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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Haze from Indonesia clears
BANGKOK (AFP): “Haze” from forest fires on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, which hung over Thailand’s five southernmost provinces for the past week, has now cleared, public health officials said today. “The situation is almost back to normal. I think it’s over now,” said Ongart Chanacharnmongkol, director of the Environmental Health Centre in Songkhla province. K. Ongart said some 25,000…
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Mayor slams Greenpeace criticism
PHUKET: Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongyok yesterday angrily dismissed a report by environmentalist group Greenpeace that alleges the waste incinerator in Saphan Hin emits higher than normal levels of the toxic substance, dioxin. Speaking at a press conference at the Phuket Merlin Hotel, Mayor Phummisak said, “If they wanted to talk about this, they should have sent their people to…
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67 killed in bike crashes in 20 weeks
PHUKET: The island’s motorcycle accident death rate continues high, according to the latest statistics issued by the Phuket Provincial Health Office. The figures show, on average, that there was one death every other day in the first 20 weeks of the year, and that 35 people a day were injured. Between January 1 and May 20, 67 people died on…
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Authorities counter dengue, haze stories
PHUKET: Tourism and health officials in Phuket today moved to counter press reports that Phuket is beset by dengue fever and by smoke from forest fires in Sumatra. The Director of the Phuket office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Anuphap Theerarath, told the Gazette that a report in a newspaper in Singapore about dengue fever had caused a…
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Grisly remains found in Patong
PATONG: The mutilated body of an unidentified man was found on Thursday in woods next to the Patong-Karon road, not far from Simon Cabaret. Pol Capt Ampholwathana Saengruang of Patong Police Station told the Gazette that the victim was around 170 cm tall and was thought to be 28-30 years old. The head of the corpse, he said, had been…
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Police step up security at Lotus
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Town police have been called in to help step up security at the Tesco Lotus Supercenter, after bomb attacks on two Lotus stores in Bangkok on Monday and Wednesday killed one person and injured two others. Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, superintendent of the Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that, shortly after the bombings, he…
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Murdered man found near fishing port
PHUKET: A man thought to have been a fisherman was murdered in front of a warehouse belonging to the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization, on Soi Si Sena, near Phuket’s fishing port, on Thursday night. Pol Lt Palichart Jaturonpan of the Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that the man, as yet unidentified, died from six stab wounds to his…
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Leap in dengue fever cases
PHUKET: The Phuket Health Office (PHO) has issued its second dengue fever warning in less than a month. On June 12, the PHO reported that 55 cases of dengue fever had been recorded since the beginning of the year. Today it announced that the figure had risen to 75. Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, chief of the PHO, told the Gazette, “At…
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Telephone numbers change at midnight
PHUKET: All telephone numbers in Thailand will change to nine digits from midnight tonight (July 4-5). This will be achieved by including the area code in the number. Thus, the number 234567 in Phuket will become 076-234567, even when dialed from Phuket. Similarly, the Bangkok number 345-6789 will become 02-345-6789, whether dialed from Phuket or from within Bangkok. Mobile-to-mobile phone…
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German dies of heroin overdose
PATONG: A German man, Edgar Radke, 44, died yesterday in Patong of a heroin overdose. Pol Capt Chawalit Petchsripen of Kathu Police Station told the Gazette that Mr Radke met a friend for coffee in the lobby of a hotel. After a while he got up to go to the toilet. When, after a long time, he did not return,…
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Bangkok airport goes to the dogs
BANGKOK (AFP): The authorities at Bangkok’s Don Muang Airport said today that they had launched a drive to ensure that stray dogs that have made their home next to the runways don’t end up straying onto the tarmac. The dogs have taken up residence on the golf course next to the airport, where they thrive on scraps from the clubhouse…
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Shell to start free oil disposal tomorrow
PHUKET: The Shell Company of Thailand (Shell) today announced that it will begin its free marine engine oil collection and disposal service in Phuket tomorrow. The service is part of Shell’s “Rao Rak Talay Thai” conservation campaign, which was launched in Pattani. The name is a play on words, meaning both “We Love the Thai Sea” and “We Conserve the…
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Bangladeshi found stabbed to death
PHUKET TOWN: The body of an unidentified man was found floating yesterday in the fishing port on Soi Si Sena. Pol Maj Wichacom Kumjompa of Phuket Town Police Station said that the victim had been dead at least 48 hours. He is estimated to have been between 25 and 30 years old, and had tattoos on his shoulders that suggested…
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Tourist drowns off Patong beach
PATONG: The body of a Malaysian tourist, Cheu Chee Hou, 27, was found yesterday on Patong Beach, after he disappeared while in Phuket on his honeymoon. Pol Capt Ampolwat Sangruang of the Kathu Police Station said he received a report from villagers that they had found Mr Hou’s body lying on the beach opposite the Holiday Inn Hotel on Thaweewong…
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Governor clamps down on “bar beers”
PHUKET: In an effort to control beer bars, known locally as “bar beers”, Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi has ordered officers of Tambon Administration Organizations (OrBorTor) to reject building modification requests from such bars. At the regular provincial meeting between the Governor and chief officers of OrBorTor in Phuket Town this morning, Governor Pongpayome complained that bar beers were unsightly and…
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Drugs arrests almost double
