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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Bars urged to close on Tuesday
PHUKET: Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon has ordered all Governors to urge bars and nightclubs to close on Tuesday, and to request businesses in their provinces to refrain from selling alcohol between noon and midnight on that day. Tuesday is Makha Bucha Day, commemorating the Patimoke Sermon by the Buddha and the first occasion on which a Buddhist monk attained Nirvana.…
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Woman fined for seeking donations
PATONG: A 57-year-old Ukranian woman has been fined 100 baht for soliciting donations from tourists without permission. Police said the woman, whom they named as Nipa Vira Panchuk, had been seeking donations for a religious organization, and told them she did not realize permission was required. Pol Lt Serm Kwannimit, of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that other foreigners…
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Three accused of B1.9m fraud
PHUKET TOWN: The manager of the high-end Prangtong Village housing estate on Kwang Rd, along with two others, has been arrested for misappropriating 1.9 million baht from the estate’s developer. Police named them as Nopparat Tongton, 53, the Manager of Prangtong Village, his wife, Jaruwan Tongton, 56, and his clerk, Arunrat Sa-ngeam, 33. Nopparat is the nephew of Tanakij Tongton,…
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AAT warns of Phuket flight delays
PHUKET: The Airports Authority of Thailand (AAT) advised today that, because of increased security, outbound international passengers should make sure they allow three hours to clear processing at Phuket Airport. In some cases, flights have been delayed because tourists – or their agents and guides – have failed to allow enough time for clearing security, customs and immigration. The AAT…
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ASEAN pledges joint action on terrorism
PHUKET (AFP): Southeast Asian ministers today pledged a “new era” of cooperation against the global terrorist threat, with plans to link efforts to combat militancy and promote the region as a safe place for tourists and investors. At an informal retreat at the Amanpuri resort, the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) foreign ministers moved to counter a growing…
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Staff believe Shark will reopen
PATONG: Loyal Shark Club staff still camping outside the darkened disco in protest over its closure expect the club will eventually reopen, one of their leaders told the Gazette today. The staff also hope that expelled Canadian manager-shareholder Kevin Radke will return to run the business. The club’s Chief Engineer, Sayan Ongvimonkarn, told the Gazette that he believed the closure…
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Police nab naked man
KATHU: Police found a man wandering naked in Kathu about 11 o’clock last night and held him at Thung Thong Sub-District Police Station until his wife arrived to pick him up. Police named the man as Andrew Tang, 31, a Chinese-American. His wife told officers that her husband had a mental condition. She added that credit cards, cash and two…
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Knife-death bouncer surrenders
CHALONG: A bouncer wanted for stabbing a man to death in a brawl in Kata Center on January 20 has turned himself in, police said today. Tanakrit “Bud Easy” Taweesaman allegedly knifed Chaiwut Yodkaew after an altercation near where Tanakrit worked at the Easy Rider pub on Tina Rd. (See also https://thethaiger.com/news/index.asp?Id=1872 .) Police Col Sati Malakanond, Superintendent of Chalong…
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Bus service “to start April 1′
PHUKET TOWN: The island’s first public buses will arrive on March 20, and full regular services will begin on April 1, the Phuket Provincial Administrative Organization (OrBorJor) announced today. The announcement was made at the formal signing of an agreement between the OrBorJor and Bangkok-based Thonburi Automotive Assembly, which will build and rent 12 buses to the OrBorJor. Wisut Santikun,…
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Country singer’s crew in bad smash
PHUKET: Four members of the road crew supporting country music star Got Jakraphan were seriously hurt in the early hours of yesterday morning when their 10-wheel truck overturned on the bend next to Pop Cottage in Kata after the brakes failed. While visiting the injured men at Wachira Phuket Hospital, Got told the Gazette, “I’m currently on tour around the…
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Shark Club boss kicked out of Thailand
PATONG: Kevin Radke, manager-shareholder of Patong’s Shark Club, was expelled from Thailand on Friday and was told he will not be allowed back into the country, after authorities decided his activities on the island were in conflict with Thai morals. Pol Col Apirak Hongtong, Superintendent of Phuket Immigration Police, told the Gazette that the police cancelled Mr Radke’s visa on…
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Prison drugs check turns up only porn
PHUKET TOWN: A spot check for narcotics at Phuket Provincial Prison by Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi and other senior officials yesterday drew a blank. All that was found was four pornographic magazines. The inspection team, which included Pol Lt Gen Veerasin Kwanseng, Deputy Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, was organized by Prison Director Tanu Maikaew. Warders at the prison were…
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Airport throughput still falling
PHUKET: Year-on-year figures for January show a fall of almost 10% in the number of passengers passing through Phuket International Airport. December’s figures were also lower, down by 3.32% compared with December 2000. Travel in and out of Phuket and to most destinations around the world has continued to decline since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.…
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Italian fugitive caught in Patong
PATONG: Alleged Italian drug trafficker, Massimo Goggi, 47, was arrested by Phuket Immigration Police on Valentine’s Day while walking along Patong Beach. Goggi is wanted in Italy for drug trafficking, and an international warrant was issued for his arrest eight years ago. But it was only 10 days ago that Italian police tracked him down to Phuket and asked local…
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90 Burmese arrested at Wat Chalong Fair
CHALONG: Police arrested 90 Burmese at the Wat Chalong Fair on charges of illegal immigration or violating the 8 pm curfew imposed on Burmese, Cambodian and Laotian laborers. Immigration police, together with police from Chalong, swept into the Wat to make the arrests at around midnight on Wednesday. Pol Col Apirak Hongtong, Superintendent of Phuket Immigration Office, said that police…
