Phuket News
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Kata boatmen blockade Amancruises yacht
KATA: A dispute over business territory led to a seaborne blockade at Kata Beach this morning in which a motor launch from the exclusive Amanpuri resort was forced to sail without eight passengers. The 38-foot motor yacht Maritess, operated by Amancruises, had been booked to pick up four adults and four children from Kata Beach, and take them to Phi…
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Songkran blitz holds road toll down
PHUKET: A Songkran crackdown by police and government officials has held Phuket’s Thai New Year holiday road toll to one death and 340 injuries so far. The figures, recorded up to midnight last night, were in line with last year’s, when the number of deaths was restricted to two during the 10-day festival. In contrast, the tally of arrests at…
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Laws of physics win
OOPS: Passers-by at the Thepkrasattri Rd – Komarapaj Rd intersection in Phuket City on Saturday night were astonished to come across this humpbacked pickup truck. Witnesses said that the truck, heavily laden with fruit, was not involved in an accident, but had jack-knifed – vertically – after its driver slammed on his brakes at the lights.
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First road death recorded in “Safe Songkran’
PATONG: Within minutes of government officials urging people to ride safely, Sarawuth Kohavee became the first road fatality in Songkran week in Phuket. About noon his motorbike, bound for Phuket City, slammed into the rear of a six-wheel truck as it turned into a soi in Chalong, near the entrance of Phuket Vanich Company. K. Sarawuth was not wearing a…
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Deputy mayor victim of “poisoning’ attempt
THALANG: Police are investigating whether a bottle of water in the Thepkrasattri Municipal Offices contained poison – and whether it was part of a murder attempt by municipal officers bent on revenge after being accused of embezzlement of municipal funds. Accusations of skulduggery and fraud – and possible links to a double murder – were flying today at the troubled…
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Air hostess grants offered to needy dreamers
PHUKET: The government is offering 60 scholarships for good-looking, tall, well educated Thai women living in poverty to realize their dreams of becoming air hostesses. Under the “Eur Ah-torn Air Hostess Project”, women granted the scholarships will attend the three-month basic cabin attendant course at the Civil Aviation Training Center (CATC) in Bangkok. The project, says an announcement from the…
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More Songkran water play zones designated
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has designated two more zones for Songkran water play, adding to the three previously announced by Phuket Provincial Police. In a pamphlet issued by the Provincial Public Relations Office, the Governor listed the following areas as places where people may legally fling water at one another during Songkran: Muang District: Saphan Hin, Tambon Rawai,…
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Two-tier pricing claim baffles developers
PHUKET: Real estate developers have reacted with bafflement and irritation to an accusation that the property industry in Thailand indulges in double pricing, with foreigners paying up to 75% more than Thais do for homes. The accusation came in a report published yesterday by the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong – the biggest market by far for the…
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Phuket IT to overtake Singapore
PHUKET CITY: Information and communications technology (ICT) in Phuket will outstrip that of Singapore within two years, the head of Phuket’s newly-established Software Industry Promotion Agency (Sipa) has ambitiously predicted. Dr Pongsak Kerdvongbundit, President of Sipa in Phuket, also announced that the organization’s office in Saphan Hin, which was officially opened on March 1 but initially remained unmanned, is now…
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Bad debt property up for auction
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Legal Execution Department (PLED) will hold its first “distressed property” auction of the year on May 15 at the Phuket Merlin Hotel. The PLED, which is responsible for auctioning off bad-debt properties, currently has on its books 220 properties worth an estimated 750 million baht. Those that are unsold on May 15 will be offered at…
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Air Andaman to launch Phuket-Singapore route
PHUKET: Air Andaman will begin a regular service between Bangkok and Singapore from May 13, stopping at Phuket on the way. Public Relations Manager Am-nad Thienhiranchaikul told the Gazette that the airline is awaiting delivery of two new Fokker-100 jet airplanes to fly the new route. With capacity for 108 passengers, the new planes will replace the smaller F-50 turboprop…
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Warning over export of antiques
PHUKET CITY: Officers from the Customs Office at Phuket International Airport and from the Thalang National Museum have issued a reminder that people wanting to take antiques or Buddha images out of Thailand must first obtain a permit to do so. Nittaya Pinchaisiri, an officer at Thalang National Museum, said, “People who want to take antiques or Buddha images bought…
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Better Songkran Order emphasized
PHUKET CITY: In an effort to prevent the annual surge in road accidents during the Songkran holdiday, the Superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, has announced that new rules restricting water-play to special zones will be strictly enforced across the island during the April 13-15 holiday period. Col Paween said that the new rules will limit…
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Reward offered over missing man
KATA: The family of missing dive instructor David Wiewel are offering a reward of 50,000 baht for information leading to Mr Wiewel being found. The 57-year-old Dutchman walked out of his home in Kata on the morning of March 26 and has not been seen since. His brother, Frank, said, “We are living between hope and fear and the situation…
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Dulwich to open college on Samui
KOH SAMUI: David Cook, Headmaster of Dulwich International College (DIC), has announced that the international school will open a new campus on Koh Samui next year. At a meeting of property developers and agents on Koh Samui on Friday, Mr Cook said that DIC had concluded the purchase of 65 rai of land with 300 meters of road front in…
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Mob protests police “lack of action’
