. A total of 1,864 people took part in the two-week poll launched on May…
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Phuket sports: All systems go for Euro 2012 kickoff
PHUKET: The 2012 UEFA European Championship is set to kick off in Warsaw this Friday and this year’s Championship looks set to be one of the most closely contested in recent history. Four years ago Spain, who until then were labeled as perennial underachievers, started the tournament as clear favorites and duly delivered on years of promise. Their slick brand…
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The Riddle of Phuket’s Black Sands
SPECIAL REPORT The Phuket Gazette investigates a reader’s inquiry into why much of the sand at Laem Panwa Beach is black – and why it sticks to anything metal. The Gazette‘s Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai, Stephen Fein and Chutharat Plerin report. PHUKET: The west coast beaches of Phuket attract millions of tourists annually, but there is only one beach on the island…
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Phuket elections set for June, July
PHUKET: The Phuket Election Commission (PEC) has confirmed the results of elections in Rawai Municipality last month, but has yet to set a date for the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) council election because restructuring of constituency boundaries is still underway. PEC Director Kittipong Thiengkunakrit updated the public on several electoral affairs during a ‘Government Meets the Media’ event at…
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Phuket neighbor Ranong shaken by 4.0 Richter earthquake
PHUKET: An earthquake registering 4.0 on the Richter scale struck Ranong province, just north of Phuket, at about 1pm today, shaking houses along the coast and scattering villagers in fear. Ranong is best known among Phuket expats and long-stay tourists as the jump-off point for “visa runs” to Myanmar. Paiboon Aiamsuwan, director of the Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) monitoring station…
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Phuket alcohol ban for Viskha Bucha Day extends past midnight
PHUKET: The sale and purchase of alcohol is banned in Phuket and throughout the country today to show respect for Visakha Bucha Day. Anyone found breaking the law can receive a prison sentence of up to six months, a 10,000-baht fine, or both.Kathu Police Deputy Superintendent Kittipong Klaikaew today told the Phuket Gazette, “As today is Visakha Bucha Day, one…
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Krabi FC footballer denies rape of American student
PHUKET: A Krabi FC football player has denied allegations that he raped a 23-year-old American exchange student near Krabi Town, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket, last Thursday night.The man was arrested by Krabi City Police on Friday after they were notified of a woman being attacked at the tourist-popular Nopparat Thara Beach in Ao Nang.The woman was taken to…
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Phuket Beach Safety: Man missing after swimming in dangerous surf
PHUKET: A Thai man who entered the pounding surf at Patong Beach over the weekend is still missing and presumed dead, the latest in the ever-growing toll of monsoon-season drowning deaths in Phuket. Atthiwut Prommarat, 18, was visiting his mother who works as a beach vendor when the tragedy occurred, said Uten Singsom, head of the Phuket Lifeguard Club’s Kata-Karon…
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Phuket Live Wire: Is the iPad rotting your child’s brain?
PHUKET: In 2010 and 2011, there was a rash of articles in the popular press saying that iPads, iPhones, tablets and the like would rot your kid’s brain. It’s hard to wade through headlines like these from the New York Times and not feel like an iPad is the root of all kiddy evil: “Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction,…
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Phuket’s Bussarin takes tennis gold
PHUKET: Phuket’s Bussarin Raktaengam won the final of the girls’ singles tennis event of the Phuket Games 2012 this morning with a 6-4, 6-3 straight-sets victory over Rongrong Linbanjong of Bangkok. The win made Bussarin the third Phuket athlete to snatch two golds in the games, which comes to their conclusion with a big celebration tomorrow evening at Surakul Stadium,…
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Phuket police confirm identity of mutilated man
PHUKET: Phuket Police have identified the mutilated body that washed ashore at Nai Yang Beach yesterday. Tah Chat Chai Police identified the man as 36-year-old Santi Chandaeng, originally from Udon Thani but most recently living in Phuket’s Thalang District. The man’s wife, Roongruthai Phaha, 35, told police that her husband was last seen departing for a fishing trip on Saturday.…
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The Racha steps up campaign to keep Koh Racha green
PHUKET: Management at The Racha resort on Koh Racha Yai, a popular day-trip island about 25 nautical miles south of Phuket, has stepped up its campaign in environmental care on the island. The news follows environmentalists’ accusations against greedy developers, tour operators and resort owners for blatantly exploiting Koh Racha‘s pristine natural beauty to make a profit, with little or…
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Phuket Crime: Mutilated body found on Nai Yang Beach
PHUKET: Police in Phuket are trying to identify a mutilated body that washed ashore at Nai Yang Beach yesterday morning as the first step in a murder investigation. Tah Chat Chai police were notified of the discovery in Sakoo Village 1 at about 11am. Arriving at the scene with Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation workers, Lt Col Prakob Boonkwan and fellow officers…
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Phuket Democrats rally against reconciliation bills
PHUKET: Democrat Party members staged a protest in Phuket on Friday to denounce the reconciliation bills set to be discussed in Parliament. The gathering made Phuket the first province to rally against the bill, said Democrat MP Sathit Wongnongtoey.Over 2,000 joined the rally at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town, led by veteran MP Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr and MP Raywat…
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Phuket volunteers join cleanup at Koh Racha
