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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Honest limo driver returns B900,000
PHUKET AIRPORT: In an act of outstanding honesty, 42-year-old airport limousine driver Nopporn Kreupanich on Wednesday returned the equivalent of more than 900,000 baht in cash to a German tourist who managed to forget it on the floor of K. Nopporn’s vehicle. K. Nopporn drove the forgetful passenger, Christian Biberger, from Phuket Airport to the Karon Villa Hotel on Wednesday…
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Worker shot dead in “revenge killing’
PHUKET TOWN: A furious argument yesterday apparently boiled over into violence early this morning, resulting in the death of a construction worker and a police manhunt being launched for a fellow-worker. The victim, Theerapong Kwantongyen, died on the way to Wachira Phuket Hospital after being shot at his home in Rassada Nakorn Village on Thepanusorn Rd about 1 am today.…
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Safari Pub raided twice and closed
PATONG: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi has closed the Safari Pub in Patong for a month, sparking a row about interpretation of the 2 am closing law. The case involves prominent Patong businessman Chairat Sukbal and Surapong “Od Patong” Rittee, the newspaper and TV reporter gunned down by a lone hitman in Patong earlier this month. Police raided the Sirirat Rd…
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Green-and-purple piddle puzzles police
PHUKET TOWN: A drug-test raid on restaurants and karaoke bars early yesterday morning along Wanich Rd produced 12 positive purple tests – and one new green-and-purple result that police had not seen before. While the 79 people who were tested went about their business as usual today, police puzzled over the unusual sample. “It was quite weird,” said Pol Capt…
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Child wounded as hitmen kill neighbor
PHUKET TOWN: A four-year-old girl was shot in the shoulder as hitmen murdered a man in what police say they suspect was another drug-related execution yesterday afternoon. Bullets hit pig keeper Jaruek Sae Tan, 35, in the chest, chin, back, neck and head and he died outside a no-name restaurant on Chao Fa Nai Rd, behind the Suan Luang Park,…
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B20m revamp for FantaSea
KAMALA: Phuket FantaSea is to spend up to 20 million baht on renovations, new technology and changes to the show as part of a plan to boost the number of visitors this year. Pin Kewpaisal, President of Phuket FantaSea, said on Monday, “We need to do this to ensure that tourists who have seen our show already can come back…
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Last chance for dealers, addicts
PHUKET: Drugs dealers and addicts in Phuket have until Friday to turn themselves in and receive lenient treatment under the province’s amnesty program, part of the national War On Drugs. But from next Saturday (March 1), no mercy will be shown, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi warned yesterday, stressing that, from the end of this month, there will be no more…
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Karaoke singer dies in tin lagoon
PHUKET TOWN: Police hope distinctive tattoos will help to identify a woman whose body was found floating in a disused tin mine lagoon yesterday afternoon. The woman, a karaoke waitress in her early twenties, is believed to have drowned in the tin lagoon behind the old tantalum factory, in a soi off Thepkrasattri Rd, Rassada, after sniffing glue. Pol Lt…
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Tah Chat Chai wins expo center vote
PHUKET TOWN: Tah Chat Chai in Tambon Mai Khao received overwhelming support as the site for the proposed International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) this morning. At a meeting of 262 government officials, leaders of business organizations and members of the public, chaired by Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit at the Provincial Government Financial Center on Narisorn Rd, 226 people voted for…
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Bust nets 19 gamblers, B380,000
PHUKET TOWN: Police early this morning arrested 19 gamblers and seized almost 380,000 baht in a raid on an impromptu gambling den set up in an empty office behind the Thavorn Hotel on Rassada Rd. A squad of 12 police officers, led by Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, raided the room after receiving an anonymous…
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Meeting aims to improve Phuket tourism
KARON: A meeting on the topic of “Increasing Phuket’s Competitiveness in the International Tourism Market” was held on Tuesday at the Phuket Arcadia Beach Resort. The event was organized jointly by the Phuket Tourist Association and the Kenan Institute Asia (KIA). Objectives of the meeting included finding ways to develop the province as a world class tourist destination; identifying ways…
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Health Chief issues dengue fever warning
PHUKET TOWN: The rising number of people contracting dengue fever has prompted Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) Chief Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong to issue a public health warning and to implement a mosquito culling program. Speaking at a press conference at Phuket Provincial Hall on Tuesday, Dr Wanchai said, “About 10 people in Phuket had dengue fever in February last year,…
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Crackdown on teen violence at Saphan Hin
PHUKET TOWN: Police have announced that special measures will be taken to improve public safety in the Saphan Hin area. The announcement came just two days after a 21-year-old man was shot and seriously wounded in the area, which is a popular hangout for gang members – some as young as 10 years old. Many carry weapons, including knives, brass…
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Convention Center site vote this Friday
PHUKET: A final decision on the location for the proposed new International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) will be made this Friday by popular vote. Four places are in the running. Two are in Phuket Town – Saphan Hin and a site opposite Suan Luang Park. The other two are at Khao Khad, overlooking Ao Makham; and at Tah Chat…
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61 volunteer for drug testing
KATHU: Sixty-one volunteers turned up at the Kathu Meeting Hall today to have their urine tested for drugs – and two of the tests turned purple. At another meeting in Phuket Town, 73 people with drugs in their past made a solemn pledge to stay away from drugs from now on. Kathu District Chief Sutin Uthaitamrong – who, along with…
