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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35-year-old Phuket woman reported missing
PHUKET: Police are searching for a Phuket woman who has reportedly been missing for seven days. Relatives of 35-year-old Picha Nampadung filed a missing persons report with Chalong Police. Facebook user R’forey Rujirada (whose real name is Rujirada Ornkorat) shared a post on social media saying she was the missing woman’s niece. Ms Rujirada provided a picture of her aunt…
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Illegal migrant workers given 15 days to register
PHUKET: The Ministry of Labor has revamped its registration process for illegal migrant workers after a new law announcing heavy fines for their employers was revealed last month. Starting July 24, migrant workers will be given 15 days to submit their documents to the ministry in order to receive a work permit. Governor Norraphat Plodthong yesterday chaired a meeting at…
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Five houses burned down in two Phuket fires
PHUKET: More than 700,000 baht’s worth of damages were caused as five houses burned down in two separate incidents in Phuket. The first fire broke out at Baan Klang in Chalong yesterday. Chalong Police received reports of the fire and contacted the municipality for help. Firefighters spent 30 minutes battling the flames, but the whole house was burned to the…
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Angry mob protests against arrest of mentally disabled man
PHUKET: Baan Thasak locals on Wednesday gathered in front of Thalang District Office to demand justice for a mentally disabled man who was allegedly attacked by police officers during a drug arrest earlier that day. About 50 locals gathered at the scene and demanded that the arresting officers be held responsible for what they did. On Wednesday evening, civil defense…
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Phuket Gov chairs opening ceremony of tourism fair
PHUKET: The opening ceremony of the ‘Andaman Hotelier and Tourism Fair 2017’, the biggest hotel fair in the south, was held at Homeworks yesterday afternoon. “The tourism industry is vital for Phuket’s economy. This event aims to enhance our standard of service and make us more competitive with other countries,” said Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong, who chaired the ceremony. The…
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Alleged zoophile ‘warned’ as video of sexual abuse of dog goes viral
PHANG NGA: Residents of Phang Nga registered strong criticism and disgust over the actions of a man who allegedly abused a dog by having sex with it at a public park yesterday. Facebook user Paitoon Somritdisook posted a video of the incident, which occurred at Phang Nga OrBorJor park, on Facebook. He said he shot it while exercising at the…
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Injured dolphin stranded at Patong Beach
PHUKET: An injured spinner dolphin was stranded on the shore at Patong Beach yesterday. The dolphin was 1.2 meters long and weighed about 20kg. Tourists found him yesterday evening. He looked weak and was struggling to get back into the sea. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation used specialized equipment to lift the dolphin and transfer him to the Phuket…
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Angry mob burns effigy to protest falling palm oil prices
KRABI: An angry mob of more than 100 people gathered outside Krabi Provincial Hall this morning and burned an effigy of the Deputy Director General of the Department of Internal Trade to protest against the falling prices of palm oil. Members of the protest, who had gathered from Krabi and nearby provinces, including Trang, Phanag Nga, Chumphon, Ranong, Surat Thani…
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Slow loris released back into the wild
PHUKET: Officers from the Office of Natural Resources and Environment (NRE) Phuket helped release a slow loris back into the wild on Monday. “A villager in the Baan Kuku area found the loris in the middle of the road, so he kindly brought it to us,” said NRE Director Kasem Sookwaree. The loris was delivered to Pongchat Chuehorm, head of…
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Zipline business under investigation for forest encroachment
PHUKET: A team of officials from the Royal Forestry Department (RFD) yesterday visited four ziplining facilities in Phuket and uncovered one allegedly guilty of forest encroachment. Nationwide raids of such facilities are being conducted after a tourist died in a ziplining accident in Chiang Mai late last year. Six operators in Chiang Mai and one in Rayong have been charged…
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Uzbek tourist arrested with fake US dollars in Phuket
