Phuket News
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Alcohol relief: National ban details cleared up for businesses
PHUKET: A collective sigh of relief could be heard from Phuket officials as clarification of a national alcohol-sales ban officially arrived this week. The ban, passed by the Cabinet and signed into law by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, forbids the sale of alcohol within 300 meters of an ‘educational institution’. However, what qualifies as an educational institution was originally…
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Governor leads Big Cleaning Day event
PHUKET: Governor Nisit Jansomwong led about 300 people in a ‘Big Cleaning Day’ event along Thepkrasattri Road on Thursday morning in honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 83rd birthday on August 12. Participants picked up trash along 2 kilometers of Thepkrasattri Road heading southbound toward Big C Thepkrasattri branch. “These sorts of activities are a way to inform people on the…
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PM Prayut pauses hotly-debated Krabi power plant project
PHUKET: Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha has ordered the hotly-debated coal-fired power plant project in Krabi to be put on hold until a joint committee can ensure that all steps of the pre-construction process have been legally carried out. The prime minister’s order ended a 14-day protest yesterday in Bangkok. About 100 Krabi residents and environmental activists had gathered to…
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Man killed saving co-worker from electric shock
PHUKET: One man was killed and another injured by an electric shock which occurred when a crane they were using to move a tree in Cherng Talay hit electrical wires. Supakit Kaewnarin, 30, and Bhumi Boonyapitak, 40, were found lying on the ground near the crane when police arrived. “We saw one man lying near the crane, but not moving,…
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Media, PR pros hammer out new strategies
PHUKET: The Thai Public Relations Department (PRD) called media from the southern provinces to a seminar in Krabi last week in an effort to strategize ways to keep pace with international media and help foreigners understand the goings-on in Thailand. “We held the meeting so we could exchange thoughts and make sure local media and public relations professionals are on…
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Officials investigate rank pig farms in Chalong
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Suthee Thongyam inspected a group of pig farms in Chalong yesterday after villagers had filed a complaint about foul smells and the pollution of a local canal. “About 100 locals filed a complaint with me about the farms, so I took the case to the Damrongtham Center,” said Kokchai Sae-iew, Moo 9 village headman. “There are…
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Section of Kathu-Koh Kaew shortcut road closed
PHUKET: Access to Soi Koh Kaew 33 from Thepkrasattri Road, behind the Isuzu showroom in Koh Kaew, has been closed off as repairs are made to a roadside retaining wall. Construction is expected to be complete within 60 days. “During construction the road will be closed. There will only be one lane for exiting to Thepkrasattri Road. We can not…
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Local swimmers dive into FINA World Championships
PHUKET: Fresh from claiming nine medals at the recent South East Asian (SEA) Games, five members of the BISP JSA Swim Academy, based at British International School Phuket (BISP), are jumping into the pool today to compete in the 16th FINA World Championships. The championships will be held in Kazan, Russia, from July 24 to August 9. “The opportunity for…
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Kiwi wakes up from coma after accident on Patong Hill
PHUKET: New Zealander Paul ‘PJ’ Lupi, who was seriously injured in an accident on Patong Hill on July 6, has woken up from a coma and is recovering from his injuries, his brother told the Phuket Gazette today. The 28-year-old has been moved from the intensive care unit (ICU) to a ward in Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok. “He woke…
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Pink chicks outrage animal activist on Koh Lanta
PHUKET: A group of brightly colored baby chickens tied up in a plastic bag has outraged foreigners visiting Koh Lanta, south of Phuket. Tourist Gina Jones, 33, and her husband were strolling down a beach on Koh Lanta when the bright colored fowl being sold as kids toys caught their attention, reported The Daily Mail on Monday. The pair then…
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Phuket Governor promotes production of local fruit
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Nisit Jamsomwong signed an agreement on Monday to boost production of the local jungle fruit ‘som kwai‘ (garcinia atroviridis). During a meeting on Knowledge-Based One Tambon One Product (KBO), which is aimed at integrating relevant sectors to boost the value of its products, Governor Nisit noted that som kwai have excellent nutritional and medicinal properties. “This agreement…
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Underpass contracts to be inked on Monday
PHUKET: Contracts for the construction of two new underpasses, one at Chalong Circle and the other at Bang Ku Intersection, are set to be signed on Monday. After the contracts are signed, work is likely to start on Tuesday, Samak Luedwonghad, director of the Phuket Highways Office, told the Phuket Gazette yesterday. “The revised budget for the Bang Ku underpass…
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Men flee scene of power-pole crash
PHUKET: Police are searching for two men who fled the scene of an accident which downed a power pole on Srisoonthorn Road near the Heroines’ Monument yesterday. Witnesses of the accident notified Thalang Police at about 4pm. “At the scene, we found a seriously damaged station wagon flipped onto its side next to a collapsed power pole,” said Lt Suporn…
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Video Report: Distraught mum demands justice for dead daughter
PHUKET: The distraught mother of a 7-year-old girl who was killed after their pick-up truck crashed into a Phuket sinkhole continues to demand justice, as well as 10 million baht in compensation for the tragic accident last year. Nitikarn Rotrattanachai, who previously went by the name of Phakamon Duangchayatemcharat, arrived at the Thalang Police Station yesterday afternoon to follow up…
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Prison drug network cracked through Krabi, Trang busts
PHUKET: Krabi Police tapped in to a big-time prison drug network this week with the arrest of three major dealers in possession of 180,000 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and more than 7 kilograms of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine), with a street value of about 40 million baht. The string of arrests began on July 17 when 39-year-old Chawalit Limpanit was…
