Phuket News
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Alleged contract killer’s accomplices arrested in Phuket, extradited from Thailand
PHUKET: Five men arrested in Phuket in the same operation that snared the alleged contract killer and US drug dealer Joseph “Rambo” Hunter were extradited to the United States today. Escorted by armed police commandos, Britons Philip David Shackels and Scott Alan Stammer; Slovakian Alexander Lnu; Filipino Allan Kelly Perata; and Taiwanese Ye Tiong Tan Lim were taken from Bangkok’s…
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Prominent Belgian expat among Phuket Immigration arrests
PHUKET: Prominent Belgian expat Georges Sirre, who has lived in Phuket for nine years, was among three foreigners named by Phuket Immigration today to face deportation for previous offenses. Officers arrested Mr Sirre, 56, at his home in Rawai late yesterday afternoon after receiving a request from the Belgian Embassy in Bangkok, Phuket Immigration Superintendent Sunchai Chokkajaykij told a press…
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Phuket Governor inspects Patong ahead of tuk-tuk clearout
PHUKET: Ahead of the December 31 deadline to clear parking spaces along the Patong beach road for tourists, Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusust yesterday inspected the sites where tuk-tuks will no longer be permitted to park after December 31. “The project [story here] can reduce traffic jams in Patong and make the beachfront look more beautiful,” Governor Maitri said. During his…
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Black Eyed Peas rapper highlights Filipino plight with Phuket show
PHUKET: Over 400 people gathered to watch Grammy-award-winning international pop star and rapper from Black Eyed Peas apl.de.ap drop beats at Xana Beach Club to raise funds for the victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the central Philippines over a week ago. “I thought we [Filipinos] were tough, until this happened. Like I’ve never seen this magnitude of people…
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Phuket holidaymaker issued American child sex assault warrant
PHUKET: The American arrested in Phuket for the alleged sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in Harris County, Texas, was due to fly home on Wednesday. “I came here for a vacation,” 41-year-old Forrest Wayne told the Phuket Gazette today from his holding cell at Phuket Immigration (map here). Mr Wayne entered Thailand on November 1, three days prior to…
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Health concerns boil over French passenger at Phuket airport
PHUKET: A French tourist leaching yellow pus from the back of his neck prompted fears that he might infect other passengers at Phuket International Airport on Friday.Airport authorities removed Michel Dominique Godfroy, 56, from the international departure lounge a little after 11:30pm.“We were called to the airport at 11:45pm,” a Kusoldharm Foundation rescue worker told the Phuket Gazette.The rescue workers…
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German tourist dies in Phuket surf
PHUKET: A German man died at Patong Beach yesterday afternoon after being overwhelmed by the strong surf and two-meter-high waves.Klaus Dieter Hermann, 76, was pulled from the surf at 1:40pm, Capt Nattaya Supanpong of the Patong Police confirmed to the Phuket Gazette.“Lifeguards noticed Mr Hermann was swimming alone when he encountered difficulties in the big waves,” Capt Nattaya explained. “When…
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Phuket Police arrest American fitness instructor for child sex assault
PHUKET: Police arrested an American man wanted for the alleged sexual assault of a 13-year-old girl in Houston, Texas, earlier this year. Fitness instructor Forrest Wayne, 41, was taken into custody in Patong one day after the Phuket authorities received a notice from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). “On Saturday night, we received a notification from the FBI…
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Lanterns not cleared for Loy Krathong lift-off in Phuket
PHUKET: Airports of Thailand (AoT) Phuket warned those celebrating Loy Krathong today that releasing lanterns in the Air Safety Zone surrounding the international airport could result in charges carrying a sentence of up 20 years imprisonment or death. The hefty penalty is cited in Thailand Air Navigation Act, BE Section 6(3). “People like to release lanterns during Loy Krathong, especially…
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Special Report: The ongoing battle for a place to call home
Special Report: A poor community of less than 500 people who mostly make a living from picking through the trash at Saphan Hin have made a plea to the Phuket Governor for help in expediting their claim to live in a protected mangrove forest on the outskirts of Phuket Town. Will the villagers finally get a place to call home?…
