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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Manhunt for Phuket maid murderer
PHUKET: Police say they know the identity of the man who stabbed a house maid to death at a luxury home Thalang last week and expect to make an arrest “soon”. The murder was reported to Tah Chat Chai Police on Thursday night by 50-year-old Khwanjai Aroonjareornkul, owner of the luxury home near the border to Sirinath National Park where…
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FC Phuket crush Chumphon FC, 5-1
PHUKET: Coming off a tough 2-0 home loss to Yala, Phuket’s proud new football club, FC Phuket, regrouped with a 5-1 win at home over hapless Chumphon FC yesterday. FC Phuket took the lead 18 minutes into play with a nice left-footed shot from in front of the goal by Sarach Yooyen. Some scrappy play ensued, with Thawin Butrsombat suffering…
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Miss Thailand World 2010 contestants grace Phuket
PHUKET: Thirty hopeful contestants in the Miss Thailand 2010 pageant paid a visit to the new OTOP outlet at Saphan Hin Friday morning, getting a warm welcome from Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) President Paiboon Upatising and fellow PPAO members. Located near the Mining Monument, the One Tambon One Product (OTOP) outlet is a PPAO project built in part of…
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Phuket Town wins international development award
PHUKET: Phuket City Municipality has received an award in the category of ‘Promoting Economic Development’. The accolade has been granted in recognition of the municipality’s ‘Old Town’ project. Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwanasupana said the municipality was also cited as one of 16 “exemplars of good government” by a group of institutions. The group includes the Thai Environmental Institute; Germany’s…
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Greater Phuket: Phang Nga hit by tough new zoning law
PHUKET: New ministerial regulations covering booming west coast areas in the south of Phang Nga aim to slow the number or new large-scale hotel and residential developments being built on prime oceanfront land in the area. Areas affected by the new regulations include parts of Khok Kloy in Takua Thung District, just across the Sarasin Bridge from Phuket, as well…
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Giant Clam in peril in Phuket waters
PHUKET: Fisheries experts are trying to find ways to culture hardier types of giant clams in order to make the huge mollusks better able to cope with rising sea temperatures, the state-run Thai News Agency has reported. Kongkiat Kittiwattawong, a researcher with the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), said giant clams in local waters face a variety of natural and…
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Tourist death prompts Phuket lifeguard warning
PHUKET: The death of Romanian tourist Gheorghe Paulive, who died after being pulled from dangerous surf at Karon on Tuesday, has prompted angry Phuket lifeguards to call for more cooperation from hotels in helping to warn guests about dangerous surf conditions.Mr Paulive, 35, was pulled from the surf near the Karon Princess Hotel at around 11am on Tuesday.He was pronounced…
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Laguna Phuket hold charity raffle
PHUKET: A unique painting valued at 60,000 baht by acclaimed Australian artist Chris Hogan will be raffled off to raise funds for Laguna Phuket Foundation’s Developing Sustainable Schools program. Chris is currently Artist in Residence at Laguna Phuket’s Summer Family Festival. The raffle draw will be the centerpiece of the festival’s “Art Party” in Canal Village on July 31, when…
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TONIGHT! ‘Patong Cocktail Marathon 2010’ starts in Phuket
PHUKET: Bartenders will be center stage in Patong over the next 10 days as Soi Bangla hosts the “Patong Cocktail Marathon 2010″ competition that kicks off tonight. Although the name may sound like a binge drinking competition, the real intent is to showcase the considerable skills of the legions of bartenders who work in bars and pubs all over Thailand.…
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Fanelli arrest: Phuket Police to share Bt50,000 reward
PHUKET: Police investigators will share the 50,000 baht reward money offered for clues leading to the arrest of Ronald Fanelli, Phuket City Police say.Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit told the Gazette this morning that several people offered tips to the police and photos of people they suspected might be responsible, but that none of those led to the arrest…
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Phuket Poll: Do foreign tourists respect Thai culture?
PHUKET: The Gazette last week reported that the discovery of a Buddha image converted by a foreigner to serve as a garden fountain sparked a crackdown by the Phuket Culture Ministry office. The head of that office, Tawichart Intorrarit, commented that many foreigners who visit Phuket seem to understand little about Thai culture. Do you think foreign tourists who visit…
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Phuket tourism is unsustainable: readers’ poll
PHUKET: More than two-thirds of the respondents to a Phuket Gazette poll believe that the current state of Phuket’s tourism is unsustainable. Respondents were given the definition of sustainable tourism as “an industry committed to making a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate future employment for local people”. Of the 435 readers who took…
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Phuket wastewater won’t stink
KAMALA: Residents in Kamala were informed at a public hearing on July 7 that the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report needed to build a 350-million-baht battery of underground wastewater treatment facilities is now complete. The project only needs final approval from the provincial review board and funding to move forward. Kamala Deputy Mayor Santi Auttasup chaired the final public hearing,…
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Miss Thailand World contestants in Phuket for ‘training’
PHUKET: Thirty Miss Thailand World 2010 contestants are at the Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket as part of a four-day “training camp” to prepare for the pageant, which will be televised live from Bangkok on the night of August 14. Apart from learning everything they will need to know to succeed in the beauty competition, the contestants will also do some…
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Phuket wins direct flights from Beijing
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. PHUKET: Hainan Airlines is preparing to launch non-stop flights to Phuket from Beijing on July 31, becoming the first and only domestic carrier to offer such a service. According to China Hospitality News, the fourth-largest carrier in China will…
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Fears of HFMD outbreak in Phuket
