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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British man, 37, dies in Phuket suicide plunge
PHUKET: A 37-year-old British man died in Phuket yesterday after falling from a five-storey apartment block in what police believe was an intentional suicide leap. Thung Thong Police duty inspector Sakchai Chuyong received a report of the apparent suicide at 7:30am. The name of the deceased was widely reported in the Thai media, but is being held by the Phuket…
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Phuket Police target ladyboy meth users
PHUKET: Almost 50 per cent of the ladyboys rounded up in a sweep of Phuket’s Soi Bangla area last night tested positive for methamphetamines, Patong Police say. The random testing, led by drug suppression division inspector Akanit Danphithuksdart, targeted transsexuals along Soi Bangla and surrounding areas, including the beach road and Soi Joreoernsup. Of 40 tested for drug use, 17…
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Football Legends of Liverpool to play in Phuket
PHUKET: Liverpool Football Club fans on Phuket are set for a huge treat this June when a Legends of Liverpool team swing into town to take on a Legends of Thailand side at Surakul Stadium. A squad that includes 15 Anfield greats will don the famous red shirt in Phuket on June 18 as part of their tour of Thailand,…
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Phuket road rape victim still in ICU
PHUKET: Police are still searching for the two suspects wanted for the brutal roadside assault of a Phuket woman last week. The victim, 58, was set upon by two men just before dawn Thursday morning as she rode her motorbike to a local market. She was left unconscious by the roadside with blood running from a wound to her head,…
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What’s in this week’s Phuket Gazette?
PHUKET: This week’s Andaman Edition of the Phuket Gazette went on sale yesterday and 20,000 copies of our Nationwide Edition were delivered early this morning to all Star Alliance airlines for placement aboard all of their flights serving Thailand. Both editions contain extensive content not available here in the Gazette Online. However, digital subscribers may click here to download their…
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Phuket roads claim more lives
PHUKET: High-season mayhem continues on Phuket roadways, with one man dead and two others in ICU in separate road accidents in recent days. Yesterday morning, 31-year-old Apiwan Wongcheu sustained severe head trauma, a broken wrist and other injuries when the motorbike she was riding along Chao Fa West Road northbound in Chalong was struck by a southbound truck turning across…
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Phuket Mining Museum now open
PHUKET: Governor Tri Augkaradacha stepped up to buy the first entrance ticket to the Phuket Mining Museum yesterday to mark the official opening of the 180-million-baht attraction. The museum showcases Phuket’s tin mining history and the lives of the Chinese miners of the era through indoor and outdoor exhibits in both English and Thai languages. Outdoor displays include an abandoned…
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Phuket gears up for Heroines’ Festival 2011
PHUKET: This year’s Phuket Heroines’ Festival will feature the acting debut of Phuket governor Tri Augkaradacha, who will take center stage in the role of King Rama I in a historical drama based on the history of Thalang. The 2011 installment of the annual event will take place March 13 to 15 at Thalang Victory Memorial Field in Thepkrasattri subdistrict.…
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New Phuket police station plans inch forward
PHUKET: Plans to build a new police station in Karon are progressing at a snail’s pace, but work on the new Police Region 8 headquarters now under construction in Mai Khao is steaming ahead, officials were told this week. Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth, Deputy Commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8, told a meeting on Tuesday that his office was still…
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Join Phuket’s grumpy men on their rally for a cause
PHUKET: The Phuket GOMS (Grumpy Old Men’s Society) will stage their inaugural Car Rally-Treasure Hunt this Sunday, and there’s still time to get involved. GOMS consists of over 130, presumably grumpy expat and Thai members who get together twice a month to meet, discuss issues which grind their gears and think of ways to raise money for local charities. There…
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Dead leatherback sea turtle discovered in Phuket
PHUKET: Experts believe a 200kg leatherback sea turtle found floating in the shallows of Klong Tha Cheen in Phuket yesterday afternoon died after becoming entangled in a fishing net. The death comes amid what one expert has described as a “crisis” for the endangered species. The body of the turtle, estimated at between 15 and 25 years old, was discovered…
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Phuket delegates ready for “amazing’ German tour
PHUKET: The Phuket delegation to next week’s ITB Berlin 2011 travel trade show will comprise 60 members, all on a mission to draw ever more tourists to the island under the Tourism Authority of Thailand’s (TAT’s) newest slogan: “Amazing Thailand Always Amazes You”. Among those representing Phuket at the event will be Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha and his wife Nalinee,…
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Finnish tourist found dead in Phuket room
PHUKET: Police are not treating as suspicious the death of a Finnish tourist found in his rented room opposite Patong Municipality offices yesterday. Capt Weerapong Rakkittoo of Patong Police said he was notified of the death at about 2:30pm. At the scene, a rented room on the second floor of a shop-house on Ratchapatanusorn Road, Capt Weerapong found the body…
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BREAKING NEWS: FC Phuket awarded league points after protest
PHUKET: FC Phuket were today handed all three points from Saturday’s Thai League Division 1 encounter against Rajpracha FC after they successfully lodged a complaint against Rajpracha for using too many foreign players during the game. Although the game ended in a 1-1 draw at Surakul Stadium, FC Phuket later sent documentation to the Thai Premier League providing evidence that…
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Tourist dies in jet-ski accident off Phuket
PHUKET: Rescue workers have recovered the body of a young man who died in an apparent jet-ski accident off Phuket over the weekend. Lt Col Jessada Saengsuree identified the victim as 20-year-old Pakpien Nunnoi, a native of Si Sa Ket Province. Mr Pakpien was on an extended family holiday, staying with his elder sister on Koh Rang, off the east…
