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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Businessman ordered off SorPorKor land
PHUKET: The Phuket Appeal Court today overturned a judgment of the Provincial Court and ordered Phuket businessman Narong Nopdara to vacate 21 rai of land in the Nakkerd Hills in Karon.The successful appeal was launched by the Phuket Land Reform Office (ALRO), which argued that Narong was not entitled to occupy land issued under the SorPorKor land reform program, which…
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Push to get tourists to shop till they drop
PHUKET CITY: As part of a drive to get tourists to do more shopping while in Phuket, the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) will stage an exhibition of Phuket batik designs on July 30 and 31 on the second floor of the Big C supercenter.Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of the local office of the TAT, said that Thailand currently receives income…
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15 minutes of fame evaporates
PHUKET: Bangkok-based film company Hub Ho Hin has canceled all roles offered to Phuket residents for the movie Jaew (Operation Maid), starring Pornchita “Benz” na Songkhla, because a decision has been made to film location shots in Chiang Mai instead of Phuket. Jarunee “Maew” Boonsake, second assistant director on the movie, explained, “The director, Yongyuth Thongkongtoon, has decided to shoot…
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Hotels president slams oil pipeline plan
NAI YANG: Vichit Na Ranong, a former senator and current President of the Thai Hotels Association, yesterday spoke out against the oil pipeline slated to be built in Phang Nga, saying, “It will ruin all tourism here and we will never get it back.”Speaking at the opening of the new convention facilities at his Pearl Village Hotel in Nai Yang,…
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OrBorJor sets up planning board
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has set up a committee of professional town planners and architects to study ways in which Phuket’s development can be better regulated. The committee, which will work together with the Phuket Public Works and Town Planning Office, will focus initally on architectural issues.At an open meeting of the OrBorJor on July 16,…
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TAT boss raps Phuket’s failings
BANGKOK: Suwalai Pinpradab, Director of the local office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), said that the goal of Phuket becoming a truly ‘world-class’ destination is a pipe dream unless a variety of problems are dealt with.These, she said, include high-volume, low-paying tourists; poor service in all sectors of the hospitality industry; and a crumbling natural environment.Speaking with the…
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“Cyber Paradise’ training begins
PATONG: The Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) yesterday launched a two-week seminar with the aim of training software programmers in Thailand to develop open source software for Thai small-to-medium enterprises (SMEs).Forty programmers from Phuket, Chiang Mai and Khon Kaen assembled at the Patong Merlin Hotel, where software developer David Jones explained how to develop the commerce-focused open-source software OFBiz.Mr Jones is…
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Giant Buddha gets go-ahead
KARON: Construction of the controversial Mingmongkol Buddha image atop Nakkerd Hill will resume next month, now that the Royal Forest Department (RFD) has issued a paper authorizing work on the project to continue.The authorization stipulates that the project remain in compliance with the original plan and that steps be taken to minimize further erosion at the project site.Work on the…
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British teacher stabbed
PHUKET CITY: A young British man is recovering in Wachira Phuket Hospital intensive care unit after being stabbed late on Friday. A motorcycle taxi driver found Aden Simpson, 21, who is a teacher at Satree Phuket School, lying bloody and unconscious at the side of the road near the Mission Hospital at about 5 am on Saturday, hours after the…
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Korean telecoms giant enters Phuket IT market
PHUKET: South Korea’s largest fixed-line telecommunications provider, KT Corp, has entered the Thai IT market with a 98-million-baht deal to install 5,000 ADSL ports, providing broadband Internet access, in Phuket. The contract is part of the TOT’s expansion of Internet services, a key component of the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Ministry’s push to make Phuket an “ICT City”. Speaking…
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Fishy business: two arrested
THA CHAT CHAI: Local police and fishery officials seized more than 1,000 protected tropical fish as they were about to be transported off the island by truck on Friday morning. Acting on a tip off, Tha Chat Chai Police and officials from the Phuket Provincial Fishery Office (PPFO) stopped a blue pick-up at the Tha Chat Chai checkpoint. The vehicle…
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American found dead in Patong hotel
PATONG: Police are investigating the death of 43-year-old American Chris John Beyer, who was found dead at the Expat Hotel on Thursday with his hands bound and a black garbage bag over his head. Housekeepers discovered the body about two days after noting a rank odor in room 120, where Mr Beyer had been staying since July 9. Expat Hotel…
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Free HIV treatment launched
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Social Insurance Office today announced its part in the first publicly-funded scheme to make medicine available free to HIV-positive people following the scheme’s launch on the penultimate day of the XV International Aids Conference in Bangkok. As of August 1, Thais registered as resident in a province or foreigners registered for social security will be able…
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Phummisak offers Chao Fa City as ICEC site
PHUKET: In what appears to be an attempt to break the deadlock over where to site the International Exhibition and Convention Center (ICEC), Phummisak Hongsyok has offered to earmark 200 rai of his recently announced Chao Fa City development for it.K. Phummisak, former Mayor of Phuket City and Managing Director of Anuphas & Sons, which owns the land where Chao…
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Pa Khlok candidates deny big party links
THALANG: Leaders of the two parties running in the Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) elections to be held on July 25 have denied links with major national parties. The upcoming elections will be the first time that Pa Khlok residents will have an opportunity to vote directly for who they want as President. There are 40 candidates contesting 18…
