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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Sailor killed, dumped at sea
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a man who had been stabbed 15 times was found in the fishing port of Soi Si Sena at the weekend. Police received a phone call from a local fisherman at about 1:30 pm on Saturday and found the body of the unidentified man floating in the water, said Pol Lt Parichat Jaturonpun of Phuket…
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Couples set to get wet and wed
TRANG: A record number of couples are expected to marry in the annual mass underwater wedding ceremony off Trang on Valentine’s Day. Partly because there’s no need to bring something blue – they will be floating in it – Trang’s watery wedding on February 14 is expected to win a place in the Guinness Book of Records. So far, 36…
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Appeal for action against megastores
PHUKET TOWN: A crisis meeting of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce (PCC) today pushed for government support for small Thai retailers in the face of overwhelming competition from large foreign supermarkets and discount stores. The meeting was told that as many as 250,000 small retail outlets around Thailand had already been forced to close because they could no longer compete.…
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Sheraton to run new resort in Krabi
AO NANG: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc and Thai company MBK Properties and Development have announced an agreement whereby Starwood will manage a new resort, now being constructed north of Ao Nang, under its Sheraton brand. The 246-room Sheraton Krabi Beach Resort is to open in December on a 48-rai site on Khlong Muang Beach, which is north of…
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Police raid Asia Island Homes office
CHERNG TALAY: A squad of some 10 officers from the Bangkok-based Economic Crimes Unit (ECU) yesterday raided one of Phuket’s biggest property development companies, Asia Island Homes (AIH), and arrested two people for work permit violations. Sources who asked not to be named told the Gazette that the investigators arrived at about midday, armed with a search warrant issued by…
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Bonanza for crash helmet shops
PHUKET: Thanks to the police crackdown on the wearing of crash helmets on motorcycles, helmets have been moving off shop shelves almost as fast as passing motorbikes. But businesses surveyed by the Gazette today said that the popular buys have been cheap, low-quality models that provide little if any protection in a crash. The shops also said that, after an…
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Seized yacht finally auctioned off
PHUKET TOWN: The sailing yacht “Bin Cha Cha” was finally sold at auction this morning at the Phuket Customs Region 5 office, after two previous attempts to sell it last year failed. Niwat Triemsantipap, the assistant general manager of the Maiton Resort, acquired the 7.9-meter yacht with a bid of 200,000 baht, just one third of its original reserve price…
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The lick of love
PHUKET: To commemorate Valentine’s Day on February 14, the Communication Authority of Thailand (CAT) will be selling one million rose-scented postage stamps. Suwanna Suwanpetch, CAT public relations officer for Region 8, told the Gazette, “Thailand is the first country in the world to produce a scented stamp. Measuring one-inch across, the stamp will also be Thailand’s first square stamp.” The…
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Residents back Thalang Rd walk zone
PHUKET TOWN: A survey of residents in Thalang Rd has shown that more than 80% agree with a proposal that their street should become a pedestrians-only zone on Sundays. Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok now hopes the road will be closed to traffic every Sunday between 1 pm and 11 pm, starting in April at the latest. He is also…
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Fury at proposal to close Phi Phi
KRABI (Gazette, Nation, AFP): Local businesspeople and officials have branded as “a big joke” a proposal that Phi Phi Don Island should be closed for two years to allow pollution in the tourism hotspot to be cleaned up. The proposal was put forward by Tourist Police Commander Pol Col Sanit Miphan, who told The Nation newspaper recently that the tiny…
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New-born jumbo a first for Phuket
CHALONG: Phuket finally has a baby elephant to call its own – Plai Phuket. Plai Phuket (“Plai” is the traditional honorific for a male elephant), became the first pachyderm born in Phuket, according to the experts, when he weighed in at 60 kilos in the early hours of yesterday. The youngster was healthy but shy, standing on wobbly legs beneath…
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Man stabbed to death in bar brawl
KATA: One man was stabbed to death and another was badly injured in a brawl in front of the Easy Rider pub on Taina Rd in the early hours of Sunday morning. Pol Capt Teerawat Liamsuwan of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that he received a call at about 2 am, telling him about the brawl. Arriving at the…
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Submarine firm woos authorities
PHUKET: The promoters of planned submarine trips for tourists last night made a bid to convince authorities that their machine is safe – and to persuade them to issue the necessary permits. The presentation by Phuket Submarine Ltd, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, featured slides of the DS-48 sub that the promoters hope will be operating in the waters…
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Corpse found on garbage pile
KOH SIREH: The partially decomposed body of a naked man was found in a pile of garbage among mangroves near Plermsuk Beach yesterday afternoon. Police were notified after local villagers found the body, dumped face down in a pile of garbage 200 meters from the main road. At the scene, officers discovered that the man had been shot in the…
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German dies in bike crash
CHALONG: A popular German dive instructor died after his motorbike collided head-on with a pickup truck not far from the Green Man Pub & Restaurant on Patak Rd early Wednesday. Sascha Schleicher, 36, was declared dead on arrival at Phuket International Hospital. Police believe he was not wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, about 7:30 am. Pol…
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633 netted in motorbike crackdown
