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’s Pariwat second at Junior World Golf Championships
PHUKET: Fourteen-year-old Pariwat Pinsawas claimed a share of second place at the Callaway Junior World Golf Championships held at Riverwalk Golf Club in California on Thursday. A two-under-par third round of 70 secured Pariwat a final score of 211 and joint-second place with two other players: Danny Hopoi from Hawaii and Corey Shaun from the US. The three young golf…
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Mayor protests Phuket Bus Terminal plans
PHUKET: The Mayor of Rassada Municipality is set to file a complaint with the Administrative Court if the Thepkrasattri Road median strip is broken to accommodate the yet un-opened Phuket Bus Terminal 2. Mayor Suratin Lianudom told the Phuket Gazette of his plans following an announcement made by Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO) Chief Teerayout Prasertphol that the median strip…
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Phuket dive boat ‘did not capsize’
PHUKET: The dive boat that 27 people were safely recovered from yesterday evening is now back in Phuket, a source at the dive company who was on the boat told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “The boat did not capsize. The bilge pump failed, so the captain pulled the boat into calm waters behind an island,” he said. “We were…
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BREAKING NEWS: Phuket tourists, crew saved from sinking dive boat
PHUKET: A joint rescue effort by the Phuket Tourist Rescue Center and the Royal Thai Navy has safely recovered all 27 people aboard a sinking dive boat off Phuket tonight. A distress call was received from the dive boat Laksanawadee at 6:15pm, an officer at the Tourist Rescue Center in Chalong told the Phuket Gazette. The boat, a large, two-level…
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Phuket’s Bhuritt calls for return of Sonthaya as Tourism Minister
PHUKET: Leading Phuket tourism business analyst Bhuritt Maswongsa has voiced his approval for the Tourism and Sports Ministry portfolio to go to the newly-formed Palang Chon Party. Mr Maswongsa, who is the Phuket Tourist Association’s Vice President for Marketing, said the Palang Chon Party’s de facto leader Sonthaya Khunplome understands the developmental needs of tourism provinces because of his experiences…
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Phuket Live Wire: Get your browsers right
PHUKET: If you have a pirate copy of Windows XP and you’ve never updated your web browser, chances are you’re still running Internet Explorer 6 (IE 6), and – forgive me for saying – chances are also that your system’s been infected. If you have a pirate version of Windows, and you’re running IE 6, even if you’re using a…
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TrueVisions to expand HD services in Phuket
PHUKET: TrueVisions, Thailand’s leading subscription-based cable television operator, has announced an expansion of high definition (HD) services in a bid to broaden its subscriber base. Managing director Thiti Nantapastsri said yesterday that the company until now had operated three HD channels – Reality HD, HBO HD and True Sport HD – as a pilot project via its digital fiber-optic cable…
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Phuket’s Fourth SEA Properties Multihull Championship
PHUKET: The SEA Properties fourth annual Multihull Challenge is set to impress with an exciting array of yachts competing for honors in the waters of Phuket. Asia’s biggest Multihull regatta offers racing conditions second to none and is hosted by Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC). This year’s event sees the introduction of two new classes plus the national championship competition…
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Phuket prepares for Kathu Cultural Street Festival
PHUKET: The third annual Kathu Culture Street Festival will take place this weekend, showcasing the cultural heritage of one of Phuket’s oldest and most vibrant communities. The fun will begin tomorrow with a parade at 5pm along Wichit Songkraam Rd, from the Ketho Child Development Center to the Kathu Public Health Center. Traffic will be prohibited between Kathu Municipality offices…
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Air traffic control unveil new systems at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: New technologies are set to be introduced at air traffic control centers in Phuket and throughout Thailand to help the country’s standards equal those of Europe and America. Somchai Thean-Anant, president of Aeronautical Radio of Thailand Ltd (AEROTHAI), said that work putting the new systems in place began at the beginning of the year. He expects the four billion…
