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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Phuket Live Wire: iPhone 5 – Caveat emptor
PHUKET: Last week I talked about the importance of fast internet speeds and the evolution of technology in Phuket. This week, man oh man, the pigeons came home to roost. If you’re thinking about buying an iPhone 5, it would behoove you to read and understand this and next week’s column. The money you save could be your own. I…
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Radar, GPS tracking to net foreign charter yacht tax dodgers
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket office of the Marine Department says he is drawing up plans to launch a campaign targeting “hundreds” of visiting foreign yachts that avoid paying tax to Thai officials despite conducting “business” in Thai territorial waters. Named among the visiting yachts to be targeted were charter tour boats for tourist activities, such as snorkeling, diving…
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New hospital wing rises in Patong
PHUKET: Construction of a new 69-million-baht wing at Patong Hospital, that will double the facility’s inpatient capacity, is well underway and scheduled for completion by August next year.The new building, under construction by Pornthisan Co Ltd, will provide room for 60 more inpatient beds and another 13 private rooms, Hospital Director Phumin Silapunt explained to Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa…
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Phuket Immigration launches online queue for “one-year visas’
PHUKET: Phuket Immigration currently has no plans of launching an online queue system for re-entry permits similar to the one recently launched by Immigration Division 1 on Cheng Wattana Road in Bangkok, the busiest Immigration office in Thailand. However, Phuket Immigration has quietly launched a queue system for people applying for one-year permits-to-stay. “Even though we don’t have an online…
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Patong security guard arrested on Deep South terrorism charges
PHUKET: Phuket police have arrested a security guard in Patong wanted on an outstanding warrant for charges related to terrorist activities in Thailand’s restive Deep South. The man had a bounty on his head of more than one million baht for his capture, said police. Mahamasakree Mahama-useng, 29, was arrested at a rented house in the Soi Bang Thong area…
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Phuket Police identify body of woman found in roadside ditch
PHUKET: Police have identified the woman whose body was found alongside her motorbike in a roadside ditch opposite Ladthi Wanaram Temple (Wat Tai) on Chao Fa East Road this morning as that of 26-year-old Chanupan Sawangewit. Police suspect that Ms Chanupan lost control of her motorbike while riding back to Phuket Town after visiting her mother’s house in Soi Koktanod,…
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Phuket Sports: Unity USA douses Rising Stars in basketball finals
PHUKET: American ballers on Saturday showed basketball lovers why they continue to dominate the sport, with USA’s Team Unity securing a gold medal in Phuket’s first international basketball tournament. Held between September 14-22, the TOA Thailand Open 2012 Phuket Championship featured six teams – two from Thailand and a team each from USA, Australia, Indonesia and Brunei – who played…
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Krabi tour guide denies rape of Dutch tourist
PHUKET: A 26-year-old Thai tour guide on trial for the alleged rape of a Dutch model on holiday in Krabi in July has denied the charge, claiming that the couple had consensual sex. The trial began at Krabi Provincial Court on Friday, Krabi City Police Chief Thaksin Phochakorn confirmed to the Phuket Gazette. An arrest warrant for the man was…
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Phuket ‘jellyfish attack’ report eludes hospitals, confounds experts
PHUKET: Local hospital staff and experts at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) are confounded by the story of a British woman, reported in sensational fashion yesterday, as suffering extreme injuries in a jellyfish attack “somewhere near Phuket”. Although the story, published by the Daily Mail in the UK, showed that British mum Sam Webster, 37, clearly suffered serious injuries,…
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Phuket Burmese decry gold shop bandits
PHUKET: A crowd of onlookers at the re-enactment of the robbery of Yong Chuan gold shop in Rassada shouted disparaging remarks and denounced the prime suspect as he retraced his getaway from the Karn Keha Housing estate yesterday. “You have shamed our community” and “We’re glad you finally surrendered,” were shouted at the suspect, named by police only as “Koson”.…
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Phuket Roads: Pay now, please, for the failure of planning
PHUKET: Work on Phuket’s first underpass is slated to start by the middle of next month, and is expected to shed harsh light on just how deplorably ‘planners’ have failed to develop Phuket’s road infrastructure to keep pace with the island’s development. [See front page, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.]…
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American aircraft carrier to arrive in Phuket
PHUKET: The American aircraft carrier USS John C Stennis (CVN-74), dispatched four months ahead of schedule back in August, will arrive in Phuket early next month along with two US warships and 3,500 sailors.The Washington-state-based aircraft carrier’s current mission is to ensure security and stability in the “vital Asia-Pacific region”, according to the ship’s Facebook page. The departure of the…
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Phuket Sports: ICC Move One Step Closer To Finals Berth
PHUKET: ICC and Patong met for the second time in the Outrigger T20 league last Sunday at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) with both teams keen for victory to join Laguna on top of the table and move a step closer to securing a finals berth. Despite heavy rains during the week, the ACG once again came up trumps with…
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United Nations launches initiative to plug ‘gaps’ in Thai disaster management
PHUKET: Marking nearly one year ago since floodwaters inundated most of Thailand and its capital Bangkok, the Royal Thai Government and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) launched a new initiative today to boost the capacity of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) to be able to respond to large-scale floods and other natural disasters. The DDPM is…
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Phuket gold thief surrenders to see ‘dying wife’
PHUKET: One of the two men wanted for making off with millions of baht in jewelry from a Phuket gold shop on Monday surrendered to police today, saying that he wanted to see his wife again before she died from a heart condition. The man, a Burmese national named by police only as “Mr Koson”, arrived in front of Phuket…
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Cabinet cuts it close with announcement of new Phuket Governor
