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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Glue-sniffers come unstuck
PHUKET TOWN: Two teenagers were taken into custody for substance abuse yesterday after local residents reported three boys and a girl sniffing glue in the public park at Phuket Villa 1. When officers arrived at the park, the four teenagers fled in different directions, leaving behind a plastic bag containing rubber adhesive. Officers gave chase and caught two of the…
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Timeshare staff arrested over work permits
PATONG: Shockwaves ran through the Patong end of Phuket’s timeshare industry yesterday after six men and two women were arrested following complaints from tourists. Seven of the eight face expulsion from the country for working without work permits. The eighth is Thai. Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi said yesterday that the seven foreigners did not have work permits. They were named…
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Taxi boss fails to get cabs into airport
PHUKET: A metered taxi company has been denied space to operate at Phuket International Airport despite repeated applications and high-level discussions. Today the Phuket Land Transportation Office Committee held a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall with involved parties including Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi; Lt Cdr Boonchart Prompoon, Director of Phuket International Airport (PIA); Weera Kruepanich, representative of Phuket Limousine &…
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Classy thief robs government officers
PHUKET TOWN: A well-dressed thief who allegedly specialized in daring walk-in robberies of government offices is being questioned by police. Prayoon Kruekaew, 26, of Phuket, was arrested at his home on Patipat Rd this afternoon after what appeared to be his latest stunt. He confessed to pulling eight robberies in Phuket and five in Haad Yai. His method was to…
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He ain&’t heavy…
PATONG: Patong’s dramatic municipal election developed a fresh twist today when the brother of accused Mayor Surasak Maneesri was nominated for the leading role in his place. But K. Surasak stressed his desire to prove his innocence of allegations of disreputable behavior and replace his brother, Chalermsak, as candidate for mayor before the polls on November 16 and 17. While…
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Meat company boss faces political charges
PHUKET TOWN: Belgian businessman Hugo Van Der Velde, 62, was today charged with becoming illegally involved in Thai politics after a complaint from the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party that he had been passing out business cards describing him as a consultant to the party. Four other foreigners, another Belgian, an Australian, an Italian and a Briton, are expected to…
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More die on Phuket’s roads
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket’s road carnage has increased with a total death toll in the first eight months of the year up by 14% on the same period last year. The new figure brought the island’s road toll for the year to 121 dead and 8,714 injured in all accidents. The toll for the same period last year was 106 dead…
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Airport to expand onsite services
PHUKET: On the 14th anniversary of Phuket International Airport (PIA), Tawat Anukoon, Vice-President of the Airports of Thailand Co, yesterday said that airport services will be improved to cope with an expected rise in the number of aircraft landing at and departing from Phuket. K. Tawat explained that the airport authority expected a 3% rise in air traffic here over…
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Prisoners join Vegetarian Festival
PHUKET: More than 200 inmates of the Phuket Provincial Prison are taking part in the Vegetarian Festival this year. Although they will not be joining any marches, the 235 prisoners have donned white T-shirts donated by a local motorbike dealership and will be eating only vegetarian food, supplied by the Jui Tui Shrine. Winai Ruengjaruwattana, who is a member of…
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FantaSea makes it two in a row
KAMALA: Phuket FantaSea recently received, for the second time in a row, the prestigious Best Attraction Award, presented by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT). The biennial award – regarded as one of the highest honors in the Thai tourism industry – was also won by Phuket FantaSea in 2000. FantaSea received the award, the TAT said, because of its…
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Former Governor in Patong poll wrangle
PATONG: A former Governor of Phuket has complained about his name and photo being used in the Patong municipal election campaign without his knowledge. Prof Yuwath Wuthimethee, who was governor of Phuket almost 10 years ago, demanded that mayoral candidate Pian Keesin remove his picture from election material being circulated by the Palang Patong Party (Patong Power-PPP). Prof Yuwath, now…
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Web domain hunter clarifies position
PHUKET TOWN: A bid to “return Thai names to Thais” was not aimed at taking control of dotcom businesses that had been created by foreign investment, says a leading player in the Internet domain name debate. Samroeng Chaisorn, vice president of the Phuket OrBorJor, denied this week that he would try to use the law to take control of dotcom…
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Weekend of carnival for Patong
PATONG: The annual Patong Carnival, the opener for the tourism high season, will be extended to three days this year from November 1. Until now a one-day affair, the carnival is to grow and take in new attractions that will set Patong Municipality back about 2 million baht. Details of the 17th carnival, which will start on November 1, were…
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Truck overturns at busy intersection
PHUKET TOWN: A large truck with failed brakes crashed and overturned at the busy Tesco-Lotus Supercenter bypass intersection today. Driver Manat Boonma, 30, felt the truck’s brakes go as he approached the intersection down the bypass road about 9:30 am. “I was nearly at the junction and could not stop the truck so I decided to turn left, the road…
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Seafront plans win support
PHUKET TOWN: The powerful Department of Town and Country Planning has backed a scheme to develop Saphan Hin as a sophisticated waterfront area, the first major step towards making Phuket Town an “international city.” A firm that specializes in constructing bayfront regions is now undertaking a feasibility study but feedback from residents will be sought before any proposal is formally…
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Friend turns killer as Burmese argue
