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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FC Phuket seek away win and BBCU seek vengeance
PHUKET: FC Phuket face Big Bang Chulalongkorn United (BBCU) on Sunday in what may be termed a grudge match considering the cup defeat inflicted by Phuket on BBCU in June. Sunday’s match will be played at the 20,000 seat sporting arena, Army Stadium in Din Daeng, Bangkok. Kickoff is sceduled for 6pm. Coming into their 19th match, Phuket cling to…
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Yingluck becomes first female Thai prime minister
PHUKET: Yingluck Shinawatra today became Thailand’s first female prime minister, by winning 296 of 299 votes in Parliament, state-news agency MCOT has reported. Mrs Yingluck was confirmed as prime minister shortly before noon today after a campaign that saw her Pheu Thai party sweep to victory over the former ruling Democrat Party. There were 197 abstentions in the House of…
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Phuket probe digs deep into ‘missing hill’ row
PHUKET: Land owners digging up and selling the earth on their plots in central Phuket has sparked a row from neighbors, who say the extensive excavation work is causing dangerous landslips, for which they are seeking 300,000 baht in compensation. An investigation headed by Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkhaosutthirak yesterday deemed much of the excavation work on the plot in Srisoonthorn,…
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Phuket residents cry foul over poisoned water
PHUKET: Parents and local residents are calling for action against repeated poisoning of a canal along a major Phuket Town school, killing hundreds of fish. About 5pm yesterday, residents entered a section of Klong Bang Yai that runs next to Satree Phuket School on Damrong Road and removed hundreds of dead fish. The water in the canal was black, thick…
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Onslaught of waves forces Phuket sea gypsies to evacuate homes
PHUKET: Large waves brought on by the wet-season monsoon are damaging homes at a small sea gypsy community on Phuket’s east coast, forcing villagers to seek refuge with family members or even sleep outdoors. At least eight houses have suffered damage, altogether home to 53 people. John Pramongkij, 57, is scared to sleep in his house, with the walls cracking…
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Swedish murder case in Phuket sends reader interest off the charts
PHUKET: Not since the tsunami in December 2004 have readers around the world shown so much interest in a single event in Phuket. Yesterday, as on December 27, 2004, the day after the waves hit, the demand for news, fueled by the Phuket murder of Swedish national Maksim Schantz, swamped and knocked over the Gazette Online for a period of…
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Phuket Live Wire: Surprise island internet speeds
PHUKET: A little less than two months ago we changed the method for measuring internet speeds, as reported on PhuketInternetSpeed.com. Before that point, we were measuring international download speeds using a technique that was prone to caching – Internet Service Providers, using tools that are actually beneficial to customers like us, automatically bypassed the speed testing regimen. So we switched…
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Phuket Red Cross blood drive to honor HM Queen Sirikit’s birthday
PHUKET: In honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 79th birthday and Mother’s Day on August 12, the Phuket Regional Blood Center is hoping for an increase in donations this month. The center has set a higher target than usual for this drive, aiming to stock up in anticipation for an increased demand for blood in the coming months. “We received 1,568…
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Sex Drugs: Will Phuket’s tourists be subjected to Night Fire?
PHUKET: Phuket is not the only town in Thailand selling fake Viagra or other illicit drugs to tourists. The nation’s capital is probably the leader. But in the most recent raids in Bangkok, at least, no tourists were arrested and none was invited to pee in a pink cup. Metropolitan police and other authorities in the City of Angels arrested…
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MET: Phuket haze ‘not a load of hot air’
PHUKET: The blanket of haze seen across Phuket today was only fog and not related to Indonesian wild fires, the top official at the Thai Meteorological Department weather center in Phuket said today. “The fog was caused by a decrease in air pressure and temperature and an increase in humidity coupled with intermittent rains, causing the air to sink,” said…
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New test center to boost Phuket drug convictions
PHUKET: A Public Health Ministry center in Phuket is now conducting drug tests on urine and blood samples provided by police in a move that is expected to boost the number of drug convictions in Phuket. The tests will be conducted at the Regional Medical Sciences Center in Phuket, just north of the Heroines’ Monument on Thepkrasattri Road in Thalang.…
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BREAKING NEWS: Swedish duo arrested for Phuket stabbing murder
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have confirmed to the Phuket Gazette that two Swedish men have been arrested in connection with the stabbing murder yesterday of Maksim Schantz. Tommy Viktor Soderlund, 26, and Johan Sebastian Ljung, 25, are both in custody, a police officer said on condition of anonymity. Police are due to hold a press conference this evening when more…
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Manhunt launched for Swedish suspect in slaying of fellow Swede
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have issued an arrest warrant and appealed to the public to keep an eye out for the prime suspect in last night’s murder of Russian-born Swedish national Maksim Schantz, 25. Police have launched a manhunt for 26-year-old Tommy Viktor Soderlund, also from Sweden, and another white male who are said to have recently rented a home…
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Swedish expat stabbed to death at luxury villa in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Police are investigating the stabbing murder of a Swedish man ambushed and stabbed to death as he returned to his luxury villa in Koh Kaew subdistrict last night. The murder took place in full view of neighbors. The police identified the deceased as a 25-year-old Swedish national. The name of the victim is known to the Phuket Gazette,…
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Phuket in the mood for seafood
PHUKET: The Phuket Seafood Fiesta got underway today with an official launch at Jungceylon in Phuket’s resort town of Patong. The festival offers a 10 to 20% discount on seafood dishes at more than 60 restaurants on the island from today through August 31, explained Bangonrat Shinaprayoon, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) regional office in Phuket. Coinciding…
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Phuket daycare teacher charged over child beatings
PHUKET: The Phuket daycare teacher allegedly caught on video beating her students has been charged with child abuse, with the possibility of more charges to come. Meanwhile, Wichit Municipality has taken over the Wat Thepnimit daycare center, where parents and other teachers say the beatings took place regularly. The scandal unfolded on July 24 when teachers from the daycare center…
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FC Phuket still waiting for away success
PHUKET: FC Phuket’s match on Sunday against Rajapracha FC in Nakhon Pathom ended in a scoreless draw, irritating Phuket’s winless wound in its eighth away game this season. There were about 1000 spectators that showed up to cheer the Rajpracha “Crowns” at Mahidol University Salaya campus stadium. As expected, Phuket fielded three of their new players: goalkeeper, Jonathan Matijas from…
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Missing Aussie tourist found alive and well in Phuket
PHUKET: Missing Australian tourist Geoffrey Hoffmann has been found alive and well. Mr Hoffmann disappeared while going for a morning walk at the lake at Karon Park on Saturday. His family raised the alarm after he failed to return four hours later. Their concern was heightened by the fact that Mr Hoffmann suffers from short-term memory loss. Mr Hoffmann’s brother-in-law…
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Final countdown
PHUKET: “It is not an easy draw. You have to be really, really focused and play every game like a final – but that will be another manager’s job.” England’s Italian manager, Fabio Capello, leaves advice for the next head on the chopping-block, that is the national team’s managerial role. Capello was present for the 2014 World Cup qualification draw…
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Buried alive in Phuket: How much longer do we need to suffer the landslides?
