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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Students try electronic voting
PHUKET TOWN: Electronic voting made its debut in Phuket yesterday with a machine being used to register votes in student elections at the Rajabhat University Phuket. After manually registering their attendance, students entered polling booths and pressed buttons on keypads to cast their votes: 1 for Theerayuth Yodkaew, 2 for Chaiwat Tongkerd, or 3 for “neither candidate”. Prapa Kayee, President…
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Anger greets 1 am closing time
PATONG: From March 1, bars and entertainment venues on Phuket will have to close at 1 am, an hour earlier than they do at present. The early closing edict was decided at a meeting of the Cabinet in Bangkok yesterday. The decision effectively designates the entire island as one large entertainment zone, leaving people in the after-dark industry exasperated and…
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Mail thief caught – but only on video
PATONG: A manager at the Patong Post Office was caught recently stealing items from mail after five hidden cameras were installed in the building. However, after being carpeted by his boss, the manager was allowed to walk out of the Post Office and has not been seen since. Police are looking for him, but admit they have no idea where…
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Roads claimed 195 lives in 2003
PHUKET: A total of 195 people died on Phuket’s roads in 2003, official figures have revealed – the vast majority of them in crashes involving motorcycles. The figure was up 7.7% compared with the 181 deaths in 2002. The Phuket Provincial Health Office reported that another 12,435 people were injured or maimed in 2003 on the island’s roads, with the…
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Newcomers in upset victory in Patong poll
PATONG: The Patong Progress Party (PPP) led by Songserm Kepsap won the Patong Municipal election yesterday, beating the Rak Patong Party (RPT) of Pian Keesin by 322 votes. A total of 9,213 people were eligible to vote but in the event only 6,239, or 68% , turned out. K. Songserm polled 2,949 votes against K. Pian’s 2,627, with 519 spoiled…
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Thaksin flying in for ministerial talks
PATONG: Top-level ministerial meetings today and tomorrow in Phuket will determine new areas of cooperation on regional transport, infectious diseases, terrorism and tourism among the BIMST-EC group of nations. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will fly in to head the Thai team tomorrow in talks with senior ministers from the other countries in the grouping – Bangladesh, India, Myanmar and Sri…
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2 am fun zones for adults?
BANGKOK (The Nation): Entertainment venues in designated areas across the country will be allowed to stay open an hour or two longer than those outside the zones if the Cabinet endorses a decision arrived at yesterday by a high-level government committee. Deputy Prime Minister Purachai Piumsombun’s committee in charge of combating vice at entertainment venues agreed yesterday to set different…
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Big turnout for Anchalee’s launch
PHUKET TOWN: Over 1,000 people last night flocked to a rally organized by the Democrat party to launch Phuket MP Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr as its candidate for the March 14 election to choose a new President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor). Also on the podium at the outdoor Chatuchak market on Phang-nga Rd were the glamorous and popular Abisit…
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Chicken feed
PATONG: An estimated seven tons of chicken and 40,000 eggs will be used in a free food festival in Patong on Saturday, February 7, to reassure consumers that chicken remains safe to eat despite the ongoing outbreak of avian ‘flu. The government-inspired initiative – all provinces have been ordered to hold similar events – aims to attract more than 10,000…
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German tourist dies at Bang Tao
THALANG: A 53-year-old tourist from Germany appears to have drowned yesterday off Bang Tao after going into the water to swim alone. Police named the dead man as Hans Peter Otto Krieter, who arrived a few days ago for a vacation with a friend, Alfred Herbert Prusseit, 55. Pol Capt Banchop Songnarong, of Cherng Talay Police Station, told the Gazette…
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Anchalee quits as MP in bid for OrBorJor seat
BANGKOK (The Nation, Phuket Gazette): The Democrat Party yesterday agreed to have party-list (unelected) MP Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr resign from Parliament so she can contest the Provincial Administrative Organisation (OrBorJor) election in Phuket. Democrat spokesman Ong-art Klampaiboon said Anchalee will run with the aim of becoming OrBorJor president, a post soon to be vacated by Dr Prasit Koeysiripong, who recently…
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Bridge to connect Koh Yao islands
PHANG NGA: Koh Yao Yai and Koh Yao Noi islands are to be connected by a suspension bridge and a luxury hotel will be developed on one of the islands, District Chief Songpol Konkaew told the Gazette yesterday. An 8-million baht budget has already been issued by the central government to study the bridge project’s technical and financial requirements, he…
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Officials to organize big chicken feed
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO) Chief Sunart Wongchawalit has declared poultry products grown in Phuket as safe for consumption. So confident is he that his office is organizing a special event to encourage islanders back into their chicken-eating ways. “We have collected 230 samples of fecal matter from all parts of the island and sent them to a…
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Tourism booms as passengers top 500,000
PHUKET TOWN: The latest figures on air passenger arrivals and departures show that Phuket is in the middle of a tourism boom with a record 509,841 visitors coming and going in January. This is the first time the half-million figure has been exceeded in a single calendar month. The number represents a whopping 23% increase on the figure of 390,109…
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Jewelry thieves net B1m from Kamala home
KAMALA: Jewelry and cash worth about 1 million baht were stolen from a Kamala house on the night of January 26 while the French owners – a couple in their 60s – were in Patong. The couple, named by police as Mr and Mrs Gerard Bonnaval, left their home to go to their business in Patong at 7:30 pm and…
