Phuket’s Biggest Stories From the Past Week: Indian Tourists Arrive on Free Visa Exemption and More!

Monday, 13 November 2023, 22:15

Hello, Phuket Express Readers and Supporters!

The following is our weekly feature in which we highlight the top local stories in our area of Phuket from the past week. The number of stories differs from week to week.

These are chosen and curated by our editorial team and are designed for our readers to get a quick “catch-up” of important stories they may have missed. We publish many stories daily and it is easy to lose track of important events or changes in our area. We do national recaps in a separate article, this is only the top local stories in the Phuket province.

They are in no particular order of importance but roughly in order of publishing. These are from Monday, November 6th, 2023, to Sunday, November 12th, 2023.

A woman was arrested in Chalong after she allegedly opened bank accounts for call center scammers whose victims lost more than a million baht.

The fraudsters asked victims to add them via the LINE application. They then video called victims presenting themselves in police uniforms.

2. A man was arrested in Phuket after he allegedly sexually assaulted his female colleague in Rayong.

The suspect asked the victim to go out with him for dinner and drink alcohol after work. The suspect then allegedly threatened and forced the victim to go to his room in Rayong.

3. The Phuket International Airport clarified after water leaking from a roof in a domestic terminal caused passengers to slip.

The airport will improve a better water drain system to prevent this kind of incident in the future. They apologized for the inconvenience.

4. Two foreign passengers were injured after a minivan was crashed into by a hit and run pickup truck before overturning on Patong Hill.

An intoxicated Brazilian pickup truck driver was arrested after a hit and run accident in which he hit a minivan which then overturned on Patong Hill injuring foreign passengers.

The suspect remains in custody as of press time.

5. A 25-year-old man was arrested with 246,000 methamphetamine pills in a room in Thalang, Phuket.

Both dealers and users of Illegal drugs and e-cigarettes have increased in Phuket, say relevant officials.

This major catch of illegal drugs caused quite a bit of chatter on our social media platforms.

6. Phuket welcomed the first group of tourists from India into Thailand on the new visa exemption program over the past weekend.

There is no direct flight from Taiwan to Phuket at the moment. However, from January 1^st, 2024 onward there will be a direct flight daily which will carry about 180 passengers. Taiwan was also approved for free visa entry along with India.

That’s it for this week, take care and be safe!