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 Business: Corruption and Customs practices seen as major deterrent to trade
PHUKET: In a report released yesterday by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the Thai Customs Department comes under fire as a barrier to trade, and does so to the disadvantage of both countries. Corruption is seen to be at the root of the problem. Herewith, some brief extracts from the report: “The United States continues to…
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Storms smash Phuket fishing boats
PHUKET: This week’s storms have put the livelihoods of many of Phuket fishermen at risk after violent waves damaged more than 30 fishing boats and left fish farming pens washed up onto shoreline rocks. Kawi Saranakhomkun of the Phuket Provincial Fisheries Office yesterday said that villagers from all three districts of Phuket had asked the office for help after their…
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Phuket officials deny “mudslide in paradise’
PHUKET: Authorities have dismissed media reports that an “immediate evacuation” was called for Phuket earlier today due to the risk of landslides. Officials at both the National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) in Bangkok and the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation office in Phuket (DDPM-Phuket) said reports of an evacuation order for Phuket carried on Thai television news programs and…
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Phuket man shoots wife, kills self
PHUKET: A Phuket motorbike taxi driver shot his wife while she was sleeping and then turned the gun on himself this morning – all while the couple’s two children were sitting in the next room. Thung Thong Police led by Superintendent Kraithong Junthongbai were notified of the tragedy at 8:30am. At the scene, a home in the Ketho residential estate,…
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Krabi landslide: 12 dead, 30 missing
PHUKET: The death toll in the Krabi landslide disaster has risen to 12, while 30 people remain unaccounted for, a Krabi official confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this afternoon. Khao Phanom District Chief Adminstrative Officer Trithawat Rakmuang said that one of the dead has been identified as 31-year-old Paisarn Chusri. He added that 24 people have been injured so far.…
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Phuket Update: One dead, four injured in Krabi mudslides
PHUKET: Officials in Khao Phanom District, Krabi, have dismissed Phuket-based media reports that “thousands are missing” following two landslides in the district. The confirmed toll this morning is one dead and four injured, two seriously, they say. An officer at the Khao Phanom District Office internal security division in Krabi told the Phuket Gazette, “The first mudslide occurred yesterday in…
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‘Japan crisis won’t hit Phuket tourism’: PTA
PHUKET: The Phuket Tourism Association (PTA) believes the crisis in Japan will not have serious effects on the island’s economy, though it has cautioned that numbers of visitors from affected areas are likely to fall. Somboon Jirayus, president of the PTA, said the 9.0-Richter earthquake and resulting tsunami that have devastated Japan would have psychological effects in the short term.…
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Phuket faces worker shortage
PHUKET: The Phuket tourism industry is facing a huge labor shortage, with more than 5,000 positions currently vacant on the island, the Phuket Employment Office chief has warned. Noppadon Ployyoudee said there was strong demand for workers in Phuket, particularly at hotels and businesses connected to the tourism industry. Among those needed are reception staff, service staff, sales people, handymen,…
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PHUKET WEATHER ALERT: PM’s office warns of flooding
PHUKET: The Prime Minister’s Office has warned residents in Phuket to brace for flooding, which has already stalled services at Nakhon Sri Thammarat and Samui airports. Thousands of passengers were stranded on Koh Samui in Surat Thani province yesterday, while Nakhon Sri Thammarat Airport has been closed since Sunday. Bangkok Airways canceled all 36 domestic and international flights in and…
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Phuket storm: Gov orders landslide watch
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha today ordered all government officers to be on the lookout in high risk areas where the onslaught of rain may cause landslides. “As it has been raining heavily in Phuket for the past few days, it may cause problems with flooding and landslides,” said Gov Tri. Specifically, he ordered all three District Offices in Phuket…
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Phuket storm winds rip yachts off their moorings
PHUKET: Severe weather conditions in Phuket today broke several boats from their moorings and pushed them ashore at Ao Yon, near Cape Panwa. Many boat owners were caught unaware by the force of the storm as the bay had long been considered a safe shelter at this time of year. “Last night, very strong winds challenged the moorings and quite…
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Services for Phuket’s Lionel Cleary
PHUKET: A memorial service will be held for the late Lionel Cleary at Rawai Temple (Wat Rawai) tomorrow evening, starting at 7pm. Mr Cleary, a regular visitor to Phuket for 29 years and a resident for more than 18 years after that, died of organ failure on Friday. “People wishing to pay their respects are advised to arrive from 6pm…
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Phuket Airport remains open as wild weather ravages South
PHUKET: Phuket Airport remains open today despite winds gusting to more than 30 kilometers per hour and a flood warning issued early this morning. “A low pressure [system] is covering the middle of southern Thailand. Torrential rain with heavy to very heavy fall in many areas remains over the south,” read the warning issued this morning by the Thai Meteorological…
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FC Phuket 2 – 0 RBAC
PHUKET: FC Phuket now sit atop Division 1 of Thai League Football, following a hard-fought 2-0 win in rainy conditions at Surakul Stadium this evening. A goal well into the second half by FC Phuket striker Kone Adama secured the victory for the Southern Sea Dragons over a scrappy RBAC side. Former table leaders Big Bang Chulalongkorn University (BBCU) failed…
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Body of missing Phuket teen found in rubber plantation
PHUKET: The body of a teenage boy who went missing over a week ago was discovered by the side of the road in a Phuket rubber plantation yesterday morning. Villagers found the badly decomposing body of an unidentified male a few meters off the access road to Namuang Village, a rubber planting community off Thepkrasattri Road, about eight kilometers south…
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Phuket raises B2.2mn baht for Japan relief, with more to come
