Phuket News
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Phuket Crime: Swede arrested for major mobile phone theft
PHUKET: A Swedish tourist is in police custody in Phuket for the alleged theft of 85 Nokia mobile phones from a delivery vehicle in Patong. Patong Police duty officer Weerapong Rakkittoo identified the suspect as John Redling, age 38. The devices were reported stolen from a delivery vehicle in the basement parking lot of the Jungceylon shopping complex on March…
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Phuket travelers heading for Japan advised to continue to Bangkok
PHUKET: Following the devastating series of earthquakes and the tsunami that struck Japan’s main island of Honshu earlier today, travelers heading from Phuket to Japan are advised to at least continue their journey to Bangkok, an officer at Phuket International Airport told the Phuket Gazette this afternoon. “All flights [from Phuket] to Bangkok are continuing as scheduled. There are no…
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Phuket caveman to speak at IBAP meeting tonight
PHUKET: Eco-tourism advocate John Gray will be the keynote speaker at tonight’s meeting of the International Business Association of Phuket (IBAP). Known as “The Caveman” for his pioneer kayak explorations into the unique karst formations of Phang Nga Bay, Mr Gray has spent 22 years in Phuket, most of it as owner of John Gray Sea Canoe. The Californian is…
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Japan hit by 8.8 earthquake; tsunami strikes coast
TOKYO (BNO NEWS): A series of enormous earthquakes struck off the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan early this afternoon, seismologists said, generating large tsunamis that devastated coastlines with warnings for multiple countries. The 8.8-magnitude earthquake at 2:46pm local time (0546 GMT, 12:46 Phuket time) was centered about 179 kilometers east of Sendai in Japan. It struck about 10 kilometers deep,…
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Phuket Live Wire: To 3BB or not to 3BB?
PHUKET: I’m tired of paying so much for ADSL. I have ADSL lines in three of the four Sandwich Shoppes (CAT EV-DO in Villa Market), plus one in the bakery and two in my home office. That’s six ADSL lines. For years I’ve been using the TT&T, then 3BB, MaxNet Premiere 4 Mbps service. For years, I’ve been paying almost…
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Man dies in Phuket high-speed collision
PHUKET: A 31-year-old man died instantly in a high-speed collision north of Phuket Town early this morning as he rode his motorbike across Thepkrasattri Road but into the path of an oncoming car. Lt Patiwat Yodkhuan of Thalang Police reported that Meknoi Seekaew, originally from Phrae province, was riding northbound along Thepkrasattri Road about 2:20am when the accident occurred. However,…
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Blackouts: Phuket to enjoy obligatory Earth Hours
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced scheduled blackouts to carry out maintenance on high-voltage power lines, install new lines and move power poles. The dates and locations of the operations, which will be carried out from 9am to 5pm, are: March 15 – Chalong Along Luang Por Chuang Road, from the TOT office on Chao Fa West…
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Phuket serial thieves nabbed
PHUKET: Police today announced the arrest of three teenagers being charged with breaking and entering, and theft from, at least 20 Phuket homes. Chalong Police arrested the trio – aged 17, 16 and 14 – at about 4.30pm yesterday. The arrests followed Chalong Police officers on patrol in Soi Thanuthep spotting a young boy riding a motorbike that had been…
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Korean owner of Phuket snake farm busted with drugs
PHUKET: The Korean owner of a Phuket snake farm was arrested at the Thai border with Cambodia this morning when he tried to smuggle ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) and marijuana into the Kingdom. The Korean, identified as 51-year-old Eun Sooyong, was passing through a security checkpoint at the Phrom Daen border crossing in the Aranyaprathet district of Sa Kaew Province,…
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Phuket special needs center facing crisis
PHUKET: The Center for Special Education in Phuket is facing a budgetary and staffing crisis because the number of disabled children on the island is going up every year, its director says. Wanida Suraban said the center, in Kathu, now looks looked after 191 children with problems including blindness, learning disabilities, communication problems, deafness, autism and other conditions. The center…
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Confessed Phuket murderer Fanelli on the inside
