Phuket News
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Vachira wants to be paid before Stacey can leave hospital
PHOTO: 9news.com.au “Last night she told 9NEWS that animals walked freely through the hospital wards and said the family was worried about the risk of infection so soon after Ms Liddle’s surgery”. An Australian woman who could lose her leg after a horrible scooter accident in Thailand (Chalong, Phuket) fears being held hostage over her hospital bill (at Vachira Hospital).…
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Phuket’s gay scene gets another chance with Chinese GLBTI
PHOTO: ZAG Nightclub performers, TheGayPassport.com This article first appeared in The Nation courtesy of AFP. It’s an insight into the rebirth of one of the more ‘tatty’ ends of Patong – Soi Paradise, the ‘gay zone’ – where gay bars have opened and closed over the years struggling to attract a consistent flow of customers. For one of south east…
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Phuket Immigration Police arrest 95 illegal foreigners, mostly overstayers
Today (November 10), Phuket Immigration Police announced the results of a crackdown with 95 foreigners arrested, mostly on the basis of overstay. The mix of nationalities comprises 62 Indians, 11 Pakistanis, 6 Egyptians and 16 foreigners from other nationalities. 70 of them were overstaying (the longest one is 2,000 days or nearly five and a half years) while 24 others…
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15 Phuket police officers under investigation over bribes allegations
Deputy Police Commissioner General Pol Gen Srivara Ransibrahmanakul An investigation has been launched against 15 police officers in Phuket accused of taking bribes from illegal immigrants. Deputy Police Commissioner General Pol Gen Srivara Ransibrahmanakul said he had been assigned by the national police chief to head the probe into allegations that local police, tourist police and immigration police in Phuket…
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Suspicious item found near the Phuket International Airport
A suspicious item, that looked like a M67 grenade, was found at a taxi queue next to the Phuket International Airport last night (November 9). The object was in a perfect shape with the bolt wrapped in blue tape. The team covered the item using old tyres and cordoned off the scene from the public. Phuket International Airport’s EOD team…
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Phuket holds a seminar for Ponzi scheme fraud protection
A seminar was held today (November 9), aiming to provide knowledge to people about Ponzi schemes and fake products. The seminar was chaired by the Phuket Governor and attended by many authorities including Pol Col Prawut Wongseenil, Deputy Director General of DSI and President of Anti-Ponzi scheme Association, Samat Jenchaijitarawanit. A Ponzi scheme is a fraudulent investment operation where the…
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The Laverty’s Little Lie – how NOT to scam your insurance company
PHOTO: express.co.uk When we first saw this story, not provided by one of our reporters but from a UK provincial rag, we were suspicious. We contacted the local police. Nothing. We asked other reporters around the island. Nothing. We re-published the article with the caveat that we were trying to verify the facts with local police. We weren’t the only…
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Phuket Gateway 2.0 to be ready next month
Phuket Gateway will be ready to kick off on December 12 this year and is expected to be the welcoming landmark of Phuket at the top of the island providing useful information to travelers. This morning (November 9) Phuket’s Governor, Norapat Plodthong, chaired a meeting to follow up on the project – the Phuket Gateway at Thachatchai – which was…
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Billion baht sports & conference complex to be built at Mai Khao Beach
Phuket’s Governor led a team to visit 150 rai of land on Mai Khao Beach today (November 8) to review the plans to build a sports complex with a 900 – 1,000 million Baht budget from the budget year 2019. The sports complex is expected to attract more sports tourism to the island featuring a sports centre, exhibition hall and…
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THAIGER TODAY Wednesday, November 8
No smoking zones now in force | Toon tops 100 million baht mark | PM won’t rule out starting an NCPO political party | Phuket has a World Champion | Ferries back in service on Gulf | Cabinet approves tax-breaks | 4 year old girl shot in Pattani.
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3 day old baby left at Phang Nga hospital
PHOTO: Takuapa Hospital in Phang Nga – THMaps.com A healthy 3 day old baby has been dumped in a Takuapa hospital’s ER section along with 2,000 Baht in cash. At about 9pm on November 6, at Takuapa Hospital in Phang Nga, a baby was found next to a medicine room. He is 2.6 kilograms and estimated to be only 3…
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No ifs or butts. Smoking ban starts on Patong Beach.
Patong City Council has designated 20 smoking areas along Patong Beach to comply with the smoking-ban-on-the-beach policy of the Marine and Coastal Resources Department (MCRD). The Patong City Administration Organisation opened the smoking areas in order to encourage people not to smoke and drop cigarette butts on the beach, and instead support the department’s new policy. Patong Beach is among…
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UPDATE: Krabi rape case
The results from a complete body examination of the 15 year old girl from Krabi, who was allegedly raped by her stepfather for five consecutive years, will be ready in one month. The President of Muslims for Peace revealed that the stepfather also forced her to get an abortion when he realised she was pregnant. “The relatives told me that…
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Phuket’s Annissa Flynn wins Flowboard Worlds in Cancun, Mexico
Female athletes in Thailand have added another major achievement by winning the 2017 World Flow Boarding Tour Finals in Mexico. Phuket’s Anissa Flynn is already acclaimed as one of the best womens’ surfers in Asia after winning the Asian Womens Open surfing tour at aged 12 and has now added a World Championship to her growing list of big wins.…
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178 rai at Layan & Laypang beaches to be public park
Phuket’s Governor has set up a committee to work on the 178-rai land’s issues at Layan and Laypang beaches. He’s made it quite clear… “businesses and whoever is occupying the beach land must move out”. “We will enforce the law according to the court to evict them. First of all,we will announce that it is illegal from now on to…
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THAIGER TODAY Tuesday, November 7
Veterans urge NCPO not to start political party | Khon Kaen hotel owner sues water authorities | Mystery over 50 year old Brit ‘bashed in Phuket’ | Mystery over Phuket’s ongoing bad weather…will it come? Today at the Melbourne Cup Charity function raising money for Phuket Has Been Good To Us and Good Shepherd Foundation.
