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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Phuket City biker blasted by shotgun
PHUKET: A 20-year-old man died after being blasted at close range with a shotgun early on Tuesday as he rode his motorbike around Phuket City, with his girlfriend riding pillion.Pol Maj Wicharn Suwansith, Duty Inspector at Phuket City Police Station, said that Kheng Phatthong was confronting other young men on motorbikes who had shouted insults at him, when he was…
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Homemade bombs blast new development
CHALONG: Three houses were badly damaged by improvised explosive devices (IEDs) that detonated about 2:30 am on Saturday. Police believe the blasts were motivated by a land dispute. No one was killed in the blasts, but two Burmese workmen were reported injured.The houses are located in a rural residential development on Soi Songkun, Moo 1, Nabon, Chao Fa East Rd.Chalong…
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B2m of ya bah seized in Thalang
THALANG: Provincial Drug Suppression Police seized 6,800 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and arrested two men in a sting operation on November 23.Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth said an investigation had revealed that Chatree ” Mee” Waiyawut, 26, was dealing ya bah in Phuket.“Undercover officers contacted Chatree, ordering 300 ya bah pills for 45,000 baht. Delivery was…
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Man caught with protected fish
CHALONG: Rawai sea gypsy Taweelert Harntalay, 39, was caught with a boat load of protected fish while fishing off Koh Bon on Saturday.He was arrested by Phuket Marine Police working with officers from the Phuket Marine Biological Center.Pol Col Chalit Kaewyarat, Superintendent of Chalong Police Station, told the Gazette, “In his boat were many protected fish, including lobsters, clown fish,…
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Rawai sea gypsy homes spared
RAWAI: Four sea gypsy houses originally slated for demolition have been spared the wrecking ball in Phuket Provincial Highway Office’s (PPHO) road-widening project in Rawai.Sarayuth Intarawichien, Assistant Project Manager of the PPHO, told the Gazette that the road-widening project will be finished by the contract date in March next year. The project began in May and extends along Chao Fa…
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Tuk-tuk driver stabs Welshman
PATONG: A Welsh tourist is expected to be discharged from Phuket International Hospital today after being stabbed in the chest following a dispute over a tuk-tuk fare early yesterday morning.Kathu Deputy Inspector for Crime Suppression, Pol Capt Leucha Polkarn, confirmed that Julien Bennett, 31, was stabbed on Nanai Rd about 3:30 am, following an altercation with Patong tuk-tuk driver Wisut…
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Former Kathu Land Office Chief found guilty
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Criminal Court in Bangkok on Monday sentenced former Kathu Land Office Chief Bunchoo Limraksasin to 20 years in prison after finding him guilty on 10 counts of demanding bribes for land titles between December 21, 2001 and March 8, 2003.The court also found a second defendant in the case, 34-year-old Meena Kalra, guilty on seven counts…
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Accidents and crime Phuket’s biggest tourism threats
PHUKET: Despite fears of terrorism, natural disasters and health pandemics, government officials rate everyday crime and road accidents as the greatest dangers to Phuket’s tourism industry, a Phuket Provincial Tourism Management Strategy (PPTRMS) workshop revealed on Tuesday.During the workshop, at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, government officials were presented with the results of a survey from the previous workshop, held…
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70 Burmese arrested for having too much fun
KARON: Seventy Burmese workers celebrating a friend’s wedding were arrested and taken to Chalong Police Station after a neighbor complained that they were singing too loud.Chalong Police Inspector Pol Maj Peeranat Chatinkaew told the Gazette that his office received a complaint about 1:30 am on Tuesday, informing police that Burmese workers behind Wat Karon were disturbing the peace by singing…
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Aids Day campaign targets “karaoke sex’ kids
PHUKET CITY: As part of the preparations for this year’s World Aids Day on December 1, the Phuket Provincial Public Health Office (PPHO) has called for a close watch to be kept on private karaoke booths in the city because the “unsuitable behavior” by some youths in the rooms is putting them at risk of contagious diseases.The PPHO called for department…