PHUKET TOWN: Police are hunting a Burmese seaman after an argument between friends that ended with a murder at the weekend. Residents near the entrance to the fish processing plant on Si Sena Rd told police that one friend stabbed the other in the back about 2 am on Saturday. Phuket Town Police Station officers found the body of a…
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“Garden Village’ plan for Karon
PHUKET TOWN: A new town plan will transform Karon into a “Garden Village”, officials revealed yesterday. Anawath Suwannaded, Chief of the Provincial Town and Country Planning Office, said the Karon project would cover 20 square kilometers. A committee had suggested that Karon should be “an ideal place with green views, where the height of buildings was limited and building colors…
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Phuket’s power to dive underground
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket’s power supply is to be moved underground to beautify the island by removing eyesore electricity poles and lines. Prasoot Ruengjiratian, Marketing Manager of the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA), told a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall today that burying the lines would make the island a more attractive place for tourists. Patong’s seafront and Phuket Town’s most…
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Big cash boost for ‘villages&’
PHUKET TOWN: The central government will probably increase its loans to “villages” to three million or five million baht soon, a local government official said today. A million baht has already been distributed to each of 114 “villages” on Phuket, fulfilling an election promise made by Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Revealing the details today, Suthep Wuthisak of Phuket Provincial Development…
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Blackout mars mayor&’s policy launch
PATONG: A blackout sparked a security scare and interrupted a policy speech by Patong Mayor Surasak Maneesri during the launch of his re-election campaign Saturday night. As the unscheduled lights-out struck the gathering of about 1,000 people, bodyguards rushed to pull the heavily-garlanded mayor down onto the stage and surrounded him in case there had been a security breach. The…
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Police upgrade special skills
PHUKET TOWN: About 60 police graduated today from a three-week course designed to improve their ability to deal with VIP visits, security breaches and a variety of other situations. Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi told the officers that increased crime and marine accidents were byproducts of the growth in tourism and related industries. “Phuket has to prevent crimes and disasters of…
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Gov lobbies for lower import duty on yachts
PHUKET TOWN: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi yesterday urged a panel of central government financial experts to reduce the import duty on yachts. “Import taxes on yachts are too high. If charges and taxes were lower, more investors would import boats legally,” he said. The governor made his comments at a meeting to discuss provincial financial relations with the central government…
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New work permit fees in force
PHUKET: The Phuket Gazette today confirmed that new work permit fees are in operation. Acting on a tip-off, the Gazette visited the offices of the Phuket Provincial Labor and Social Welfare Office, on Sakdidet Rd Soi 1, where the new fees are posted – in Thai only. The new charges, which came into force quietly on September 18, are as…
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Phuket’s ecofuture “starts here’
RAWAI: Key government and private organizations met today to start a serious campaign to protect Phuket’s environment – including Patong, which some say is already “worse than Pattaya”. Backed by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment, the gathering at Rawai sought cooperation across city planning, marine life protection and urban issues such as garbage recycling. Suwan Nantasarut, Director of…
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Seized yacht fails to sell at auction
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Customs sold an impounded dinghy at auction today but retained a yacht that failed to bring a satisfactory bid. The yacht, “Silachai”, was seized at the Boat Lagoon on March 7 last year and sent for auction after the case was closed. Only one bid of 480,000 baht was received today. A new auction date will be…
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“One Tambon’ project earns B87 million
PHUKET TOWN: The “One Tambon, One Product” project has earned 87 million baht for Phuket in eight months, a provincial community forum was told yesterday. Suthep Wuthisak, of the Phuket Provincial Development Office, told 80 representatives from government and private industry, including local shops and department stores, that it was important for suppliers and dealers to get together. More products…
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Anti-foreigner sentiment runs high at local chamber meeting
PHUKET: Just when foreigners in Phuket were beginning to regain confidence in Thailand as a place in which to invest, a Member of Parliament has once again clouded the skies by suggesting a massive rise in the fees for an initial work permit, from the current 300 baht to as much as 300,000 baht. The astonishing announcement was made today…
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Laguna appoints new Deputy MD
CHERNG TALAY: Laguna Resorts & Hotels (LRH) has appointed American Bill Barnett to the newly created post of Deputy Managing Director of the company. Mr Barnett, 43, will be responsible for overseeing the portfolio of non-hotel businesses at Laguna. These include Laguna Services Co, Laguna Property Sales, the Allamanda Vacation Club, Canal Village Laguna Shopping and Laguna Travel & Tours.…
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Green fuel puts smugglers out of business
PHUKET: Lateral thinking by authorities appears to have won the day with official Green Fuel far outselling smuggled fuel in the Andaman Sea. The green-dyed diesel fuel is sold free of excise tax and VAT to Thai fishing boats as a way to stop them buying cheap fuel in international waters, or smuggled fuel in Thai waters. Pol Maj Prasert…
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Crackdown on cough syrup abuse
PHUKET: Authorities have begun a campaign to fight the abuse by Phuket teenagers of cough syrup containing codeine. More than 1,000 bottles of the syrup have been seized since August 19. The cough syrup, the latest “in” drug among Phuket teenagers, is commonly mixed with alcoholic drinks or soft drinks. Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong, chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office,…
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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