PHUKET: Despite wide publicity before the event, police caught 633 motorcyclists without helmets during a crackdown last night, at the start of an ongoing roadblock blitz. Bare-headed bikers had their driving licenses checked and their names taken, after which they were obliged to listen to a road-safety lecture. After listening, they were allowed to go on their way without a…
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Alternative Bike Week hits roadblocks
PATONG: A second “Bike Week” planned for Patong seems to be running into roadblocks after groups listed by the organizer as “supporters” either denied all knowledge of the event, or expressed their opposition to it. The Phuket Bike Rally, organized by Harald Vesterheim, proprietor of the Pink Panther A-go-go and Panther Travel, is planned to take place from February 22…
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Shark fin suspect faces 10 years’ jail
PHUKET TOWN: A Taiwanese fisherman arrested today in possession of 42 shark fins could face up to 10 years in jail as an example to others, according to the Marine Police. After a tip-off, Phuket Marine Police nabbed the man when he moored his boat, “Jufusun”, at Rassada Port at about 11:30 am. The man, subsequently named by police as…
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Police seize fake goods, arrest four
PATONG: Police from Bangkok’s Crime Suppression Division (CSD) arrested four people and seized almost 2,000 fake brand-name goods yesterday evening in raids on two warehouses and two market stalls. The warehouse raids took place in Soi Chalermsub off Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, where officers arrested Somporn Keatnu, 30, of Phatthalung, and Kompetch Sae’eung, 23, of Phuket. Both claimed to be…
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1 in 10 test positive for ya bah in raid
PHUKET TOWN: Police who raided the Hi-Tech Pub on Phang Nga Rd, found no underage patrons. But, of the 144 urine samples collected during the one-hour exercise, 14 tested positive for ya bah (methamphetamine). The raid, at around midnight on Friday night, was led by Phuket Town Police Station Superintendent Pol Col Paween Pongsirin. Accompanying the police were Weerawat Janpen,…
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Drop in arrests for gambling, drugs
PHUKET: Arrests for gambling and drugs fell away in December, the latest police statistics show. While gambling remained the number one illegal pastime – with 245 people arrested in 143 raids between December 1 and 25 – comparison with the same period in November shows a decrease of 47 arrests. On the drugs front, 108 raids were made, with 120…
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Purachai closes three nightspots
PHUKET: Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon went walkabout in Patong and Phuket Town until early this morning, and ended up ordering the temporary closure of three nightspots. He also rattled the operators of the famed Shark discotheque. The minister also had three foreigners arrested for fighting in the street as he walked by. K. Purachai and his team – which included…
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Fire guts seven houses
PATONG: Fire swept through seven wooden houses in Patong yesterday morning, causing damage estimated at 300,000 baht. No one was hurt. Firemen took 40 minutes to extinguish the fire in Soi Rong Bambat Namser, 50 metres from Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd. Pol Lt Serm Kwannimit, in charge of investigating the fire, told the Gazette that it started in a house…
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Loch Palm murder still a mystery
TUNG TONG: Some 15 months after the mutilated body of a woman was found near the Loch Palm Golf Course, police are still trying to find out who she was – and who killed her. The victim died of blood loss from six stab wounds – two in her stomach, one in her throat, one in an armpit, one in…
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Drug suspect makes a run for it
PHUKET: Torhed Cholahat, one of four suspects arrested on Monday (see https://thethaiger.com/news/index.asp?id=1833 ) for possession and sale of ya bah (metamphetamine), went on the run for seven hours yesterday after leaping out of a police pick-up truck. He was recaptured in a tin mine lagoon by a student who is on the Rajabhat Phuket Institute boxing team. An officer from…
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Copyright raid rumors spread panic
PHUKET: Widespread rumors of raids by police specializing in copyright infringement have led to panic among Phuket’s Internet cafées and shops selling software, games and music CDs, with many on the beach road in Patong closing temporarily, preferring to lose business rather than risk being caught. The word on the street is that the police arrived from Bangkok on January…
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Tourist’s death puzzles police
PATONG: Mystery surrounds the final hours of an Italian tourist whose body was found in a shallow pool of water near Patong Beach yesterday evening. Alerted by a tip-off at about 6 pm yesterday, police went to the site, near the Phuket Palace Hotel on the main Patong-Karon road, and found Luca Tesei, 35, lying face-down in the shin-deep pool.…
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New foot-and-mouth sweeping south
THAILAND: A recently discovered strain of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is sweeping through Southeast Asia, a top Australian expert has warned. Dr Laurence Gleeson, regional coordinator of the South East Asia FMD control program, said, “This pan-Asian strain seems to be very well adapted to pigs and cattle, and has the capability to spread. It’s now in every country in Southeast…
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Undercover ya bah sting nets four
THALANG: Police have arrested four people for possession and sale of a total of more than 900 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills. The arrests began on Monday afternoon when an officer in plain clothes posed as a customer to buy 10 pills from a couple who run a shuttle boat for tourists between Koh Yao and Ao Por pier in Pa…
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PM’s sister launches women’s club in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: Yaowares Shinawatra, sister of Prime Minister Thaksin, today chaired a meeting to launch the Phuket chapter of the Business and Professional Women’s Association of Thailand (BPWAT) at the Phuket Pearl Hotel. K. Yaowares, who is the Vice-Chairperson of the Business and Professional Women’s Association for the Asia-Pacific region, said, “I came here today to invite Phuket’s professional women…
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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