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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Cabinet approves zero import duty on boats
BANGKOK: The Cabinet today approved the axing of the 30% import duty on boats brought into Thailand for either commercial or personal use, but have yet to set a date for introducing the zero rate. The announcement follows expectations among the local boating community that the tax would be dropped by the end of the year, and just 11 days…
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Cannabis bust at Heroines’ Monument
THALANG: Police manning a checkpoint at the Heroines’ Monument arrested a man in the early hours of Sunday after finding 100 grams of cannabis resin on his person. Kanchanaburi-born Monsit Mapiyaphan, 31, aroused the interest of officers after he got off the back of a friend’s motorcycle and tried to walk past the checkpoint. Pol Lt Col Chanuchan Pongsuwat, Inspector…
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Meeting to discuss jet-ski crackdown
PHUKET TOWN: Following the death of a 13-year-old German boy on a jet-ski last month, the local office of the Marine Department will meet with the provincial government and other government agencies tomorrow to discuss measures to improve jet-ski safety on the island. Royal Thai Navy Lt Thongchai Mabangyang of Marine Department Office 5 told the Gazette that the department…
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Zero boat tax tomorrow? No, say officials
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Provincial Excise Office Chief Narong Sri Chakorn today dispelled rumors that the excise tax on imported yachts would drop to zero tomorrow. “The process is still awaiting Cabinet approval,” K. Narong said. “So far, there have been no decisions made and no regulations have been changed.” An officer at the Ministry of Finance, who asked not to…
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Drive to legalize “black’ taxis
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Transportation Office (PPTO) expects 50 to 100 drivers to register their vehicles as private metered taxis in the coming month. Teerayuth Prasertphol, Deputy Chief of the PPTO, told the Gazette that he expected the cabs to come from among the 800 or so “black” taxis currently operating illegally in Phuket. Once the registration period is…
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Senators check Bang Tao land “abuses’
CHERNG TALAY: The probe into land titles in Phuket, which recently went quiet in the run-up to the Apec summit meeting in Bangkok, reopened dramatically today with accusations of misuse of former tin mine concessions along Bang Tao Beach. Members of the Governmental Land Inspection Working Group (GLIWG), a self-appointed committee of senators led by Sen Pricha Pitanon, Vice-Chairman of…
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Battle over elephant’s death
PHUKET TOWN : Veterinarian Taweepoke Angkawanish of the Lampang-based Thai Elephant Conservation Center (TECC) has held a press conference at Phuket Provincial Livestock Department to explain his role in the controversial death of an elephant he admits to having treated without its owner’s permission. The pachyderm, a female in her 40s named Phang Wassana, died at about 5 pm on…
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Long-necked Karens banned
PHUKET TOWN: The provincial government has banned businesses from bringing long-necked Karen people to stay in the province following reports that a well-known local businessman was planning to use the refugees to make money in the tourism industry. Lertkiat Vongpuaphan, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Governor’s Office, told the Gazette yesterday that existing regulations make it impossible to employ long-necked…
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Filmmakers looking for extras
PHUKET: German movie company Lisa Film is looking for extras to fill out the cast of a romantic made-for-TV drama it will be shooting in and around Phuket over the next few weeks. The movie, Hotel zum Traumen (Dream Hotel) will run for 90 minutes and will premier on the ARD channel in Germany and ORF in Austria. The drama…
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Take a break and park your gun
THALANG: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) is building a 2-million-baht rest area at the Tah Chat Chai police checkpoint on Route 402 that will include a weapons depository. The first-of-its-kind service will allow visitors to store registered firearms with police while they are on the island, in line with a government ban on carrying firearms on the island. The…
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Date set for car numbers auction
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket’s first auction of special vehicle registration numbers is due to take place on November 27-28 at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. Bidding will start at 10 am. Teerayuth Prasertphol, Deputy Chief of the Phuket Provincial Transportation Office (PPTO) told the Gazette that refundable deposits must be lodged by bidders. “The size of the deposit depends on the…
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Diving lures more Russians
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is set to open an office in Moscow as Phuket attracts more visitors from Russia – especially for diving vacations. Napasorn Kakai, the Deputy Director of the local TAT office, told the Gazette yesterday, “Phuket is appealing to more and more Russian tourists. We now have 5,000 coming each year, especially between November…
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TAT denies move to give foreigners right to own land
BANGKOK: Reports that foreigners who buy the one-million-baht Thai Privilege Card will be able to own land have been denied by a senior official of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) parent of the card issuer, the Thai Privilege Card Co Ltd (TPC). The reports suggested that the government was moving to allow card-holders to buy and own up to…
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Sea Canoe boat sunk by arsonists
THALANG: Arsonists are believed to have been responsible for the total loss of a vessel owned and operated by tour company Sea Canoe Thailand, and an attempt to sink the company’s other boat. The Urida 98 had put into Ao Por and was moored at the pier after returning from a tour. The crew left the ship to attend a…
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Public urged to join bad food crackdown
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Health Office held a press conference at its offices on Narisorn Rd today to announce a major campaign to crack down on unsanitary restaurants and outlets that sell meat and vegetables laced with dangerous chemicals. Speaking at the press conference,Vice-Governor Niran Kalayanamit said the inspection regimen of the Clean Food, Good Taste project would play…
