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 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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‘It was an accident’: Wanphen’s killer tells Phuket press
PHUKET: Retired US Navy serviceman Ronald Fanelli, who confessed to stabbing to death bar hostess Wanphen Pienjai last month, described the killing as a “terrible accident”, saying he never intended to harm her. Clean-shaven and appearing somewhat disoriented, Ronald Fanelli, 37, was presented in handcuffs to the media at a press conference chaired by Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong…
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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 found, recovery underway
PHUKET: After being adrift nearly a month and a half, Thailand’s tsunami direct detection buoy was discovered by Royal Thai Navy warship Bang Pakong 456 at about 6:30 this morning. Commodore Suchart Thammapitakwaech, Director of the Naval Civil Affairs Department at the Royal Thai Navy Third Naval Area Command at Cape Panwa, confirmed the buoy was located 194 nautical miles…
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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…
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Saphan Hin short cut: Phuket road project approved
PHUKET: Following a successful public hearing process, Phuket City Municipality will move forward with a project to build a new road connecting Chao Fa East Road to Saphan Hin. The final public hearing, organized jointly by the Department of Rural Roads and Phuket City Municipality, was held at the project site on the afternoon of July 8. About 100 people…
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Kusoldharm Phuket protest update
PHUKET: The Kusoldharm Foundation’s board met on Wednesday to address the recent protest by some of its volunteer rescue workers, but have yet to release any information about the meeting’s conclusions. Embattled Kusoldharm Foundation President Benjawan Tamphanuwat told the Gazette by telephone yesterday that she did not want to comment on the dispute at the time, but that the board…
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Phuket Police take down another drug dealing ring
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have arrested a man and his pregnant girlfriend for drug dealing, seizing over 1,000 ya bah (methamphetamine pills) in the process. The arrests were announced at a press conference at Phuket City Police Station this morning. Presenting the suspects were Phuket Provincial Police Commandaer Pekad Tantipong and Phuket City Police Superintendant Wanchai Ekpornpit. The arrests resulted…
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Phuket teens at risk from illegal abortions
PHUKET: A warning issued by the head of the Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) indicates that illegal abortions are quite common in Phuket. PPHO Director Narinrach Pichyakamin recently told the state-run Thai News Agency that many of the cases involved teenage girls who have abortions without their parents knowledge or permission. Women getting illegal abortions risk complications including hemorrhage, renal…
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Phuket Gazette reader finds runaway boy in Patong
PHUKET: A runaway boy was safely reunited with his family yesterday after being spotted in Patong by a sharp-eyed Phuket Gazette reader. The reader, a Malaysian-born US citizen named Shain from San Diego, contacted the Gazette by email this morning. He spotted the boy, 13-year old Anuchit “Erk” Tan-a-pirom, selling fireworks by the side of the beach road in Patong.…
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Phuket Immigration launches on-line alien tracking project
PHUKET: Phuket Immigration will conduct a training session for hotel staff and apartment owners taking part in an Internet-based tracking system of foreigners living in Phuket. Phuket Immigration Superintendent Panuwat Ruamrak said his office is already at work creating a database of accommodation establishments catering to foreigners. Owners of these establishments will then be able to more easily report the…
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Murdered Wanphen cremated in Phuket
PHUKET: The body of slain bar hostess Wanphen Pienjai was cremated at a small ceremony at Wat Kitti Sangkaram (Wat Kata) at noon today. The simple ceremony was attended by about 10 friends and relatives of the deceased, whose remains were discovered stuffed into a suitcase in a remote area off Chao Fa Thani Rd in Wichit on the morning…
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Ad Carabao, ‘Parn’ give free concert in Phuket today
PHUKET: Central Festival Phuket and HomeWorks are holding a free concert this afternoon featuring Ad Carabao and RS Promotions recording artist Thanaporn “Parn” Waekprayoon. The Ministry of Culture last July named Parn as Thailand’s best female singer. Mr Carabao’s musical achievements are the stuff of legend, but he is perhaps best known among foreign residents for the song “Welcome to…
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Phuket pressure drop: No water in Patong tomorrow
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) has announced it will cut off water supply to customers in Patong from 9am to midnight tomorrow. The stoppage is required to allow workers to conduct maintenance work and install water meters on Phra Barami Road Soi 2 and the area around Suwankiriwong Temple junction. Affected areas will include virtually all of Patong,…
