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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Thaksin to fly in for 1-hour speech
PHUKET TOWN: Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will fly from Bangkok on Thursday to make a one-hour speech at a national convention for members of Provincial Administration Organizations (OrBorJor). The PM is scheduled to open the two-day convention at the Royal Phuket City Hotel, starting at 9:30 am, with a speech on provincial government reform. About 800 OrBorJor members are expected…
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Rain damps drought concerns
PHUKET: Continuing rain should stave off the threat of drought on Phuket and replenish water supplies, Suwin Anukul, Chief of Water Allotment of the Phuket Irrigation Project, said today. “At least we should be fine through to the end of this year,” he added. K. Suwin said the recent monsoon falls increased supplies in the Bang Wad reservoir by 800,000…
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Kitchen knife killing: wife on the run
RASSADA: A woman who appears to have been a victim of domestic violence was on the run today after her husband was killed with a kitchen knife. Somsak Thepthong, 37, a laborer, was stabbed once in the stomach at the couple’s home on 12/66 Moo 1, Koh Sireh at the weekend. Pol Capt Sarit Buthnongsan, of Phuket Town Police Station,…
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Village chiefs bitter at ‘no guns&’ decision
PHUKET: Village leaders have protested over an Interior Ministry decision to stop awarding guns to village leaders who are voted provincial Kamnan or Phu Yai Baan of the Year. The Kamnan and Phu Yai Baan traditionally act as mediators in village disputes and are also responsible for security when police are not available. To this end, they are entitled to…
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Star Tour denies cutting back tour groups
PHUKET TOWN: A major Swedish tour organizer says it will continue to send groups to Phuket despite some misgivings it has about child labor, homeless children and child prostitution on the island. At the same time, however, Marie Hallberg – a Swedish researcher who was at the center of an earlier storm over suggestions that the company might boycott Phuket…
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Phuket kids head for Special Olympics
PHUKET TOWN: Two students from the Phuket Special School are to represent Thailand in this year’s Special Olympic Games in Japan. Fifteen-year-olds Suriyan Kwanprom and Sukasem Charoensuk were presented with 10,000 baht towards the trip when they met Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi at Phuket Provincial Hall today. The two leave Phuket on Monday to meet the other eight Thai representatives…
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Fake Dulwich papers “full of mistakes’
PHUKET TOWN: Fake Dulwich International College certificates were part of a recently uncovered Internet scam, but were of poor quality, the Phuket Provincial Education Office said today. Among the mistakes on the imitations were subjects listed that are not taught at the college and a logo that failed to match the real one. The signature on the fakes was that…
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Electricity firm opens pay kiosk at Big C
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) today opened a service counter at the Big C supercenter, on the bypass road, where consumers may pay their electricity bills. Sornchai Uparamai, the Manager of the PPEA, told the Gazette that the decision to open the kiosk was made following many complaints from customers about the hot and lengthy wait for…
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Thais urged to battle corruption
PHUKET TOWN: Thai people should be more aware of corruption, a workshop to promote ethics in the community was told today. “There should be regular corruption inspections and investigations,” Pongthep Thepkarnjana, Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office, told the 500 people who attended the day-long gathering at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. K. Pongthep, who is also Vice Chairman of…
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Convention center decision closer
PHUKET: The site of the island’s proposed international convention and exhibition center (CEC) remains undecided but a verdict is one step closer. Napasorn Kakai, Assistant Director of the local Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office, told reporters that a sub-committee led by businessman Wichit Na Ranong has carefully examined the proposed sites and voted on each. Their opinions have been…
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Mayor to lead 500 on Penang junket
PATONG: The Mayor of Patong, Surasak Maneesri, is to take 500 local people on an educational tour to Penang in Malaysia next week, at a cost to local tax payers of two million baht. The money to provide the 500 travelers with free bus transport, accommodation and food from August 4-7 will come from the municipality’s human resources development budget.…
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Mangrove walk to be closed at night
PHUKET TOWN: The Mayor of Phuket Town, Phummisak Hongsyok, has announced that the two entrances to the Saphan Hin mangrove walk will be fenced off, and the walk will be closed between 7 pm and 8am every day. His announcement came after a young mechanic from Surin was murdered late on Friday when he tried to stop two men raping…
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Rules changed for EMS deliveries
PHUKET: The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) has announced that it is no longer accepting parcels or envelopes addressed to post office boxes in India, Luxembourg, Qatar, or Tanzania, for delivery via its premium Express Mail Service (EMS). EMS parcels and envelopes sent to these four countries must carry the recipient’s name and full address. Items addressed to PO boxes…
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Key Aussie probe witness turns up in Patong
PATONG: A key witness in a major Western Australian inquiry into misdeeds by the state’s police, who disappeared from Australia recently, has turned up in Patong. The witness concerned is Tony Lewandowski, an ex-detective who recently signed an affidavit concerning the rigging of evidence to secure the convictions of three brothers, Raymond, Peter and Brian Mickelberg, for the notorious Perth…
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Murder, attempted rape on mangrove walk
PHUKET TOWN: A man was stabbed to death as he tried to save his girlfriend from two would-be rapists on the new Saphan Hin mangrove tourist walkway on Friday night. One attacker dropped his wallet in the struggle, leading to the arrests of both the following day. The murder victim, Nopparat Thongjanthuck, a 26-year-old air-conditioning technician from Surin, had taken…