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Couple injured in acid attack
PHUKET CITY: A woman was seriously injured after having acid thrown in her face on Friday. The woman’s boyfriend was also injured in the attack.Pol Sub Lt Thada Sodarak, Duty Officer at Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette that the injured man, Pissanu Praduppet, told police that his wife had committed the attack after he had asked her for a…
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Prostitution rates second in latest crime figures
PHUKET: Statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police show that prostitution-related crime resulted in the second-highest number of arrests, 91, in October, knocking drug offenses from its usual number two position and trailing only the perennial leader, gambling.Of the 214 people arrests for gambling-related offenses, 23 cases involved the sale of illegal underground lottery tickets.Seventy-four people were arrested for drug-related offenses,…
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Patong to try one-way traffic
PATONG: In the hope of bringing some order to Patong’s traffic chaos, on January 15 the town will adopt a one-way road system on a three-month trial.The one-way system will see Rat U-Thit 200 Pi Rd become one-way southbound and Thaweewong Rd (the beach road) one-way northbound from Prachanukhro Rd to Phra Barami Rd.Prachanukhro Rd will become one-way from Rat…
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Man killed in drunken mass brawl
PHUKET CITY: A young man was killed and another critically injured after being stabbed during a drunken melee that broke out in a children’s playground at Saphan Hin early Tuesday morning.Phuket City Police Investigator Pol Lt Col Somkid Boonrat identified the dead man as Sompob Chumpan, 24, who died of a single three-inch-deep stab wound to the abdomen.The other victim,…
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Kathu roadworks to cause tailbacks
KATHU: Motorists traveling between Kathu and Phuket City can expect traffic delays over the next year, as the narrow, hilly stretch of Wichit Songkhram Rd west of Makro is now being widened into a four-lane divided highway with sidewalks on both sides.The work is underway by project contractor Noppawong Kosarng Company, which was awarded the contract after making a 45.9-million-baht…
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Fire engulfs stalls along Patong beachfront
PATONG: A fire broke out on Thaweewong Rd about 4 am yesterday, destroying eight vendors’ stalls and causing an estimated 10 million baht in damages.Firefighters took two hours to extinguish the blaze.The fire broke out in a row of shops near the Holiday Inn Resort. After being notified of the blaze by Kathu Police, 10 trucks from Patong Municipality Fire…
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Tsunami early-warning buoys to deploy from Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Thailand’s tsunami early-warning system will take a big step forward this month, when a high-tech monitoring buoy able to directly detect tsunami waves will be deployed about 1,100 kilometers off the Andaman Coast, near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.The announcement came during a meeting on disaster preparedness in the six tsunami-affected provinces held at the Royal Phuket City…
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Phuket Prison now a tourist attraction
PHUKET CITY: For most societies, prison is an undesirable place to which law-abiding citizens send the the community’s undesirables, i.e., the deviants, perverts and miscreants. But in Phuket, prison has become just another tourist attraction.Helping to keep alive the strong local tradition of anywhere-anytime tourism, Paisarn Suwannaraksa, Director of Phuket Prison, told the Gazette that the 1,500-inmate prison is now…
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“Peanut gambling’ gang caught
KAMALA: Four men, including a retired police officer, have been arrested for their participation in a “peanut gambling” swindle after a woman, whose name is being withheld at her request, was conned out of 1 million baht before reporting the racket to the police.The woman reported the con to police on November 8 and cooperated in a sting operation, luring…
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Pencak Silat moved to Turkey
PHUKET: The 13th Pencak Silat Martial Arts World Championship, set to open in Phuket this Saturday, has been moved to Turkey due to the coup.The competition was originally scheduled to be held November 18 to 26, with more than 500 competitors from 25 countries registered for the event.Pencak Silat is a group of martial arts of Indo-Malaysian origin that can…