PHUKET: Murder suspect Ronald Fanelli has yet to enter a plea with the Phuket Provincial Court and the American says his detention at Phuket Provincial Prison is making him physically ill. Speaking through a telephone in the visitors’ center on March 1, Mr Fanelli said a court appearance scheduled for February 24 had to be postponed after “a timing mix-up”…
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Phuket ITB delegation Czechs out parliament
PRAGUE: The ITB 2011 delegation from Phuket visited the Czech Parliament yesterday morning and learned more about Czech advances in wastewater treatment technology. The tour of the parliament building followed a request by Phuket Provincial Organization Administration (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising, who is leading the delegation jointly with Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha. Also attending were Phuket Chamber of Commerce Chairman…
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Teen dead, another injured in Phuket drive-by shooting
PHUKET: One teenager is dead and another man injured from gunshot wounds following a drive-by shooting in Phuket last night. Thalang Police duty officer Sarit Bootnongsaeng identified the deceased as 19-year-old Khomsun Srirat. Mr Khomsun was riding a motorbike with a passenger along the road from Pa Khlok to Muang Mai at about 8pm when two assailants rode up alongside…
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Extradition of Phuket “kickbox killer’ suspect “may take years’
PHUKET: The City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court in London has told the Gazette that the extradition hearing of British national Lee Aldhouse “can take months or years”. Aldhouse remains wanted in Thailand for the stabbing murder of American Dashawn Longfellow in Rawai in August last year. However, court official Russel Sykes said the former kickboxer remains remanded in custody at…
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One man dead in Phuket bus tragedy
PHUKET: One man has been confirmed dead as a result of a tour-bus accident on Patong Hill this morning. Patong motorcycle taxi driver Warin Yongyut, 51, died from chest injuries caused when the Patong Municipality bus overturned on Phra Barami road at about 8:30am, a Patong Hospital official said. Mr Warin was among 53 Patong Municipality volunteers on board the…
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ITB Berlin: Phuket officials ponder Czech waste-water solution
PRAGUE: In Europe for the upcoming ITB Berlin tourism and travel show, the Phuket delegation took time out of their agenda to talk waste-water. Led by Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Paiboon Upatising, the delegation met with the heads of two companies that installed and operate 13 waste-water treatment plants in the Czech Republic. CEO of Prague Diamond Invest…
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Cops to be drug tested: Phuket Police chief
PHUKET: The new Phuket City Police chief today announced plans to introduce drug testing for police nationwide to ensure that the force remains completely drug free. “Police are the last line of defense in society’s war on illegal drugs, so if they themselves are involved, then its ‘game over’,” Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chitchai told a press conference today.…
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Phuket music fans: Mango House Festival kicks off in Koh Lanta, Krabi
PHUKET: Lovers of house music in Phuket may want to take a trip to Krabi this week, as the Lanta Lanta Festival in Lanta Old Town will feature five great nights of music, all free of charge. The Mango House Festival sessions run from 9pm to 1am nightly, starting tonight. The highlight will be sessions on Thursday and Friday by…
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Phuket blood center seeks Songkran stocks
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center run by the Thai Red Cross has announced the dates and locations of its mobile blood donation clinics in Phuket and the Andaman Coast region this month. Center director Pornthip Rattajak thanked those who responded to an emergency call for negative blood types last month. There are currently no shortages, but the center wants…
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Phuket tour tragedy “Raging bull’ retired
PHUKET: The male elephant that went berserk and killed a Phuket tourist at Khao Sok National Park on February 22 has been released into a wildlife sanctuary and will no longer be used in the tourism industry, the Phuket Gazette has learned. One of the survivors, Helen Gothe of Australia, said she was told by the general manager of Siam…
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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…
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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