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Five goal thriller puts FC Phuket through to last eight
PHUKET: A 93rd minute strike from Kone Adama sealed victory for FC Phuket in the return leg of their Toyota Cup last 16 round match against Thai Premier League side Sri Racha last night. After a 1-1 draw at Surakul Stadium on July 6, Phuket traveled to Chonburi knowing victory was their only option and that Sri Racha only needed…
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Polish tourist vanishes after Phuket vacation
PHUKET: The Polish Embassy in Bangkok is seeking information to help locate a Polish tourist who visited Phuket recently and has been missing in Thailand for a week. Andrzej Kiezik was last seen at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok at about noon on July 6, after arriving there on a Bangkok Airways flight from Phuket. He stayed at the Serenity Resort…
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Hitman’s 11-year run ends in Phuket
PHUKET: After more than a decade in hiding, the gunman wanted for the shooting murder of Petchaburi journalist Sanan Wannapuk 11 years ago has been arrested in Phuket. Thanin “Dum” Kaewsakul, 46, was listed as the 18th most wanted gunman in Thailand before his arrest by a special operations unit dispatched by Police Region 7. The exact time of his…
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American pedophile arrested in Phuket gets 15 years
PHUKET: American pedophile Charles Todd Stokes, arrested in Phuket in 2006, was sentenced by a US federal court last week to 15 years in prison for molesting over 70 boys while living in Thailand. Stokes was a gym teacher in Miami, Florida from 1985 to 1998. Fired from his job for inappropriate contact with children, he moved to Thailand where…
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Phuket bars asked to abstain for Buddhist holiday
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Police have requested that all nightlife entertainment venues refrain from selling alcohol this weekend out of respect for Asarnha Bucha Day on Friday and the start of Buddhist Lent (Khao Phansa) on Saturday. Capt Thapakorn Hanumard told the Phuket Gazette that such venues are not legally obliged to close, but are being asked not to sell…
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FC Phuket away to Sri Racha in Toyota Cup
PHUKET: FC Phuket play Sri Racha (Blue Marlins) in the second leg of the Toyota League Cup with the winner securing a place in the quarter-finals, at Suzuki Stadium in Chonburi tonight. A 1-1 draw with the Sponsor Thai Premier League side last Wednesday means that Phuket have to win away from home this evening. A missed penalty at Surakul…
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UK Home Secretary to decide on Aldhouse extradition to Thailand
PHUKET: The decision whether or not to extradite British national Lee Aldhouse from the UK to face murder charges in Thailand will be handed to Home Secretary Theresa May, the Birmingham Mail reports. The decision could take up to two months, the newspaper says. Aldhouse was arrested at London’s Heathrow Airport on August 18 last year on an outstanding warrant…
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Phuket pushed to pilot 300 baht minimum wage
PHUKET: The Wage Tripartite Committee (WTC) yesterday proposed that the Pheu Thai Party’s promise of a nationwide minimum wage increase first be tested in Phuket and metropolitan Bangkok, then followed by proportionate increases in other provinces. Phuket was suggested as a pilot province for the increase as it already has the highest daily minimum wage in the country at 221…
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Phuket “warms up’ for Mother’s Day
PHUKET: Phuket International Hospital is holding a “Warm Family Photo Contest” as part of its celebrations to mark upcoming Mother’s Day, held in Thailand each year on the birthday of HM Queen Sirikit on August 12. Cash and other prizes to be won in the contest, open to Thais and foreigners but not to professional photographers, total 20,000 baht. Entries…
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Phuket drug youth on ‘ice’
PHUKET: In one of the latest drug busts on Phuket, Thalang Police yesterday presented six suspects arrested for possession of ya bah (methamphetamine) with intent to distribute, seizing some 2,000 pills and 200 grams of ya Ice (crystal methamphetamine) in the process. Thalang Police Superintendent Witun Kongsudjai told the press at the Thalang Police Station meeting room that the arrests…
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Phuket’s Cherng Talay mayor lays out policies
