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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Villagers find hanged man
PHUKET TOWN: Villagers found the hanged body of an unidentified man on Monday evening on a hill about two kilometers to the east of Kuan Din Dang Rd and Soi Panieng, in Tambon Rassada. Pol Capt Chaum Kaosrisuwan of Phuket Town Police Station said he was informed by Sataporn Pokaboot, phuyai baan of Moo 6, Tambon Rassada, that the villagers…
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New ‘geezer visa’ rules come into effect
PHUKET: The Immigration Department has recently started applying changes in the regulations covering retired foreigners residing in Thailand. In particular, the department is strictly applying the rules on how much a retiree must have in his or her Thai bank account. The changes were brought into law in October 1998 but it has taken more than two years for them…
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Employment Services Office moves
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Employment Service Office (ESO) – which, among other activities, issues work permits – yesterday moved from Phuket Villa 1 to purpose-built premises on a one-rai site on Soi Sakdidet 1. Kopit Temsongsai, the ESO chief, said the move had been made because the old offices were too small and the department wanted to have its…
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Urgent call for O negative blood
PHUKET TOWN: The Bangkok Phuket Hospital has appealed for urgent donations of type O negative blood for a patient in its intensive care unit. The patient, Hans Lorenzet, 42, of Germany, has a liver complaint which has caused internal hemorrhaging, and is in urgent need of blood. Potential donors are asked to report to the reception desk at the hospital.
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Thai press: New government a disappointment
BANGKOK (AFP): Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s new cabinet was poorly received today by the Thai press who saw only a few promising figures among the discredited veterans and inexperienced newcomers filling its ranks. Thaksin won the January 6 elections after campaigning on a platform of new and unorthodox ideas as well as promises of an administration free from the corruption…
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Motorbike injury toll hits five figures
PHUKET: The number of people injured in motorcycle accidents went into five figures for the first time last year, with 10,359 needing treatment, according to statistics supplied by the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. The number of people injured represented an increase of 4.6% on the previous year’s 9,903. In 1998 the toll was 9,681 and in 1997 it…
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Love beats disenchantment, 254 to 1
PHUKET: Love was in the air yesterday, as 254 couples formalised their marriages at the island’s registry offices on the year’s most romantic day. With 167 couples, Muang District saw the highest number of registrations for Valentine’s Day, while 57 couples were married in Thalang District and 30 in Kathu. “Our district gave flowers made from fish scales to the…
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Tintin goes boom-boom
BRUSSELS (AFP): The Belgian prosecutor’s office says it has seized hundreds of forged comic books depicting Belgium’s fabled boy reporter Tintin and his trusty dog Snowy on a sex spree in Bangkok. Some 650 copies of a comic book entitled “Tintin in Thailand” were scooped up by undercover police over the weekend. They depict Tintin, always a model of propriety…
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Toddler killed in motorbike smash
KARON: The three-year-old daughter of an American expatriate was killed in a motorcycle accident in Karon early on Saturday afternoon. Herman Bachmann, 69, better known to Phuket residents as Shankar, was riding his bike along Patak Rd in Karon, heading toward Phuket Town, with his maid on the back and the child in front. In front of the Karon Tong…
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French resident dies in head-on smash
PATONG: A French resident, 27-year-old Laurent Robert Beauvais, was killed when his motorcycle smashed head-on into a jeep on the bypass road in the early hours of yesterday morning. The investigating officer, Pol Maj Songwut Khunjan of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that the accident happened opposite the Daihatsu showroom at about 3.20 am. The jeep’s driver, 30-year-old…
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Gambling cases top crime stats again
PHUKET: Gambling cases once again topped the crime lists in Phuket for the period between January 1 and 15, according to statistics released yesterday by the Phuket Provincial Police. A total of 163 people were arrested for gambling in the course of 96 police raids. Following close behind were illegal immigrants; 94 were caught in the same period. Drugs also…
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Thaksin voted in as PM
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s House of Representatives today elected Thai Rak Thai party leader Thaksin Shinawatra as the nation’s 23rd prime minister, by a majority of 340 votes to 127. Another 30 MPs abstained and three MPs were absent. Thai Rak Thai and its coalition partners, Chart Thai and New Aspiration, were bolstered in the vote by the support of 15…
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Airport passenger figures still rising
PHUKET: The number of passengers arriving at and/or departing from the island via Phuket International Airport continues to rise, according to the latest figures released by airport officials. Passenger throughput in December last year rose to 347,720, an increase of 13.51% over the figure for December 1999. The number of passengers on domestic flights increased by 14.16% to 205,939, while…
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Malaysia to build free trade zone at Thai border
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – A free-trade industrial zone costing three billion ringgit (789 million dollars) is to be developed near the Malaysian/Thai border over the next decade, a senior official said today. The “ASEAN Industrial Metropolis”, covering 2,400 hectares (5,928 acres), will be built at Bukit Kayu Hitam in the northwestern Malaysian state of Kedah, the state’s chief minister, Syed…
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Activist’s alleged killer arrested
THALANG: Bancha Noppawong, 34, from Songkhla, was arrested yesterday evening on a charge of murdering environmental activist Jurin Rachapol in Pa Khlok on January 30. K. Jurin died after being shot three times while searching for cashew leaves in a forest near to the Wachara Prawn Farm in Pa Khlok. Contrary to earlier assertions by an official that Bancha had…
