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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DDPM-Phuket announces road-safety campaign
PHUKET CITY: In its annual attempt to limit road carnage over the holiday period, the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) will once again organize a multi-agency effort to promote safe driving during the “seven days of danger” period, from December 28 to January 3.DDPM-Phuket Chief Chotenarin Kerdsom said in an official DDPM-Phuket press release the annual migration of…
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Ya bah bust in Thalang
THALANG: During a sting operation near the Heroines’ Monument yesterday, Phuket Provincial Police special investigations unit arrested a Thalang man for possession of 400 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills with intent to sell.Lt Anukul Nukate of Thalang Police explained that undercover police arranged to meet Surachai Maimad, 29, at 3 pm on Srisoonthorn Rd [Route 4025] to buy the pills for…
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Couple arrested, 2000 pills seized in ya bah bust
THALANG: Thalang Police made two arrests and confiscated about 2,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills on December 13, said Maj Anukul Nuket of Thalang Police Station.The arrests were made after an undercover police officer posing as a buyer arranged to buy 400 ya bah pills for 90,000 baht from Sitthichai Prasit, 20, a native of Nakhon Sri Thammarat Province, and Kanjana…
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Phuket prisoners pardoned
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Provincial Prison yesterday released 147 prisoners, 136 were men and 11 women, at 9 am following a royal decree from HM King Bhumipol Adulyadej to mark his 80th birthday.Also released from Baan Bang Jo detention center were two women and two men who had been detained there instead of paying fines.The royal decree was issued on December…
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Tsunami memorial services
PHUKET-PHANG NGA: To mark the third anniversary of the Asian tsunami on December 26, a number of services will be held throughout the region. In Patong, there will a merit-making ceremony at Loma Park involving 108 Buddhist monks, along with speeches and a minute of silence in remembrance of the victims, from 10 am to 10:30 am.Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit…
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Woman dies in cliff-side tumble
THALANG (Kom Chad Luek, Gazette): Police have ruled as accidental the death of a 20-year-old woman who fell 20 meters down a seaside cliff near Nai Thon Beach yesterday morning while she was on a motorcycle tour of the island with friends.Lt Col Somkid Khaosang of Tah Chat Chai police station identified the deceased as Savittree Pinmuang, from Nong Bua…
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Land acquisition funds approved for Chalong dam
CHALONG: Some 160 million baht for the final land acquisition for the Klong Krata reservoir project has been approved and landowners will receive compensation payments within two months.News that the funding had been made available under the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives was reported during a project update meeting chaired by Phuket Vice-Governor Smith Palawatwichai at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday…
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Bars must close this weekend – and the next
PHUKET: The upcoming general election will be a sobering experience for the island’s party people, as a ban on alcohol sales will force bars to close for two consecutive weekends – starting at 6 pm tomorrow night.Phuket Election Commission Director Supap Akkam this morning confirmed that the new election law prohibits alcohol sales not only on election day, but during…
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Supreme Court upholds SorPorKor ruling
PHUKET CITY: (Nation/Gazette): The Supreme Court yesterday confirmed an appellate decision to evict members of the Tantiwit family from a 69-rai plot designated for landless farmers in Kathu.“The national-land-reform [SorPorKor] program is reserved for farmers. Non-farming individuals are not qualified to utilize land-reform plots,” the High Court said in its verdict, read out at the Phuket Provincial Court Building.The Supreme…
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Gambling tops crime stats
PHUKET: Gambling topped the latest crime statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police, with 228 arrests in November.Drug-related cases accounted for 109 arrests, of which 49 involved ya bah (methamphetamine) with a total of 3,170.5 pills seized.Twenty-seven people were arrested for the use of cannabis, with 9.2 kilograms confiscated. There were 15 arrests for inhalant abuse and nine for possession of…
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Three years on: Phuket marks tsunami anniversary
PATONG: Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) is organizing Light Up Phuket on December 26 to mark the third anniversary of the tsunami tragedy in 2004.More than 100,000 candles will be lit along the three-kilometer stretch of sand at Patong Beach.At 10:50 am, 108 monks will pray during a ceremony at Loma Park, Patong.Candles will be placed in the sand on…
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B-negative blood needed urgently
PHUKET CITY: The blood bank at Vachira Phuket Hospital is in urgent need of type B Rhesus-negative blood to treat a patient needing a blood transfusion. Anyone with this blood type is urged to contact the hospital as soon as possible.Donations of any blood type are also welcome and first-time and regular donors with at least three months since their…
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Home blaze in Koh Kaew
KOH KAEW: A house near Muslim Wittaya Phuket School in Koh Kaew caught fire early in the evening of December 9, causing damages estimated at 500,000 baht. No injuries were reported.Phuket City Police Duty OfficerPol Lt Somchai Noobun described the gutted dwelling as a one-story property in a small soi near the school. He identified the homeowner as Amarin Phinyo,…
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Ax meets knife in battle of brothers
KAMALA: Five men were hospitalized after a bloody fight following an accusation of attempted rape at a Kamala construction site workers’ camp on Monday night.Pol Sub Lt Charnsarawut Saeng-aroon of Kamala Police Station reported that the fight, involving an ax and a 12-inch blade, broke out between two pairs of brothers after the wife of a construction worker alleged that…
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Jelik wins King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET: Under pressure for a perfect start in strong winds this morning, Ray Roberts’ Quantum Racing crossed the start line just three seconds before the start horn sounded, leaving Frank Pong’s 75-foot Jelik to sail off round the course and win the 21st King’s Cup Regatta.The windiest King’s Cup since 1994 sorted the men from the boys to end on…
