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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Police booth demolished after fire
PHUKET: A police booth at the intersection of Patipat Rd and Ranong Rd has been demolished after being badly damaged in a fire at 3 am on Saturday.Phuket City Police Station Superintendant Col Paween Pongsirin discounted rumours that the fire had been started by vandals, or by a bomb placed by gangsters. He told the Gazette it was thought the…
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Man drowns while fishing
RAWAI: Chartchai Chumkaew, 27, from Nakorn Sri Thammarat, drowned after being sucked into the sea Friday while fishing near Nai Harn Beach, Rawai. His body was found Sunday by a scuba diving team.K. Chartchai reportedly went fishing among the rocks at Ao Sane Bungalows near Nai Harn Beach. It is thought that a large swell pulled him off the rocks…
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“Bike racer’ found dead in hotel
PHUKET CITY: The body of a 45-year-old New Zealander was discovered in a room at the Phuket Merlin Hotel on June 19, in what police believe was a case of suicide.Terrance Hicks, from Auckland, was found dead at 3 pm, surrounded by discarded pill containers, Pol Lt Thivakorn Kongpeth of Phuket City Police Station told the Gazette.Investigators estimate that Mr Hicks took…
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May sees decrease in road deaths
PHUKET CITY: Official figures from Wachira, Thalang and Patong hospitals, as well as Phuket International and Ruampaet private hospitals show 10 people died in motorcycle accidents on Phuket’s roads during May.In addition, two people were killed in car accidents.The figures represent a decrease of 45% on those for April when 22 people died in Phuket – 18 on motorcycles and three in…
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Tsunami aid payouts top B1bn
PHUKET CITY: The new chief of the Phuket Provincial Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), Boonchai Somjai, yesterday released figures showing that, so far, more than a billion baht has been spent in Phuket on helping people recover from the December 26 tsunami.K. Boonchai, who took up the position of Phuket ODPM chief on Thursday, said that aid from…
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Project aims to reduce landslide problem
PATONG: Construction is due to begin in August on a 3.2-million-baht project aimed at mitigating damage from landslides in Patong.Eight-meter long pipes are to be placed under four points along 50 Pi Rd to funnel water from higher ground into the nearby klong, thus reducing the likelihood of a landslide.If a landslide does occur, it will be stopped, it is…
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Gov airs ideas to boost Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Almost six months after the tsunami, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura is hoping to turn the first anniversary of the disaster into a major public relations coup for the island.At his weekly CEO meeting, Gov Udomsak unveiled a “wish list” of promotional events aimed at attracting the world’s attention. An international beach volleyball competition, a property show, and cancellation of…
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Change of plan delays completion of park
PHUKET CITY: Because of a change of plan, part of a 40-million-baht park being built in honour of HM Queen Sirikit remains a muddy wasteland five months after the main part was finished.Under the original plans, six rai of the 10-rai site, on the south side of Dibuk Rd, was earmarked for the Queen’s Park; three rai was set aside…
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Fake goods make a real good fire
PHUKET CITY: Some 180,300 items of counterfeit goods, worth an estimated 37 million baht, went up in smoke in a mass burning at the solid waste incinerator at Saphan Hin on Tuesday.Presiding over the incineration was Pol Lt Gen Boonrith Rattanaporn, Assistant Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police, accompanied by Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura and Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana.Also…
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Warning to fuel hoarders
PHUKET: The Phuket office of the Department of Internal Trade has warned against hoarding of fuel after the price was increased today by a further 0.40 baht a liter.Officers at the department are worried that people may try to stockpile fuel in case the price rises still further. But, said the office, such stockpiles are a fire risk.Individuals caught hoarding…
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Tsunami alarm system nearly complete
PHUKET: Patong, Kamala and Karon will all have world-standard tsunami alarm systems once the tsunami warning satellite receiver at the Tsunami and Disaster Center (TDC) in Nonthaburi is online.The link is expected to be activated within the coming week.Chairat Sukbal, Deputy Mayor of Patong, told the Gazette that the tsunami alarm system at Patong is ready for connection to the…
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Phuket gets boost at Le Mans
LE MANS, FRANCE: The message that Phuket is still a tropical paradise, and very much open for business, will be taken to a worldwide audience of motor racing fans next weekend, emblazoned along the side of one of the powerful cars racing in the famed Le Mans 24 Hours race.The car has been entered by Kruse Motorsport, whose Team Director,…
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Danish expert puts forward beaches plan
PHUKET: A Danish environmental expert presented a radical plan for the restoration of beaches to Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura on Saturday.Poul Jakobsen, General Manager of the Skagen Innovation Center (SIC), told the Gazette after the meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall, “We are a worldwide environmentally-friendly research company and have come to Phuket to help restore and maintain the beaches from Patong…
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Belgian beauties help tsunami victims
PHUKET: Bang Tao Beach has had more than its fair share of glamor in the past few days as Miss Belgium Beauty 2005, Cynthia Reekmans, along with models Sasja Beullens and Kathleen Claes, posed for fashion photographer Henk Van Cauwenbergh in the shooting of the annual Showbizz calendar.Brigitta Callens, Miss Belgium 1999, and make-up artist, told the Gazette that the Showbizz…
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Similan Islands closure reminder
PHUKET: The Head of the Similan Islands National Park has issued a reminder that the national park remains closed for the monsoon season, after a diveboat chartered for government research sank during a storm. Witthaya Hongwiangchan said that, as was the case every year, the park is closed from May 15 to November 15. He explained, “The southwest monsoon causes…