CHERNG TALAY: In the latest flare-up in an ongoing gang war between youths from Bang Tao and neighboring Baan Don, some 100 teenagers blocked the main road intersection in Cherng Talay last night for seven hours. The mob were protesting about the “unfair” arrests of two Bang Tao teenagers during a brawl yesterday afternoon in Thalang, and about the repeated…
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Out of school, out of work
PHUKET: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s plan to find work for students over the hot-season school break has received a cool reception in Phuket. As of April 1, only 21 of the 207 students who applied for jobs had found work. The plan, which got a major publicity boost when PM Thaksin put his daughter Paethongtan to work passing out burgers…
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Sun sets on Phromthep eyesore
RAWAI: Visitors going to Laem Phromthep recently to watch the sun set have been getting more than they bargained for. At the top of the stairs leading up from the carpark, and blocking the view, is a large, unfinished stone monument. But now it has been decided that the unsightly new structure, built at a cost of 200,000 baht as…
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Confusion over new entertainment licenses
PHUKET: About 30% of the entertainment venues on Phuket have not applied for any of the new entertainment service licenses, Wisut Romin, Deputy Secretary of the Phuket Provincial Administrative Office, has told the Gazette. Owners of entertainment venues had until March 12 to apply, after which their existing licenses automatically became void. Those who did apply are allowed to continue…
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Gov urges swift action on seaweed
PHUKET: At a provincial meeting this morning Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura admitted that bright green seaweed covering large parts of Patong Beach is the result of poor waste disposal practices by the Patong Municipality, but stressed that it is not a danger to human health. The Governor did acknowledge, however, that the piles of macroalgae are a threat to tourism.…
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Roads claim 15 more lives
PHUKET: Fifteen people were killed on Phuket’s roads between January 20 and February 20, according to the latest statistics from the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. All of the victims died while riding motorcycles, Ampaipan Pawawattananusorn, of the Phuket Provincial Health Office, reported. In the same period, 1,024 people were hurt in crashes involving motorbikes. Another 80 people were…
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Heated views at zoning seminar
PHUKET: What might have been a dry discussion of the technicalities of zoning in Phuket turned into a wide-ranging and sometimes emotional discussion of Phuket’s ills when 150 people attended a Phuket Gazette-Nation seminar on Saturday. On stage to lead discussion of “Can Zoning Save Phuket?” at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort were Dr Sommai Prijasila, Head of the Foreign…
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Appeal over missing dive instructor
KATA: The wife and friends of dive instructor David Wiewel, 57, have issued an appeal for anyone who has seen the Dutchman since 8 am on Friday (March 26) to get in touch with them. Mr Wiewel left his home at 121/1, Koktanod Rd, Kata, at that time and was last seen walking toward Kata Noi. He left behind his…
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Hotel unions examine service charge issue
PHUKET CITY: For members of local hotel labor unions, the question of who gets service charges was high on the agenda at a recent international meeting of labor officials in Phuket. Regional representatives of the International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) gathered at the ST Hotel on March 27-28 to discuss collective…
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Songkran water battles to be zoned
PHUKET (The Nation): Revelers will have to watch out where they hurl water during Songkran next month because local authorities plan to designate specific areas for their antics. “We will ensure that the revelers have fun while observing laws and safety rules,” Phuket police chief Pol Maj Gen Veerayuth Sittimalic said. The proposed free-for-all zones are Saphan Hin in Phuket…
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First round of zoning hearings completed
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Public Works and Town and Country Planning Office (PWTCPO), which is responsible for drawing up a comprehensive set of island-wide zoning regulations by October 1, has completed a first round of public hearings in each of Phuket’s three districts to gauge public opinion on zoning issues. The zoning is intended to curb the unregulated development that…
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Direct Phuket-Pattaya flights take off
PHUKET: Bangkok Airways will launch direct Phuket-Pattaya flights on Sunday (March 28) – part of a general aviation expansion that also sees Hong Kong-based airlines Cathay Pacific and Dragonair getting access to some domestic routes within Thailand. Bangkok Airways’ Sales Executive in Phuket, Julalak Atiwattananon, told the Gazette that, starting March 28, the new Phuket-Pattaya service will fly on Sundays,…
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Phuket Seminars to focus on quality-of-life issues
PHUKET: In connection with a Nation Multimedia Group (NMG) editorial board meeting to be held in Phuket this weekend, The Nation newspaper and the Phuket Gazette will present an English-language seminar entitled: “Can zoning save Phuket?” Focused on provincial planning, zoning, environmental and other issues critical for tourism, property development and day-to-day living on the island, the seminar will be…
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Police seek witnesses to double fatality
RAWAI: Police are keen to interview anyone who may have witnessed a collision between a car and a motorbike that killed a British tourist and his Thai girlfriend on Wiset Rd, Rawai, on Sunday night. Killed were Briton Scott Tristan Watkins, 33, and Sasithorn Kaewyai, also 33, from Buri Ram. The following day, the driver of the Mitsubishi Pajero involved…
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New base for anti-smuggling operations
AO MAKHAM: The new Customs House and pier at the Ao Makham Deep Sea Port, officially opened yesterday, is expected to play a major role in the protection of the area around the port from various maritime perils, including smuggling and environmental problems. The Customs Department will base five vessels there to intercept fuel-oil smugglers and drug runners. Anti-smuggling operations…
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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