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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Phuket Sports: Bangkok Angels do not give Islanders salvation; relegation looms
PHUKET: Thai Yamaha Division 1 survival is still within reach ahead of Phuket FC’s final two matches of the season, despite a 2-1 away-loss on Saturday night to promotion contenders Bangkok United. Held at Bangkok’s Thai-Japanese Stadium in the heart of the capital, the 32nd match of the 34-fixture season was both side’s third match inside of a week. The…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2012 underway
PHUKET: The Phuket Vegetarian Festival 2012 began officially at midnight last night as lanterns were hung at the participating Chinese shrines on the island, marking that the Jade Emperor and nine Emperor Gods had descended from the heavens. Thousands of devotees and spectators gathered at shrines across the island yesterday at sunset for the raising of the huge go teng…
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Flames engulf two Phuket tour buses
PHUKET: A fire devoured two parked tour buses on Phuket in the middle of the afternoon yesterday, causing an estimated 7-million-baht worth of damage, though no one was reported injured.The fire broke out on board the recently-arrived Phuket-Songkhla route bus, operated by the Sukda Bus Service, and then spread to another bus, said Phuket City Police officer Capt Somchai Noobun,…
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African woman caught with 6kg of meth at Phuket Airport
PHUKET: Customs officials at Phuket International Airport arrested a Mozambique woman attempting to smuggle six kilograms of crystal methamphetamine (ya ice) into the country on Saturday night.Officials estimate the drugs had an estimated street value 21 million baht.Airport Customs Director Montira Cherchoo said that Mrs Hortencia Ferreira Novela, 37, was arrested after Customs officials found the drugs hidden in her…
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Hunt continues for missing Phuket gold thief
PHUKET: Police are continuing their search for the remaining thief who robbed a Phuket gold shop on September 17, making off with millions of baht of gold jewelry. One of the two thieves, a Burmese national named by police only as “Mr Koson”, surrendered to police after seeing his wife arrested on national television. However, Phuket police are still searching…
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Phuket Hospital fends off expat injury claims of “botched surgeries’
PHUKET: Refuting allegations of any medical misconduct concerning the treatment of Liberty Jefferson, following a serious motorbike accident in March, Vachira Phuket Hospital on Friday issued a statement to explain where their responsibility for her care started and ended. Reported by KVAL news in Ms Jefferson’s home state of Oregon, USA, “Miss Jefferson says she sat in a hospital room…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival starts today
PHUKET: The annual Phuket Vegetarian Festival gets underway at sunset tonight with the raising of the go teng poles for the Jade Emperor and the Nine Emperor Gods to descend to our earthly realm. Each year, the nine-day Vegetarian Festival attracts thousands of tourists to Phuket to witness the various activities held across the island. The street processions each year,…
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Man robs Phuket 7-Eleven with scythe
PHUKET: Phuket Police are searching for a man who, armed with a full-length scythe, robbed a 7-Eleven in Thalang last night.The 19-year-old cashier on duty at the time of the robbery told police that a man wearing a balaclava entered the store, located near the Phanason Village residential estate on Thepkasattri Road, at about 10:45pm.“Although she could not see his…
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Phuket marks Royal Thai Police Day
PHUKET: About 500 police officers gathered at Phuket Provincial Police Headquarters this morning to celebrate Royal Thai Police Day today.Phuket Governor Maitree Intusut, who presided over the ceremony, told the officers in attendance, “I would like all police at every level to give their utmost in the practical application of the government’s policy and strategy to suppress drugs and crime.”Governor…
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Phuket Police ordered to boost security, safety for Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Provincial Police Commander Choti Chavaviwat has ordered an island-wide boost in security for the upcoming Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which starts tonight. Maj Gen Choti told the Phuket Gazette that he was only too aware that the island attracted large numbers of tourists, both Thai and foreign during the festival, and their safety needed to be ensured. Gen Choti said…
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Sek Loso to play in Phuket