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897 declare wild animal ownership
PHUKET: A total of 897 people in Phuket have been officially registered as having protected wild animals in their possession, Sukree Attaporn, Officer of Protected Area Management Administration 19 at Nakhon Sri Thammarat, has told the Gazette. The 19th area includes Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Nakhon Sri Thammarat). Compilation of the figure came after a 120-day amnesty for people…
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Report fake border stamps, expats told
BANGKOK: Some expat residents will be required to present a police document at Immigration border checkpoints in the continuing crackdown on illegally-obtained or forged entry-exit stamps in passports. Foreigners with passports containing fake stamps who do not report to police before leaving Thailand and are caught at the border may be arrested for conspiracy to commit forgery. The Gazette understands…
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Dog pound strays to wrong site
THALANG: Completion of Phuket’s first large pound for stray dogs will be delayed for at least a month – and the chief of the Phuket Livestock Department plans to lodge a complaint with the Phuket Provincial Public Works Department for not building the facility to his specifications. Sunart Wongchawalit, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO), told the Gazette…
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Island “has water for a year’
PHUKET: Huge amounts of rain in October and a freshly-filled Bangwad reservoir mean that Phuket should have no water shortage problems for at least a year, says Sayan Wareearoonroj, Manager of Phuket Provincial Water Supply. A total of 735.6 millimeters of rain fell as recorded at Phuket International Airport – up from 286.7 mm last October and the heaviest monthly…
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Arms cache seized in Trang
CAPE PANWA: Third Naval Area Command recovered a small cache of assault weapons and ammunition from a small island in Trang’s Kantang district yesterday, and an investigation is now underway to determine if the weapons were intended for insurgents in Sri Lanka or Indonesia. V/Adm Pairoj Theerachai, Commander of Third Naval Area Command, said today that a seven-man navy unit…
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Skipper accused of smuggling alcohol
THALANG: Marine Police seized 505 bottes of Champagne, wine and spirits in a raid on a rented house near the Yacht Haven marina this morning and accused a Frenchman of failing to pay import duty on the alcohol. Herve Letouze, 48, a catamaran captain, admitted importing the bottles but told police his intention was to drink the goods himself on…
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Island developers ready for Bangkok
In hopes of re-visiting the hearty welcome and strong sales enjoyed at their 2002 and 2003 exhibitions in Hong Kong, Phuket and Samui property developers will test the appetite for their products in Bangkok over the next three days. About 40 exhibitors will open their booths at Bangkok’s first “Phuket & Samui Property Exhibition” at noon tomorrow. The event takes…
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“Disgraceful’ swindler jailed
PHUKET TOWN: A Phuket man who swindled tourists from nine countries out of a total of two million baht was a disgrace to Thailand, Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, said yesterday. Phuket Provincial Court sentenced Saratthawat Tangsathaporn, 31, who once ran the Rose Diamond jewelry story in Patong, to 81 months in jail after he…
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Pet owners moving out of Kamala
KAMALA: Pet owners have begun moving out of Kamala as poisonings of dogs and cats continue. One refugee is Andrew Scatter, whose 100,000-baht Weimaraner hunting dog, Gendolf, has been poisoned twice. Luckily, on each occasion Gendolf was taken to a vet in time for him to be treated, and he survived. But Mr Scatter says he has had enough and…
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Minister discusses trilingual education
PHUKET TOWN: Education Minister Pongpol Adireksarn visited Phuket Technical College on Friday to discuss the relevance of both vocational education and trilingual (Thai-English-Chinese) programs to Phuket schools. “We talked about the importance of vocational education,” he said. “The Ministry would like to adapt the subjects in each institute to be in line with the major businesses in their areas.” K.…
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“Most wanted’ gang leader arrested
PHUKET TOWN: After a two-month manhunt, Phuket Town police have arrested fugitive gang leader Noparat “Ae BorKorSor” Boonyong and an accomplice. The arrest of the notorious 24-year-old, at the top of the police most-wanted list, follows a shootout outside the Lucky Complex in Saphan Hin in August, in which police killed two members of Noparat’s gang but were unable to…
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Bus passes to be launched in December
PHUKET TOWN: In an effort to increase the number of passengers using the Phuket Town Bus service and reduce traffic congestion, the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) will begin sale of monthly bus passes starting in December. The passes will allow riders unlimited use of the bus system’s two routes for a month and will be available to Thais and…
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Phuket draft plan completed
PHUKET TOWN: Governor Udomsak Usawarangura held a conference with 100 of the island’s top officials and business leaders yesterday at the Royal Phuket City Hotel to finalize the draft strategic plan for Phuket’s development. The draft plan, which emphasizes tourism development, will be presented to Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak this week, following a meeting of all 75 provincial governors…
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Osaka-Phuket direct flights begin
PHUKET TOWN: Thai Airways International (THAI) has begun direct flights from Osaka, Japan, to Phuket using a 200-seat Airbus. The thrice-weekly service, on Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays service, designated as flight TG-637, leaves Osaka at 1:25 am and arrives in Phuket at 6:35 am local time. The service got underway on October 27, the same day as the new THAI…
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Phuket to declare itself “drug-free’
PHUKET TOWN: After less than a month in office, Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has announced that Phuket is ready to declare itself a “drug-free” province. The official announcement will be made at Saphan Hin on the evening of November 8, just before the traditional Loy Kratong Festival ceremony, and a long way ahead of the government’s target date of December…
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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