PHUKET: Another rainy season in Phuket, and yet another death from a landslide. The trench collapse on Monday that killed Burmese laborer Min Hla Thein came just nine days after new workplace ‘health and safety’ legislation came into effect. [See news feature, pages 4-5, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.] Among…
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Aussie on holiday in Phuket reported missing
PHUKET: A worried Australian family on holiday in Phuket is urging anyone who identifies Geoffrey Hoffmann, 77, to contact them immediately. Mr Hoffman was last seen walking near the lake at Karon Park this morning. Mrs Hoffmann told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon that she arrived with her husband, sister and brother-in-law on a family holiday to Phuket on Tuesday.…
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It’s Official: Phuket Town still the worst for drugs
PHUKET: Phuket Town has maintained its place as the top district in upper Southern Thailand for drug crime, an accolade the popular tourist town has held for the past three years, a Bangkok health official was told yesterday. The news was revealed at a meeting of the Phuket Provincial Anti-Drug Committee at Provincial Hall. Regular chiefs on the committee include…
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Hurtling Phuket hill boulders continue to threaten resort
PHUKET: Heavy rains in Phuket over the past week have caused more boulders to hurtle downhill into the L’Orchidee Residences in Patong. Although the boulders were smaller than the original two-tonne “devil’s marbles” that crashed into the resort at the beginning of this month, they have still caused damage and much concern, said Wassana Yukhunthon, the resort’s public relations manager.…
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Weather warning for Phuket
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department has this morning issued a wet weather warning covering much of Thailand due to Tropical Storm “Nock Ten” in the South China Sea. At 5am today, Nock Ten was centered over the west coast of Hainan Island, in China, with sustained winds of about 50 knots, about 90kmh, said the warning. The storm was moving…
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Phuket parents furious over teacher hitting young children
PHUKET: A Phuket temple’s daycare program is under fire after video footage surfaced allegedly showing a long-time teacher beating her students. About 200 parents and children gathered at Wat Thepnimit daycare center in Wichit today to complain about the teacher and the subsequent firing of four other teachers who parents claim were responsible for exposing the abuse, not inflicting it.…
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FC Phuket to resume league campaign on Sunday
PHUKET: FC Phuket will kick off the second half of the Thai Premier League (TPL) Division One 2011 season this weekend in Nakhon Pathom. Phuket face Rajapracha FC, or the “Crowns”, who sit 7th in the table, two places ahead of Phuket in 9th position. Speaking to the Phuket Gazette this afternoon, club secretary Soranun Sanae, clarified details of this…
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Phuket ‘luggage truck’ in fatal collision
PHUKET: Police are awaiting test results to confirm whether alcohol was a factor in a fatal traffic accident this morning involving a luggage-transport truck and a motorbike. Thalang Police responded to reports of the crash in Srisoonthorn Subdistrict – about 300 meters north of the Heroines’ Monument – shortly after 1am. At the scene was a bronze-colored Isuzu D-Max pickup…
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Like father like son
PHUKET: “Low point of the day so far, being called ‘Chris’ by an 8 year-old.” Stuart Broad, England’s opening strike bowler, having just finished coaching kids at the Urban Cricket Center in Nottingham, was not entirely happy when mistaken for his father by one of the children. Stuart was quick with a retort saying his ‘dad’ was terrible in the…
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New GM appointed for Phuket’s renowned Boathouse
PHUKET: Marie Laure Fleury, formerly the resort manager at the upscale Triasara, Phuket, has been appointed General Manager of the Boathouse, the renowned 37-room boutique resort on Phuket’s Kata Beach. Effective immediately, Ms Fleury will oversee the lead-up to the reopening of the resort in October, the Gazette was told today. The Boathouse resort and its adjacent Oasis Restaurant have…
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House and home expo opens in Phuket
PHUKET: More than 50 exhibitors from across Thailand today unveiled their products for the first time in Phuket at the opening of the Architect & Engineering Exhibition 2011. Products on show at the expo, now in its 11th year, run the gamut from construction materials through to custom-made home decor items. The theme of this year’s A&E expo is “New…
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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