PHUKET: Scandal-battered rock star Seksan “Sek Loso” Sukpimai will be among the acts performing at the second annual Life Music Festival in Phuket Town tonight. GMM Grammy – who tore up Sek’s contract late last year, when he refused to admit he had an increasingly violent drug problem – say they couldn’t be happier. GMM Grammy Chairman Paiboon Damrongchaitham says…
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Transport Minister eyes Phuket traffic black spots
PHUKET: Transport Minister Jarupong Ruangsuwan in Phuket last week admitted that despite efforts to resolve traffic jams in Phuket through billion-baht underpass projects, other traffic congestion “black spots” also needed addressing. Mr Jarupong identified the Heroines’ Monument in Thalang and Chalong Circle in the south of Phuket as two areas that specifically need attention. “Projects that improve public transportation in…
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Phuket Town redecorated for Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Ahead of tens of thousands of tourists arriving for the Phuket Vegetarian Festival, which begins tomorrow, shrine committees and local municipal workers have taken to the streets to post flags along major roads across the island and install huge decorations as part of the festivities. All main roads through Phuket Town, and especially those leading from local Chinese shrines…
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Phuket Sports: F1 – Red Bull, bubbles and bumps
PHUKET: It was over some suitably austerity-friendly pink fizz that I heard the bizarre news that Greece has proposed to subsidize a Patras F1 GP by US$37 million. Against a backdrop of 17 Eurozone ministers reviewing budget proposals for a nation facing meltdown, this looks somewhat frivolous. One wonders how it will play in Berlin, in the wake of Schumacher’s…
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Phuket noise: Villagers’ complaints spark raid
PHUKET: Complaints from residents about noise from two entertainment venues in the Heroines Monument area prompted Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak to lead more than 30 officers to raid the venues last night. Vice Governor Somkiet and officers from the Damrongtham Center (provincial ombudsman’s office), the Muang District and Thalang District Offices, and the Thalang Police raided the Relax Live…
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Phuket rapist blames demon drink
PHUKET: A confessed rapist, Peerayut Moottamara, 29, blamed his drunken state for the rape of a work colleague’s 18-year-old girlfriend in Chalong yesterday.“The woman was cooking in a makeshift kitchen behind the row of terraced worker flats [that both of them lived in] yesterday. I was drinking alcohol earlier in the morning, I was out of control. I saw the…
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Phuket lawyer takes death plunge after “humiliating’ argument
PHUKET: A Phuket lawyer died after plummeting from his third-floor apartment in Wichit last night, allegedly due to the humiliation of arguing with his girlfriend in front of apartment staff. Puwanart Pijansophon, 48, worked as a lawyer and also helped his relatives run the apartment complex that he fell from on Soi Jai Lau U-Thit 2 off Chao Fa East…
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Vegetable prices skyrocket ahead of Phuket Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Even a major festival such as the Phuket Vegetarian Festival is not spared commerce’s principal ethos of “supply and demand”; as demonstrated by the hike in vegetable prices this week. As has become the usual practice in previous years, with only a few days before the festival starts vegetable prices at the busy Kaset Market in Phuket Town, near…
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Phuket United downed by Highways Department in season debut
PHUKET: Playing in their Thailand Futsal Premier League debut, the Island’s professional five-a-side club Phuket United went down 1-2 to the Highways Department Futsal Club (HDFC) yesterday afternoon in Bangkok.The match was one of eight held on Wednesday and Thursday as part of the unofficial GMM 2012-2013 Thailand Futsal Premier League kickoff, held at Bangkok’s Fashion Island Futsal Arena. Taking…
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Phuket Governor calls for direct flights between India and Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Maitree Insutut who today met with Indian Ambassador to Thailand Anil Wadhwa called for direct flights from major Indian cities, including Mumbai and Kolkata, to serve the burgeoning number of tourists flying to Phuket. After the closed-door meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall this afternoon, Governor Maitree told the press that “Ambassador Anil agreed, and said he would…