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Loy Krathong festivities muted in Phuket
PHUKET: There will be muted celebrations for one of Thailand’s largest holidays, Loy Krathong, the “Festival of Light”, tomorrow in respect of the recent passing of His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch Somdet Phra Nyanasamvara Somdet Phra Sangharaja.Traditionally, thousands of people across the nation release krathong, lotus-shaped floats traditionally made of banana leaves, with a small offerings of food, flowers, joss…
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Black Eyed Peas’ rapper throws down beats for Philippines charity event this Sunday
PHUKET: Grammy award-winning rapper and member of the Black Eyed Peas, apl.de.ap, will be performing at the Xana Beach Club tomorrow to raise much-needed cash to support victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the central Philippines last week. Celebrities from around the world have expressed their support for those suffering in the Philippines by raising money through charity events.…
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Chinese charge forward with Phuket consulate
PHUKET: Chinese officials confirmed that a consulate in Phuket will be operational by next year in order to cater for the dramatic increase in Chinese nationals visiting the island.“The plan to establish a Chinese consulate in Phuket has been approved. However, we still need to find a place for it, as well as personnel,” the Chinese Consulate General in Songkhla,…
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Phuket Filipinos rally for typhoon relief
PHUKET: The Filipino community in Phuket will stage a fundraising event this Sunday to collect donations and raise much-needed cash to support victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the central Philippines last week. The event will be held at the Basketball Gymnasium at Saphan Hin (map here), where hundreds of Filipinos working and living in Phuket congregate each week…
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Patong hotel ordered to remove water-runoff pipe from beach
PHUKET: A leading Phuket resort has been ordered to remove a pipe that released runoff rainwater directly onto the sand at Patong Beach. The news came yesterday when officers from the Regional Environmental Office (REO) and Patong Municipality inspected the Impiana Resort, on the Patong beachfront road (map here). “We asked people in the area, and were told that the…
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Norwegian tourist drowns at Karon Beach
PHUKET: A Norwegian tourist drowned after being caught in heavy surf at Karon Beach, on Phuket’s west coast, yesterday. Kata-Karon chief lifeguard Uten Singsom reported his staff seeing the man, named by police as Chris Roger Hangsao, 55, having difficulty coping with the large waves. “There were big waves, up to about two meters high,” Mr Uten told the Phuket…
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Phuket joins Philippines typhoon relief effort
PHUKET: The Phuket chapter of the Red Cross Society has joined the relief effort to provide assistance to victims of Super Typhoon Haiyan, which devastated the central Philippines last Friday. “Right now we can only accept donations of money, which we will send to our head office in Bangkok,” Phuket Red Cross staffer Sarawut Rukkhaw told the Phuket Gazette. “We…
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Phuket residential areas hit by water shutoffs
PHUKET: Water supply was suspended in parts of Phuket today for the Phuket Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) to carry out maintenance work.“We stopped the water supply along the Tha Rua-Muang Mai Road in Pa Khlok. Residences in that area were affected,” PWA officer Sasivimol Sangprakong said.The water was shut off to fix a burst main in front of the Thalang…
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Man slain by single gunshot in Rawai
PHUKET: Police are investigating the death of a 28-year-old man who was slain by a single gunshot to the head near Rawai Beach early this morning.Chalong Police Deputy Superintendent Jumroon Plaidoung was notified of the murder at about 3:30am.“When we arrived at the scene, an unregistered rental house about 150 meters from the beach, we found the body of Khin…
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Phuket illegal taxis given New Year deadline
PHUKET: Fed up with the delay in illegal taxi drivers complying with the law, Phuket officials have established a December 31 deadline for taxi drivers to become legal. Phuket officials have long been flexible in trying to accommodate local taxi drivers’ concerns, Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada told a provincial transportation committee meeting on Tuesday. “In the past, we kept extending…
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Phuket Sport: Singapore wins international cricket sixes competition