PHUKET: A tourist from Uzbekistan was arrested for trying to exchange fake US dollars at a money exchange in Rawai yesterday. “Karnika Patkong, 59, the owner of M&P money exchange on Patak Rd, informed us that a tourist asked for Thai baht and Malaysian ringitt in return for US$1,700. He suspected the US dollars were forged, so he called us…
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Three-meter python found in Phuket apartment building
PHUKET: Rescue workers in Phuket helped capture a large snake at an apartment building in Kathu yesterday. The Kusoldharm Foundation received reports from residents of the Ratchaporn Apartment about a python found inside a drain there. The rescue team arrived at the scene with specialized equipment to capture the reptile. They removed the grill covering the drain and then used…
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New labor laws see hundreds of migrant workers fired, sent home
PHUKET: At least 400 Burmese migrant workers in Phuket were sent back home yesterday morning after their employers terminated them as a consequence of draconian new labor laws. Phuket Governor Norrphat Plodthong and other relevant officers oversaw the exodus. The workers gathered at the Tha Rua shrine near the Heroines Monument in Si Sunthon. They were then transported to Ranong…
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Dead whale washes up at Phuket beach
PHUKET: Another dead marine creature, this time a bryde whale rarely seen in these parts, washed ashore at a Phuket beach yesterday. The 10-meter-long animal was missing its tail. It was stinking and its skin was falling apart. Officials from the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), National Park Preservation Unit 4 and Cherng Talay Police arrived at the scene at…
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Phang Nga airport plans shrouded in controversy
PHANG NGA: The proposal for a full-scale commercial airport in Phang Nga, first revealed by the Phuket Gazette a year ago, has a long way to travel before it can hand a prospectus to more potential investors. Enthusiasm from its lead drivers, however, Bangkok Airways and the Phang Nga provincial governor, continues unabated. Governor Pakkapong Tawiphat told the Phuket Gazette…
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Slow loris recovering from electrocution in Phuket
PHUKET: A slow loris was rescued and placed under the care of veterinarians after being electrocuted in Thalang Friday evening. “It seems the creature got lost while trying to find food and was electrocuted after climbing onto electric wires near the Ban Pa Krong Cheep School. He is fatigued and has suffered some burns,” said Kusoldharm Foundation rescue worker Virat…
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One killed, several Chinese tourists injured in bus crash on Patong Hill
PHUKET: A motorbike driver died instantly last night when her head was crushed by a ‘broken down’ tour bus. The incident, which also sent more than 30 “shocked and moaning” Chinese passengers aboard the bus to hospital, occurred as the two vehicles descended Patong Hill westbound. The fatality, Ms Rattana Sukpisal, 44, had a passenger with her on the bike.…
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Chinese tourists, mahout injured in falls from elephants
PHUKET: Two Elephants went wild over a barking dog in Phuket yesterday, injuring three Chinese tourists and a mahout (elephant tender). Vachira Hospital received a report of the incident at about 9:30am, then asked rescue workers to send three ambulances to the elephant camp in Chalong. A total of five people were hurt, four tourists and the mahout leading the…
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Phuket hosts tropical fruit festival
PHUKET: Central Festival Phuket yesterday hosted the launch of ‘Thailand Amazing Durian & Fruit Festival’ which is to be held in Phuket till July 4. Phuket Vice Governor Siwaporn Chuasawad presided over the opening ceremony. “Following successful feedback in Bangkok and Chiang Mai, we launched the festival in Phuket to support Thailand as a choice destination for tropical fruits, and…
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Gov announces plans to relaunch moribund Phuket Gateway
PHUKET: The Phuket governor has announced plans to renovate and re-brand the ‘Phuket Gateway’ as a tourist landmark by converting it into a shopping outlet selling Phuket-based products. Governor Norraphat Plodthong yesterday held a meeting with relevant officers to discuss the plans. The Phuket Gateway was built by the OrBorJor in 2006 as a ‘tourist center’ featuring a meeting room,…
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American tourist badly injured in rock climbing fall