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Motorbike gunmen strike at Saphan Hin
PHUKET TOWN: A 21-year-old man was shot and seriously injured at Saphan Hin yesterday. The gunman fled on a motorbike ridden by an accomplice. Witnesses to the shooting took the victim, Niruj Mokakom, to Wachira Phuket Hospital about 3:20 pm. He was in the intensive care unit today with wounds to his chest and right arm, and in no condition…
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11 police “involved in drugs’
PHUKET TOWN: Just 15 days since the launch of the nationwide campaign to eradicate illegal drugs in Thailand, 17 Phuket government officers and elected officials, including 11 policemen, stand accused of being involved with illegal drugs. Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi announced the findings at a press conference at the Phuket Against Drugs Center at Provincial Hall on Saturday. Gov…
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A less-than-romantic evening
PATONG: In keeping with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s drive to stamp out illegal drugs within three months, the authorities conducted a surprise raid on the popular Tiger Pub on Soi Bangla on Friday evening – Valentine’s Day. As police swooped in, a large number of tourists – mostly foreigners – managed to escape, leaving just 70 romantic revelers in the…
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Man found dead with bag over head
RAWAI: A Frenchman who had been living on Phuket for more than five years was found dead in odd circumstances, apparently the victim of a bizarre suicide. Police named the man as Gay Laurent, 43, who lived in the Happy House estate in Rawai. A friend of Mr Laurent contacted police about 7:30 pm on February 7, saying that he…
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Frenchman dies in road accident
CHALONG: Frenchman Jean Vidal, 39, was killed in a road accident on Chao Fa East Rd, near Soi Ta’iad Rd, in the early hours of February 9. Pol Capt Chana Sutthimas of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette today that he received an anonymous call about 2:30 am reporting an accident between a car and a motorcycle. When Capt Chana…
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Murder victim dumped in port area
PHUKET TOWN: The body of an unidentified man was found floating in a canal in the Rassada port area in the early hours of Thursday. Pol Capt Rassada Kloung-Wong, of Phuket Town Police Station, said that a local fisherman discovered the body. “The man was shot twice in the chest with a 9-mm handgun. He was about 35 years old…
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Thailand “should tax sex workers and bribes’
BANGKOK (The Nation): Increasingly hungry for state revenues, the Thaksin government received an unusual proposal from the national think tank yesterday that the sex trade should be legalized to boost the country’s coffers. The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) also suggested legalizing some corrupt practices by, for example, turning bribes into “tips” to be shared by staff of…
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Dry season brings water shortages
PHUKET: The taps go on in Patong and off in Karon at 4 pm each day now, under new restrictions caused by Phuket’s shortage of water, and on in Karon and off in Patong at 7 am. Hotels are having to save reserves of water or buy it – and the Phuket Provincial Waterworks (PPW) has warned that other parts…
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Wachira seeks cash for equipment
PHUKET TOWN: Wachira Phuket Hospital is seeking donations so that it can buy medical equipment worth more than 10 million baht. Wachira Phuket Hospital has 522 beds for patients from Phuket and nearby provinces including Phang Nga, Krabi and Ranong. Visiting foreigners also go there for treatment. The equipment needed includes nine respirators for infants and four for children and…
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Mayor announces D-Day for illegal signs
PATONG: Patong Municipality Mayor Chalermsak Maneesri announced today that all Patong businesses will be given one month to remove signs that are out of compliance with municipal regulations. On March 10, at the end of the grace period, the Municipality will send out crews to remove all illegal signs. Vendors operating in restricted areas, especially the sidewalks along Thaweewong (Beach)…
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Man dies as bike crashes and burns
PHUKET TOWN: Police are investigating a crash last night that left a foreigner dead and his hired motorcycle a burnt-out shell. Two cars were also involved. The man, named by police as Etienne Jacques Payan, was carrying an international driving license issued in Britain. Today an officer went from Phuket Town to Krabi, where the motorcycle was rented, to investigate…
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Shark disco reborn as Star Wars
PATONG: The Shark discotheque, closed for more than a year after allegations of lewd behavior, is to reopen next month under new ownership and with a new name, Star Wars. The Patong landmark on the corner of Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd and Soi Bangla has been taken over by Maroot Tainikom, who also runs the nearby Tiger disco and plans…
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Vendors arrested over fake CDs
PATONG: Police arrested five vendors on Sunday after a Sony representative alerted them to the sale of illegal copies of CDs along the beach road. Three of the vendors were each fined 30,000 baht for being in breach of copyright laws. Police named them as Boonchu Saiwichian, Orasa Kritkamjorn and Kiatisak Krongsintham. Pol Lt Ampol Jantakul, of Kathu Police Station,…
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TAT targets Europe, Africa
PHUKET TOWN: Tourists from South Africa and Switzerland will be the new targets as the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) attempts to increase the number of visitors coming to Phuket. Anupharp Thirarath, Director of the local TAT branch, revealed the new aim yesterday at an Aviation Business 2003 Trends Conference at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. The TAT is planning…
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Reporter slain execution-style
PATONG: A newspaper and TV reporter was killed by two shots to the head in an execution-style killing in Patong early this morning. Surapong “Od Patong” Rittee, 43, was gunned down by two .38 rounds fired close to his left ear as he was walking out of the Aree Karnka mini-mart on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd at 3:30 am. His…
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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