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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Three murdered in one night
PHUKET: Three men were killed in three separate incidents in a night of violence in Phuket.The first victim was 21-year-old Amnart Niget, of Chumpon, who was fatally shot outside the Summer Hotel in Phatipat Road, Phuket City, at 2am on 12 August.Two hours later, a restaurant employee was beaten to death by a gang of teenagers, also in Phuket City.And,…
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Thailand, Malaysia to drop border passes
PHUKET: Thailand and Malaysia today agreed in principal to do away with the current system of passes that allow nationals from the two countries to cross the border without a visa.Under the agreement, future cross-border travel will require no more than the presentation of “smart cards”, systems for which are now being developed by both nations. The announcement followed a…
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Phang Nga OrBorJor elect new chairman
PHANG NGA: Members of Phang Nga Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) have elected Arkhom Thongjerm as their new Chairman to replace Nithas Siribenjakul, who was gunned down at Takuapa Bus Terminus on July 30.Phang Nga OrBorJor Deputy Chaiman Chot Chatpong told the Gazette that K. Arkhom – the only nominee – was elected unanimously at the OrBorJor‘s meeting on August 13.Members…
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Filipinos arrested over fake credit card
KATHU: Police on Monday arrested four men and a woman from the Philippines for using a fake credit card to buy expensive goods from a mobile phone shop in Patong.Pol Col Chalit Thinthanee, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told a press conference yesterday that the Filipinos were arrested at 11:55 pm at Ploy Telecom on Sainamyen Rd after shopowner Patchar Budtayotee…
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Surprise opinions at Patong plan public hearing
PATONG: A public hearing to discuss a town plan for Patong took place at Patong City Hall yesterday. The meeting drew about 80 people, an assortment of government officers, academics, local businessmen and residents.Listening to the feedback were researchers from Consultants of Technology (COT) Co, a Bangkok-based consulting firm, and representatives of the Department of Public Works and Town &…
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“Burmese Cemetery’ claims 2 more victims
PHUKET CITY: The bodies of two men, both believed to have been Burmese nationals, have been found in Phuket City within two days of each other.Police report that both men, thus far unidentified, appear to have been stabbed to death.The first corpse was found in the afternoon of Saturday in mangroves behind a Burmese workers’ camp near Tah Chin Canal,…
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Chuan denies Phuket MPs plan to defect
PHUKET: Former Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai has confirmed that Phuket’s two members of parliament will stand as Democrat candidates in the upcoming general election, quashing rumors that one or both of them were planning to defect to the Thai Rak Thai party of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.K. Chuan made his remarks yesterday while chairing the closing ceremony of the Cherng…
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Police Super’s bright idea
TAH CHAT CHAI: Officers from Tah Chat Chai Police Station will join forces with motorcycle dealer Phuket Numsang on August 14 and 15 to modify motorcycle headlights so that they come on automatically when the bike’s engine is started.The modifications will be provided free of charge to anyone bringing a bike to the Tah Chat Chai police checkpoint, just south…
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Engineer dies in hotel blast
PATONG: One man was killed and another was injured by an explosion at the Novotel Coralia Resort in Patong on Saturday.Police named the dead man as Chanyud Intrachai, 20, from Phuket. His colleague, 27-year-old Kittipong Kaileard, is recovering at home.Pol Maj Sanguan Muangtham of Kathu Police Station would not disclose details of the incident to the Gazette because, he said,…
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Phang Nga OrBorJor replace slain chairman
PHANG NGA: Members of the Phang Nga Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) have chosen not one, but two, chairmen who will take turns as replacements for Nithas Siribenjakul, who was gunned down at Takuapa bus terminus on July 30.Phang Nga OrBorJor deputy chairman Suthas Boonchot today told the Gazette that Arkom Thongjerm from Tap Put district will hold the post for…
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Police target teenagers on motorbikes
PHUKET: Police have launched a crackdown on traffic offenses, with particular focus on teenagers on motorbikes, Pol Col Kokiat Wongvorachart, Deputy Commander of the Provincial Police has announced.During the crackdown, which is part of a national road safety campaign that will continue until December 31, police expect to make safety and ownership checks on more than 200,000 vehicles in Phuket…
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Immigration goes online to boost security
PHUKET CITY: The Immigration Police have launched a project in Phuket that will eventually allow hotels and homeowners all over Thailand to report required data about their guests via the Internet. The project is intended to help combat terrorism and monitor the movements of suspicious foreigners visiting Thailand. Following refinement of the pilot project in Phuket, the system will then…
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Not enough “neighbor laborers’ – employers
PHUKET: A total of 31,473 Burmese, Laotian and Cambodian laborers were registered with the government before the August 1 deadline, but local employers say that many more are needed.Khitti Nuisri, the Deputy Chief of the Phuket Provincial Employment Service Office (ESO), explained today that 21,444 “neighbor laborers” were registered in Phuket City before the deadline, along with 5,399 in Kathu…
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Plans to tap Thaksin’s B100bn promise
PHUKET: The Phuket provincial government plans to ask Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra for funding for projects to aid Phuket’s development during the PM’s visit to Phuket on August 26 and 27 as part of his tour of the South.At the beginning of last year, PM Thaksin promised more than 100 billion baht to develop Phuket into the country’s biggest economic…
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Turk insists he is an FBI agent
PATONG: Police say that Turkish citizen Tuncay Orser, who was arrested on Friday for possession of a fake ID card identifying him as an agent of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), continues to insist that he is a genuine FBI operative on a mission to hunt down international terrorists.Orser, 31, was arrested after he showed what he said…
