Phuket News
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Navy defamation case proceeds against PhuketWan
PHUKET: Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian of local blog PhuketWan were released on bail yesterday on charges of criminal defamation and other offenses in connection with a story they published on trafficking in Rohingya. Mr Morison, an Australian, and Thai national Ms Chutima published a story last July that contained excerpts from a Reuters Special Report alleging that some Thai…
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Celebrity comedian Teng a no show for Phuket Town
PHUKET: Anti-government protesters have prevented another well-known celebrity from performing in Phuket, this time the nationally renowned comedian Pongsak Pongsuwan, better known by his stage name Teng Terdtheong. Mr Teng was set to appear in the Sam Cha Carniwow event at Saphan Hin in Phuket Town tonight. “Event organizers from Workpoint Entertainment confirmed that Mr Teng, a popular comedian and…
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Phuket officials threaten protest over Club Med lease
PHUKET: Kata-Karon officials yesterday threatened public protests if the lease for the Club Med resort located on 39 rai of public land along the Kata beachfront is renewed. The 30-year lease, which began in 1985, will expire on September 24 next year. “For 30 years we have been waiting for the contract to expire,” said Kamnan Winai Chidchiew, who led…
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Korean Association Phuket calls for donations to aid victims of ferry disaster
PHUKET: The Korean Association in Phuket is collecting money to help those affected by the sinking of the South Korean ferry on Wednesday – both survivors and victims’ families. As many as 271 of the 475 passengers on board when the ship began sinking are still unaccounted for (story here). Many of those missing are schoolchildren. “We have called on…
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Wolfpack gore the Galahs to retain Cricket 7s title
PHUKET: Australia’s Wolfpack retained their title by winning the 11th Annual Phuket International Cricket Week 2014 Kata Group International Cricket 7s at Republic Phuket Football Ground last weekend. Captained by Australian Indoor Cricket Team champion Will Badger, the Wolfpack fought back to defeat the Galah Cricket Team, who had been admirable opponents during the Kata 7s. Wolfpack had defeated Phuket…
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Phuket survives Day 6 of Songkran road-safety campaign
PHUKET: No road deaths were reported in Phuket yesterday, the sixth day of the Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign, but one more injury was added to the official tally. During the 24 hours from midnight on April 15 to midnight on April 16, only one victim of a road accident was reported admitted to a hospital for…
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Miss Universe Australia 2010 plays in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket hosted Miss Universe Australia 2010 for the Songkran holiday while she was in town shooting an Australian TV program to showcase tourist destinations in Thailand. Jesinta Campbell, 22, was chosen by Australian travel show The Getaway to be the face of a six-episode series covering tourist hot spots in Phuket and Phang Nga, said Anoma Wongyai, Director of…
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Phuket Songkran heatwave claims three lives on same day
PHUKET: Doctors at Patong Hospital have confirmed that three foreigners died yesterday after collapsing from heatstroke. Russian tourist Igor Kiselev, 59, was rushed to hospital for medical treatment after he passed out at Karon Beach, Patong Hospital Director Sirichai Silpa-archa confirmed to the Phuket Gazette this morning. “He died en route to the hospital. Medical staff tried for one hour…
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Dust to Dust: Phuket’s struggle to clear the air
Special Report Each month thousands of people seek treatment at Phuket hospitals for breathing difficulties, eye and nose problems and even nausea – all brought on by dust and other forms of air pollution. The Phuket Gazette‘s Irfarn Jamdukor investigates. PHUKET: The Phuket health chief has revealed the disturbing news that in February alone more than 2,500 people in Phuket…
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Get ready to shred some waves in Kao Lak
PHUKET: The high season is nearly over, traffic is fading to near tolerable levels and the lines of beach chairs are slowly receding. However, for those who brave monsoon weather and killer rip tides to test their skills on the west coast surf breaks, the high season is just beginning. Surfing in Phuket is definitely a seasonal undertaking, with surfable…
