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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Work underway on Patong Hill flooding problem
PHUKET: After almost daily flooding, work is now underway on a ‘permanent solution’ to the chronic drainage problem on the low-lying stretch of Patong Hill road where sinkholes have formed in the past. For our previous reports, click here and here. The Phuket Provincial Highway Department and Patong Municipality are joining forces and funds to complete the 5-million-baht project which…
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Funeral services for Eric Tomlin
PHUKET: Eric Tomlin, founder of Phuket-Villas.com and Lynx Management Group, passed away unexpectedly at the age of 63 last week. A former Cathay Pacific pilot, Mr Tomlin was a pioneer in the development of the upscale villa market on the island. The native of Leicestershire, England is survived by his wife Suchada Chaloemtoem and two young daughters. Cremation services are…
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Murdered woman’s corpse found on Phuket roadside
PHUKET: A man on his commute to work made a gruesome discovery this morning, finding the rotting corpse of a woman stuffed into a suitcase and deposited along Chao Fa Thani Road, behind the new Honda Showroom on Chao Fa West northbound in Wichit. The discovery was made at 9:15am by 35-year-old Prasit Klaigate, an employee of the VSN Service…
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Australian dies in Phuket hotel room
PHUKET: Kathu Police are still uncertain what caused the death of an Australian man in his Patong apartment yesterday. A Kathu Police duty officer identified the body as that of 40-year-old Jamie Thomas Trow. A friend of the deceased, identified only as ‘Mr Eric’, discovered Mr Trow’s body in his second-floor room at the upscale BYD Lofts serviced apartments on…
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Phuket to host travel congress
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: The Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) will hold its 59th Annual Travel Congress (convention and exhibition) in Phuket, from…
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Lithuanian father seeks missing son in Phuket
PHUKET: A Lithuanian man desperate to re-establish contact with his missing son is offering a 25,000-baht reward to anyone who can help him find the young man. The father, 40-year-old Andrej Korkus, was at Kathu Police Station yesterday in search of his 24-year-old son who bears the same name. Mr Korkus Sr said his son, his only child, went to…
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Aussie death plunge in Phuket likely an accident
PHUKET: The expat operators of a Patong hotel have dismissed local media reports suggesting that an Australian man who plunged three floors to his death on the morning of June 10 took his own life following a World Cup dispute with a Thai girlfriend. The death was most likely accidental, they said. According to one media report, 29-year-old Shawn Morris…
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Chalong Police arrest murder suspect
PHUKET: Police have arrested a man wanted for shooting dead an 18-year-old student on Wiset Road in Rawai last week. Chalong Police led by Superintendent Wichit Intorrasorn held a press conference yesterday afternoon to announce the arrest of Thaweesak Sukprasit, 29, who was arrested by police at his home in Chalong Village 7 on Sunday. Also known by the alias…
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Phuket Poll: Patong City sign
PHUKET: Work is underway on a 9-million-baht project to create a large welcome sign on Patong Hill, at the border between Patong and Kathu municipalities. The project, funded under the Thai Khem Kaeng (Strong Thailand) financial stimulus package, has drawn criticism from some quarters. What do you think? Have your say in the latest Phuket Gazette readers’ poll by clicking…
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Readers’ poll: Phuket economy hurt by Bangkok turmoil
PHUKET: Most Phuket Gazette online readers think the political turmoil in April and May seriously harmed Phuket’s economy, the results of the latest readers’ poll reveal. Of 536 readers who took part, 59.7% overall said the protests seriously harmed Phuket’s economy. A smaller percentage, 27.6%, said the events had hurt Phuket’s economy ‘a little’, while 5.2% thought Phuket had not…
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Vice Governor Nivit back in Phuket
PHUKET: New Phuket Vice Governor Nivit Aroonrat is on the job as of today, June 21. V/Gov Nivit comes to Phuket from Sukhothai, where he served as provincial vice governor for almost a year. The 59-year-old native of Phuket brings 35 years of public service experience to the job. He is taking over the position from departing Vice Gov Smith…
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Swede dies in Phuket stairwell fall
PHUKET: A Swedish man died over the weekend of injuries sustained from falling down a flight of stairs at a Phuket apartment block. Chalong Police and rescue workers from the Phuket Ruamjai Kupai Foundation were notified of the death at 11:30am on Saturday. Arriving at the six-story Kata Residence apartments on Patak Road, they found the body of 53-year-old Per…
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Phuket, Chiang Mai launch “exchange tourism’
PHUKET: A 100-strong party of Chiang Mai businessmen, entrepreneurs and government officials will arrive on Phuket on July 4 for a three-day inspection visit with the aim of promoting tourist travel between Phuket and Chiang Mai, and to foster better relations between the tourism businesses of the two holiday destinations. The exchange tourism project was announced yesterday at a meeting…
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Is Phuket business ready for the bulls?