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Another fishing port murder
PHUKET TOWN: A man was found murdered in the fishing port in Mu 7, Tambon Rassada, early yesterday morning. Pol Maj Thanet Phuangmanee of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette, “A crewman from a fishing boat told me that as he was moving fish from the boat to the dock he saw the body floating in the water. He…
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Dengue fever arrives early
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PHO) has warned that there is an increased risk of dengue fever infection this year. From January 1 to 26, 11 cases of dengue fever were reported in Phuket, all in the Muang and Thalang districts. The highest number of patients was reported in Tambon Rassada, followed by Tambon Wichit and Tambon Mai Khao.…
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Prawn farm boss out on bail
PHUKET TOWN: The owner of the Wachara Prawn Farm in Pa Khlok, Somsak Wongsawanond, was today released on bail of 500,000 baht. Somsak was initially denied bail when arrested two days ago on charges of illegal possession of a weapon and discharging a weapon in a public area. He denied both charges. Meanwhile, the Thalang District Chief, Kanthee Silapa, told…
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Prawn farm owner arrested
PHUKET TOWN: The owner of the Wachara Prawn Farm in Pa Khlok, Somsak Wongsawanond, 36, from Songkhla, reported to police in Phuket Town Police Station last night after a warrant was issued for his arrest on one charge of illegal possession of a weapon and another of discharging a weapon in a public area. The warrant was issued last week…
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Frightened villagers meet Minister
PHUKET AIRPORT: Interior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Banyat Banthadtan was today scheduled to meet with villagers from Pa Khlok to listen to their views about the recent assassination of environmental activist Jurin Rachapol. The meeting was arranged to allow the villagers to make an official request to K. Banyat – whose ministry is in charge of Thailand’s police –…
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Dry season for Phuket Island Lager
PHUKET: Lovers of Phuket Island Lager will have to exercise some restraint over the coming week; distributors are being rationed after an unforeseen surge in sales resulted in demand outstripping supply. “We’re not completely out of stock, but we can’t match demand,” said Ekaraj Intravisit, general manager of Phuket Island Trading Co. “If a customer wants 10 boxes of beer,…
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Gunman kills motorbike taxi driver
TUNG TONG: Somyot Saekoey, 36, a motorbike taxi driver based in Patong, was shot dead late on Tuesday after visiting a friend. Pol Capt Kittipong Klaykaew of Tungtong Police Station said that K. Somyot went to visit his friend, Jamroen Soonthon, near the entrance to the Bang Wat Dam near Kathu, at around 10.30 pm. They chatted about their work…
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Pattaya firm takes over Phuket radio station
PHUKET: The end of a four-year contract has seen Pattaya-based Sunshine Radio win the rights to run the local government radio station, 101.5 FM Phuket. Sunshine Radio won the contract direct from the Phuket branch of the Mass Communications Organization of Thailand (MCOT) in Bangkok. The amount of the winning bid was not announced. “Previously, the contracts were won on…
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Governor urges swift action on murder
PA KLOCK: Phuket Provincial Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi this morning visited the site where environmental activist Jurin Rachapol was shot dead yesterday. He urged the Thalang police to find the gunman quickly and to conduct their investigation as fairly and thoroughly as possible. Gov Pongpayome was accompanied on his visit by Pol Maj Gen Kongpol Suwannaraks, Commander of the Phuket Provincial…
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IBAP elects first general committee
PHUKET TOWN: Members of the International Business Association of Phuket (IBAP) elected the organization’s first general committee at a meeting at the Royal Phuket City Hotel on Friday. They also adopted its constitution. The new committee is headed by Chairman Satit Viddhayakorn, managing director of Bangkok Phuket Hospital. Oraual Paethong, manager for South Thailand of Pacific Leisure (Thailand) Ltd was…
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Guard drowns after fall into sea
AO MAKHAM: A security guard at the Phuket Deep Sea Port drowned on Saturday after falling about seven meters into the sea. Pol Maj Adul Niraphai of Phuket Town Police Station named the dead man as Amnuan Kamnuan, 35, from Trang. He said, “Staff at the port told me that the guard fell into the sea at 10 am. His…
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Nationalists: Soros not welcome in Thailand
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand will not be putting out the welcome mat for international financier George Soros when he fronts up here next week, say angry nationalists who accuse him of sabotaging the Thai economy. “Our foreign ministry should bar entry to a man who has hurt 60 million Thais, and turned Thailand into one of the United States of America,”…
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Police raid law-breaking pubs
PHUKET TOWN: Police launched a series of raids in the early hours of yesterday morning, targeting establishments known for ignoring opening and licensing laws. The raids resulted in seven establishments being caught flouting the law. Kung Ja Restaurant and Nam Fon Karaoke were charged with staying open after the 3 am closing time. Establishments charged with operating without a license…
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Bag-snatchers have a busy week
PHUKET: Motorbike-riding bag-snatchers have been busy over the past week, police report, with two or three cases a day, all in the same area south of Phuket Town. “Most of the thefts took place on Chao Fa Nok Rd, Chao Fa Nai Rd, Kwang Rd, or Sakdidet Rd,” said an undercover policeman who asked not to be named. “They work…
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115 illegals held in raids on wat fair
CHALONG: The annual fair at Wat Chalong has proved a bonanza for officers targeting illegal immigrants. In the first two days – Tuesday and yesterday – 115 Burmese were arrested, and there are four more days to go. “There are many construction camps in the area, and the fair is famous among the Burmese,” explained Pol Col Abhirak Hongtong, superintendent…
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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