PHUKET: With more than 70 children in Phuket having contracted Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD) already this year, Phuket City Municipality has issued an advisory urging parents to beware of the highly contagious malaise. Nittaya Panchamedithee, an officer at the municipality’s health section, said, “There is more chance of an outbreak in the rainy season as the virus can…
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Son-in-law sought over Phuket home blaze
PHUKET: A Kalim man whose home burned to the ground early Sunday morning suspects the blaze was intentionally set by his son-in-law as an act of revenge. Kathu Police Duty Inspector Jakkapong Luang-aon received a report of a fire on Phra Barami Road, Soi 6 in Kalim at about 1:15am on Sunday. By the time police and 15 Patong Municipality…
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Bt1.5 billion needed for Phuket underpass projects
PHUKET: Three public hearings have resulted in firm decisions as to what shape three major road projects on the bypass road will take, if 1.55 billion baht in funding is made available for them. The final meeting, held late last month at The Metropole hotel, was chaired by Vice Governor Nivit Aroonrat. Also presenting information and fielding questions were Kasem…
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Puppy pity powers Phuket pair up Mt Kinabalu
PHUKET: In a bid to raise money for charity, two Phuket sisters made it 3,560 meters up Borneo’s Mount Kinabalu in the early hours of Thursday morning. Kasia Sambrook, 9, and her sister Alicia, 6, were the only children in a group of 174 climbers attempting the two-day climb to the 4,095-meter summit, the fourth highest peak in the Malay…
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Phuket Architect & Engineering Exhibition starts July 29
PHUKET: Royal Phuket City Hotel will host the 10th annual Architect & Engineering Exhibition 2010 from July 29 to August 1. Open daily from 11am to 8am, the expo will feature exhibits of the latest breakthroughs in construction, interior design and building maintenance technology. A wide variety of construction materials from more than 100 manufacturers will be on display, including…
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Food poisoning outbreak hits Phuket school
PHUKET: Some 120 students from Prachanukroh 36 School in Kamala were treated for food poisoning at the local public health clinic on Sunday. Instructors and school officials rushed the students to the nearby Kamala Public Health Clinic, but overwhelmed staff there transferred the group to the better equipped Patong Hospital. Twenty-five of the ill-at-ease group were admitted for immediate treatment…
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Phuket neighbors describe Finelli as quiet, reserved
PHUKET: Neighbors of confessed murderer Ronald Finelli said he and his family kept to themselves and didn’t have close relations with anyone in the residential estate where they lived for about one year prior to his sudden disappearance. The killing of 33-year-old bar hostess Wanphen Pienjai occurred at a two-story townhouse in the recently-built Tantong Villas estate, opposite the entrance…
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Briton, 29, dies in Phuket suicide plunge
PHUKET: A British man fell to his death from a Patong hotel yesterday in what Phuket Police believe was an act of suicide. Case officer Nitikorn Rawang of the Kathu Police identified the deceased as 29-year-old Mark Edward Stevens of the United Kingdom. Police were notified by hotel staff that a man fell to his death from atop a hotel…
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Yala FC shock FC Phuket, 2-0
PHUKET: FC Phuket lost 2-0 at home to Yala yesterday in a surprise result that is a setback to their otherwise impressive bid to win the Football Association of Thailand’s Division Two South title. FC Phuket went into the game at the top of the table having taken maximum points from every home match so far this season. Yala, by…
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American confesses to murder of Phuket bar hostess
PHUKET: The American man arrested for the murder of bar hostess Wanphen Pianjai has confessed to charges, police say. Ronald Fanelli, 36, was arrested by a team of officers led by Police Region 8 Commander Weerasak Meenawanich early yesterday evening at his newly-rented home in Karon. The successful manhunt was one of the most intense in Phuket in recent years,…
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Wanphen Pienjai murder: American arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Police last night arrested an American man for last month’s brutal stabbing murder of bar hostess Wanphen Pienjai. Phuket City Police Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit this afternoon confirmed the identity of the suspect as 36-year-old Ronald Fanelli, a US citizen. Mr Fanelli was arrested at his home in the Thanthong Village housing estate in Chalong at about 6pm last…
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‘Close Quarters’ wins Phuket Raceweek Photo Contest
PHUKET: With this year’s Six Senses Phuket Raceweek getting underway Wednesday, the Phuket Gazette is proud to announce the winner of this year’s Phuket Raceweek Amateur Photo Contest.Simon Andrews won with his photo “Close Quarters” showing two yachts in very close proximity as they prepare to round a mark mid-race, capturing in an instant just how competitive yacht racing can…
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Phuket gov warns businesses over trading in stolen goods
PHUKET: Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop on Wednesday took time out from his regular schedule to focus his attention on stolen goods being traded in Phuket. Addressing about 300 business operators at a special seminar held to brief shop owners on their legal obligations under the Auction Sale and Antique Sale Control Act BE 2474, Governor Wichai said, “If the [business] operators…
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Phuket tsunami buoy: recovery mission launched today
PHUKET: Thailand’s early warning system for tsunamis has taken a big step backward with the revelation that its only tsunami direct detection buoy is not only inoperable, but adrift on the high seas. Royal Thai Navy warship Bang Pakong 456 was due to leave its port at Phang Nga Naval Base late this afternoon in a bid to locate the…
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Oh my Buddha! Culture crackdown underway in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket office of the Ministry of Culture is on the lookout for the inappropriate use of Buddha images following the shocking revelation that one foreign restaurant owner modified a Buddha image to serve as a garden fountain – one that spouted water from the crown of its head. Phuket Culture Office director Tawichart Intorrarit said on Wednesday that…
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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