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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Local team in shock defeat of national side
PHUKET TOWN: A scratch soccer team made up of players from Phuket and Chumphon beat Thailand’s national under-17 team 1-0 on Thursday, with a last-minute goal at the Saphan Hin stadium. The loss was a blow for the national squad, who are the Asian champions in their age group, and who preparing for the Under-17 Football World Championships in Napier,…
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Court told how Tong murder suspects were arrested
PHUKET TOWN: A senior policeman gave evidence in court today about the circumstances surrounding the arrests of four of the five people charged in connection with the 1997 murder of American businessman Danis Wayne Tong. On trial for the murder are Thais Manit Panme, Pratin Praktong, Prajuab Sukkong and Pairat Raksawong, and Belgian Hugo Vandervelde. Prosecution witness Pol Maj Sian…
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Man found dead with 58 stab wounds
PHUKET: Police are trying to identify a man found dead yesterday of multiple stab wounds in the playing fields on Soi Si Sena, near Phya Thai Hospital. Pol Maj Vinai Kongkaew of the Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that the man had 58 stab wounds — in his back, neck and ears. The victim, Pol Maj Vinai said,…
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Film to be screened free to dodge censorship
BANGKOK (AFP): Organizers of the Bangkok Film Festival refused today to cut scenes from a controversial Dutch film and said they would hold free screenings in order to avoid violating a censorship law passed in the 1930s. Festival director Brian Bennett said he had been told by police that the film “Jesus was a Palestinian” would have to be cancelled…
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Police step up action against fuel smugglers
PHUKET TOWN: The Marine Police have stepped up checks on Thai-flag vessels in an effort to curb any rise in gasoline or diesel smuggling, following the latest increase in fuel prices. A further 30 satang per liter was added to fuel prices yesterday, the result of a combination of rising international oil prices and the falling value of the baht…
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Thailand to lead SEA force in East Timor
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand today agreed to a request from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that it lead the Southeast Asian contingent in the international force for East Timor, officials said. Thailand will take the post of deputy commander of the operation under Australia’s overall command, government spokesman Akapol Sorasuchart said. “Kofi Annan wanted to see Thai cooperation and involvement as…
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French team to train local police in VIP security
PHUKET: Eight expert bodyguards from France will arrive in Phuket next month to teach police here how to mount effective security for the growing number of VIPs visiting the island. Pol Col Kokiat Wongvarachart, superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that the team will be led by Thierry Guilleminot, technical director of the police unit which provides security…
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Patong takes different approach to dog killings
PATONG: Following the recent announcement by Phuket Municipality that it has launched a month-long drive to kill stray dogs, the Mayor of Patong, Pian Keesin, has told the Gazette that his town, too, is targeting strays, though its approach is somewhat different. “You see, Patong has a lot of tourists,” he explained. “If the officers want to kill stray dogs,…
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Slaughter of stray dogs begins
PHUKET TOWN: Dog owners in Phuket Town have been warned to keep their animals at home until the end of September as a drive to shoot stray dogs gets underway. Municipal employees, hunting in teams of four, will use darts fired from powerful air guns to kill any stray dogs found on the streets of Phuket Town. The carcases will…
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New source of funding for smaller firms
PHUKET TOWN: Amnuay Sanguannam, one of Phuket’s three vice-governors, today opened the newest branch of the Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand (IFCT), at 18/15-16 Mae Luan Rd, Phuket Town. It will serve companies in both Phuket and Phang-Nga. Anothai Techamontrikul, the Bangkok-based president of the IFCT, said the Phuket branch was expected to approve 200 million baht in loans to…
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Gun found: May be Supercheap murder weapon
PHUKET TOWN: Police say they have found a gun that may be the one used in the Supercheap murder-robbery on Monday. Speaking with reporters today, Pol Maj Gen Kongpol Suwannaraks, commander of police in Phuket Province, declined to say where the gun had been found. He said investigators are currently awaiting the results of forensic tests to determine whether the…
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Thai woman in Kamala suicide
PATONG: Police were called to the Kamala home of a retired Western businessman yesterday after receiving a report that his girlfriend had committed suicide. Pol Lt Col Suchert Supmee told the Gazette that they found the body of 26-year-old Wannapa Pasom, from Nakhon Phanom, hanging by the neck from a belt attached to window security bars in the bathroom. The…
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Police seize missiles destined for drug army
CHIANG MAI (AFP): Thai police today seized two surface-to-air missiles and a launcher allegedly destined for the largest Burma-based drug-trafficking organization, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), officers said this morning. Two Thai men arrested in Chiang Mai province allegedly told police they had bought the Russian-made SAM-7 missiles from Cambodian soldiers in the eastern Thai border town of Aranyaprathet.…
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Tourist Police boss appeals for help
PHUKET TOWN: The new Inspector of Phuket’s Tourist Police today appealed to the private sector for help in repairing the department’s two vans, eight cars and eight motorcycles. Pol Lt Col Chak Onnim – who moved to Phuket on August 23 from Chokchai Police Station in Bangkok, where he was in charge of investigations – explained that the hilly landscape…
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Police issue sketches of murder duo
PHUKET TOWN: Police have issued sketches of two men wanted for the murder of the accountant for the Supercheap warehouse store yesterday afternoon, and the theft of 1.7 million baht that the victim, Jennarong Utoksaenee, was taking to the bank. Jennarong, 65, was shot three times with a .375 caliber pistol wielded by the passenger of a motorcycle which drew…