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Tourist Police stage sea rescue seminar
PATONG: Phuket Tourist Police held a seminar today on sea rescue techniques for 150 people, including officers and volunteers such as lifeguards, paramedics and others who work on the beach. In his opening address at the Royal Paradise Hotel, seminar chairman and Kathu District Chief Sutin Uthaitamrong emphasized the need for speed in alerting rescue organizations in the event of…
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‘Hot’ competition for Phuket police
PHUKET TOWN: Police officers went through a two-hour competition yesterday to hone their skills in dealing with hostage-taking and other “hot” situations. Police were judged on their work with pistols and rifles, methods of snatching a gun from a suspect, using handcuffs, arresting suspects in a car, freeing hostages on a bus, protecting VIPs and other similar drills. Pol Maj…
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Pursuit of robber brings traffic to a halt
PHUKET TOWN: Traffic in Samkong was brought to a standstill this afternoon as local residents chased a thief down Yaowarat Rd, accompanied by police firing shots in the air. The thief, Witaya Meejai, 26, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, was caught by police, with the help of local residents, outside the Steak Samkong restaurant at about 4 pm. Pol Maj Vichakom…
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Bars, nightclubs urged to close
PHUKET: Police are requesting bar and nightclub owners to close their doors tomorrow and Thursday, out of respect for the religious holidays. Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, said today, “We ask only for cooperation from the bar and nightclub owners in Phuket. It’s not a law or rule. “It has become customary for Thais not…
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Man caught passing forged B500 note
CHERNG TALAY: Police yesterday arrested a 35-year-old Trang man for passing forged 500-baht notes – after rescuing him from a group of local people who were beating him up. The locals told police that the man, Jamnong Longklang, had earlier bought some cigarettes from the JR Mart in Kamala, using a 500-baht note to pay for them. After receiving the…
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Man in black found hanging from tree
PHUKET TOWN: Police have appealed to the public for help in identifying a man who was found hanging from a tree yesterday morning near Moo Baan Prangthong on Kwang Rd. Pol Capt Watcharin Jirattikarnviwat, of Phuket Town Police Station, said the victim was found by local villagers hanging by a nylon rope from a tree branch, about 10 meters from…
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PTA elects new president
PHUKET TOWN: Pattanapong Aikwanich, Managing Director of Diamond Cliff Resort, was elected President of the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) on Saturday. The biennial election attracted 117 of the PTA’s 198-strong membership to the Metropole Hotel to cast their votes. First business of the meeting was for members to elect a committee of 11, which later voted for K. Pattanapong to…
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Russian drowns at Surin Beach
SURIN: A Russian tourist drowned at Surin Beach on Friday while swimming with his wife. Pol Maj Anan Jingjit, Inspector of Cherng Talay Police Station, identified the victim as 42-year-old Alexey Afonichev. “He was swimming with his wife and disappeared under the strong waves. Other tourists in the area located him and pulled him to shore,” Maj Anan said. Police…
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Post office changes opening hours
PATONG: The Post Office on Taweewong Rd, Patong, (post code 83151) has changed its operating times in order to improve its service to the public. Postal services and the telecommunications section are now open from 11 am to 6 pm with bill-paying, money orders and other services involving money available from 11 am to 5 pm. The post office opens…
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Phuket prepares for Apec meeting
KARON: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs hosted a seminar involving about 100 officials and businesspeople this morning at Phuket Arcadia Beach Resort, to prepare for the 3rd Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) Senior Officials Meeting, to be held in Phuket next year. Apinan Pavanarit, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said Phuket will host the conference from August…
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Gov to hold “clinic’ in Kamala
KAMALA: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi will hold a public service “clinic” at the offices of the Kamala Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) on July 28. The Governor, with chiefs and staff from every provincial government department, will meet local residents to hear their grievances and to explain services. Officers will be on hand, from 9:30 am to 5 pm, to give…
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Bravery of recovery team acknowledged
PHUKET TOWN: The United States Ambassador to Thailand, Darryl Johnson, today presented certificates of commendation to the 24 Marine Police and Navy personnel involved in the operation to recover the body of American diver Dr Jeffrey Gall. Dr Gall, an experienced diver with more than 250 logged dives, disappeared on March 25 while exploring an underwater cave off Koh Ha…
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Bookseller charged over pornography
PATONG: Tourist police raided a shop on Tuesday and arrested a woman for selling pornographic books. Officers had been on patrol at about 8:30 pm on Rat-U-Thit 200 Phi Rd when local people drew their attention to the shop. Pol Capt Sanya Potchsalee, deputy inspector of the Phuket Tourist Police, said the shop, in the soi leading to the Royal…
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Boys, 11 and 12, arrested for burglary
WICHIT: Three schoolchildren became burglars because their pocket money wasn’t enough, they told the Gazette on Monday. Twelve-year-old “Pring”, one of the accused sixth-graders, said, “Twenty baht isn’t enough. I asked mom for extra money, but she said no.” The trio were caught after allegedly burglarizing two houses in the same neighborhood, one of them twice. Pring, 11-year-old “Kob”, and…
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Tenth Burmese fisherman murdered
PHUKET TOWN: The number of Burmese fishermen murdered since May 1 has reached double figures with another unidentified body dumped in the notorious “Burmese Cemetery”. The tenth victim was found Monday afternoon in long grass near the entry to the Sang Aroon Mai raft on Sri Sena Rd. Seven of the 10 corpses have been found in this area. The…
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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