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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Thailand may bow out of IMF program
BANGKOK, Aug 17 (AFP) – Thailand has enough foreign reserves to bow out of its IMF program and abandon the remaining 3.7 billion dollars available in loans under the rescue package, Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi said today. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disbursed about 13.5 billion dollars to Thailand out of its 17.2 billion dollar…
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Tax chief urges foreigners to get it right
PHUKET TOWN: Annop Buakrean, chief of the Phuket Provincial Revenue Office, has appealed to business owners, particularly foreigners, to try to get their tax returns right. He told the Gazette this afternoon that his officers had checked a large number of dive shops recently and found that “in every single case” their tax returns for last year were incorrectly filed.…
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Undercover police patrol Wachira Hospital
PHUKET TOWN: Wachira Hospital and Phuket Town police have set up a special undercover police unit which is now patrolling the hospital to try to spot increasing numbers of thieves preying on outpatients and visitors. The setting up of the unit coincides with another theft from an outpatient. Sainahp Nounpai, 44, of Patong had gone to the hospital for a…
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Big Balls-up at Bangkok Airport
BANGKOK: Bangkok airport authorities said earlier today that they had launched an investigation into how excerpts from a pornographic video were shown on television monitors throughout the international terminal during coverage of a major football match. An airport spokesman said it was a mystery how a 20-second clip of a man and woman having sex was aired after Thailand [also]…
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Jewelry shop raided after tourist complaint
PHUKET TOWN: The manager of a major Phuket jewelry shop was arrested on Friday on a charge of illegal possession of shells and corals that are listed as protected species. Fishery Department officers visited the shop after receiving a complaint from a Thai tourist. They found the shell of a giant scaly clam, two Tritinid shells, and 110 pieces of…
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Businesses urged to mark King’s birthday
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Governor Chadej Insawang has appealed for all business owners to join in with celebrations to mark the 72nd birthday of HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej on December 5. Businesses are urged to decorate their premises with royal emblems, signs, flags, and lights. They are also urged, if possible, to organize projects or charity drives – for example, to…
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Krung Thai Bank to open new branch
PHUKET TOWN: Krung Thai Bank will open a new branch in town on Monday, August 16, on Phang Nga Rd, close to the Royal Phuket City Hotel. The branch, in a building that was completed about 18 months ago, (but which has remained empty since), will replace the old Krung Thai office at the junction of Phang Nga Rd and…
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Three women arrested for selling “yaba’
PHUKET TOWN: On Sunday, narcotics police arrested three women from Phetburi in two separate raids for trafficking in amphetamines (yaba). The first raid came after undercover investigations revealed that yaba was for sale in the Talad Yai, Phuket Town’s central market, on Ranong Rd. During surveillance, they arrested a 19-year-old woman for possession of two pills. After questioning her, they…
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Three arrested for theft from hotel rooms
PHUKET TOWN: Police yesterday arrested three Malaysians they believe are responsible for a spate of thefts from hotel rooms. The arrests came after a complaint from a guest at the Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel that he had gone to bed on Thursday night and had woken the following morning to find his Solvil & Titus watch missing, along with 3,200…
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Work may be fruitless for Phuketians in Sweden
PHUKET: People tempted by offers of jobs picking fruit in Sweden have been warned by the Phuket Provincial Employment Office to check very carefully that the offer is genuine. The office pointed out that this year’s fruit harvest in Sweden is not particularly good, so demand for foreign workers is not high. But confidence tricksters working in Phuket have been…
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Phuket tops Dengue fever league
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Health Office recorded 148 cases of Dengue fever between the beginning of the year and July 23, said its director, Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, in a report issued yesterday. There were no deaths. The figure means that with an infection rate of 63.9 per 100,000 inhabitants, Phuket remains at the top of the Dengue fever league table…
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Tuk-tuk drivers in protest over access to port
AO MAKHAM: About 40 tuk tuk drivers from Phuket Town gathered in front of the gates of the deep-sea port this morning in protest at the apparent unwillingness of port authorities to allow them inside to pick up some of the 4,000 American sailors disembarking at the port on Monday. Asin Arammethappongsa, manager of the port, told the Gazette that…
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Phuket hosts colony of robber crabs
PHUKET: Following considerable excitement in Thai national newspapers about the discovery in Bangkok of a robber crab, or coconut crab – thought to be extinct in Thailand – the Phuket Marine Biological Center has revealed that it has a colony of 20 or so of the giant land-based crustaceons. The crabs are not on view to the public because the…
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Deadline warning for those employing illegals
PHUKET TOWN: Employers hiring illegal labor from countries such as Burma or Cambodia have been reminded that they have until next Wednesday, August 4, to report the illegals to the Phuket Provincial Employment Service Office. After that date employers face a fine of up to 60,000 baht or three years in jail, or both, if they are found to be…
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102 road deaths in first six months of 1999
PHUKET: Phuket Health Office has reported that 5,421 people were involved in road accidents in the first six months of 1999. Of these, 4,835 – 92% – were on motorcycles. In the same period, 102 people died in road accidents. Again, bikes accounted for nearly all the statistics – 94 of the dead were on motorcycles. In June 765 people…
