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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Dokset murder trial postponed for want of a translator
PHUKET: The murder trial of Stein Havard Dokset was due to continue yesterday but was postponed until August 22 after it was discovered that no court translator was available. Mr Dokset, accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend Rungnapa Suktong and leaving her remains in a trash bin for months, appeared at Phuket Provincial Court yesterday at 9am (story here). After a…
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Aussie life savers dive in to boost Phuket beach guard training
PHUKET: The Phuket Lifeguard Club (PLC) yesterday announced it has joined with the renowned Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) to develop world-class public education programs that aim to improve water safety and reduce the number of drownings on Phuket’s beaches. This week, six senior lifeguard trainers from Phuket beaches and resorts worked with SLSA Community Education Manager Anthony Bradstreet to…
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Phuket Sports: Rotary Club of Patong paired up with Laguna for fun in the sun
PHUKET: On Friday March 1, the Rotary Club of Patong Beach held a charity golf tournament at Laguna Phuket Golf Club. A total of 66 players braved the brutal heat to battle for prizes in several categories. Singles winner was Best Wannamakok with 36 stableford points. The winning pair were Keith Bennet and Sandor Levai. The winning team were Martin…
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Dutch tourist retracts Phi Phi rape report
PHUKET: A Dutch woman who reported to police that she was raped on Monday while on holiday on Phi Phi Island, near Phuket, recanted her story yesterday. The 25-year-old woman told police that she and a friend arrived on Phi Phi on Monday and checked into a hotel. “She then went alone to a bar by the beach,” said Krabi…
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Phuket Poll: Russian tourists equals “No money, no matter’
PHUKET: In the latest Phuket Gazette online reader poll, asking whether the tourism infrastructure in Phuket is sufficiently developed to handle all the Russian visitors, 44% said it doesn’t matter, because very little Russian money reaches the pockets of Phuket residents anyway. The remaining responses were evenly divided between those who believe the infrastructure for Russian tourists is sufficient, those…
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Phuket tourists warned about illegal slow loris touts
PHUKET: A seven-day educational campaign against profiteering from slow lorises and other wildlife is now underway on the streets of Patong. Last night about 30 government officers handed out English-language brochures on the illegal use of wildlife in one of the most tourist-dense areas of Phuket, between Loma Park and Soi Bangla in Patong (map here). The officers were from…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Chelsea face second exit as Spurs trounce Inter
Tottenham thump sorry Inter, Chelsea stung Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Tottenham Hotspur trounced a sorry Inter Milan 3-0 in the Europa League yesterday while last year’s European champions Chelsea were humbled 1-0 by Steaua Bucharest after being stung by a Raul Rusescu penalty.Big-spending Russian pair Zenit St Petersburg and Anzhi Makhachkala failed to manage a goal between them. Zenit lost…
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Phuket protest delivers possible reprieve for Muslim teacher sacked for joining Hajj
PHUKET: About 100 parents, students, community leaders and other Muslim residents from across Phuket gathered in front of Muslim Wittaya School on Thepkrasattri Road in Koh Kaew this morning to protest a teacher being sacked for taking unapproved leave to join the Hajj. The protesters called for the school board to recast their decision to sack Parinya Payadsub, a respected…
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Thailand Futsal: Phuket United win four in a row
PHUKET: The Pearl of the Andaman won their fourth straight futsal league match last night, defeating Prachin Futsal Club (5-3) in a thrilling match in Phuket Town. Played at the Saphan Hin Indoor Sports complex, the match was both sides 27th match of the 30-fixture GMM Sport Thailand Futsal Premier League 2012-2013 season. The visiting team broke the ice early…
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US Embassy to stage “outreach visit’ to Phuket
PHUKET: The Consular Section of the American Embassy in Bangkok will hold an “Outreach Visit” at Le Meridien Phuket Beach Resort in Karon (map here) on March 15. Consular staff will be available from 8am to midday to provide services on: • Passport renewal applications (US$110 or 3,520 baht for adult passports, US$105 or 3,360 baht for a child’s passport).…
