Phuket News
Discover the latest news and updates from Thailand’s most famous and beautiful island, The Thaiger’s hometown, having previously operated as the Phuket Gazette.
Our team brings you breaking news, in-depth analysis, and exclusive stories from Phuket, covering everything from local politics and business to lifestyle and tourism. Learn about the island’s stunning beaches, vibrant nightlife, and thriving expat community, as well as keeping updated on events, and attractions.
The Thaiger is your ultimate guide to staying connected with Phuket’s ever-evolving landscape. To keep up with the most reliable news source on the island, subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media.
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Brazil without captain as nation awaits Germany clash
PHUKET WORLD SPORT – World sport selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Brazil without captain as nation awaits Germany clash Reuters/Phuket Gazette Brazil will be without captain Thiago Silva for their World Cup semi-final against Germany after FIFA on Monday rejected an appeal against his yellow card, denting home hopes of lifting the trophy for the sixth time.…
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Phuket Airport Immigration denies “express lane’ corruption
PHUKET: Royal Thai Navy officers today called into question alleged corrupt practices by immigration officials at Phuket International Airport, such as soliciting cash payments from tourists. “We have heard that many immigration counters are not open when tourists arrive on international flights, so officers are supposedly soliciting money from them to use a ‘VIP’ lane to avoid the long queues,”…
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Coup leaders invite corruption complaints from Phuket
PHUKET: The island’s representatives of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) are inviting residents and tourists to file anonymous complaints of suspected corruption, as well as suggestions for coup leaders on how to improve the country. Any complaints filed as highly confidential will be treated as such, the island’s leading authorities have assured. “You can report any trouble…
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Phuket begins fight against slavery on fishing boats
PHUKET: The nationwide push to eradicate slavery in Thailand’s fishing industry started in Phuket today as the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) began to receive lists of migrant workers employed in the field. Following the order by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), fishing boat operators have until July 21 to report the names of their migrant workers…
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Italian tourist in Hong Kong graft trial under Phuket Police protection
PHUKET: The Italian tourist stabbed in a random gang attack in Phuket last week has been placed under 24-hour police protection. Antonio Papaleo, 44, was stabbed twice in the abdomen during a bungled bag snatch at 3am last Thursday. At last report, police had arrested seven of the nine suspects, most of them teenagers (story here). Mr Papaleo arrived in…
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Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek just around the corner
PHUKET: Phuket is ready to host the award-winning Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek from July 16 to 20 off the Island’s southeast coast. The season-opening event of the prestigious 2014/15 Asian Yachting Grand Prix – a series of 12 of the best regattas in Asia – Raceweek is set to welcome one of the most competitive fleets in the Regatta’s…
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Breaking News: Army launches offensive against Phuket Airport taxi drivers
PHUKET: Soldiers, Navy personnel and a battery of local officials arrived in force at Phuket International Airport this morning to launch a campaign to arrest all taxi drivers illegally picking up passengers at the facility. Security personnel barred any taxis from exiting the airport car park without first obtaining permission to leave. “We have a list of all the drivers…
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No typhoon, but heavy rain and big waves lead to Phuket boat warning
PHUKET: Heavy rain and wave heights that could reach four meters have led Phuket authorities to issue a small boat warning in effect through Thursday. “We are monitoring the waves, which are expected to be about 2-4 meters high,” said Santhad Panbanpeaw, director of the Thai Meteorological Department’s Phuket Office. “Small boat operators must be cautious and check the weather…
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Phuket police welcome stricter traffic law regulations
PHUKET: Phuket police have voiced their support for the recently announced national clampdown on traffic scofflaws. Announced by Bangkok’s Deputy Metropolitan Police Commissioner Adul Narongsak on June 25, the clampdown would mean tougher measures against those who ignored traffic tickets and repeat violators of traffic laws (story here). Electronic tickets would be issued, allowing police and land transport offices to…