PHUKET: A last-minute announcement of Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha’s successor is expected to be made on Tuesday, less than a week before the incumbent takes office.Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra and the Cabinet on Tuesday were given a list of 19 provincial governor positions that will be available come October 1, according to the Cabinet meeting’s minutes.Governor Tri and 16 others…
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Phuket Sports: Gonzalo has gone and done it again; Golfing tip of the week
PHUKET: Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, who didn’t quite make the Ryder Cup team, showed he would have been a worthy pick by beating the field in solid fashion to win the BMW Championship at Royal Park I Roveri in Italy. Garth Mulroy, a little known journeyman from South Africa, tried his best to keep up with Gonzalo. Matteo Manassaro, the young golfing…
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Phuket City to spend more than B100mn on flood defense
PHUKET: In the wake of floodwaters inundating Phuket Town in August, Phuket City Municipality is looking to spend 100 million baht on flood defense measures, starting with a 10-million-baht study conducted by a private consultant. The news was delivered at a public meeting chaired by Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana at the Phuket Merlin Hotel in Phuket Town on Wednesday.…
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World champion eyes Laguna Phuket Ironman 70.3 title
PHUKET: The recently-crowned 2012 Ironman 70.3 World Champion, Leanda Cave, has signed up for the Laguna Phuket event less than 24 hours after completing her epic World Championship victory in Las Vegas on September 9, and before resuming training for her next title bid at the Ironman World Championship in Kona, Hawaii on October 13, it was revealed by the…
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Dealer busted after kratom smuggled into Phuket as ‘fresh vegetables’
PHUKET: Phuket Police acting on a tip-off yesterday arrested a dealer and seized 54kg of kratom leaves from an address in Cherng Talay. Col Jirasak Siemsak received the tip-off at about 5pm and quickly put together an investigation team under the command of Maj Pongnarin Suthin. On arrival at a house on Soi Pasak 4, off the Baan Don-Cherng Talay…
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Phuket powers up to fewer scheduled blackouts
PHUKET: Residents and businesses across the island are likely to be subjected to fewer scheduled blackouts in the coming years, the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has told to the Phuket Gazette. The blackouts, needed so PPEA crews can carry out maintenance on high-voltage power lines, install new lines and move power poles, have regularly seen entire areas of the…
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Where the Phuket buffalo roam
PHUKET: To highlight the diminishing number of buffalo still grazing on the island, Phuket Democrat MP Raywat Areerob joined local farmers on Tuesday at a small country fair that included a bovine beauty contest. The event, organized by the National Farmers Council (NFC) Phuket office and Srisoonthorn Municipality, with support from the Phuket Agricultural Office, was held at the field…
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Phuket Airport officials unveil how they caught their woman
PHUKET: Following the arrest of a woman wanted by authorities in Bangkok for human trafficking charges, Phuket Airport Immigration officers revealed how they caught the suspect before she could fly out of the country. Phuket Airport Immigration officer Lt Col Wannee Songchaisanguan said that Snr Sgt Maj Wanchai Narin was on duty in the departure hall on September 14 when…
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Fears of Phuket underpass traffic jams prompt ‘alternative routes’ plan
PHUKET: The Highways Department yesterday held a public meeting to suggest alternative routes for motorists to alleviate traffic congestion when construction of Phuket’s first underpass at the Darasamuth Intersection, in front of Central Festival Phuket shopping mall, begins next month. The news came at a public meeting chaired by Phuket Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa at Wichit Municipality Office. Present were…
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Forensic report into cause of Phuket’s Tiger Disco fire postponed
PHUKET: After all the noise made by officials about the urgency to uncover the truth of the Phuket nightclub fire in August, the release of the investigators’ official report has been postponed while the forensic specialists attend a seminar in Bangkok.Superintendent of the National Office of Forensic Science stated during the investigation of the fire at the Tiger Discotheque on…
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Manhunt for Phuket gold shop thieves begins
PHUKET: Police now have arrest warrants issued for the two men wanted for the robbery of a Phuket gold shop yesterday and have set up two teams of officers to track the men down. Meanwhile, police stations throughout Southern Thailand have been alerted to be on the lookout for the suspects in their respective jurisdictions. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit…
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Phuket tour companies wary of national park admission fee hike
PHUKET: Many Phuket tour and dive companies are waiting to see how the final confirmation of the significant hike in national park fees will affect their businesses.The Department of National Parks, Wildlife and Plant Conservation (DNP) announced that the entrance cost at many popular national parks in Thailand would see their first jump in a decade starting January 1.“Although I…
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Phuket consuls praise Provincial Hospital
PHUKET: The British and Australian honorary consuls in Phuket have heaped praise on the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) Hospital. Martin Carpenter, British honorary consul, and Larry Cunningham, Australian honorary consul to Phuket, also called for local media organizations to publicize the facility so people can take advantage of the new hospital’s services. At the meeting of Phuket’s honorary consul…
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Live Wire: All I want for Xmas is a 3G tab
PHUKET: Welcome to the fourth and final installment of my series about where the computer industry is headed (click here to see related articles). With the Christmas season just around the corner many people are thinking about buying new electronics – computer, tablet, phone, maybe even a TV. This column will help you stay on top of developments between now…
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Phuket honorary consuls grill local transport chief over new taxi fares
PHUKET: In their first “regular” quarterly meeting with Phuket government officers since February, Phuket Honorary Consuls today delivered a barrage of questions over the new standard taxi fares “agreed to” on September 12. Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, recently returned from a cultural tourism roadshow in Nepal, asked for input from honorary consuls about the new standard fares. Phuket Land Transportation…
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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