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Phuket Police doubt shooting suicide claim, launch investigation
PHUKET: Police are investigating the death of a man shot point blank in the head with a homemade gun while watching television in his home on the outskirts of Phuket Town last night. The investigation, headed by Phuket City Police Superintendent Sermphan Sirikong, continues despite the widow’s claims that it was suicide. Col Sermphan arrived at the family home in…
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Man crushed by Phuket Town juggernaut
PHUKET: A man wearing a safety helmet was crushed beneath a 10-wheel water-bowser truck, causing heavy traffic congestion for about an hour on Kra Road in Phuket Town this morning.The unidentified man, thought by Phuket Town Police to be in his forties, was transporting roasted-rice-bamboos on the rear of his motorbike at the time of the accident.The driver of the…
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Phuket Police cease investigations into two swimming pool drownings
PHUKET: Police are not continuing their investigations into the drownings of two tourists in swimming pools at two separate luxury resorts in Phuket last week. The two unrelated incidents, which both involved newly arrived tourist couples, occurred in Nai Harn, in the south of Phuket. The first drowning occurred on October 6 at a resort at the north end of…
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Phuket Vegetarian Festival vendors protest over street rents
PHUKET: Food vendors to operate stalls near the Jui Tui Shrine in Phuket Town during the upcoming Vegetarian Festival have successfully overturned the shrine committee’s decision this year to hand over the right to collect stall site rents to homeowners in the downtown area. About 30 people representing close to 100 Chinese vegetarian food vendors gathered around noon yesterday to…
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Phuket FC Islanders devour T-Rex in seven goal thriller
PHUKET: Seven of at least nine goals netted were allowed in Phuket FC’s survival match last night against the Khon Kaen FC T-Rex, with the Islanders earning a convincing three points at home by a 5-2 scoreline. Played at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town, the midweek match was played in front of a humble crowd of 2,100. Languishing in 15th…
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Quebec coroner refutes Thai autopsy results for Belanger sisters
PHUKET: A Quebec coroner has refuted claims by Thai officials that the Belanger sisters died in their Phi Phi hotel room in June after consuming the insecticide DEET. Audrey Belanger, 20, and Noemi Belanger, 25, were found dead in their hotel room on Phi Phi Island on June 15. Both had suffered a violent physical reaction to suspected poisoning. Autopsies…
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Phuket prepares for important ‘footy’ matches
PHUKET: Both of the island’s national-level sports teams have important matches lined up, today and tomorrow. In 11-a-side football, the Phuket FC “Islanders” are ready to host Khon Kaen FC “T-Rex” at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town with a 6:30pm kickoff this evening. Both sides will be fighting hard for all three points to help them steer clear of relegation,…
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Call for blood donations ahead of Phuket Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is calling for a boost in blood donations ahead of the upcoming Vegetarian Festival, which begins on Sunday. The PRBC’s blood stocks usually fall dramatically during the festival as demand rises and donor numbers reduce, due to the physical demands made by the festival’s purification rituals. Acting Director of PRBC Pornthip Rattajak told the…
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Phuket scrubs up ahead of Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: Residents in Phuket’s Srisoonthorn area today staged their “Big Cleaning Day” to prepare for the upcoming Vegetarian Festival, which will get underway on Sunday night. Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosuttirak led the event this morning, which began with cleaning the area immediately surrounding the island’s famed Heroines Monument. Leading an army of volunteers and officers from Srisoonthorn Municipality was…
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Mayor Pian unveils “14 strategies’ to develop Patong
PHUKET: Pian Keesin, launching into his final term as Patong Mayor, has revealed a grand plan of “14 strategies” to transform Patong into a “Livable and Sustainable Tourist Destination City”.Speaking at a Patong council meeting on Monday, Mayor Pian said, “In order to prepare our town for the beginning of the Asean Economic Community [AEC] in 2015, we will have…
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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