PHUKET: After being lambasted by environmentalists last week, Phuket’s conservation authorities were quick to promote the good work they are doing in repairing Koh Racha Yai’s environment with the coral reef rejuvenation project and beach cleanup being held this weekend. “This activity is part of a improvement project that we started last year. It aims to rejuvenate the coral reef……
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Phuket move up to 8th in Youth Games
PHUKET: Phuket now sits in 8th place in the standings of the 28th National Youth Games (Phuket Games 2012), after picking up a number of gold medals in recent days. Phuket has already grabbed medals in many events, including karate, taekwondo, bowling, and wushu. And today many more medals are to be contested. For those seeking to cheer on the…
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Burmese pedestrian killed in Phuket hit-and-run
PHUKET: A Burmese man was killed instantly when he was run over by a speeding pickup truck in a hit-and-run accident in Phuket’s Koh Kaew subdistrict last night. Phuket City Police were informed of the accident at 10:30pm. Arriving at the scene, the median strip in front of the Supercheap mini-mart on Thepkrasattri Road in Bang Khu, they found the…
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Phuket kitesurfer not stung, didn’t drown, say lifeguards
PHUKET: Phuket lifeguards have dismissed the assertion that the American kitesurfer who died shortly after being pulled from the sea at Nai Harn Beach yesterday drowned or was stung by a jellyfish. Nai Harn lifeguard Charintorn Naripen told the Phuket Gazette, “Four of us tried for 20 minutes to revive the casualty before the ambulance arrived. We don’t believe he…
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Grieving mother arrives to collect body of Phuket Games athlete son
PHUKET: The mother of Phuket Games athlete Sutthipong Laphutama, 18, who died in a motorcycle accident in Rawai yesterday, arrived in Phuket to collect her son’s body this morning. Mr Sutthipong died after the motorbike he was operating crashed into a brick wall. Also on the bike was 13-year-old Attapong Noikhamsingha, who is still recovering in hospital. “I can’t believe…
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Democrat’s Suthep joins rally in Phuket
PHUKET: Former Deputy Prime Minister Suthep Thaugsuban has arrived for a rally in the heart of Phuket Town to protest the reconciliation and amnesty bills that the yellow-shirt People’s Alliance for Democracy (PAD) are have been protesting against in Bangkok this week. Also on the island to join the rally tonight is Sathit Wongnongtoey, current Democrat MP for Trang province…
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UK inquest rules Phuket tourist electrocution as “accidental death’
PHUKET: A coroner’s inquest conducted in the UK into the death of 21-year-old British tourist Charles Thomas in Phuket has ruled that his electrocution during heavy rain was an “accidental death”. Mr Thomas was electrocuted in Patong in August last year after placing his hand on the cover of an outdoor power socket fitted into the forecourt paving stones in…
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Phuket Governor issues surf warning after Games athlete rescued
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha has issued a formal warning to all head coaches of teams competing in the Phuket Youth Games to not let their athletes swim in the dangerous surf.“The warning was issued to the head of each team to make sure their athletes do not go into the water during the current treacherous windy conditions or swim…
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Phuket kickboxer Aldhouse extradition hearing postponed
PHUKET: The UK High Court has agreed to postpone the extradition hearing of murder fugitive Lee Aldhouse so that his lawyers will have more time to prepare their case, the Phuket Gazette has learned. Mr Aldhouse successfully fled Thailand after allegedly stabbing American Deshawn Longfellow to death in August 2010. He was later arrested at Heathrow Airport on an unrelated…
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Phuket Games motorbike crash survivor “will play sports again’
PHUKET: Atthapong Noikhamsin, the 13-year-old boy who survived the motorbike accident in Rawai this morning that killed his Phuket Games teammate, 18-year-old Sutthipong Laphutama, has not suffered serious injury and is being kept in hospital under observation. “We x-rayed Atthapong’s brain, as well as his neck. They are normal. We operated at 2pm to reset his collar bone, which was…
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Phuket baby elephant DNA test results to be announced
PHUKET: The long-awaited DNA test results of three baby elephants seized from elephant camps in Phuket will be revealed next week, the Phuket Gazette was told today. The three elephants were seized in February from the ATV @ Hill Adventure Tour camp on the road to the Big Buddha image in Chalong; the Elephant Camp at the Laguna complex in…
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Chinese punt for Phuket consulate as tourist arrivals skyrocket
PHUKET: The dramatic increase in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Phuket in recent years is causing problems and has prompted Chinese officials to look into establishing a consulate on the island.Xu Mingliang, the People’s Republic of China Consul-General in Songkhla, Southern Thailand, was in Phuket yesterday to hear tour operators’ concerns firsthand and to discuss the issues with Phuket…
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Golfing Glory: Phuket boys team take top honors
PHUKET: Phuket can claim bragging rights to having the best young golfers in the country after a foursome of island youths took the gold in the boys’ golf team event at Phuket Country Club today. The team of Wacharathorn Jeerapatsin, Sarawuth Boodnongsaeng, Waikun Gatehom and Phantamitr Wananuphat won the gold, with Wacharathorn also taking a bronze in the singles event.At…
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Arson not suspected in Phuket Sports Association VP house fire
PHUKET: Police believe an electrical short circuit started a fire at the house of Sompong Muthitakul, vice president of the Sports Association of Thailand office in Phuket, on Tuesday night.Regardless, officers have not ruled out the possibility of arson and are continuing their investigation to confirm precisely what caused the fire, Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Jamroon Plaiduang told the…
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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