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Gulf of Thailand battered – heading towards the Andaman Sea, north of Phuket
(There is an update from the TMD at the bottom of this article – the tropical depression is weakening as it moves across the landmass from Gulf of Thailand towards the Andman Sea, north of Phuket) A severe weather warning was issued for the South Eastern Region on Monday, as the Meteorological Department forecast heavy rain for the entire region,…
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Phuket’s Centre for Rights and Liberties Protection in Criminal Cases officially opens
Today (November 6), the Centre for Rights and Liberties Protection in Criminal Cases has officially opened at the Phuket Provincial Juvenile and Family Court aiming to offer proper protection and education to the people involved in criminal cases and to assist the legal process to continue under the rule of law. “This will help people understand more about the rights…
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Supreme Court says Layan beachfront is ‘public land’
PHOTO: y Travel Blog Today the Phuket Gazette visited Layan Beach following the verdict in the Thai Supreme Court that confirmed that the land, where six beach restaurants and businesses continue to operate, was public land. The land in question spans the an entire 3 kilometre frontage including stretches of Layan and Laypang beaches and covering some 178 rai of…
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50 year old Brit’s dream holiday turns into a nightmare
A dream holiday turned into a nightmare for a husband and wife when he was robbed at gunpoint and left so badly hurt he needed emergency surgery. Mik Laverty was mugged during he and wife Denise’s first full day in Thailand and now the couple’s friends are raising money towards his treatment and to help get them home. Mr Laverty…
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Fake land deeds in Krabi
UPDATE on the fake land deeds in Krabi… The Village Chief, Sucha Wansuk, said that after checking, the land deeds were indeed fake with the name of dead people and fake signatures on them. “One of the title deeds for 7 rai has the name of the owner as Malem Pankwan, who passed away at least 10 years ago,” said…
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Tourist boat capsizes off Phuket
A tour boat carrying 16 Chinese tourists and several Thais sunk off Phang Nga Bay on Sunday morning, as a mechanical issue was being repaired and large waves capsized the vessel, said Ao Phang Nga National Park chief Sarayuth Tansathien. A 29 year old Chinese tourist sustained bruises on her chest and arms while the rest of the passengers were…
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AoT airports increase traffic 6% in past 12 months
A total of just over 129 million passengers travelled through the six airports operated by the Airports of Thailand in 2017, a 7.73% increase from the previous year (September 2016 – September 2017). The six airports operated by the AoT are Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and Mae Fah Luand in Chiang Rai. From September 2016 to…
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Supreme Court says Layan beachfront is ‘public land’
PHOTO: y Travel Blog Today the Phuket Gazette visited Layan Beach following the verdict in the Thai Supreme Court that confirmed that the land, where six beach restaurants and businesses continue to operate, was public land. The land in question spans the an entire 3 kilometre frontage including stretches of Layan and Laypang beaches and covering some 178 rai of…
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Phuket strengthens security measures at croc farms
Following the rains in Phuket which resulted in some areas being flooded, Phuket Fisheries Officers visited crocodile farms to ensure the security for locals and tourists preventing the farms’ reptiles from escaping to outside waters. There are 4 businesses with about 500 crocodiles in Muang Phuket and Thalang District and one personally owned crocodile in Thalang District. The team of…
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Phuket Smart Bus to launch start of 2018
Phuket Smart Bus, as a part of Phuket City Development (PKCD), is launching the first ten smart buses, thanks to an investment of 40 million Baht, aiming to develop Phuket public transportation. The route will be from Phuket International Airport straight to Phuket Town. “Phuket Smart Bus is one of the twelve Smart Growth projects we created for Phuket. The…
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THAIGER TODAY Friday, November 3
Parts of Royal Crematorium now closed to visitors | Flights cancelled to Chiang Mai Airport | Bodyslam ‘Toon’ kicks off his 2,000 km charity run | Bad weather still being predicted | Big joint venture announced between Central and JD.com.
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Governor visits flooded areas and discovers clogged drains
After a flash flood occurred on October 31 following just an hour of rain, Phuket Governor with his team visited the concerned areas and found that the drains were clogged by trash (again!). A budget of 220 million Baht is being set aside as part of the solution. A team consisting several departments at the Provincial office visited Thepkasattri Road…
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, November 2
Flooding around north-east should ease within 14 days | Royal Crematorium now open for tours | 30 year old Australian still in Vachira Hospital | Thailand ‘Ground Zero’ for illegal wildlife trade | New flights to Phuket from Air Asia and Viet Jet.
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Travelling to Thailand? Check your travel insurance.
A cautionary tale… 30 year old Australian Stacey Liddle is still holed up at Vachira Hospital after a traumatic road accident in Chalong caused a lot of damage to her leg which doctors are now trying to save. Whilst she had travel insurance her insurance didn’t cover this accident due to fine print in the contract. Speaking to news.com.au from…
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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