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Blackouts scheduled for Chalong and Wichit
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has announced scheduled blackouts that will leave residents in Wichit and Chalong without power on December 12 and 13.The power cuts will allow the authority to carry out necessary maintenance and inspection work on high-voltage power lines in both vicinities.The areas will be affected as follows:December 12, 9 am to 5 pm.WICHIT: Pattana…
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New company to operate airport limos
TAH CHAT CHAI: Phuket Mai Khao Co Ltd has won a concession to operate a new taxi and passenger van service at Phuket International Airport (PIA). The company will operate 60 vans and 20 cars under a three-year concession won with a bid of 33 million baht, Phuket Airport Director Sq Ldr Pornchai Eua-aree told the Gazette.The company can begin…
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Phuket companies score at property awards
BANGKOK: Phuket-based property companies took home four of 13 awards at the 2007 Thailand Property Awards, held in Bangkok December 1.The Yamu was awarded the Best Resort Villa Development prize, Royal Phuket Marina won in the Best Resort Condo Development category, while the Lighthouse Club Green Development Award went to West Sands in Mai Khao. Siam Real Estate was awarded…
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Gangs war with “swords’ at Saphan Hin
SAPHAN HIN: Two gangs each of about 40 teenagers battled with long-bladed weapons, reported as swords, at Saphan Hin about 1 am on Sunday. In the melee, a 16-year-old died after being struck down while riding his motorbike and a member of the same gang fled his attackers by jumping into Klong Bangyai, but with his right hand severed and…
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Cop shoots self by accident
WICHIT: A police officer on a solo stakeout on Monday accidentally shot himself in the wrist, the Gazette has learned.Following up a report that an officer had been shot by motorcycle thieves, the Gazette today spoke to Sgt Rakchart Suksrinuan of the Phuket City Police.Speaking from a hospital bed at Vachira Phuket Hospital, where he is being treated, Sgt Rakchart…
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Long Live The King
PHUKET: In honor of HM Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 80th birthday today, more than 100 yachts taking part in the 21st King’s Cup Regatta completed a sail-past salute before taking to deeper waters for today’s racing.If it were not for His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej being a keen yachtsman and master craftsman of sailing dinghies, the Phuket King’s Cup Regatta would not…
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Protesters continue attack on Cherng Talay Tesco
THALANG: With construction of the new Laguna Tesco-Lotus Market in Cherng Talay nearing completion, the development continues to be marred in controversy after representatives from Cherng Talay Municipality measured the area of the site on November 26 and declared the construction legal in a subsequent report.Samarn Krohlek and Apisit Ngarnpresertkit, leaders of a local protest against the store, joined Thalang…
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Chalong dope bust: 3 arrested, 9 kilos seized
CHALONG: Chalong Police seized nine kilograms of marijuana last Wednesday after a sting operation that resulted in the arrest of three men.Chalong Police Superintendent Pol Col Samarn Chainarong told a press conference on Thursday that after gathering intelligence from informants, police received information about a group of men who had been selling marijuana in Phuket.Pol Maj Veerayut Sitthirattakul of Chalong…
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Collisions mar Day 2 of King’s Cup Regatta
PHUKET: After yesterday’s passage race around the islands, the sailors got down to the serious business of racing on multiple windward/leeward courses. Once again it was an idyllic day for sailing with gusts of 15 to 20 knots of northeasterly breeze fanning the boats along under clear blue skies. Several collisions on the course saw a huge attrition rate in…
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Phuket ICT Center set for December 5 launch
SAPHAN HIN: As part of a government initiative to promote information and communications technology (ICT) in Thailand, Phuket Municipality and the Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) have teamed up to open the Phuket ICT Center at the Phuket Municipality Youth Center in Saphan Hin.The ICT Center, slated for a grand opening at 11:09 am on Wednesday, comprises four zones. The…
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Cigana and Blatchford win triathlon titles
CHERNG TALAY: Massimo Cigana from Venice and Briton Liz Blatchford ran, swam and cycled their way to the front of a throng of about 700 athletes from 44 countries at this year’s Laguna Phuket Triathlon on December 2.The star-studded field comprised the likes of 2007 Hawaii Ironman World Champion Chrissie Wellington from the UK, 2007 Ford Ironman World Champion 70.3…
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MP candidates call for local election commission to be replaced
PHUKET CITY: Six local MP candidates from four political parties held a press conference Wednesday afternoon, calling for the national Election Commission (EC) to replace all the members of the Phuket Election Commission (PEC) currently chaired by Phuket Vice-Governor Tri Augkaradacha.The six politicians charged that the PEC’s joint staging of an “anti-vote-buying” activity with the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor)…
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Chalong Police nab cable cutters
CHALONG: Chalong Police have arrested two suspects for late-night thefts of electric cable that left homes in Rawai and Chalong in blackout over the past month. At a press conference at Chalong Police Station yesterday morning, police identifed the culprits as Mana Sae-Tun and Sansern Klaseuk, both 23-year-old Phuket natives.The thieves were presented to the media by Chalong Police Investigtions…
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Digital Gazette takes off
(PHUKET): In a development which might surprise a number of “old media” publishers (and not surprise more modern ones at all), the Phuket Gazette‘s new “Digital Gazette” has sold 21 subscriptions into its tiny niche readership market within the first 24 hours of its launch as a paid product. Incorporating virtually the entire content of it’s now 64-page weekly hard-copy…
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Registered population continues to rise
PHUKET: As of October 31, Phuket’s official population stood at 313,835 persons, up 880 from September 30. The rise follows a provincial campaign to increase the registered population of Thais living in Phuket, as officially tallied from household registration forms, or tabien baan.Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Piya Bharatasilpin reported the increase during the monthly meeting of the Phuket…
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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