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Keep your Phuket junk clean and green, traders told
PHUKET: Traders dealing in secondhand goods and discarded items are under scrutiny in the latest campaign to keep the island green. Officers from the Pollution Control Department are working with the regional Environment Office to ensure recyclables and heavy materials dumped at the stores are disposed of appropriately. Surachai Kulthong, from the regional Environment Office headquarters, explained to the Gazette…
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Phuket taxi driver confesses to assault, abduction – denies rape
PHUKET: A Phuket taxi driver has confessed to beating and abducting a karaoke hostess before stealing her valuables and leaving her tied up in a Phuket hotel room.However, he has denied the rape charge filed against him by the woman.Phuket City Police arrested Suksan Mornamrong, 28, at his rented home in Koh Kaew for the alleged rape on Monday night…
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From the PGA to Phuket
PHUKET: Golf is a sport that has surrounded Michael Brasier all his life. His father, Brett, is a PGA professional and growing up, Michael would watch him teach golf at various clubs around the world, including the Vines in Australia. It was only natural that Michael would follow his father into the sport: playing on the PGA tour, teaching golf…
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Putting it all on the line – Live Wire
PHUKET: With renovations running full-tilt on my new digs in Kathu, near Phuket Town, it’s time for me to stop hypothesizing and analyzing, pays my money, and takes my chances. That’s what this week’s Live Wire is all about – taking chances on a new internet land line. Two weeks ago, I broke down the internet services in Phuket into…
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Myanmar Navy makes historic visit to Phuket
PHUKET: Under a tight program, Capt Aung Zaw Hlaing, Commander of Myanmar Number 1 Fleet, still made time for an exclusive interview with the Phuket Gazette during the navy’s historic first diplomatic visit to a foreign country (click here for story). “We are very pleased to be here. It is the first time our ships have visited Thailand,” Capt Hlaing…
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Laguna Phuket Golf Club gets an upgrade
PHUKET: The Laguna Phuket Golf Club will begin a comprehensive course upgrade on July 1, aimed at significantly improving its complete golf experience as a world-class, five-star golfing facility.The entire project is estimated to take a maximum of 18 months to complete, with the upgraded 18-hole course scheduled for full operation by January 1, 2015.”During recent years the combination of…
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Police to make alleged karaoke killers sing
PHUKET: Police have arrested two men for stabbing a man to death early Saturday morning outside a karaoke bar in the port area of Phuket Town. Aphichet Janpradit, 33, and Phusithi Phaosuparp, 43, were both arrested on Sunday at their rented room on Koh Sireh for the murder of 28-year-old Surasit Sukhum, Lt Col Prawit Engchua of the Phuket City…
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Phuket Gazette World Sports: Preview of Champions league clash – round 2
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH– Sports news compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Manchester United’s Jones ruled out of Real match Reuters/ Phuket GazettePHUKET: Manchester United’s Phil Jones will miss the Champions League last 16 second leg at home to Real Madrid after failing to recover from an ankle injury, manager Alex Ferguson said.The versatile defender or midfielder suffered the…
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Phuket residents protest new B465mn provincial hall
PHUKET: More than 200 Phuket residents protested today against the construction of the new provincial hall. The protesters gathered this morning at Sanam Chai in Phuket Town, opposite the current provincial Hall (map here), to express their concerns that the proposed new hall will negatively affect the lifestyle of people in the area. Former Rassada Mayor Suratin Lianudom and former…
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Phuket Gazette office to be closed tomorrow
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette would like to inform our readers and advertisers that our office in Koh Kaew will be closed tomorrow, Tuesday, March 5, due to yet another all-day blackout in the area to upgrade power lines. The blackout affects Soi Harn Farang and Soi Koh Kaew 33, and may affect adjoining areas that are supplied electricity from power…