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“13 reasons to kill’ Phang Nga politician
PHANG NGA: Police investigating Friday’s assassination of Nithat Siribenjakul, chairman of the Phang Nga Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), told the Gazette today that Nithat was involved in no fewer than 13 conflicts, any of which might have triggered his murder.Nithat was gunned down by at least three men riding in the back of a black Isuzu pickup as he drove…
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Phang Nga politician assassinated
PHANG NGA: Nithat Siribenjakul, the chairman of the Phang Nga Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), was gunned down in a hail of bullets at the Takuapa bus terminus about 8 pm last night.Police officers investigating the murder told the Gazette that K. Nithat was heading home after visiting a fellow OrBorJor member.“K. Nithat drove his Jeep Cherokee into the parking lot…
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Bars urged to close for two days
PHUKET: Police have requested bar and nightclub owners, alcohol sellers and butchers to close for the next two days out of respect for Buddhist religious holidays.Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette this evening, “We have asked night venues and places selling alcohol to close on Asarnha Bucha Day [tomorrow] and on Buddhist Lent…
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FantaSea owner facing smuggling charge
BANGKOK (The Nation): The owner of Safari World and Phuket FantaSea will be charged with illegally importing orangutans, Forestry Police commander Maj Gen Sawek Pinsinchai said yesterday.Safari World and FantaSea managing director and owner Pin Kiewkacha is accused of violating provision 23 of the Wildlife Conservation Law by importing orangutans without permission, and provision 53 for concealing the wildlife. The two…
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Crackdown on peddlers and ladyboys
PATONG: Police yesterday evening arrested about 30 people in a crackdown aimed at reducing the number of street peddlers pestering tourists to buy trinkets, plastic flowers, garlands or, in some cases, sex.Pol Lt Col Boonlert Onklang, of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that Kathu police officers arrested about 30 vendors who annoyed tourists walking along the beach road by…
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High-tech cameras to boost security
PHUKET: Provided that the money is forthcoming, 100 security cameras using the latest-generation Internet communications protocol will be installed at 70 points across the island, including the tourist areas of Patong, Karon and Kata, to deter crime and monitor traffic flow.Manoo Ordeedolchest, President of the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa), told the Gazette, “The idea originally came from the former…
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Sipa targets B470m budget for 2005
PHUKET CITY: Dr Manoo Ordeedolchest, President of the Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa), has announced that the agency will apply for 470 million baht to carry out projects in 2005 to develop the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in Thailand.Key projects slated for implementation next year include the development of software for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) in…
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High-speed bedmakers put to the test
PHUKET CITY: This year’s Hotelex Exhibition Food and Beverage Show, which will be held at the Royal Phuket City Hotel from August 12 to 15, will open with a thrilling “speedy bed-making” contest. The novel competition, with 6,000 baht in prize money up for grabs, will get underway at 1 pm on August 12, marking the start of the four-day…
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New airport proposed for Phang Nga
PHANG NGA: The Deputy–Minister of the Transport Ministry, Vichet Kasemthongsri, has backed a proposal to upgrade a disused World War II airfield into a new airport to serve Phang Nga Province, at a projected cost of 900 million baht. K. Vichet gave his backing during a visit on Saturday to the disused airstrip on Koh Kho Khao, an island off…
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Downpours prompt flood and landslide warnings
PHUKET: Strong winds and heavy rain along the coasts of the Andaman Sea and the Gulf of Thailand have prompted the Meteorological Department to issue warnings of the possibility of flooding and landslides.Vichit Phuangsombat, Director of the Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast), which is near Phuket International Airport, today told the Gazette, “The heaviest recorded rainfall in Thailand yesterday was…
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Incumbent wins Pa Khlok poll
PA KHLOK: Panya Sumphaorat from Pa Khlok Gao Na (Progress) Party yesterday won the Pa Khlok Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) presidential election, polling 2,540 votes to beat his rival by just 186 votes.K. Panya, who was President of the OrBorTor in the term leading up to the election, beat Sa-ard Kongnam, from the Pa Khlok Pattana (Development) Party, who scored…
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Burmese sought over stabbing murder
KATHU: A Burmese worker is being sought by police after the corpse of a motorbike taxi driver was found last week by villagers near Talay Keeree village, in the foothills around Kathu.The body, with 15 stab wounds in it, was identified as that of 45-year-old Narongsak Bunyalertnimit from Phatthalung, a van driver with the Take-A-Trip travel agency, who worked as…
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Businessman ordered off SorPorKor land
PHUKET: The Phuket Appeal Court today overturned a judgment of the Provincial Court and ordered Phuket businessman Narong Nopdara to vacate 21 rai of land in the Nakkerd Hills in Karon.The successful appeal was launched by the Phuket Land Reform Office (ALRO), which argued that Narong was not entitled to occupy land issued under the SorPorKor land reform program, which…
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15 minutes of fame evaporates
PHUKET: Bangkok-based film company Hub Ho Hin has canceled all roles offered to Phuket residents for the movie Jaew (Operation Maid), starring Pornchita “Benz” na Songkhla, because a decision has been made to film location shots in Chiang Mai instead of Phuket. Jarunee “Maew” Boonsake, second assistant director on the movie, explained, “The director, Yongyuth Thongkongtoon, has decided to shoot…
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Hotels president slams oil pipeline plan
NAI YANG: Vichit Na Ranong, a former senator and current President of the Thai Hotels Association, yesterday spoke out against the oil pipeline slated to be built in Phang Nga, saying, “It will ruin all tourism here and we will never get it back.”Speaking at the opening of the new convention facilities at his Pearl Village Hotel in Nai Yang,…
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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