PHUKET: The official Phuket relief fund for Japan as of noon today had amassed 2,204,332.92 baht in donations to provide relief for those still suffering from the ongoing effects of the earthquake and tsunami that struck the main island of Honshu on March 11. The figure represents all donations made in person at the Phuket Tsunami Relief Center for Japan,…
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MET issues storm warning for Phuket, South
PHUKET: The Meteorological Department (MET) has issued a storm warning for Phuket and the entire southern region for the weekend and through until Tuesday. An “intense” high pressure system covering most of Thailand will bring torrential rain with isolated heavy rainfall across the south, according the warning issued at 10am today. Unusually heavy, wind-driven waves are expected in both the…
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Call for Gov, Phuket to support “Silvy The Star’
PHUKET: All of Phuket will be cheering on Pavida “Silvy” Moriggi this evening when the 15-year-old Kajonkietsuksa School student takes the stage in round three of the nationally-televised reality television series The Star 7. Only six contestants remain in the hugely-popular nationwide talent search; one will be voted off after this evening’s competition. Silvy’s mother and school principal called on…
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TAT targets yachties in new Phuket strategy
PHUKET: Phuket’s world-class marinas and vibrant yachting community are key to the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s new strategy to attract high-end tourists to the island. TAT Governor Suraphon Svetasreni believes the infrastructure already in place in Phuket means the island has the potential to become a world-class center for marine tourism. Phuket already has a number of marinas suitable for…
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Phuket “Beer’ ride ends in Surat Thani
PHUKET: A 20-year-old man was arrested on Thursday afternoon after taking a brand-new Mazda 2 for a test drive from Phuket Town all the way to Wiangsa in Surat Thani, about 200 kilometers away. Yutthapong “Beer” Malila, originally from Surat Thani, contacted the Anupas Mazda showroom on Ong Sim Phai Road in Phuket Town on Wednesday, asking to take a…
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Italian man arrested on rape charges at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: An Italian man was taken into police custody at Phuket Airport last night on an arrest warrant for the alleged rape of a Thai woman on Koh Samui. The suspect, in his 30s, was to fly out of the country last night. He was intercepted at the airport at 9:30pm after Immigration officers there were informed that Samui District…
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Phuket’s Lionel Cleary passes away
PHUKET: A wake for well-known and much loved long-term Phuket resident Lionel Cleary will be held at Nikita’s Beach Restaurant on the Rawai beachfront this Sunday from 3pm. After weeks in hospital due to a fall, he eventually succumbed to organ failure this morning at Bangkok Hospital Phuket. He was 76. Mr Cleary first arrived in Phuket with friends via…
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Phuket police bust drug dealers in Kamala, Mai Khao
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested the young wife of a Phuket Airport taxi driver, catching the woman with a stash of ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and a firearm in the family home where she was caring for her three young children. Thachatchai Police identified the suspect as 22-year-old Sukhon “Bow” Bajongjit, a resident of Phuket. Police obtained a warrant to search…
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Phuket St Patrick’s Day Ball charity event tomorrow
PHUKET: A charity ball marking St Patrick’s Day will be hosted tomorrow evening at the Mövenpick Resort & Spa in Karon. The annual ball is a major fundraising event for the Life Home Project, a local foundation that provides shelter for women and children affected by HIV as well as childcare, vocational training, health education and hospice assistance. The event…
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Phuket media coverage takes a leap forward with iApps
PHUKET: Long a leader in online publishing, the Phuket Gazette has taken a leap into the handheld space with crisp and functionally ‘immediate’ new Apps for both the iPad and iPhone. And though only a couple of weeks into these new media, the company is more than pleased with the response. “These were basically R&D-type projects for us. I don’t…
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Phuket relief fund for Japan grows
PHUKET: The local community has so far given more than 750,000 baht to the Phuket Tsunami Relief Center for Japan, which will be accepting donations until noon on March 26. Wasana Soonthornsiri of the Phuket Provincial Comptroller General’s Office announced today that the total monetary donations received thus far totaled 764,123.92 baht. The fund more than doubled after two large…
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Phuket beach vendor found hanged
PHUKET: A 25 year old man was found hanged at his rented house in Phuket this morning. Thalang Police named the deceased as Apichart Aoonkaew, a vendor on Nai Yang and Na Thon beaches. A relative discovered the body at the house in Thalang at about 9:30am when he entered the room to wake Mr Apichart for work, police said.…
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Second Phuket hit-and-run killing in a week
PHUKET: A Phuket mechanic was killed instantly last night when his motorbike collided with a pickup truck, the driver of which sped off without stopping. The accident occurred at about 11:30pm on Route 4027, the main road to Pa Khlok from the Heroines’ Monument. At the scene, about one kilometer east of the monument, police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers…
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Phuket Tourist Police in the spotlight
PHUKET: Members of a special government working committee were in Phuket earlier this month to gather information for a study on whether Tourist Police nationwide should be transferred out of the Royal Thai Police for administration by a different government agency or agencies. Among those who visited the Tourist Police station in Phuket Town were committee chairman Asst Prof Noppadon…
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Murder suspect arrested in Phuket after 17 years in hiding
PHUKET: After 17 years on the lam, a suspect wanted for a 1994 stabbing murder of a man in Uthai Thani province was arrested by Phuket City Police yesterday. The suspect, 44-year-old Pornsak “Nu” Ketkaew, was arrested when he took a 10-wheel dump truck for repairs at a garage off Thepkrasattri Road. Mr Pornsak was arrested by officers who confirmed…
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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