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3 injured as water truck flips in Phuket
PHUKET: A water truck flipped and crushed a motorbike, injuring three people when its brakes allegedly failed while descending a small hill in Kata. Police and rescue workers rushed to the scene on Patak Road at about 1:50pm. “The water truck was heading to Karon, and its brakes failed on the small slope there. When it flipped, it crushed a…
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Former police volunteer tests positive for drugs, case goes to Phuket public prosecutor
PHUKET: Drug test results came back positive for former tourist police volunteer Garry Halpin, who has spent the last four months in Phuket Provincial Prison. The drug test results were the last piece of evidence the police needed before sending the case to court (story here). It has now been handed over to the public prosecutor. “The prosecutor will formally…
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Baby sea turtles wash back to shore after annual turtle release
PHUKET: Two baby sea turtles washed ashore two Phuket beaches on Sunday afternoon shortly after a turtle release took place in Mai Khao. “Villagers in Mai Khao and Karon called the Phuket Marine Biological Center [PMBC] after they found the stranded baby turtles on the beach,” an officer from the Marine Endangered Species Unit of the PMBC told the Phuket…
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Body of missing Phuket three-year-old found in Nai Harn lagoon
PHUKET: The body of missing 3-year-old Kongpob “Nong Gorya” Chuerket was found in the lagoon at Nai Harn Beach yesterday afternoon, police confirmed. Nong Gorya went missing on Thursday from his home in Rawai, and was last seen crossing the road while his parents were busy working at their store in the construction camp where they live (story here). “We…
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Ghost rider becomes first Phuket fatality in Songkran Seven Days of Danger
PHUKET: A woman speeding on a motorbike in the wrong lane has become Phuket’s first recorded fatality during this year’s Songkran Seven Days of Danger national road-safety campaign. Nannika Boonchorn, 27, from Chaiyaphum, died after she collided at high speed with a motorbike with a sidecar at about 4pm yesterday. The accident happened on Baan Thungkha – Kuandindaeng Road, which…
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DNA results confirm body of missing Russian kidnap victim
PHUKET: Unofficial DNA results and dental records confirm that the decapitated body found in Cherng Talay on March 29 is that of missing Russian Alexey Slabinskiy, Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arun Kaewvatee announced on Saturday. “We’ve heard unofficially from the Forensic Office in Surat Thani that the remains are those of Mr Slabinskiy, and the teeth found in the…
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Search begins for missing Phuket toddler
PHUKET: Police have launched a search for a missing three-year-old boy last seen near the family home in a construction camp in Rawai late Thursday afternoon. Kongpob Chuerket, nicknamed “Nong Gorya”, was wearing a blue singlet emblazoned with an Angry Birds motif and light blue shorts when he disappeared, said Lt Kraisorn Boonprasop of the Chalong Police told the Phuket…
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Phuket police praised as excellent, inspiring
PHUKET: In Phuket to review safety measures for the Songkran holidays, deputy national police chief Gen Aek Angsananont has praised the Phuket Police as “excellent” and “inspiring” in preserving the safety of tourists. Gen Aek explained that Royal Thai Police Commissioner-General Adul Saengsingkaew had issued a special directive for officers across the country to boost their efforts to eradicate crime…
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Sponsor can’t prevent Phuket kratom arrest
PHUKET: Amid the bustle of holiday travellers at Phuket Bus Terminal 2 yesterday, officers arrested a man after confirming that the box he retrieved from a bus contained kratom leaves. The arrest of Polawat Jay-yeng, 25, occurred after a tip-off to Suthee Sirianant, Chief Administration Officer of Phuket City District Office. “Mr Polawat picked up a Sponsor drink box from…
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Speed, seats and safety targeted in Songkran bus blitz
PHUKET: Extra buses, drug and alcohol tests for drivers and GPS to monitor speeds have been ordered to ensure that holiday travelers make it home safely for the Songkran holidays. Ten extra buses were on standby at Phuket’s Bus Terminal 2 yesterday to cope with the 50 per cent increase in travelers as officials rolled out new disciplinary regulations for…
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Phuket rental shops send passport pictures to Bangkok via smartphone application