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Phuket FC neutralize Big Bang in season opener
PHUKET: Kicking off the Thai Premier League (TPL) Yamaha One 2013 season, Phuket FC played their season opener out to a 1-1 draw away against Big Bang Chula United (BBCU) on Saturday evening in Bangkok. Played at the Army Stadium, the match was watched by little more than 300 fans, with several dozen Phuket fans making the trip. Relegated last…
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Phuket mob surrounds British expat who hit motorcyclist
Correction: The original story yesterday named the driver, as repeatedly confirmed and spelled out to our reporters by Thalang Police Sub Lt Niphon Temsang, as “Martin Ian Potter”. His reports of the surname were incorrect. The driver charged over the incident was Martin Ian Foster, who reportedly works in the hotel industry on Koh Maphrao. The Gazette obtained the correction…
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Phuket Police raid cockfight
PHUKET: Police broke up a cockfighting match near a rubber plantation in central Phuket yesterday, arresting 16 men and confiscating two roosters and 220 baht found at the scene. The number of men attending the matches had grown steadily over the past few weeks, causing local residents to complain to police, who sent an undercover agent to discover the time…
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Phuket blood bank launches March mobile donation drive
PHUKET: The Phuket Chapter of the Red Cross Society has announced its schedule of mobile donation clinics for the month of March. The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC), often called upon to save the lives of Thais and foreigners, is low on stocks of blood type A. “We need to maintain a daily minimum stock of 200 units of A,…
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Southern Resurgence: Drug cocktail 8×100 makes a comeback
PHUKET: The police crackdown on the indigenous plant kratom, a mild narcotic, is taking its toll, with youngsters now reportedly turning to longkong leaves in order to make a new version of the long-known drug cocktail “4×100”. The new recipe using longkong leaves even sports a new, improved nickname: “8×100”. “Kratom leaves are the main ingredient of the original “4×100″…
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Breaking News: Democrats win Bangkok election, Yingluck concedes defeat
PHUKET: Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has conceded defeat in the election today for Bangkok Governor, handing the election win over to Democrat candidate Sukhamband Parabitra.PM Yingluck publicly announced the defeat at 6:15pm after the ongoing count of votes at the polls showed that Sukhamband had amassed more than a million votes while leading Pheu Thai rival Pol Gen Pongsapat Pongcharoen…
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Under Investigation: Phuket villagers foraging for turtle eggs
PHUKET: The safety of turtle eggs in a protected nesting ground at the northern tip of Phuket is under investigation by the Mai Khao Marine Turtle Foundation. The Phuket Gazette contacted the foundation after a reader reported seeing turtle tracks and people probing for eggs in the area between Maikhao Dream Villa Resort and Spa and Maikhao Beach Bungalows (map…
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World Sports: Review of Six Nations
PHUKET: Before the Six Nations began the pundits were, as usual, making their predictions about the destiny of the championship. After their stunning autumn victory over Australia, France was strongly fancied to win “Le Grand Slam”. Wales, despite being current Six Nations champions, had lost seven games on the bounce and seemed to be out of contention. Ireland, so strong…
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Phuket Sports: TNT blown away in a flash by Gordon
PHUKET: In the first match of the second round, the Village took on the TNT at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) last Sunday. The Village, last season’s runners up, were desperate to record their first win of the season, while TNT were looking to progress further up the ladder to challenge the top teams of Patong Cricket Club and Laguna.In…
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Phuket Sports: Southern Sea Warriors reinforced ahead of season start
PHUKET: In their first fixture, Phuket FC, taking on the new nickname this year as the “Southern Sea Warriors” are set to play Big Bang Chula United (BBCU), a team relegated last year from the TPL. The match will kick off today at 6pm at the Army Stadium in Bangkok, BBCU’s home pitch. The Southern Sea Warriors’ first home match…
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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