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Dazzling Djokovic savours victory over Federer
AFTER almost four hours of mental torture, Novak Djokovic sank to his knees, crouched over the hallowed Wimbledon turf, plucked a blade of grass and put it in his mouth – never before had victory tasted so good. It was a victory that he should have been celebrating almost an hour earlier, it was a victory that almost slipped through…
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Miss Myanmar finalists tour Phuket
PHUKET: Finalists of Miss Universe Myanmar 2014 landed in Phuket yesterday and will spend the next four days exploring the island and engaging in pre-training activities for the international beauty pageant. The 20 women are preparing for the pageant final, which will be held at the National Theater in Yangon on July 26. Today, the women did batik painting in…
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DNA tests confirm Phuket sea gypsy village “of 100 years’
PHUKET: DNA tests on skeletal remains unearthed at the sea gypsy village in Rawai have confirmed that seafaring nomads have used Phuket’s southern beach to call home for more than 100 years. “The bones were buried deep in the ground at least 60 years ago,” said Department of Special Investigation (DSI) Director Chatchawal Suksomjit. The DNA from the bones matched…
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Slithering World Cup spectator makes unwelcome appearance in Phuket
PHUKET: A three-meter long python’s attempt to crash a World Cup viewing party in Phuket early this morning was foiled when the owner of the house called rescue workers to relocate the reptile. “I was watching the Brazil-Columbia match at about 4:30am when I heard a sound in front of my house,” said Boonrit Jitkeaw, owner of the house in…
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Counterfeit goods worth B495mn destroyed in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Nearly half a billion baht of counterfeit goods that were seized last year in Phuket and other provinces in Southern Thailand were torched at the incinerator in Phuket Town yesterday. The 86,803 destroyed items, valued at 495 million baht, included bootlegged copies of DVDs, CDs, brand-name watches, bags, clothing, wallets and shoes. “This is the standard, final step in…
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Phuket protest wins Thai guides promise of Chinese national ouster
PHUKET: The return of a mob of about 100 Thai-national Chinese tour guides outside the office of a major tour company in Phuket Town yesterday won them a promise that the company will stop hiring Chinese nationals as guides. Led by fellow tour guide Choochart Rungrattanapaiboon, the protesters massed outside Tranlee Travel Co Ltd, brandishing signs and voicing allegations of…
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Seven arrested for stabbing theft attacks on Phuket tourists
PHUKET: Seven suspects have been arrested and charged with theft and attempted murder for the stabbing of two tourists, one in Kata and one in Karon, early Thursday morning. Police arrested Ekkawat Ninpoo, 20, at his house on Koh Sireh yesterday. He confessed to the stabbings and accepted charges of theft and attempted murder. Police withheld the names of the…
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DSI digs deep into land records to recover Sirinath National Park
PHUKET: The new Director-General of the Department of Special Investigation (DSI) today announced that his officers will order the Land Office to hand over records and copies of land titles for plots along the border of – or allegedly in – Phuket’s Sirinath National Park. The Land Office had repeatedly refused to hand over land register documents to Department of…
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Patong one-way streets not changing direction just yet
PHUKET: The plan to change the direction of one-way traffic in Patong is still on the books, but is on hold until other transportation issues are sorted out. “I intend to follow through with the direction-change initiated by the former mayor, but first I want to organize public parking and taxi stands,” said Patong Mayor Chalermluck Kebsab. The current traffic…
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Tiger Disco inferno trial to begin April 2015
PHUKET: The long-awaited manslaughter trial over the deaths of four people in Patong’s Tiger Disco inferno, in August 2012, will begin with its first witness testimony in April 2015, confirmed the case public prosecutor. Tiger Group CEO Piya Isaramalai and Sara Entertainment Co Ltd each face one charge of causing death through negligence under Section 291 of the Thai Criminal…
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Dodging the dengue fever bullet