KRABI: Another tourist, this time an American, has been seriously injured while rock climbing in Phuket’s neighboring Krabi province. At about 2pm, a rescue team and the Krabi Tourist Police received a report from the ‘Railay Rock Climbing Club’ that American tourist Eduardo Keane had fallen off a viewpoint from the near-vertical cliff face at Railay Bay. “Mr Keane is…
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ATM skimming: Two more Chinese tourists arrested
PHUKET: Two Chinese ATM skimmers were arrested in the act of installing their equipment at an ATM in Thalang yesterday afternoon. “The suspects, Chaopeng Zhou, 30, and Qihong Zhou, 24, were nabbed in front of a 7/11 in Baan Lipon on Thepkrasattri Road northbound,” says Lt Col Natthaphop Phongsapan of Thalang Police. Officers seized two pieces of skimming equipment, four…
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Masked robbers with a shotgun and an M16 foiled by a single man in Phang-nga
PHANG NGA: Police are hunting for two men who used an M16 machine gun in a failed attempt to rob a snooker hall in Phang-nga on Monday night. The 35-year-old owner, who refuses to be named, filed a complaint about the attempted robbery with the police in Phang-nga Town yesterday morning, along with evidence from CCTV footage. The footage shows…
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Minister hammers Phuket Airport, alleging that women are allowed to touch monks
PHUKET: Phuket Airport Director Phet Chan-charoen made a statement yesterday after mass circulation Thai Rath newspaper reported that an unnamed ex-minster is criticizing the airport for allowing female security staff to use hand-held metal detectors to search monks, instead of strictly limiting that process to male inspectors. “We have investigated the incident. It occurred on May 1 when a monk…
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Phuket International airport under fire for filthy, stinking toilets
PHUKET: Well known Thai actor Krirkphol Masayavanich has taken to Facebook to tell airport management that he’s not happy their toilets. Translated from Thai, the complaint reads: “The toilets [at the airport] are in serious need of attention. So dirty and stink terribly. I can’t even take a [xxit]!” Many comments under the post agree with him. Recently appointed Airport…
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Rape escape: Phone call aborts rape of Phuket woman two months pregnant
PHUKET: A chance incoming phone call saved a two-month pregnant woman from being raped yesterday afternoon in her rental room in Phuket. The loud ring panicked the rapist who then fled. “After receiving a report from the victim’s boyfriend, we arrived at the scene at about 4pm. It was a rental room in Soi Pracha in Wichit district. The girl,…
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Motorbike in Phuket worker’s kitchen explodes, reaps big damage in Thalang
PHUKET: A motorbike explosion caused a worker’s quarters in Phuket to catch fire last night, resulting in more than 100,000 baht in damages. Police have yet to learn why the bike exploded. Thalang police station received a report of the incident at about 10:30pm from the quarters in Baan Manik and dispatched fire fighters from the Phuket Disaster Prevention and…
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Double trouble for thief arrested in Phuket Town
PHUKET: A Phuket man who stole a motorbike and Buddhist artifacts, in two separate crimes, in order to buy drugs was arrested yesterday by Phuket City police. Following a June 14 complaint by a Ms Sopee Koodkrai, 51, that her motorbike had been stolen in front of her house in Phuket Town, the police located CCTV footage showing a male…
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Good Thai-Myanmar relations highlighted at border management meeting in Phuket
PHUKET: The 31st meeting of the Thai Myanmar Regional Border Committee (RBC) was held at Patong Resort & Spa this morning to solve border problems and strengthen relationships. “In the past, Thailand and Myanmar have always helped each other to deal with border problems, and the purpose of this meeting today was to ensure continued cooperation for stability. Most importantly,…
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Phuket Crime: French tourist latest victim of ladyboy theft at Patong Beach
PHUKET: Patong police yesterday arrested a ladyboy who stole an iPhone from a French tourist on Patong beach. “Mr Montree Srijantra, 24, was arrested near the Paris Star guesthouse in Patong following a complaint by the tourist,” said Capt Jarun Jaisuntud of Patong Police. “On June 19, we received a report from Mr Marcel Sawcho that his iPhone 6 was…
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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