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Supercheap employee killed in robbery
PHUKET TOWN: Jennarong Utoksaenee, 65, a Phuket-born employee of Supercheap, the warehouse store on Thepkrassatri Rd, Phuket Town, was shot dead in his car at 3 pm today by robbers who fled with around 1.6 million baht. Police said two men on a motorcycle came alongside the car outside the electricity substation near Supercheap. The passenger on the bike fired…
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Chinese leader cools off in Paradise
PHUKET: Chinese President Jiang Zemin took a sight-seeing break in torrential rains here today at the end of a state visit to Bangkok in which he repeatedly pushed Beijing’s claim to sovereignty over Taiwan, and warned harshly against “meddling” by the West. Jiang, who is due to depart for Australia at sunrise tomorrow, visited a shell museum accompanied by Thailand’s…
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Phuket needs more geriatrics, says export chief
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket could be developed to rival Switzerland as a destination for well-heeled people seeking rejuvenation therapy or cures for chronic conditions, or simply wanting relief from the stress of life at home. Addressing an audience composed mostly of people from private hospitals, resorts, traditional massage centers and restaurants, Rachane Potjana, vice-director of the Department of Export Promotion, said…
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Steam-bath gas victim leaves hospital
SINGAPORE (AFP): A Thai executive who fell into a week-long coma last month after a steam bath in a Singapore hotel has been discharged from hospital. Pongkeeree Yossingha, 27, of Bangkok told the Straits Times he was glad to be leaving the hospital. “I’m lucky to be alive,” he said, adding he was touched by the kindness of the hospital…
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Tax Office reaps huge gains from business profits
PHUKET: If tax paid by businesses is any indication of an island’s prosperity, then Phuket has made a positively astounding recovery from the depths of the Asian crisis. According to the latest figures from the Phuket Provincial Revenue Office, revenue from Juristic Income Tax, levied on the net income of most companies and partnerships, is up by a massive 52.7%…
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Bangkok plans mammoth roundup of elephants
BANGKOK (AFP): More than 80 elephants roaming the streets of Bangkok are to be rounded up and tagged with microchips to try to keep them out of town, city authorities said today. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) said it was planning the huge operation with the help of the army, with the aim of banishing the tuskers to the countryside…
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Gamblers top list of arrests
PHUKET: Gamblers topped arrests in Phuket between August 1 and 26, Phuket Provincial Police have announced. A total of 176 people were arrested on charges related to gambling during the period. Following a long way behind, were 121 illegal workers and 84 people nabbed on narcotics charges. This figure excluded ya bah busts, which netted 30 miscreants and 578½ pills.…
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Special deal for employers of illegal workers
PHUKET: Employers of illegal Burmese, Cambodian or Lao workers – who were warned of severe penalties if they did not turn the workers in to the authorities by August 4 – have been granted a reprieve. Thanks to a decision by the Council of Ministers in Bangkok, employers in roughly half of Thailand’s provinces, including Phuket, will be allowed to…
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Phuket to have new governor
PHUKET: The Governor of Phuket for the past two years, Chadej Insawang, will move on October 1 to a new post as Governor of Kanchanaburi Province, on the Thai-Burmese border, as part of a nationwide reshuffling of 56 governors and senior staff of the Ministry of Interior. He will be replaced by Charnchai Soontorramat, currently one of two vice-governors of…
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Tax boss declares amnesty for errors in returns
PHUKET: The Chief of the Phuket Revenue Department has declared an amnesty for anyone who believes he or she may have made errors in filing a tax return. In a the first of a series of monthly columns in the Gazette, explaining Thai tax law and procedures, Annop Buakuen writes, “Staff from the tax office have been checking tax-payer’s returns…
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Bangkok Bank posts huge first-half loss
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s biggest bank, Bangkok Bank Plc, today posted a huge first-half net loss of 26.98 billion baht, compared with a loss of 16.34 billion baht in the same period last year. Bank president Chartsiri Sophonpanich said that the result reflected the continued negative effect of massive non-performing loans on the banking system. “While the economic conditions of the…
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Fisherman drowns while diving for shellfish
CHALONG: A 38-year-old fisherman drowned among the mangroves at Pakrongmudong, Tambon Vichit, yesterday afternoon. Police, who named the dead man as Virrut Sawatdirak, from Srakaew, said he and three friends had gone diving for shellfish. The friends told police that all had drunk some alcohol beforehand, “but not too much”. They did not realise that Khun Virrut was in trouble…
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Curse follows tourist back to Thailand
BANGKOK (AFP): A Thai tourist who said he had been cursed after taking stones as souvenirs from Australia’s famed Ayers Rock has returned the stones to the Australian embassy here, officials said today. The unidentified tourist had ignored signs asking visitors not to take pieces of Ayers Rock – a sacred site for Australian aborigines. He sent the two fist-sized…
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Gazettes on a roll with KL Sevens wins
KUALA LUMPUR: Despite a shortage of regular players, the Phuket Gazettes rugby team made it through to the semi-finals of the bowl competition at the 36th Guinness-Jonah Jones Rugby Sevens tournament. In the preliminary round, the Gazettes found themselves in the toughest group. The first game was against Cobra RFC, last year’s champions, who fielded a team jammed with Fijians,…
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Bangkok Airways probes passenger death
BANGKOK (AFP): Bangkok Airways said today it had launched an investigation into the death of a 52-year-old German tourist who was apparently the victim of food poisoning. The dead man, identified only as Josef B, had flown on Bangkok Airways from Koh Samui to Bangkok shortly before boarding a Lauda Air flight to Austria yesterday morning. During that flight he…
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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