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Developing Phuket: Calls for yet another major public hospital
PHUKET: Phuket MP Tossaporn Thepabutr last week proposed to Governor Tri Augkaradacha that another government hospital be built in the island resort province. Instead of smaller branches or satellite clinics of major government hospitals being built to serve local people, Mr Tossaporn proposed a wholly-new, high-end facility to attract health practitioners who are specialists in their field. Vachira Phuket Hospital,…
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Karen visit to Phuket full of firsts
PHUKET: Nine-year-old Ywa Hay Tha never went on family trips to the beach; never saw his favorite films on the big screen; never got a chance for a “normal” life. Nine-year-old Ywa Hay Tha was more concerned with keeping himself alive when he fled the Burmese military through the jungles of eastern Burma to the relative safety of the Umpiem…
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Greater Phuket: Shock TAT report on stinking beach
PHUKET: Despite regulations of the local village government stipulating that garbage not be placed out for collection before 8pm, trash continues to be dumped on Krabi’s Ao Nang Beach in broad daylight. Tourists say they don’t like it. The stink and the unsightly mess are a source of harsh complaints not only from tourists, but also from local residents. The…
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Phuket lucky license plate auction raises more than Bt23mn
PHUKET: The sixth annual “Lucky License Plate Auction” held in Phuket Town over the weekend raised 23,504,500 baht, Kanok Siripanichkorn, chief of the Phuket Land Transport Office (PLTO), has told the Phuket Gazette. “I am very happy with the revenue raised – it’s five million baht more than last year,” he said. All 301 plates up for auction were sold,…
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UK Ambassador puts Phuket safety on common agenda
PHUKET: UK Ambassador to Thailand Asif Ahmad met Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha this afternoon to discuss a slew of issues affecting British residents and tourists, with the aim of working together with local authorities to boost safety on the island. “We have 850,000 British tourists who visit Thailand every year. I’ll say up to half come to Phuket… The majority…
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Controversy reigns as FC Phuket drops league points at home
PHUKET: FC Phuket’s first Thai League Division 1 home game of the season ended in frustration as they were held to a 1-1 draw against Rajpracha FC at Surakul Stadium on Saturday evening. In front of a crowd of over 2000, Phuket couldn’t do enough to prevail over a team intent on clinching a draw. The visitors brought howls from…
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Phuket beaches left unguarded
PHUKET: The Phuket Lifeguard Club’s contract to protect the island’s beaches expired on Friday, leaving tourists to swim unprotected in seas that claimed many lives last year. On Saturday, staff removed their equipment from the beaches. The 9.9-million-baht contract to guard the beaches is put out on an annual tender, which critics claim is too short a period of time.…
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Phuket Live Wire: When good lines go bad
PHUKET: International internet speeds in Phuket have been surprisingly good this week, with TOT finally recovering from whatever was ailing it last week. TOT Fiber Optic is only marginally faster than 3BB’s 12Mbps line or True’s 10Mbps line – at five times the cost. True “3G” HSPA continues to run very fast, but only on the extreme west coast of…
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Phuket to survey options for burying beach-front power lines
PHUKET: Patong Municipality has approved a feasibility survey for a project to bury power and telephone lines along the road at Phuket’s most popular beach. The 8-million-baht study should take eight months to complete and work on the first phase of the project should be completed by 2013. The road project, called Route A, will run along Patong Beach and…
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“Lucky plates’ rake in millions for Phuket
PHUKET: The sixth annual “Lucky License Plate Auction” kicked off today at the Metropole Hotel in Phuket Town with the much sought after Kor Nor 9999 plate selling for 1.4 million baht. The numbers “8” and “9” are auspicious numbers according to traditional Thai beliefs. In addition to taking home today’s top seller, motorcycle repair shop owner Jaruk Kaewpunnaray, 30,…
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Motorbike taxi driver dies in Phuket police cell
PHUKET: After a collision with a pedestrian, a Phuket motorcycle taxi driver was found dead in his cell at Patong Police Station early Thursday morning. Chalee Jampa-ngam, 53, was driving along Phra Barami Road in Patong, looking for custumers, around noon on Wednesday. As he drove past the Government Savings Bank he collided with a pedestrian and fell off the…
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Phuket sea kayak guide dies during tour
PHUKET: Funeral services are being held this morning for a Phuket tour guide who drowned during a kayak tour in Phang Nga Bay yesterday afternoon. The deceased has been identified as 25-year-old Suriyan “Mee Mee” Rachapai, a resident of Ao Por. Mr Suriyan was employed by well-known kayak tour operator John Gray’s Sea Canoe. Mr Suriyan apparently had a diabetic…
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Phuket Football: FC Phuket in first home game today
PHUKET: FC Phuket play host to Rajpracha FC in their first Thai League Division 1 home game of the season at Surakul Stadium this evening. Kickoff is at 6pm. Phuket opened their 2011 campaign in solid fashion two weeks ago when they bagged a deserved share of the spoils away from home against Suphan Buri FC. Phuket missed several chances…
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Phuket longtails get new pier at Chalong
PHUKET: Work on a new pier for longtail boats in Chalong Bay is now about 25 per cent complete and should be finished by the scheduled completion date in late May, the project contractor says.Work on the 11.6-million-baht project, known in Thai as “Saphan Reua Hang Yaow”, is funded by the Ministry of Transport. Wandee Suwanchot, controller of the main…
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Here comes the weekend: Phuket Gazette hits the streets
PHUKET: This week’s Andaman Edition of the Phuket Gazette goes on sale this afternoon and our Nationwide Edition will be released in Bangkok and placed on board the major international airlines serving Thailand early tomorrow morning. Both editions contain scores of information, all in one place, including: NEWS – Elephant rampage – MP Tossaporn calls for a new hospital in…
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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