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Phuket packaged in smiles by Nok
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. PHUKET: Nok Air has relaunched its Smile Packages to Phuket, but this time they are grouped into categories — ‘Free and Easy’, Adventure’, ‘Discovery’ and ‘Sightseeing’. The promotion is valid until September 30. According to TTR Weekly, the packages…
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Phuket Ironman scales Mont Blanc; then goes off to swim The Channel
PHUKET: Ironman athlete Les Bird made it safely to the 4,810 meter summit of Europe’s highest mountain, Mont Blanc, on Saturday. He spent the next two days getting back down. For our previous report click here: British-born Les and climbing partner Harry Taylor arrived back at their base camp in the Chamonix Valley on Monday. But before he could even…
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Old Phuket Town cable project: phase II starts in August
PHUKET: Having passed the public hearing process with almost unanimous approval, the second phase of the project to bury electric cables in Old Phuket Town will get underway in August, with scheduled completion in March 2011. The project contractor will have 240 days to complete the 57.4-million-baht job, which will cover: – 250 meters of Krabi Road, between Yaowarat and…
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Five murders in Phuket in June
PHUKET: June proved a murderous month for Phuket as a wave of violent crime swept across the island with five murders and 14 cases of manslaughter being reported, according to the latest crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police. Among the unsolved cases is that of the murder of bar hostess Wanphen Pienjai, 33, whose naked body was discovered…
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Phuket hotels urged to discount
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. PHUKET: The Thai Hotels Association (THA) will launch a Buy-One, Get-One-Free promotion this month to match the time frame of the Amazing Thailand Grand Sale 2010, TTR Weekly reports. Phuket hotels are being encouraged to participate in the promotion.…
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Family file assault charges against Phuket policeman
PHUKET: The parents of a teenage boy are considering legal action against a Phuket policeman they allege assaulted their son outside a municipal school in Phuket Town. Anchada Tabkrai visited the Phuket Reporters’ Club office at Phuket Provincial Hall at about 2.30pm on Thursday to announce that her son, 15-year-old Atthaporn Tubklai, was hit on the head repeatedly by the…
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FC Phuket beat Pattani FC, 3-1
PHUKET: FC Phuket came three points closer to their dream of promotion with a strong 3-1 win on the road at Pattani yesterday. The road win, the Southern Sea Kirin’s first this year, came as the second-place Satun United “Witch Doctors” were unable to work their magic against Surat Thani FC, going down 3-1 on the road. Surat Thani FC…
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Phuket Amateur Golf Open on Sunday
PHUKET: Following an impressive debut by 12-year-old Newport Lapojkit, the second round of the Phuket Amateur Golf Open is set to tee off next Sunday, July 18 at Loch Palm Golf Club in Kathu. The tournament will be the second in a series of 11 to determine the best amateur golfer in Phuket. The first and second place winners in…
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IP crackdown underway in Phuket
PHUKET: A Crime Suppression Division (CSD) intellectual property rights unit from Bangkok is leading local police in crackdowns on intellectual property (IP) violators in Phuket this weekend. Officers at Phuket City Police Station last night were busy counting up a large haul of counterfeit CDs, DVDs and music videos seized in a raid on four stalls at the Phuket Variety…
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Phuket named best Asian yachting capital
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. World Cup? Get instantaneous scores and news updates right here on the Gazette Online (fed directly from FIFA). PHUKET: Phuket, voted as the Best Asian Maritime Capital 2010 in May, will bring in US$306 million in revenue from boating…
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World Cup: Phuket likes Spain over Holland
PHUKET: There was a lot of activity at the Phuket post offices this morning as people from all walks of life dropped off batches of postcards bearing their picks on who will win the World Cup 2010 final that kicks off in South Africa at 1:30am on Monday. A clear majority think Spain will win the match. The punters are…
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Honda Phuket Bt50m renovation complete
PHUKET: Anticipating continued strength in local auto sales, Honda of Phuket has invested some 50 million baht to renovate its dealership on Phang Nga Rd in Phuket Town. The new facility’s service bays enable maintenance of up to 40 vehicles per day. Montri Hongyok, managing director of Anuphas Wiwitgarn Co Ltd, said: “Renovation of the showroom and service center are…
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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