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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Dr Smith’s injuries not life threatening
RANONG: The injuries sustained by Dr Smith Dharmasaroja, Director of the National Disaster Warning Center, during a car accident in Ranong late Wednesday afternoon are not life threatening, the Gazette has learned.A reliable source told the Gazette this morning that Dr Smith can speak, talk, watch television and read newspapers as normal, but he is being kept under close watch…
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Dr Smith injured in Ranong crash
RANONG: While returning to Bangkok from a seminar in Phuket yesterday, National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) Director Dr Smith Dharmasaroja sustained head injuries in a road accident in Ranong. Forty-eight-year-old Somchai Sriplienjan was driving Dr Smith’s blue Mazda BT50 pickup during heavy rain along Route 527 in Pakjun District, Ranong, when he lost control of the vehicle on a curve.…
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“Gee’ ready for senate race
PHUKET CITY: Former senator-elect Thanyarat “Gee” Achariyachai is the only candidate thus far registered to run in the senatorial election to take place in Phuket on March 2. K. Thanyarat arrived at Phuket Community Hall with her husband and supporters on the morning of January 21, the first day of the five-day registration period. She was given candidate number “1”…
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NDWC to install more tsunami-warning buoys
PHUKET CITY: The National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) has finally received 165 million baht from the central government to install two more tsunami-warning buoys in the Andaman Sea. They are to be installed by the middle of this year, NDWC Director Dr Smith Dharmasaroja told a conference in Phuket City on January 21.The conference, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel…
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German caught robbin’ the hood
CHALONG: Jannik Norbert Volz, 19, from Germany, was arrested about 2 am on Sunday while he was attempting to steal a motorbike just after he had stolen a hunting bow and arrows from the Phuket Shooting Range.Police arrested Jannik and charged him with “nighttime theft”, which in Thailand carries a stiffer penalty than robbery in daylight, after he was seen stealing…
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Hotel room tax generates B65m
PHUKET: About 65 million baht in tax on hotel rooms was collected in Phuket in 2007, some 5 million baht more than expected, Anchalee Vanich Tephabutra, president of Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has announced.“Our target was 60 million baht. More tax was collected because we met with a large number of hotel operators and explained to them how the…
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Chalong Circle to be removed?
CHALONG: Motorists in the southern end of the island may soon be missing their favorite landmark as the provincial highways office is considering removing Chalong Circle and installing traffic lights at the five-way junction.Saroj Suwinchai, director of the provincial office of the Highways Department, told the Gazette that the idea behind the proposal is to relieve traffic congestion at the…
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Chairat launches Patong beach food crackdown
PATONG: Patong Municipality has warned Patong beach vendors against cooking and selling food on the beach, saying violators will be arrested.“If we find any vendors selling food on the beach we will arrest them. Only drinks can be sold on the beach and all vendors doing so must pay a tax and trash-collection fee to the municipality,” said Chairat Sukkaban,…
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Marine tourism the cornerstone of 4-year provincial development plan
PHUKET CITY: The provincial government’s next four-year development plan aims to establish the island as a world-class marine tourism destination by 2012 while sustaining annual 10% increases in tourism-industry revenue over the four-year period starting in 2009.The ambitious plan, drawn up by the Governor’s Office, was presented to elected local officials and representatives of government agencies at a meeting at…
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Two tonnes of smuggled beef goes up in flames
PHUKET CITY: Nearly two tonnes of smuggled beef went up in smoke at the Phuket Incinerator in Saphan Hin on Sunday. The meat, worth an estimated 153,600 baht, was from cattle infected with foot-and-mouth disease, said Phuket Vice-Govenor Smith Palawatvichai.Most smuggled meat was from diseased animals and was of low quality, he added.According to a press release issued by the…
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PITO calls for voluntary price freeze
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Internal Trade Office (PITO) on Tuesday called for shops and restaurants to join its Blue Flag voluntary price freeze program, aimed at giving consumers some relief from rising prices. Prices of many everyday necessities have risen in Phuket, reflecting price increases for raw materials, PITO Chief Wassana Utsaharam said. The strong baht has driven up the…
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World-class windsurfers set off on 100km rally
NAI YANG: Thailand’s first international windsurfing rally championship started yesterday as 30 world-class windsurfers from 21 countries set off from Nai Yang Beach in the first of four days of racing covering 100 kilometers.The windsurfers are members of the Eastern Windsurfing Club (EWC), which has teamed up with the Windsurfing Association of Thailand, the Yacht Racing Association of Thailand (YRAT)…
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Full booze ban for Senatorial election
PHUKET: Following final confirmation by the national Election Commission (EC) that voting for the Senatorial election will take place nationwide on March 2, the Phuket Election Committee (PEC) has confirmed that it is 100% ready to conduct the polls – and that the same restrictions on alcohol sales will be in force during both the advance and general polling.Under the…
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Old Phuket Festival canceled
PHUKET CITY: The Old Phuket Festival, originally scheduled to take place along Thalang Rd from February 13 to 15, has been canceled as the nation mourns HRH Princess Galyani Vadhana, who passed away on January 2.The cancellation of what would have been the 10th annual festival follows a request made by the Royal Household Bureau on January 2 for a period…
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2008 telephone book now on sale
PHUKET: The 2008 edition of the Gazette Guide, Phuket’s English-language yellow pages, goes on sale at noon today. The price of the directory is 140 baht. A list of retailers in Phuket, Phang-nga, Krabi, Koh Samui, Pattaya and Bangkok is available here. All businesses listed in the directory are entitled to one copy of the book at 70 baht, a…