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National park pot dealer busted with 2.5kg
PHUKET: A Khao Lak-Lamru National Park employee was snagged with more than two kilograms of marijuana during a sting operation on Monday. Kathachai Panboonthong, 36, confessed to police that he had been dealing drugs to international tourists and teens in the area for a ‘long time’, Takuapa District Chief Manit Pianthong explained. “When we searched his motorbike we found 2.5kg…
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Phuket beauty first runner-up in Miss Universe Thailand pageant
PHUKET: Phuket native Chavika ‘Yim’ Watsang, 19, became Miss Universe Thailand 2015’s first runner-up at the pageant held in Bangkok on Saturday. “I can’t describe my feelings in words, I never thought an average girl like myself would have many fans with the audience at Royal Paragon Hall calling out my name. It was the greatest moment in my life,”…
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Hard Rock Cafe singer found dead
PHUKET: A singer from Hard Rock Cafe in Patong was found dead, hanged by an electrical wire in his home, early this morning. “We found Niwatchai Srisang, 39, hanging by an electric wire from a bedroom window,” said Lt Charus Lempand of the Wichit Police. “There were no signs of a struggle on his body, only the mark on his…
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American fugitive arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: Local police arrested an American fugitive on Saturday who was wanted for an estimated US$2 million (about 68,995,000 baht) internet fraud case in New York. Theodore Andrew Werner, 48, was presented in a press conference led by Maj Gen Charn Wimolsri, deputy commissioner of the Central Investigation Bureau (CIB), in Bangkok yesterday. Mr Werner had allegedly been duping others…
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Russian tourists rescued after jet-ski incident
PHUKET: Two Russian tourists were safely rescued from an island off the coast of Karon Beach last night after their rented jet-ski died mid-ride and was pulled out to sea. “A rescue team was sent out after being notified by the jet-ski owner that two tourists had disappeared after an hour,” said Itthiporn Sangkaew, deputy mayor of Karon. “Rescuers took…
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Villagers waiting for compensation complain to governor
PHUKET: A group of villagers filed a complaint with the governor this morning over officials failing to compensate them after parts of their homes were destroyed during a Rassada Municipality drainage ditch construction project in 2013. The case has been in process for two years, culminating in a agreement on May 12 this year that Rassada Municipality would compensate the…
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Governor leads 500 bikers in “Bike for Mom’ practice ride
PHUKET: In anticipation of a nationwide Mother’s Day ‘Bike for Mom’ event on August 16, a practice ride was held in Phuket yesterday to determine what issues, if any, the bikers will face on the day. Phuket Governor Nisit Jansomwong led a brigade of 500 bikers through the 26-kilometer route, which starts at Phuket Provincial Hall, journey through Phuket Town…
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Phuket school robbed of B240k worth of electronics
PHUKET: Police are hunting for a criminal or criminals who swiped 240,000 baht worth of laptops* from Satree Phuket School’s science math center this weekend. “We received the report at 8:30am today when a school employee opened up the center after it was closed for the weekend,” Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Chao Phomna told the Phuket Gazette. In addition…
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Raceweek comes to an end
PHUKET: A pleasant eight knots welcomed sailors on the final day of the 2015 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek. PRO Simon James wasted no time in getting the fleet into sequence. Island courses for all: around the windward mark and back around Lone Island to the finish for all classes except IRC Racing I, who headed off on a longer…
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Officials fear marine life hit by wrecked cargo ship
PHUKET: Local officers have filed a preemptive notice to Chalong Police over the recovery of a wrecked 67.6 meter-long mulch-purpose cargo vessel in fear that a significant amount of damage has been done to the coral reefs along Koh Hei, also known as Coral Island. Sinaran Andaman wrecked into Koh Hei on July 8 in rough seas that sank two…
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Chasing down breeze on Day 2 of Phuket Raceweek
PHUKET: As the start boat for the 2015 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek left the anchorage yesterday morning there were a lot of anxious faces on board. After a tricky and tiring first day, where the Wind Gods delivered seven knots at best and for most of the day a little less, the forecasts for Day 2 were no better.…
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Volunteer lifeguard ranks swell by 60
PHUKET: 60 volunteer lifeguards completed their training this past week, adding to the ranks of Phuket’s lifeguards during the dangerous southwest monsoon season. “Most of the volunteers are hotel beach employees who would likely get a chance to rescue people from the sea. However, ordinary people have also volunteered,” Phuket Lifeguard Club President Prathaiyuth Chuayuan said yesterday. Mr Prathaiyuth explained…
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Crackdown on Phuket tour companies continues
PHUKET: Twelve tour companies with foreign shareholders suspected of using Thai nominees to maintain control over their businesses have been given five days to submit documents proving their legality. The Department of Special Investigations (DSI) mounted a raid on Thursday with Santi Pawai, director of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) Phuket office, and other relevant officials on 16…
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Verdict date set for PhuketWan in Computer Crimes Act case
PHUKET: Alan Morison and Chutima Sidasathian, of local news blog PhuketWan, will hear the verdict on September 1 for charges of criminal defamation and violations of the Computer Crimes Act following the conclusion of the trial yesterday. According to the court hearing, the charges stem from a report published on July 17, 2013, which contained excerpts from a Reuters special…
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Thalang officials hunt for human-trafficking victims
PHUKET: Phuket officials checked several Thalang construction sites yesterday for signs of illegal workers who could possibly be connected to human trafficking. “The Phuket human-trafficking prevention and suppression committee had a meeting last month to create a plan for cracking down on human trafficking,” said Kriangkrai Apabootsayapan, chief of the Phuket Provincial Labor Protection and Welfare Office. “We will be…
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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