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Jazz Royale Festival schedule announced
KARON: The Jazz Royale Festival – organized to honor HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s 80th birthday – will be held at Karon Beach on December 16 and 17, 2006.Among the big names to perform in the show are Kenny G, The Dizzy Gillespie All Star Band, and jazz great Ahmad Jamal.Tickets are priced at 1,500 baht and are available from the…
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Barami 8 squatters spared – for now
KALIM: Fearful of inciting a riot, municipal officials yesterday decided not to remove three squatters homes along Soi Phra Barami 8.The three homes, the first of 61 to be removed to make way for a government road-widening project, was ordered on Monday by Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Nivit Aroonrat at a meeting at Kathu District office.Owners of the…
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Alcohol advertising ban threatens Johnnie Walker Classic
BANGKOK (The Nation): Riche Monde, distributor of Johnnie Walker whiskey, has urged the government to decide within two weeks whether it can use the logo and brand to promote the upcoming Johnnie Walker Classic golf event at Blue Canyon Country Club in Thalang.If the government bans the use of the logo and brand, as well as prohibits the company from…
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Weapons seized in Kathu
KATHU: Four men were arrested yesterday after a routine inspection of their pickup at the Phra Barami Rd vehicle control point uncovered four pistols, ammunition, a walkie-talkie and two pairs of latex gloves.Tung Tong Police Deputy Inspector for Crime Suppression Pol Capt Wiwut Chumnankit said police pulled over the red-gray Mitsubishi pickup, with a Phuket license plate, at the checkpoint…
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Pian authorizes Phra Barami 8 evictions
KALIM: Patong Mayor Pian Keesin has reluctantly agreed to demolish three squatters’ homes on Soi Phra Barami 8, the site of a proposed road-widening project that has been delayed by the numerous illegal dwellings there.The three houses are among 61 that face eventual destruction, but are the only dwellings that the court has thus far ordered demolished. Workers will begin…
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Dive operators get court reprieve
PHUKET: The Administrative Court in Nakhon Sri Thammarat has ruled the new regulations affecting Phuket dive operators suspended indefinitely, pending the results of a court case challenging their legality.News of the suspension came from Aekachai Soonthorn, who has been appointed defense attorney for the province in the case. Aekachai is also Secretary to the Phuket Provincial Chief Administrative Officer (Palad),…
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Chinese take FIVB gold in Phuket
KARON: It was an all-China final in the Swatch FIVB Phuket Thailand Open international women’s volleyball tournament on Sunday. The last stop on the FIVB world tour pitted third-seeded Xue Chen and Zhang Xi against compatriots Tian Jia and Wang Jie in the final.Xue and Zhang went on to win in the third all-Chinese final of this season’s FIVB tour.…
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Chetwynd-Talbot still in Phuket jail
PHUKET CITY: Briton Paul Chetwynd-Talbot is still being held at Phuket Provincial Prison, though he is expected to be transfered to the more comfortable Klong Prem Prison in Ladyao, Bangkok, before the end of the year.Paisarn Suwannaraksa, Director of Phuket Prison, told the Gazette, “It will be more comfortable for the prisoner because he is a foreigner, and easier for…
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US Olympic champs through to FIVB semi-finals
KARON: Americans Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor, top seeds for the FIVB Phuket Thailand Open being held at Karon Beach this weekend, secured a place in the semi-finals by defeating fourth-seeded Nila Ann Hakedal and Ingrid Torlen of Norway 21-17, 19-21, 15-11 in 48 minutes.The win extended Walsh and May-Treanor’s winning streak in the tourney to 11 matches The duo…
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B1m fugitive arrested in Phitsanuloke
PHITSANULOKE (The Nation): Fugitive murder suspect Thai-American national Saner Wonggoun was arrested yesterday at a market in Phitsanuloke province.The former US Air Force non-commissioned officer pleaded guilty to a murder charge filed by local police in California for the murder of his pregnant wife Sopha in 1994, police said.The arrest came just seven days after Thai and US authorities announced…
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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