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TRT shock as Prasit says, “I won’t run’
PHUKET TOWN: The outgoing President of the Provincial Administration Organization, (OrBorJor), Dr Prasit Koeysiripong, dropped a bombshell at his farewell media appearance last night when he said he would not be standing as a Thai Rak Thai (TRT) candidate in next year’s parliamentary elections. It had been widely anticipated that Dr Prasit would lead the TRT campaign in 2005 when…
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Bird ‘flu found in Phang Nga
PHANG NGA: One person has been hospitalized with suspected avian ‘flu in Phang Nga and tens of thousands of chickens and ducks are set to be slaughtered in the coming few days after an outbreak was confirmed on a farm in Takuapa District yesterday afternoon. Speaking to the Gazette today, Pairat Dejsiri, Assistant Chief of Phang Nga Provincial Livestock Office…
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Illegal immigration arrests top 200
PHUKET TOWN: Statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police for the January 1-25 period revealed that illegal immigration again topped the crime figures, with 211 arrests made. Other common crimes were gambling (178 arrests) and possession or use of illegal narcotics (60 arrests). Thirty-eight ya bah (methamphetamine) tables were seized. Prostitution is still a crime in Thailand, and 43 unlucky…
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Chicken ban aimed at easing ‘flu fears
PHUKET: Although there has been no effect on tourist numbers and health authorities remain unconcerned, an outbreak of bird ‘flu in 25 other provinces of Thailand has led Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura to ban the import of live chickens to the island as a precaution. Properly processed birds may still be brought in and Phuket itself has the capacity to…
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Honeymooning tourist drowns
CHALONG: An Indian who was on his honeymoon in Phuket drowned yesterday while on an outing to Coral Island. Police named him as Sharma Dusmyant, aged 30. Pol Maj Anek Mongkol, of Chalong Police Station, told the Gazette that Mr Dusmyant was with a tour group. Details of the circumstances surrounding his death remain sketchy. Police were advised of the…
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Missing karaoke girl found dead in alley
PHUKET TOWN: The decomposing corpse of a missing karaoke girl from Phang Nga was found in a downtown alley on Monday afternoon, and police are investigating whether the girl committed suicide by jumping from the car park of a nearby hotel – or whether she was pushed. The body of 24-year-old Sirijit “Aom” Chuwong was recovered from an inaccessible alley…
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Klong Bang Yai ideas floated
PHUKET TOWN: A floating market similar to Ratchaburi’s famed Damnern Saduak was one of the suggestions put forward at a public meeting today to discuss the future of Klong Bang Yai, which flows – occasionally – in and around Phuket Town. Other ideas floated at the meeting included gentrification projects, the construction of another passenger port and a flood-defense scheme.…
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Six “smuggled’ boats seized
CHERNG TALAY: Phuket Marine Police yesterday seized three jet-skis and three jet-boats worth a total of about 10 million baht during a raid on a house in Cherng Talay. Pol Lt Col Prasert Srikunnarath, Inspector of the Phuket Marine Police, told the Gazette that officers had not been provided with official documentation to show how the vessels were brought to…
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One dead, 11 hurt in Patong pileup
PATONG: A man died and 11 other people were slightly injured in a three-vehicle pileup that paralysed traffic during peak hour at one of Patong’s major intersections yesterday. A truck laden with construction tools and bags of cement came barrelling down Patong hill about 5 pm, crashing into a pickup laden with workers and a mini-bus. The force of the…
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Ambassador seeks 12-month visas for Filipinos
PHUKET TOWN: Filipinos who work in Phuket should be able to obtain one-year visas instead of three-month or six-month visas, the new Philippines Ambassador to Thailand, Antonio V Rodriguez, said today at the end of his first official visit to the island. Making the plea in talks with Vice Governor Niran Kalayanamit, he noted that many entertainers and musicians were…
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Doubt thrown on jet-ski ban plan
PHUKET TOWN: Following Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura’s announcement in late December that jet-skis will be phased out in Phuket over a seven-year period, the Phuket Marine Office (PMO) has set a January 31 deadline for jet-ski owners to register their machines. From February 1 the PMO will begin cracking down on unregistered machines, underage riders and other violations. But the man…
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A chunk of change for good karma
PHUKET TOWN: A pair of good Samaritans returned two cash checks with a combined value of 526,000 baht to their rightful owner after discovering them beneath a car on Monday. Swede Fredrik Klingvall, owner of O’Malley’s Irish Pub on Montri Rd, and his Thai friend Kraiwut Kunbaan had just finished eating lunch at a restaurant on Yaowarat Road when they…
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More tales from the dog pound
PHUKET TOWN: The dog pound design that turned out to be a dog’s breakfast has been cleaned up, say officials. Capable of holding 1,000 animals, Phuket’s pound will open for business on March 1 next year at the latest, the Chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO), Sunart Wongchawalit, told the Gazette yesterday. There was consternation last year when…
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Youth shot in second gang outrage
CHERNG TALAY: A crowd of about 100 people massed outside Cherng Talay Police Station last night after an incident in which a young gang member shot a teenager from another gang in the leg. The victim, Jittisak “Sak” Tamtorpol, 18, was wounded at about 9:30 pm while sitting outside a mosque near his home, not far from Surin beach, said…
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Five teens held for gangland execution
PHUKET: Five teenagers are being held by police and two more are still being hunted over the savage gangland execution of a 15-year-old youth on Koh Sireh. Khajornkiat Tongdeesuk was tied up, gagged and beaten before being taken to Naamsai beach early on Saturday where his killer fired a shotgun into his head. Police allege that another 15-year-old known as…
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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