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Thai Airways extends discount period
BANGKOK: Thai Airways (THAI) has announced that it is extending its “Smile around Thailand” discount fares campaign until September 30 due to keen interest from the travelers. Viset Sontichai, THAI’s District Sales Manager for Upper Southern Thailand, told the Gazette that the price of the tickets is at least 20% cheaper than standard fares. There are, however, conditions attached. Passengers…
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Provincial governors “should levy taxes’
BANGKOK: Former Phuket Governor Chadej Insawang, now Secretary of the newly-formed Mahachon Party, which will contest national elections in February, has advocated sweeping devolution of tax-raising powers from Bangkok to the provinces. Speaking with the Gazette in an exclusive intereview, K. Chadej said, “Giving provincial governers the responsibility to set budgets for essential services rather than [only] administer them will…
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Phummisak reveals plan for new town
PHUKET: Phummisak Hongsyok, having stepped down as mayor of one town – Phuket City – is now planning to build his own town: a community glorying in the name of Chao Fah City. The new town will rise on 1,510 rai of currently empty land between the Prince of Songkhla University campus and Kwang Rd. K. Phummisak, Managing Director of…
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Pirate goods seized in Patong
PATONG: Kathu Police seized about 1,000 pirate copies of designer shoes, handbags and clothing on Thursday afternoon and arrested one vendor. Undercover officers posing as customers bought a pair of sport shoes from a vendor operating along Thaweewong Road. She was identified as Pichamon Somji, 25, of Surat Thani. K. Pichamon was arrested and charged with selling goods in violation…
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CAT slashes international call rates
PHUKET: The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) has announced a promotion whereby it has slashed to six baht a minute its charges on international calls to 30 countries, regardless of what time of the day the call is made. The discounted rates apply to calls to: the US, the UK, Canada, Germany, Australia, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Belgium,…
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Stray dog round-up suspended
THALANG: The mass round-up of Phuket’s stray dogs – which began on June 18 – has been suspended amid problems including budget overspending, escaping dogs, and a small number of the 200-plus strays at the pound being “liberated” by their former neighborhood feeders. Veterinarian Dr Weerapab Termkiatpaisarn, the head of round-up program at Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO), told the…
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Yanui remains confirmed as missing dive instructor
RAWAI: Autopsy results have confirmed that the skeletal remains recovered at Yanui beach on June 10 are those of missing Dutch dive instructor David Wiewel, who disappeared on March 26 after leaving his Kata home to take a walk. Supatra Wiewel, wife of the deceased, told the Gazette that the bones had been cremated in Phuket after the Police Department’s…
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Duo arrested for snatching
PHUKET CITY: Two young men were arrested yesterday on charges of snatching and receiving stolen property. Police said that Sampan “Ab” Pantunit, 18, and Prakij “Tum” Nariwandee, 20, confessed to snatching a variety of items from their victims but denied receiving stolen goods. Also arrested was the unnamed owner of the SR mobile phone shop on Damrong Rd, who was…
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Investigators check 400 rai of land
Phuket City: Police from Bangkok and Phuket, and officials from the Land Development Department (LDD) today examined 14 plots of land in the Punturat Hills, next to the bypass road, that are suspected of having illegal land documents.The 14 plots, totalling about 400 rai, purportedly belong to members of the Srisansuchart family and their associates. The papers name the owners…
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Frenchman drowns at Karon Beach
KARON: A 45-year-old Frenchman drowned while swimming in heavy seas off Karon Beach this morning. Police named the victim as Michael Marcon. Boona Sritong, Mr Marcon’s girlfriend, told police that she had warned him that the waves looked too heavy to swim in but that he had ignored her warning. Pol Maj Anek Mongkol of Chalong Police Station told the…
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Seven hotels get official star ratings
PHUKET: Seven Phuket hotels have been assigned star ratings under a new classification system set up jointly by the Thai Hotels Association (THA), the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA). The announcement was made by the new certifying body, the zippily-named Foundation of Standards and Human Resource Development in the Service and Tourism Industry,…
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Malaysians arrested for credit card fraud
PHUKET CITY: Police arrested two Malaysians at the Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel on Thursday for using fake credit cards and charge cards. Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, explained that the American Express office in Bangkok had notified police in Phuket that the men were known to be on the island and that they were wanted…
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Rawai Beach vendors evicted
RAWAI: Provincial officials today evicted some 20 stall owners from the Rawai beachfront in a swift conclusion to a long-drawn-out battle to clean up the view. Using an excavator, the eviction crew, led by Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura, took a matter of hours to clear the illegal shops, in stark contrast with almost two years of promises by the Rawai Tambon…
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BGH to take over Bangkok Phuket Hospital
PHUKET: Bangkok Dusit Medical Service Plc, better known by its stock market moniker BGH, is to buy 51% of shares in the privately-owned Bangkok Phuket Hospital (BPH), giving it 100% ownership of the medical facility. The move is part of a grand strategy – BGH is also buying out the remaining 67% of shares in affiliate Samitivej Plc and the…
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Police kill “50-hit’ assassin in shoot-out
TRANG: The fugitive ex-policeman wanted in connection with the murders of Prasert and Thavorn Trairat, the parents of Thepkrasattri Mayor Prasong Trairat, was killed by police in Trang early this morning after a high-speed chase during which a grenade was thrown, followed by a 12-hour manhunt in a forest and a final gun battle. Police, who have been searching for…
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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