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Australian tourist drowns, two others saved
PATONG: The body of an Australian tourist who disappeared while swimming on Monday was found last night in front of the Phuket Cabana Hotel. The tourist, named by police as Henry Ng, 27, was staying with his girlfriend at the Novotel Phuket Resort. While swimming off Kalim beach, the two were hit by a large wave. A fishermen managed to…
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Kamala sees toughest competition in election
PHUKET TOWN: Members of the newly elected Tambon Administration Organizations (OrBorTor) in Phuket will vote today to decide who will be on the three-member executive committees of each of Phuket’s 13 OrBorTor. The OrBorTor elections, which took place on July 18, generally went smoothly, with an overall turnout around Phuket of 59% of the total 85,025 eligible voters. In seven…
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“Good swimmer’ drowns at Kamala
PATONG: A British tourist drowned on Saturday at Laem Sing beach, Kamala. Police named him as Stephen Guy Douglas Desborough, aged 41. Police said that he was swimming alone while his Thai girlfriend stayed on the beach reading the newspaper. She told them that he was a good swimmer, and often swam at Kamala beach, especially when there were big…
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Police drive to boost awareness of crime
PHUKET TOWN: Police have launched a drive to raise public awareness of ways to guard against criminals, particularly burglars and snatch-and-run thieves. The drive takes the form of a card which can be hung on the doorknobs of people’s homes and which gives the following advice to cut down the risk of burglary: Before you leave the house, make sure…
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CAT opens international video conference center
PHUKET TOWN: The Communication Authority of Thailand (CAT) has opened an international video conference center in Phuket, only the second in Thailand. Voravit Vorapiboonpong, chief of the Phuket Telecommunications Center explained that video conferencing was a high-tech way for people from different countries to have a meeting without having to travel, saving both time and cost. The center may be…
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TAT opens PO Box for suggestions
BANGKOK: Seree Wangpaijit, governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has announced that the TAT now has a PO Box specifically for people in the tourism industry who wish to write to the TAT to express views or make suggestions. Those wishing to use this service should write to PO Box 33, Suthisarn Post Office, Bangkok 10321. Anonymous correspondence…
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Motorbike taxi driver caught with yaba
TAMBON MAIKAO: A motorbike taxi driver, stopped yesterday at a police checkpoint because he looked suspicious, was found to be carrying 200 amphetamine (yaba) pills in the lining of his helmet. Police, who set the checkpoint at Tambon Maikao near Thalang said the 30-year-old man admitted he had bought the drugs in his home town in Phlypraya District in Krabi…
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False pregnancy lands woman in custody
PHUKET TOWN: A woman who became heavily pregnant, very suddenly, while in the Super Cheap store on Thepkrassatri Rd was arrested yesterday for the theft of two cans of tuna, two cans of rambutans and two of coconut cream, plus a pair of jeans and a pack of plastic bags. Police were called to the store after a staff member…
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New post office opens in Patong
PATONG BEACH: Today saw the opening of a new post office at 41/1 Rat-U-Thit Rd. Wisan Pongtiwattanakul, postal chief in Patong, said he hoped the new branch would make it more convenient for both Thais and foreigners, whether individuals or companies, to handle mail and money transactions. Services offered include domestic and international letter and parcel post, EMS courier, the…
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Drug-dealing duo arrested in rubber plantation
THALANG: Police raided a home in a rubber plantation in Baan Bangtak on Tuesday after undercover officers bought 10 amphetamine (yaba) pills from the occupants. Inside they found a further 65 pills hidden in a rubber-tapping can. A 41-year-old man and a 44-year-old woman were arrested and charged with possession and dealing in illicit drugs. Police said the two admitted…
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Star-crossed couple in double suicide
CHALONG: Police yesterday found the bodies of a young couple who apparently committed suicide when life became too difficult. Alerted by neighbors who called them to investigate a bad smell coming from the couple’s rented room behind Wat Sawangarom, police found the corpses of Kowit Singkasem, 22, and his four-months-pregnant wife Petcharat Sangmanee, 21. Both were hanging from a beam…
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Phuket father and son discover new snail
PHUKET: A species of tiny snail, previously unknown to science, has been discovered by a Phuket father and son who hunted for a live example for nearly two years after finding a fossil. Somnuek Pattamakanthin, 52, who set up the Phuket Seashell Museum in Rawai, and his son Somwang, 22, found a fossil of the snail in 1997 in the…
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Six arrested in drugs raid
THALANG: Police on Saturday raided a house in Baan Pru Somparn and arrested a 42-year-old woman and five men aged between 18 and 50 on charges of possession and trafficking in amphetamines (yaba). Pol. Col. Prapakorn Saksupa, superintendent of Thalang police station, said the raid uncovered 44 yaba pills, three sets of yaba-taking paraphernalia, 32,300 baht and a book listing…
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Laguna Resorts to take over Banyan Tree
PHUKET: Laguna Resorts and Hotels Plc (LRH) has announced a plan to acquire the Banyan Tree Hotel Group, an acquisition that would make it the largest hotel group in Thailand and one of the biggest in Asia. LRH’s board of directors approved the plan on July 9. It has yet to be approved by shareholders, who will meet on August…
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Ten arrested in raid on karaoke club
PHUKET TOWN: Police and Immigration officers raided the Love Karaoke club on Poonpol Rd on Tuesday and arrested two Burmese and three Laotian waitresses found to be in Thailand illegally. The also arrested five Hill Tribe women, also working as waitresses, for working outside the border control area. The 10 waitresses ranged in age from 14 to 22.
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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