Special Report Phuket consistently has among the highest number of dengue sufferers in the country, and the disease has killed one 24-year-old woman in Patong and hospitalized hundreds of others on the island already this year. Yet hope is on the horizon. French company Sanofi Pasteur has a vaccine in the works that may be ready for deployment by late…
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Driver escapes serious injury in Phuket pick-up truck flip
PHUKET: A man escaped serious injury yesterday when the pick-up truck he was driving flipped over on Thepkrasattri Road. Worawit Jawaort, 32, was crawling out of the vehicle when police arrived at the scene, a few hundred meters from the Baan Hongyok School in northern Thalang, at 9am. “Mr Worawit didn’t appear to have any serious injuries, just a few…
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Phuket is ready to host 2014 Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek
Phuket Island is ready to host the award-winning Cape Panwa Hotel Phuket Raceweek from July 16 to 20 off the Island’s southeast coast. The season-opening event of the prestigious 2014/15 Asian Yachting Grand Prix – a series of 12 of the best regattas in Asia – Raceweek is set to welcome one of the most competitive fleets in the Regatta’s…
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Optimism rules Phuket beach after clear out, cleanup
PHUKET: Kamala was added to the list of Phuket beaches cleaned up and cleared of all illegal establishments today as local officials and residents disposed of the last pieces of rubbish left behind by businesses. “All beach vendors removed their buildings last week. Today, we went to clean the area because the shop owners left a lot of garbage behind,”…
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Phuket shortcuts proposed to bypass the bypass
PHUKET: A new shortcut from the Heroines’ Monument to Kathu has been proposed to alleviate congestion at Koh Kaew, Ban Khu and Tesco Lotus intersections. The road would start about 300 meters west of the Heroines’ Monument on Srisoonthorn Road and run south 1.3 kilometers to join Route 3004, which connects to Soi Han Farang and passes the British International…
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Phuket’s Bang Jo Prison declared ‘white’
PHUKET: An early morning raid of Bang Jo Prison turned up no drugs or contraband today. More than 90 officers, led by Phuket Prison Chief Rapin Nichanon, began the search at 5:30am. Each of the 68 inmates was searched, as were their lockers, sleeping quarters, the infirmary and other areas where officers believed contraband could be hidden. “The facility was…
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AMLO silent on progress in Phuket taxi-mafia probe
PHUKET: The investigating officers who raided the primary office of Karon Mayor Tawee Thongcham at the Kata-Karon Municipality building yesterday are keeping quiet about their progress in the case. About 50 officers raided the municipality building to search for evidence of the popular tourist town’s mayor and handpicked deputy mayors’ involvement in the Phuket taxi mafia (story here). Officers from…
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Sidewalks near Heroines’ Monument cleared of vendors for pedestrian safety
PHUKET: Shops obstructing the sidewalk along Srisoonthorn Road east of the Heroines’ Monument in Phuket have been cleared out in an effort to improve safety for pedestrians. Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut and Srisoonthorn Mayor Worawut Songyos inspected the area yesterday after having ordered vendors on both sides of the road to remove their structures on Tuesday. “We are enforcing an…
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Phuket boy, 14, drowns in heavy surf at Karon Beach
PHUKET: A boy who was to turn 15 years old in five days drowned at Karon Beach this morning. Kunakorn Saetiaw was seen swimming with friends at about 6am. His body washed ashore about 30 minutes later. “The boys went into the surf even though there were red flags along the beach marking the area as dangerous for swimming,” Kata-Karon…
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Dimitrov crushes champion Murray at Wimbledon
PHUKET MEDIA WATCH – World news selected by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community Dimitrov crushes champion Murray at Wimbledon Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Grigor Dimitrov broke British hearts by ending Andy Murray’s reign as Wimbledon champion with a sublime and serene 6-1 7-6(4) 6-2 victory in the quarter-finals on Wednesday. The third seed had confidently marched into the…
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Phuket taxi call service to launch mid-July
PHUKET: In the next step toward a more efficient and honest public transportation system in Phuket, officials plan to launch a call service for island taxis and tuk-tuks by mid-July. “The first step was to pull down all of the illegal taxi stands in Patong. The next one is to plan how to organize all of the taxis that are…
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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