PHUKET: Cherng Talay Mayor Suniran Rachatapruek this morning announced his primary policies at the first Cherng Talay council meeting since his re-election on June 4. Mr Suniran has served as Cherng Talay mayor since July 1999. The meeting at the Cherng Talay Municipality offices was presided over by municipal council president Suphat Athiudomphol, along with council vice president Charoon Thawichatanon.…
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Phuket kickboxing student loses foot in motorbike crash
PHUKET: An Australian man studying Thai kickboxing in Phuket lost his foot when the motorbike he was riding collided with a car in Chalong last night. Staff at the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization’s Tourist Rescue Center named the victim as 30-year-old Mark Anthony Schreiber. At about 9pm, Mr Schreiber’s motorbike collided with a Toyota Fortuner at the entrance to Soi…
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Canada’s synchronized swimming team in Phuket
PHUKET: The Canadian Olympic synchronized swimming team are training in Phuket ahead of the 14th FINA World Championships in Shanghai from July 16 to 31. Speaking exclusively to the Phuket Gazette this morning at a practice session, team coach Julie Sauvé and captain Marie-Pier Boudreau-Gagnon spoke of the team’s medal chances in Shanghai and at next year’s Olympic Games in…
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New readers’ poll: Top priorities for Phuket
PHUKET: Following the landslide win by the Pheu Thai Party in the July 3 general election, the Phuket Gazette asks readers which issue affecting Phuket deserves the most urgent attention by the new Government taking shape under Yingluck Shinawatra. The choices are: Traffic congestion Crime Drug abuse Corruption Public transport Environmental protection To have your say, click on the icon…
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SME reps raise alarm over minimum wage rise
PHUKET: The new government’s policy to instantly raise the national minimum wage to 300 baht per day will have dire implications for small businesses in Phuket and across the country, industry leaders warned today. “Wage rates in Phuket are already quite high. This is leading a lot of people to believe that raising the minimum wage to 300 baht across…
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Phuket police blitz bags more than B5mn in drugs
PHUKET: A spate of arrests by Phuket police in the past 24 hours has led to drugs with a street value of more than five million baht being seized. Chuleekorn “Korn” Saithong, 34, from Nakhon Pathom, was arrested in Phuket Town yesterday afternoon with 1,940 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills valued at 400,000 baht and 266.2 grams of ya Ice (crystal…
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Phuket crackdown on motorbike sidecars
PHUKET: Riders of motorcycles with sidecars (salaeng) will be prosecuted if they use the sidecar to carry passengers, the chief of the Phuket Land Transport Office (PTLO) has announced. PTLO Chief Teerayout Prasertphol said that drivers who use salaeng for passenger transport do so illegally and present a danger to passengers and other road users. Legally-registered salaeng can only be…
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Ten arrested in Phuket drug busts
PHUKET: A drug dealer presented at a police conference in Phuket yesterday admitted that he was acting under orders from a prison inmate. The suspect was one of 10 presented to the press in the meeting room at Patong Police Station yesterday. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong and Patong Police Superintendent Arayapan Pukbuakao chaired the proceedings. Two suspects were…
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Phuket yacht racers fired up for Victron final
PHUKET: The Victron Energy Series comes to a climactic conclusion this weekend with regular crews and a few extra hulls expected on the water for race eight off Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC). This final race of ACYC’s Keel Boat and Multihull club championship gives local racers a chance to warm up for the SEA Property Multihull Championship to be…
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Zidane returns to Real Madrid
PHUKET: “Real Madrid is the most important thing that happened to me, both as a footballer and as a person.” Zinedine Zidane gets emotional about his experience with Real Madrid now that he has become the sporting director of the richest football club in the world (€438m) and the second most valuable club in the world (€1.4bn). Considering Real Madrid…
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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