Phuket News
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Phuket doesn’t need more tuk-tuks, says tuk-tuk chief
PHUKET: Seven months after his last appeal to legalize tuk-tuk drivers on the island, Sakol Srisompoch filed yet another complaint yesterday, but this time it was against legalizing them. In September, Mr Sakol led a group of legal tuk-tuk drivers to file a third formal complaint in their campaign to stamp out the illegal tuk-tuk trade in Patong (story here).…
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Phuket banker dies after car crashes into pond
PHUKET: A Phuket banker died yesterday morning after he lost control of his car on the old airport road in Baan Nai Mon and flipped it into a small pond. A local farmer, who asked not to be named, said that residents were unable to save Phubadee Marasa, 26. Additionally, the first two rescue workers who arrived on the scene…
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Wastewater could lead to shutdown of Karon hotels
PHUKET: The president of the Karon Hotels Association agreed on Wednesday that hotels should be shut down for releasing untreated wastewater into the beach town’s canal. Angkana Tanetvisetkul voiced her support for drastic action at a public meeting led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut aimed at improving the wastewater and garbage problems in Karon. The meeting was held to address…
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The new generation of F1
PHUKET: Far from the boiling heart of Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur, wrapped in the steamy green of endless palm oil plantations, lies another heart. It doesn’t beat all the time like the city, but when it does, it pounds hard and loud and forces adrenaline to course through the veins. Sepang International Circuit, found 13 kilometers from Kuala Lumpur International Airport…
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Phuket hunter shot dead, police probing gun misfire claims
PHUKET: Police are not yet convinced that a man shot dead while hunting with friends in central Phuket last night died from his .22 rifle accidentally discharging while the men were climbing a hill in the dark. Maj Kittipoom Tinthalang of the Thalang Police was called to a small village in the foothills of the protected forest area near Bang…
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Krabi resort fraud case goes nationwide, hundreds file complaints
PHUKET: At least 231 victims have stepped up to file police complaints against the Phu Pranang Resort in Krabi, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket. The flood of complaints comes after 50 tourists were turned away by the resort earlier this month. The travellers bought low-cost package tours, but were left stranded after they were refused check-in by resort staff,…
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PDRC allows Phuket Provincial Hall to re-open
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Hall officially re-opened yesterday after being closed by anti-government protests for four and a half months. The opening followed an order from People’s Democratic Reform Committee (PDRC) leader Suthep Thaugsuban. Mr Suthep called protest co-ordinators from every province to a meeting in Bangkok on Saturday, Phuket protest co-ordinator Amnuay Kumban explained to the Phuket Gazette today. “Mr…
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Naked Canadian arrested after putting on a show for shoppers
PHUKET: As women screamed and shouted, a man identified by police only as “David” walked, danced and jumped on a wall next to Jungceylon last night – buck naked. When police arrived, Mr David was scaling a wall next to the mall. He resisted arrest, leading officers to handcuff him. His evening ended soberly. “We smelled alcohol on him, so…
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Phuket officials prepare for Songkran with alcohol-free play zones
PHUKET: With Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut’s announcement today of designated water-play zones for this year’s Songkran celebrations, Phuket water-players may start making plans to party. The announcement made it clear that the sale, purchase and consumption of alcohol will be banned within the Phuket water play zones and there will be no exception for any famous area, including, of course,…
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10-year-old taken off life support after Phuket motorbike accident
PHUKET: The 10-year-old girl critically injured in a motorbike accident with her older sister last week died on Monday at Vachira Phuket Hospital after being taken off life support. “Rattanawadee Tukthin was taken off life support because her brain had been so severely damaged in the crash. Our medical team did their best to save her life, but she remained…