PHUKET: Police figures released today show that 80 people were arrested for involvement with narcotics between June 1 and June 25, nearly double the number of arrests for drug offences during the same period in May. In 70 separate busts, police netted just under 6,000 ya bah pills. Of these, 4,050 were seized on Sunday in the province’s unofficial largest…
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Five mentally ill people found chained up
PHUKET TOWN: Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), today appealed for people to be more compassionate and understanding of the mentally ill. His appeal came after five people suffering from mental illnesses were found chained up by relatives in the past 10 weeks. “We found five people who had been chained up and we’ve been…
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Biker gang backs Thaksin
BANGKOK (AFP): One hundred Thai motorcyclists riding chrome-covered “choppers” rumbled up to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s office today to add their support to a wave of public sympathy for the embattled premier. The leather-garbed bikers handed over bouquets for Thaksin – who is facing graft charges in the Constitutional Court that could see him barred from office for five years…
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Notorious pirate caught
RANONG (AFP): Police said today they had arrested notorious pirate Viroj Buasuwan, better known as “Roj 100 Corpses” for his brutal treatment of ships’ crews. Viroj, 50, was arrested on Saturday in Ranong on charges related to an attack on the Burmese trawler “Thorae” in January, the Crime Suppression Unit said. Roj and his 20-strong gang forced the crew of…
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“Biggest’ yah bah dealers arrested
PHUKET TOWN: Police from Surat Thani arrested two men selling ya bah (methamphetamine) in the car park in front of Super Cheap on Thepkrasattri Rd, around 4 pm yesterday. A team of five officers from the Karnjanadit District Police Station in Surat Thani, led by Pol Capt Noppadol Kerdkulrat, nabbed Srirung Nankam, 43, and Sittichai Suthapiwat, 33, in an undercover…
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First case of rat disease reported
PHUKET: The first known case of leptospirosis contracted in Phuket has been reported by Thalang Hospital, the Provincial Health Office has announced. The victim is a 32-year-old Phuket man living in Moo 4, Baan Don, Thalang. He checked into Thalang Hospital on June 21 after suffering from a serious headache for about six days. The whites of his eyes were…
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Chalong Pier opening ceremony postponed
CHALONG: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra cannot make it to the official planned opening of Chalong Pier on July 1, the pier’s owners, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), announced today. As a result, the opening ceremony has been postponed until the PM is more likely to be available.
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Paween leads 85 police in holy pledge
CHALONG: In his last official duty as superintendent of Kathu Police Station, Pol Col Paween Pongsirin this morning led 85 police officers under his command in an oath to be honest and to fight crime. Col Paween and almost all of his officers stood before the image of Luang Por Chaem at Chalong temple and vowed, “I will not get…
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Officials check out mini-sub for tourists
KOH HEY: The topic of mini-submarines resurfaced today in Phuket, but this time on a less sinister level, as government officials were given a look at the new Subrider developed for tourism around this popular day-trip island. The officials, including representatives of the local Tourist Business and Guide Registration Office, checked out how the sub works and the effect it…
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Police superintendents reshuffled
PHUKET: In a nationwide reshuffle of 173 police deputy commissioners and superintendents, effective from next Monday, the three main police stations in Phuket – Phuket Town, Thalang and Kathu – will each get new bosses. The reshuffle was ordered by the country’s top police officer, Pol Gen Pornsak Durongkapiboon, Commissioner of the Royal Thai Police. Pol Col Chalit Tintanee, formerly…
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Another two days of rain, says weatherman
PHUKET: The current bad weather in Phuket is likely to continue for another two days, Amorn Chantanavivate, director of the Southwestern Regional Meteorological Center, said today. Widespread thundershowers are affecting about 80% of southwestern Thailand, bringing isolated heavy showers. The rains and winds of around 35 kmh are being caused by a strong southwesterly monsoon over the Andaman Sea and…
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Phuket sees boom in new businesses
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket is still the Number One place in southern Thailand in which to open a business, according to Veerachai Tantiwathanavallop, Director of the Phuket Commercial Registration Office. A total of 392 business were registered between January 1 and May 31, an average of 78 new businesses a month. “That is about 10% to 15% higher than last year,”…
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More entertainment zones mapped out
PHUKET: Muang and Thalang Districts have mapped out the areas in which they propose to have entertainment zones. These areas must be specified in order to meet the requirements of proposed new legislation governing the entertainment industry. In a paper released yesterday, Vice-Governor Amnuay Sanguannam explained that the Muang District plan includes 13 separate entertainment zones – one in Tambon…
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Thaksin invited to open Chalong Pier
CHALONG: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has been invited to perform the official opening of the Chalong Pier on July 1, Wisut Santikun, Deputy President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), announced today. The day before the opening of the pier, the OrBorJor will host a workshop and a dinner on the theme of “The direction of tourism in Phuket”,…
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Bangkok considering yacht owners’ problems
PHUKET: The Thai government is considering cutting the taxes on imported yachts and doubling the time that foreign yachts may stay in Thai waters before owners have to pay such taxes. Manit Wittayatin, Director-General of the Thai Customs Department told a meeting of provincial officials in Phuket today, “The regulations for yachts entering Thai waters create difficulties for many foreigners.…
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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