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Party for the Little People
PHUKET: Parents around Thailand today have their hands full as the nation celebrates Children’s Day. To mark the annual event, free activities, prizes and entertainment are being held for youngsters around the island. Here, the Gazette has compiled a roundup of where to go and what to do to keep Phuket’s little people entertained on this special day. However, this…
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Kho En “death bend’ roadworks complete by March
MAI KHAO: Roadworks to make the notorious Kho En “death bend” on Thepkrasattri Rd safer are about 40% complete and the section of road should be ready by the end of February, Saroj Suwinchai, director of the provincial office of the Highways Department, has told the Gazette.The Kho En curve is a notorious blackspot that has been the site of several…
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Police release sketches of gold shop bandits
WICHIT: Police are still searching for two men who robbed a gold shop on Chao Fa East Rd Wednesday morning, escaping with jewelry valued at more than a million baht.Phuket City Police Duty Officer Lt Theeradet Jiraksa told the Gazette that the robbery took place about 11 am at Srithong Gold Shop, located by Moom Muang Market, near the entrance…
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Frogman killed in Kata Bay fracas
KARON: Chalong Police are investigating the bizarre killing, apparently in self-defense, of an unknown frogman who attacked a Swiss yacht owner and a Thai woman late Wednesday night.The details of the case, as provided to the media at a press conference yesterday afternoon by Chalong Police Superintendent Col Saman Chainarong, are based on the eye-witness account of 25-year-old Trat native…
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“Crab Bank’ launched in Rassada
RASSADA: In a bid to increase dwindling crab stocks in local waters, the Phuket Provincial Fisheries Office with other government and non-government organizations this morning held a ceremony to launch the island’s first “crab bank”, off the coast of Rassada Village 3.As part of the ceremony, nine monks blessed 250 saffron ribbons, which were tied around mangrove trees lining the…
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Chalong Bay Marina expansion to be scaled back
PHUKET CITY: The second phase of the Chalong Bay Marina project is now being redrawn, following complaints from local fishermen to the National Human Rights Committee that its construction could harm the local environment and destroy their livelihoods. Wasan Panich, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, on January 7 chaired an ad-hoc committee meeting at the Phuket Merlin…
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Holiday season sees B2bn boon for tourism sector
PHUKET: Businesses in Phuket’s tourism sector enjoyed a prosperous festive season, with many hotels fully booked and more than 2 billion baht generated by the industry during the period December 24 through January 2.Runjuan Tongrut, assistant director of Tourism Authority of Thailand Southern Region 4 Office, made the announcement at a press conference on January 2.A large number of Thais and foreigners came to…
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Man murders pregnant girlfriend
PHUKET CITY: An enraged man slashed the throat of his pregnant girlfriend as she was working at a 7-Eleven store in Phuket City at 3:45 am on January 7. He was arrested by police the same day as he was preparing to leave the island.Phuket City Police Superintendent Col Nos Svettalekha identified the victim as 26-year-old Vipaporn Yimaim, a native…
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Jealous man kills ex-wife’s new husband
CHERNG TALAY: A jealous ex-husband allegedly stabbed his former wife’s new husband to death just before dawn on January 5, then fled the scene with the woman.Cherng Talay Police Duty Inspector Pol Lt Col Jessada Sangsuree identified the victim as Rungnapa Sriburam, 31, a native of Kalasin province who was staying on Soi Layan in Cherng Talay Village 6 at the…
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EC to approve Democrat win tomorrow
PHUKET CITY: The Election Commission (EC) will confirm Democrat Party candidates Tossaporn Thepabutr and Rewat Areerob as the winners of the Phuket round of the December 23 general election, the Gazette was told today.A five-member EC team arrived in Phuket on Thursday to investigate a charge lodged by rival candidates claiming that K. Tossaporn’s wife, Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor)…
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Police seek two Burmese for double murder at sea
RASSADA: Police are looking for two Burmese men wanted for the murder of a squid boat owner and his wife, whose bodies were pulled from the sea near Koh Dokmai late last week.The Gazette’s Thai-language affiliate newspaper Kom Chad Luek originally reported that the first body was discovered by fishermen off Koh Dokmai, some 30 kilometers west of Phuket City,…
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“Seven Days of Danger’ leaves 6 dead, 76 injured
PHUKET: The road toll in Phuket during the holiday season “seven days of danger”, from midnight December 28 to midnight last night, stands at six dead and 76 people injured in a total of 72 accidents, Phuket Vice-Governor Tri Augkaradacha was told today.Of the accidents reported during the period, two-thirds were attributed to alcohol and almost all of them involved…
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Police call for witnesses to Rawai horse accident
RAWAI: Police are calling for witnesses to a collision between a horse and a motorbike on Wiset Rd yesterday. The accident occurred about 3:30pm and it is understood that the motorbike had a sidecar. More information is sought to assist in the investigation.The collision, at the entrance to the Phuket Riding Club on Wiset Rd, splintered the horse’s leg bones and a veterinarian…
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Search launched for hotel worker lost at sea
KOH RACHA YAI: Phuket Marine Police are searching for a worker at The Racha resort who was washed overboard when a wave overturned the small catamaran he was sailing on early yesterday evening.Capt Chatchai Sakdee of Phuket Marine Police said that he received the initial report from the Third Area Naval Command. “The incident happened about 7 pm yesterday, about…
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Phi Phi pee turns deadly
KOH PHI PHI DON: An American tourist on holiday at Koh Phi Phi Don fell about five meters to his death after he stopped to relieve himself at a rocky outcrop on the way back to his bungalow after celebrating New Year’s Eve at a local bar.Sub Lt Noppadon Klompong of the Krabi Muang District Police outpost on Koh Phi…
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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