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Phuket FC look to hold their place in the Thaicom FA Cup
PHUKET: Tonight, Phuket FC look to hold their place in the Thaicom FA Cup 2014 as they travel to Khao Plong Stadium in Chainat. They will kickoff at 6pm against the Wang Mun Tambon Administration Office. Organized by the Football Association of Thailand, The Thaicom FA Cup is a knockout football tournament now into its 19th year. The cup winner…
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Six dodge jail terms for Phuket beach land encroachment
PHUKET: Six people have received suspended jail sentences and immediate fines for building and operating small beachside shops on protected land at Nai Yang Beach, revealed the Chief Administrative Officer of Sakoo Tambon Administrative Organization (OrBorTor) today. Of the six, two are still operating their shops, three have had their shops demolished and one has closed shop, but the building…
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Sting operation nets Nigerian for dealing cocaine
PHUKET: A series of small drug busts led to a sting operation last night that concluded with the arrest of a Nigerian man for dealing cocaine. “Last night, we were informed that Somkid ‘Waew’ Kwanngern, 30, was in possession of cocaine so we went to her apartment behind Patong Municipality Fire Department,” said Lt Col Sutthichai Thianpho of the Patong…
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Video Report: Phuket’s Suunto Series – seeing in red and white
PHUKET: The first two white cards handed out for “points” in the Phuket We Free Dive Suunto Series have highlighted the unique format of the competition, which ranks the control, safety and beauty of the dive above time and distance. “I value any clean dive far above a longer or deeper one that ends with a barely conscious diver,” explained…
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Motorbike rental passport leads to Phuket arrest of Spanish nunchuk mugger
PHUKET: A passport left as collateral for a motorbike rental has led to the arrest of a Spaniard for the nunchuk mugging of a Russian in Kata early yesterday morning. Karon Police arrested Spanish tourist Mario Arturo Tovar Ferras, 23, at the Bonus Bungalow resort in Soi Ta-iad, Chalong, at about 7:30pm last night. “Police seized a motorbike, a seven-inch…
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Phuket police station blockade yields B900k cash compensation
PHUKET: An angry family ransomed the Chalong Police Station for 900,000 baht in compensation for failure to apprehend the suspect of deadly hit-and-run nine months ago. The three vehicles blocking anyone from entering the police station were not moved until the owner of the pickup truck that struck the man dead offered cash compensation (story here). “I want to end…
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Video Report: Airport Customs snare Phuket drug mule with B7mn of crystal meth
PHUKET: A Thai woman was arrested at Phuket International Airport yesterday after she tried to smuggle 2.5kg of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine) from China into Phuket. Customs officers valued the drugs at about 7 million baht. “Buachompoo Pattanapiyawach, 39, was caught with drugs in her luggage after it was scanned by an x-ray machine,” Phuket Airport Customs Director Montira Cherdchoo…
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Phuket official loses B4mn Benz in chicken run wipeout
PHUKET: A six-wheeled truck hauling a battery of chickens bound for Krabi crushed a brand-new, 4-million-baht Mercedes-Benz belonging to a local official in Mai Khao, in the north of Phuket, on Saturday. The accident took place at 11am on Thepkrassatri Road northbound, about 300 meters from the entrance to Sai Kaew Beach. “I came to check on a construction site,”…
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Still no extradition request for Phuket fugitive arrested a month ago
PHUKET: One month after his arrest in the Philippines, the extradition of British fugitive Michael John Taylor, also known as “Mick the Pom”, wanted in Phuket on murder charges, appears to be at a standstill. Phuket’s top cop Maj Gen Ong-art Phiewruangnont says he has no knowledge of the case, and the officer in charge of it, Lt Col Danprai…
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Road death inaction sparks blockade of Phuket police station
PHUKET: The angry son of a man killed in a road accident at Chalong Circle eight months ago this morning staged a blockade of Chalong Police Station, accusing officers of supporting murder. The man parked his minivan along with two other vehicles at the entrance of the station, preventing anyone from getting in and out. Posters were plastered over billboards…
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Minor Group’s 5-billion baht Phuket investment