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American drowns at Nai Harn
NAIHARN: American resident John Scott, 55, drowned while swimming at Nai Harn Beach early yesterday afternoon. Pol Capt Teerapol Liamsuwan of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette, “I received a report at 1:30 pm that a foreigner had drowned while swimming at Nai Harn beach. “We reported the death to the US Embassy in Bangkok.” Friend Don Battles told the…
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‘Tired’ Jensen to sell Valhalla
PATONG: The owner of V-Plaza on Soi Sunset, better known by its former name, Valhalla, quashed rumors today that he is again in trouble with the authorities. “There’s no problem. No problem at all,” Jan Jensen told the Gazette. Mr Jensen did, however, confirm another rumor that V-Plaza is up for sale, saying that he was “tired of the business”.…
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Guides protest over tour prices
PHUKET: A group of about 70 Japanese-speaking tour guides protested today to Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi about a tour operator who, they claim, is offering tour prices to Japanese that are lower than officially agreed rates. The guides say that the lower prices are quoted in maps in Japanese, distributed in the restricted area at the airport by tour company…
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Prevention for unwanted Valentine’s gifts
PHUKET TOWN: On a day when love is the traditional gift, the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) has been trying to ensure that no one gets an unwanted byproduct of love. The office chose Valentine’s Day to hand out free condoms to gas stations as part of a campaign to curb the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs). Phuket Vice Governor…
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Wrong-way couple win Valentine’s divorce
PHUKET: One registrar refused to divorce a couple who wanted to split on Valentine’s Day, but another registrar decided that she had to do her duty, so a second couple actually achieved their wish. The Registrar at Muang District Office, Nittaya Chaya-apichart, told the Gazette, “Today is a day of love, so I refused to divorce one couple.” But the…
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Love is a 19,000-baht bunch of blossoms
PHUKET: Valentine’s Day will be marked by smiling lovers and red roses if today’s informal survey of 10 florists by the Gazette proves accurate. But the biggest smile will probably be seen on the face of a woman who receives a bunch of rare black roses from Holland, this year’s most valuable blossoms at 19,000 baht a bunch. Metha Supasri,…
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Pileup on Patong Hill
PATONG: Police are seeking a bus driver who fled the scene after his vehicle was involved in a collision with a car and a truck on Patong Hill yesterday. The bus, a 24-seater vehicle owned by a Bangkok company, was empty apart for the driver when the crash happened at about 5:15pm, 300 meters west of the Chinese shrine. Pol…
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Tourist drowns in hotel pool
PATONG: Tourists dived to the rescue of a Taiwanese guest who had sunk to the bottom of a hotel swimming pool on Sunday, but were unable to save his life. Wang Jeng Chuan, 31, arrived at the Merlin Beach Hotel on Thaweewong Rd, Patong, on Sunday morning. He was swimming in the hotel pool around 4 pm that day when,…
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US command ship visits Phuket
PHUKET: The US Navy’s 7th Fleet command ship, the USS Blue Ridge, arrived here today. While in port, 7th Fleet Commander, V/Adm James Metzger, and his staff will have a series of meetings with Thai military and civilian leaders to discuss regional issues of concern, including the fight against terrorism. They will also discuss holding combined exercises with the Royal…
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Valentine’s Day is no D-Day
PHUKET: Hundreds of couples are lining up to marry in Phuket on Valentine’s Day and the message for couples who want to divorce on February 14 is: Please don’t. “I don’t want any couple divorcing on that day because it’s a day of love and happiness,” Sirinee Leelanont, Chief Registrar at the Thalang District Office, told the Gazette. Last year…
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A quieter Chinese New Year
PHUKET: The Chinese New Year may have opened in Phuket with many a bang from strings of firecrackers, but otherwise it’s pretty quiet, an informal survey by the Gazette indicated today. Fresh food sellers, jewelers and other retailers in Phuket responded with much the same bottom-line answer: sales are down. Usually gold, symbolizing wealth and good fortune, is given to…
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Bust nets B8.5m in smuggled goods
AO MAKHAM: A squad of 25 Marine Police officers seized boat spares, radios and electronic equipment worth 8.5 million baht in a raid on a Taiwanese fishing vessel on Saturday. Pol Col Peera Boonliang, Superintendent of the Phuket Marine Police, told the Gazette yesterday, “We received a tip-off that the goods would arrive on a Taiwanese fishing boat and be…
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Policeman in murder-suicide
PATONG: A policeman stationed at Tungtong Police Station shot his girlfriend dead early yesterday morning, then killed himself with a single bullet to the head. Neighbors of the couple, Pol L/Cpl Chamlong Homkate, 29, and 26-year-old Vanich Meejun, called police just before 2 am to report hearing two gunshots from the couple’s room on Phra Barami Rd. The couple had…
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Deputy PM launches recycling initiative
PHUKET TOWN: Deputy Prime Minister Pitak Intrawitayanunt launched a government initiative yesterday to sort and recycle trash in Phuket. Participants in a seminar at the Metropole Hotel discussed various ways to effectively dispose of trash to lighten the workload of the overburdened municipal incinerator at Saphan Hin. Khunying Chodchoy Sophonpanit, Chairperson of the Thai Environment & Community Development Association (TECDA),…
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Alien search center lands in Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Labor and Social Welfare Office has set up a center to seek out and arrest illegal aliens. The center is located at the office’s premises on Narisorn Rd, Phuket Town. Those who wish to report sightings of, or close encounters with, illegal aliens can call 076-354035 or 076-354036 between 8:30 am and 4:30 pm, or visit…
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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