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: Robotic as it is, Phuket NEWS Hound is obedient in the extreme. It never fails to do what Gazette editors…
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Love in Phuket: Thai-foreigner marriages that fail
PHUKET: Thai-foreigner relationships accounted for well over half of all contested divorces in Phuket last year, according to the new chief justice of the Phuket Provincial Juvenile and Family Court (PPJFC). Chief Justice Methinee Thipmonthian said at a press conference earlier this month that in 2009 there were 24 Thai-foreigner divorces contested in Phuket, out of a total 36 cases…
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Abandoned Chinese tourists cry foul in Phuket
CHALONG, PHUKET: A Chinese tour guide is being held in Chalong Police Station after bringing 11 of his countrymen on vacation to Phuket and then abandoning them. The tourists reportedly paid Bo Yang, 31, a total of almost a quarter of a million baht to accompany them from Shanghai on a week-long trip to Bangkok and Phuket. When they awoke…
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Phuket Music Festival returns
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: The Phuket Music Festival will take place next weekend, June 25-26, the Bangkok Post reminds us. Hosted by the Tourism…
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Phuket to go postal over World Cup sweepstakes
PHUKET: If you have business at the post office, here’s a tip: don’t wait until the last few days before the World Cup Final to get it done because the snail mail centers are likely to become beehives buzzing with activity as millions of Thais descend upon them to send off postcards as part of a 40-million-baht World Cup sweepstakes.…
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Phuket Property at awesome prices
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: Trends in property prices in Phuket have not been easy to discern since the end of the “boom” began to…
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Recovery with a spark in Phuket
PHUKET: Freer Richardson, better known to his many Phuket friends as ‘Sparky’, has spent the better part of three months in the government’s Vachira Hospital. He is recovering from surgery that has prevented him from walking. Because he has spent all his available cash on this medical treatment, many of his waking hours are spent wishing for a laptop computer…
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Phuket cops nab debauched bandits
PHUKET: A police dragnet led to the arrest of three young men wanted in connection with numerous cases of armed robbery and sexual assault in Phuket. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Tantipong presented the suspects to the media yesterday, identifying them as Noppon ‘Bell’ Gerdphon, Chaiwut ‘Boy’ Plengsri and Wittawat ‘Tee’ Saenai. All are Phuket residents in their early 20s.…
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British woman, 21, is latest Phuket drowning death
PHUKET: The drowning death of a 21-year-old British woman at Karon Beach over the weekend has left Phuket lifeguards frustrated over the failure of foreign tourists to heed their warnings not to enter the surf when red warning flags are flying. Rebecca Callaghan, from Evesham in Worcestershire, was in Phuket with her boyfriend as part of a holiday that took…
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Work on new Phuket incinerator to start next month
PHUKET: Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana has confirmed that the construction of Phuket’s long-awaited second solid waste incinerator is to begin next month, while a 43-million-baht project to improve the surrounding landfill is now complete. “Construction of the new plant was delayed because the original plans had be to modified for the incinerator to pass the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA)…
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English out of World Cup in Phuket
PHUKET: Authorities in Patong are reportedly cracking down on bars illegally showing World Cup football matches with English-language commentary. A source has told the Gazette that officials last night raided a restaurant that allegedly violated international copyright law by airing broadcasts telecast on the Malaysian-based Astro SuperSport satellite TV network. Astro Supersport is included in packages offered by many local…
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British woman survives macaque attack during Phuket holiday
PHUKET: A British woman with a life-long fear of monkeys was seriously injured by several primates while visiting Monkey Beach on Phi Phi Don Island on May 21. Dee Darwell, 56, arrived in Phuket on May 18 and had a couple of “lovely” days before setting off on a one-day trip to Phi Phi Don and surrounding islands with Siam…
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World Cup update: Day 6
PHUKET: Last night’s play saw the first major upset in the FIFA 2010 World Cup, with Spain falling to underdogs Switzerland 1-0. Chile earned three points by defeating Honduras 1-0, putting them at the top of Group H, alongside Switzerland. Host South Africa’s chances of proceeding to the second round were dimmed when they lost 3-0 to Uruguay. Tonight’s matches:…
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Phuket Court dismisses sex case against PIA teacher
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: ABC News reports that child sexual assault charges against a Tasmanian teacher working in Phuket have been dropped. Andrew Clements,…
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Briton sentenced over stepson’s death in Phuket
PHUKET: A British man sentenced to 18 months in prison for the accidental death of his Thai stepson in 2007 plans to appeal the ruling. The judge ruled that UK national David Murray, 40, used excessive force in trying to discipline his stepson Narid “Curly” Budtharai, who was eight years old when he died of head injuries. The trauma occurred…
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Phuket, Chiang Mai to brainstorm tourism promo strategies
PHUKET: Tourist Authority of Thailand (TAT) offices in Phuket and Chiang Mai will meet with travel agencies in the northern city to brainstorm ways of strengthening links between the two provinces. Sobtana Aunprasert, Assistant Director of the TAT office in Chiang Mai office, announced the meeting will be held June 18 to 20 at Ratilanna Spa Resort. The riverside gathering…
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Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket to open in November
PHUKET: Plunging occupancy rates throughout Thailand has not affected the Centara Hotels & Resorts’ plan to open their latest Phuket resort in November this year, just in time for the start of the next high season. The 1.9-billion-baht Centara Grand Beach Resort Phuket will be the group’s fourth location in Phuket – and its largest. Centara’s Director of Group Marketing…
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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