PHUKET: Investment confidence on the resort island of Phuket has continued to ramp up in 2014 despite the Bangkok political crisis. The launch of fifteen ultra luxury villas on the prime west coast by the Thai-listed group Minor International PLC is at the forefront of the upscale movement. Tagged as The Residences by Anantara Layan, the villas range from four…
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Stabbing in Phuket attributed to red-shirt, PDRC divide
PHUKET: An argument over the political divisions being played out in Bangkok ended with a red-shirt supporter from Isarn, Northeastern Thailand, stabbing two Southern Thai fruit vendors in Patong on Saturday night. One eyewitness told the Phuket Gazette that the argument erupted while seven vendors – who all sell fruit on Patong Beach for the same employer – were drinking…
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BISP Flying Fish storm the pool at Thanyapura
With temperatures soaring close to 40 degrees Celsius, 312 energetic six-to-18-year-old swimmers and their many supporters packed the grandstands at the Thanyapura Invitational Swim Meet presented by Rocket Science Sports, on March 29 and 30. Thanyapura’s Olympic standard aquatic center played host to a total of 17 teams, and swimmers from eight countries joined the meet from as far afield…
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Phuket to be “unaffected’ during 28-day power disruptions
The Provincial Energy Office has assured that Phuket and other tourism provinces along the Andaman coast will remain unaffected as a major natural gas supply line that feeds the national grid goes offline for 28 days in June and July. The news follows the announcement that the supply of natural gas from field A-18 in the Joint Development Area (JDA)…
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Phuket Lake Filling: A sneak behind the watershed
Special Report A housing developer faces legal action if he continues filling in a lake north of Samkong. Soil-dumping as part of an anti-erosion project may continue as long as health issues are addressed. The Phuket Gazette‘s Irfarn Jamdukor reports. PHUKET: Rassada Municipality is preparing to file a police complaint if the lake filling at the Srisuchart Grandview housing estate,…
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Kidnapped Russian leaves Phuket
PHUKET: The Russian kidnapping victim who was recovered alive, Iana Strizheus, caught a flight from Phuket back to Russia last night. “She has given her statement to police and been presented to the judge. Therefore, she is free to go home,” Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Arun Kaewvatee told the Phuket Gazette this morning. “This changes nothing for our investigation.”…
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10-year-old on life support after Phuket motorbike crash
PHUKET: A 10-year-old girl is unresponsive and on life support at Vachira Phuket Hospital after a motorbike accident on Thepkrasattri Road in Koh Kaew on Thursday. Rattanawadee Tukthin was returning home from Big C on a motorbike driven by her sister, Anjira Tukthin, 17, when the pair crashed into a utility pole. “Ms Anjira is recovering in hospital after receiving…
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Men fire on Phuket armored van transporting B10mn, then flee as van gives chase
PHUKET: Three suspects who opened fire on an armored van carrying 10 million baht yesterday afternoon were chased down by the van driver, but managed to escape. The van had left Tesco Lotus in Phuket Town and was northbound on Thepkrasattri Road, headed to refill ATMs in Bang Tao and at the Phuket International Airport when the men fired on…
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Video Report: Phuket crepe maker meets the stranger who saved him from sharks
PHUKET: It was an emotional meeting last week between the man who lost his only source of livelihood – a sidecar outfitted to make crepes – and the New Zealand woman who gave him the money he needed to avoid borrowing cash from loan sharks to buy a new one. Crepe vendor Prayoon Impuang, whose sidecar was consumed by flames…
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Foreigners in Phuket: Dive shop blitz clarifies instructors’ work descriptions
PHUKET: Foreign dive instructors’ job descriptions were clarified during an inspection led by Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut in Patong today, as the Public-sector Anti Corruption Commission (PACC) investigates allegations that police were extorting money from them due to ambiguities in work permits (story here). “We only came to check work permits and clarify the information within them to the employees.…
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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