PHUKET: The Phuket Cricket Group (PCG) hosted the inaugural Sunseeker Thailand International Cricket Sixes event at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) over November 8-10. The competition saw Phuket’s local cricketer’s line up against international teams from Australia and Singapore in an action-packed, fun-filled three days.The first two days comprised of round robin matches which were followed by a great night…
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Patong Police chief told to clear parking spaces for tourists – or be transferred
PHUKET: The chief of police in Phuket’s premier tourism town of Patong has been ordered to clear beach road parking spaces for tourists by December 31 – or face being transferred.The news came after a video conference between Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arun Kaewwatee and Police Region 8 Commander Panya Mamen yesterday.“Lt Gen Panya ordered the superintendents of the…
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Major blackout to hit southern Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced a major blackout scheduled to affect residents and businesses in Chalong tomorrow. PPEA staff will be carrying out maintenance work on high-voltage power lines. “We will replace power cables in many areas this month to prevent unscheduled blackouts and fluctuations in power supply,” PPEA Operations Chief Yongyuth Podbutr told the Phuket…
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Phuket ATM robbers were “amateurs’, says expert
PHUKET: A welding expert today branded the thieves who last week used a blowtorch to steal 1.6 million baht from an ATM at Phuket’s Boat Lagoon as “amateurs”. Stuck for clues in tracking down the bandits, Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Serm Kwannimit today brought welding expert Wisut Pumsiri to inspect the scene of the crime (story here). “I believe…
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Safety helmet found at Phuket motorbike fatality scene
PHUKET: A man carrying a full-face helmet was found dead on the airport bypass road after falling from his motorbike early yesterday morning. Police were called to the scene, about one kilometer from Thepkrasattri Road (map here), at 2:30am. “The victim was identified as Thanapon Pawatpongphan, 44,” said Capt Santi Prakobkan of the Tah Chat Chai Police. “It seems as…
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Phuket kratom cooks caught in the act
PHUKET: Police in Kamala, on Phuket’s west coast, nabbed two men cooking up a batch of the illegal drug cocktail “4×100” at a workers’ camp on Friday.“Plain clothes police informed us that two men, Aekkaluk Phanchalard, 29, and Suthep Abdulsamak, 42, were making 4×100 at the camp,” explained Lt Suchart Chompooseang of the Kamala Police.Uniformed officers quickly assembled a squad…
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Underway: B30mn study to pipe water to Phuket
PHUKET: The Provincial Waterworks Authority (PWA) on Thursday raised the public’s awareness of a 30-million-baht feasibility study investigating the possibility of piping water from Surat Thani to Phuket. The study was launched on June 24.“The project aims to provide enough water to support the growing number of residents and tourists in Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Surat Thani for next…
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BIS Phuket earn four trophies at its football tourney
PHUKET: British International School Phuket (BISP) was proud to once again host its annual football tournament, with the hosts taking home four of the total 30 trophies. This year there were teams representing 26 international schools from not only Thailand, but China, South Korea, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and Vietnam. Out of 10 classes, BISP won top honors in the…
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New Tourist Police Commander joins Phuket boat safety blitz
PHUKET: The new commander of the Tourist Police, Maj Gen Apichai Theamart, yesterday led a team of officers on a safety inspection of boats operating at Rassada Pier, on the east side of Phuket Town. The inspection, aimed at ensuring Phuket tourists’ safety, follows a heavily overloaded ferry from Pattaya capsizing off Koh Lan, injuring many passengers and causing the…
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Phuket tourist van drivers win reprieve against arrests
PHUKET: Local van drivers who shuttle tourists at hotels and resorts to and from the various piers around Phuket have won a reprieve from arrests during the ongoing crackdown on illegal drivers.The news follows a collection of 60 drivers successfully appealing to Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada at Provincial Hall yesterday.“All of us have already applied to the Phuket Land…
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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