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Airport boss uneasy over zero landing fees
PHUKET (Gazette/The Nation): The Director of Phuket International Airport has expressed reservations over a proposal to waive landing fees until the end of this year in an attempt to boost post-tsunami tourism.Tourism and Sports Minister Somsak Thepsuthin told reporters last week that lifting landing fees at Phuket and Krabi airports could help in the recovery of tourism in the two…
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“Slow’ ODPM boss transfered
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM) Chief Nakorn Tipsat has been transfered to Surat Thani after failing to meet a deadline to present Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura with a report on the ODPM’s response to the tsunami.On June 5, the Governor gave K. Nakhon three days to present him with a report on what the ODPM had done…
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Dragonair to close Phuket office
PHUKET: In another indication of the sad state of tourism on the island, Hong Kong-based Dragonair has announced that it will close its Phuket City office, on Phang Nga Rd, on June 15.Sutthisak Pungtamawatthanakun, Manager of Dragonair Phuket, explained that flights between Hong Kong and Phuket were suspended on January 5 due to the “post tsunami effect” and that unrest…
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Writer recalls last moments of doomed diveboat
PHUKET: Gazette diving writer Chris Cruz has described the dramatic moments before the dive boat he was on capsized and sank during a heavy storm on Tuesday, leaving a Thai woman dead.The 24-meter Bubble Blue, with 18 people on board, was several hours into the seven-hour journey from Chalong port to the Similan Islands when it was caught in bad…
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Phuket to host gay festival rejected by Singapore
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has given the green light for the province to host Asia’s largest gay and lesbian festival, the Nation Party, after the organizers’ application for a license to hold the annual event in Singapore was turned down. The three-day festival will now be held in Phuket, starting November 4.The festival, organized by the website Fridae.com,…
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Local politicians to the rescue
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has invited the country’s other 75 OrBorJor to attend a meeting in August aimed at giving a boost to the island’s tourism industry.Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, President of the PPAO, said that last year’s tsunami disaster has had an extremely negative influence on Phuket’s tourism, especially in the low-season months. Average hotel occupancy in June…
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Maid of money
PHUKET CITY: A woman who, in a three-year spree, allegedly robbed at least 15 homes of as much as 570,000 baht apiece, has been caught in a police sting.The woman, named as Jirapa “Ying” Pasomsub, 34, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, got into the homes by answering advertisements for a maid. Once in a home she would work for a few…
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Diveboat sinks: one dead
PHUKET: One person died when a diveboat capsized and sank 40 kilometers off the coast of Phuket in a storm this morning.The 24-meter liveaboard boat Bubble Blue, from the Khao Lak-based dive business of the same name, was travelling from Phuket to the Similan Islands to carry out a survey of coral reefs when it was hit by a four-meter…
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Storm forces flights to turn back
PHUKET: Driving rain and strong winds forced several scheduled flights to abort their landings at Phuket International Airport this morning.An officer at Phuket International Airport, who spoke to the Gazette on condition of anonymity, said that the strong winds forced pilots of four flights to abort their landings at the airport because they were not confident that it was safe…
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Canadian child-molester ordered deported
PATONG: A court has ordered Canadian teacher Jocelyn Leblanc deported after he confessed to charges of sexually molesting a child under 15 years of age.The 66-year-old teacher of the English language supposedly confessed to having smothered his penis with honey in order to entice a five-year-old boy to perform oral sex on him last February. Pol Col Teeraphol Thipjaroen, Superintendent…
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209 arrested in May for gambling
PHUKET CITY: Gambling topped the Phuket Provincial Police list of arrests made between May 1 and May 30, with 209 people taken into custody.Of the arrests, 10 were for involvement in illegal lottery operations while the other 199 were held for what the police describe as “other” gambling.Possession of illegal drugs resulted in 80 arrests – down from 93 in…
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Irish present book of condolences
PHUKET CITY: Helene Fallon Wood, representing the Irish Ambassador to Thailand, handed over a signed book of condolences to Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura at Phuket Provincial Hall today.“This book came from County Galway, on the west coast of Ireland.” said Ms Wood. “Shortly after the events of December 26 last year the Lord of Galway instituted this book. Many hundreds…
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Call for second trash incinerator
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura has asked the government for one billion baht to build a second incinerator at Saphan Hin, to help deal with the province’s growing mountain of waste.Gov Udomsak said he has applied to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for the required funding.He said, “Phuket has a big environmental problem. As the number of tourists…
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Phuket Air hires “best practice’ experts
BANGKOK: Problem-plagued Phuket Air has recruited a British provider of safety training to instill “best practice” throughout every level of its operations.The deal between Phuket Air and training and development company The Human Factor was announced in London by the founder of The Human Factor, ex-British Royal Air Force pilot George Duncan, and Phuket Air Executive Vice-President Captain Chawanit Chiamcharoenvut.It…
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Three new public parks planned
PHUKET: The island may get three new public parks under the Cabinet’s “One Tambon, One Park” initiative.The Phuket office of the Royal Forestry Department is to ask its national HQ at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives for permission to create “Pa Bangkanun” in Tambon Thepkrasattri, Thalang District; “Khao Toh Se” in Tambon Rassada, Muang District, and “Khao Phanthurat” in…
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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