PHUKET: Nearly one-third of rental shops in Patong have started to send photos of renters’ faces and passports to the Interpol branch in Bangkok via the messaging application Line in an effort to identify stolen passports and protect against passport theft on the island. The push for tighter security follows the news that two passports stolen in Phuket had been…
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Financial distress prime suspect in Phuket man’s suicide plunge
PHUKET: Police investigating the death of a man whose body was found in the carpark of a public housing estate in Rassada this morning have determined the man leapt to his demise. Officers were called to the Karn Keha estate near Soi Kingkaew at about 9am. “We found the body of Pongsak Pitchapan, 47, on the ground in front of…
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Baby found abandoned in Phuket pickup
PHUKET: Police are searching for the mother of a newborn baby boy found abandoned in the bed of a pickup truck in front of a luxury Phuket resort last night. The baby is healthy and is being cared for at Vachira Phuket Hospital, said Wichit Police Deputy Superintendent Jakkawat Boontaweekulsawat. Hotel staffer Anchalee Singsoon, 39, discovered the infant in the…
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Another Phuket beach befouled by wastewater, again
PHUKET: Dirty, smelly water is flowing across a Phuket beach again, not in the south this time, but in Bang Tao in the north, causing health and economic problems for local boat operators. The source of the problem, say the boatmen, is local hotels dumping untreated wastewater into the Bang Tao Canal, which spills it onto the beach and into…
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Phuket Governor offers safe Songkran blessings
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut hosted more than 300 people, including the island’s three vice governors, at his official residence in Phuket Town this morning for a traditional Songkran water blessing to start off the Thai New Year holiday. Vice Governor Sommai Prijasilpa led the first blessing of Governor Maitri. “Thank you for your support and for helping us develop our…
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Phuket Police under fire: Chalong Police face cleanup under new station chief
PHUKET: Officers of the Chalong Police have found themselves under tight scrutiny from their new chief, the recently reinstated superintendent Col Sirisak Wasasiri, following a blockade of the police station on Monday. All officers must now provide daily reports of their activities, inform Col Sirisak each time they leave the station on police work and provide the results of their…
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Phuket governor lends muscle to lake-filling investigation
PHUKET: Governor Maitri Inthusut yesterday lent the weight of his office to the investigation of a lake-filling project in Samkong with the aim of assisting Rassada Municipality to file a police complaint. The project, at Srisuchart Grandview housing estate, began as a municipality-ordered anti-erosion measure at the lake, but has become a noisy, dusty public nuisance and health threat, according…
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Phuket doesn’t need more tuk-tuks, says tuk-tuk chief
PHUKET: Seven months after his last appeal to legalize tuk-tuk drivers on the island, Sakol Srisompoch filed yet another complaint yesterday, but this time it was against legalizing them. In September, Mr Sakol led a group of legal tuk-tuk drivers to file a third formal complaint in their campaign to stamp out the illegal tuk-tuk trade in Patong (story here).…
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Wastewater could lead to shutdown of Karon hotels
PHUKET: The president of the Karon Hotels Association agreed on Wednesday that hotels should be shut down for releasing untreated wastewater into the beach town’s canal. Angkana Tanetvisetkul voiced her support for drastic action at a public meeting led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut aimed at improving the wastewater and garbage problems in Karon. The meeting was held to address…
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The new generation of F1
PHUKET: Far from the boiling heart of Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur, wrapped in the steamy green of endless palm oil plantations, lies another heart. It doesn’t beat all the time like the city, but when it does, it pounds hard and loud and forces adrenaline to course through the veins. Sepang International Circuit, found 13 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur International Airport…
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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