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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Police charge “real driver’ over lethal tour van crash
PHUKET: Police confirmed this week that they have charged the “real driver” of the Phuket tour van involved in the accident on November 29 that claimed the life of 9-year-old schoolgirl Kunnarree Lattuada-Lancini (story here). “Makeesan Samae has been charged with gross negligence causing death under Section 290 of the Criminal Code and with reckless driving under Section 43 of…
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Missing Swiss student tourist alive and well, in Thai prison
PHUKET: A 22-year-old Swiss student tourist reported missing while on holiday in Thailand has been found alive and well. She’s being detained in Ranong Prison for allegedly stealing a camera belonging to an immigration officer. The search for Tscherina Nora Janisch, a foreign-exchange student studying at the National University of Singapore, began on January 15 when her mother, Elizabeth, posted…
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Australians charged with attempted murder: miss “mafia’ target, shoot German tourists
PHUKET: Two Australian tattoo parlor owners have been charged with attempted murder after opening fire with an unregistered firearm in the heart of Phuket’s party town, Patong, yesterday evening. John Cohen, 32, and Adam Shea, 26, shot two German bystanders in their attempt to “strike first” against an alleged Danish mafioso, named by police only as “Dannie”. “This is not…
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Phuket Gazette Sports: Tough times for EPL’s poor relations
Premier League’s poor relation seeking new backers Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: While the Premier League generates recession-busting revenue increases, times are tougher for the 72 football clubs outside the elite as they battle for media exposure and commercial deals. Those clubs comprise the three-tier Football League, which features such illustrious names as former champions Nottingham Forest and Leeds United…
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Pork lady wins half million baht of gold from Red Cross Lucky Draw
PHUKET: A grilled pork vendor claimed this year’s Red Cross Fair “Lucky Draw” grand prize of more than 500,000 baht’s worth of gold with her ticket number 59319 yesterday.Atcharaporn Weerakarn, 47, was delighted as she received the hefty amount of gold from Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut.“I bought only one ticket and I am very lucky to have won. This prize…
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Phuket Sports: Buakaw draws thousands to Patong fight
PHUKET: Buakaw ‘Dam Dot Com’ performed an artistic demonstration of ancient Muay Thai against two opponents at once, at the Patong Boxing Stadium recently, in front of thousands of cheering fans.Buakaw’s demonstration began at 10:45pm, after a number of opening fights featuring local fighters. Formerly known as ‘Buakaw Por Pramuk’, before a longstanding dispute with his former gym forced his…
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Live Wire: Making the right connections
PHUKET: In last week’s Live Wire, I stepped you through an exhaustive list of the internet packages available in Phuket. I say “exhaustive” because, at this point, the only way to get a list of all of the internet packages is to physically schlep to all of the internet service providers’ offices, pick up brochures, and grill the staff on…
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Phuket Gazette World Sports: Sven wants Becks
Eriksson agrees Al Nasr deal, eyes Beckham Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Sven-Goran Eriksson will try to convince former England captain David Beckham to join him at Al Nasr after the experienced Swedish coach signed an 18-month contract as a technical advisor of the United Arab Emirates club.“If he wants to come I’m sure they would open the gates for him,”…
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Phuket Police now suspect motorbike assassins in Jintana execution
PHUKET: Phuket Police on the hunt for the killers of Jintana Mahattanapak now have a description of the gunman and his driver accomplice, as well as the motorbike the killers were riding. Contrary to earlier reports, in which police announced they were searching for a black Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck and a white sedan (story here), Phuket Provincial Police Commander…
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Phuket Gazette World Sports: 49ers crunch the numbers to meet Ravens in Superbowl
Brilliant brothers set up unique Super Bowl showdown Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: The San Francisco 49ers and the Baltimore Ravens won their National Football League championships in stunning fashion to set up an extraordinary sibling rivalry in next month’s 47th Super Bowl.The 49ers, coached by Jim Harbaugh, overturned a 17 point deficit to beat the Atlanta falcons 28-24 in the…
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Phuket Police alerted over triple-homicide killer
PHUKET: Phuket Police are on the lookout for a man wanted for triple homicide in Phang Nga. The news follows the Takuapa District Court issuing an arrest warrant for Somsak Wongsri, who according to an eyewitness executed three people on December 22. The three men allegedly shot dead by Somsak were Prajuab Choojit, 24; Sarawut Boonklin, 31; and Somboon Kimtin,…
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Rising number of Rohingya crossing borders north of Phuket to flee persecution
PHUKET: Increased violence in Myanmar’s volatile Rakhine State has already forced an “abnormal number” of Rohingya refugees across the Thai border in hopes of finding better lives, said Major General Manas Kongpan of Thailand’s Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) at an emergency meeting on Saturday. Nearly 3,000 Rohingya have been caught entering Thailand as they take advantage of the calmer…
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Phuket Police investigate “work conflict’ as motive for Jintana murder
PHUKET: Police are pursuing the possibility that Phuket mother-of-two Jintana Mahattanapak, may have been murdered over a conflict at work. Mrs Jintana was executed with a single gunshot to head while waiting at traffic lights on Chao Fa West Road last night (story here). She was the Human Resources director at the Hilton Arcadia Phuket Resort & Spa at Karon…
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Influx of Rohingya straining Phang Nga Immigration facilities
PHUKET: The mass influx of Rohingya refugees – 400 within four days – landing in Phang Nga, north of Phuket, this week is straining the capacity of immigration detention centers in the province, said Phang Nga Governor Thamrong Charoenkul. The news follows an initial 171 Rohingya refugees, fleeing persecution in their homeland in Myanmar, being taken into custody in Phang…
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New Phuket bus plan breaks “transport barrier’
PHUKET: After decades in the planning, a new bus service will launch on the island in March. The new route will travel between Phuket International Airport and the popular tourist beaches of Patong, Karon, and Kata via Tesco Lotus on the bypass road (click here to see map of the new bus route). For safety reasons, Phuket Land Transportation Office…
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Phuket woman executed was beloved mother, wife, friend
PHUKET: The life of a beloved mother, wife and friend was taken away by a killer on Chao Fa West Road, south of Phuket Town, last night. Police have identified Mrs Jintana ‘Nong’ Mahattanapak, 42, a resident of Yaowarat Road in Phuket Town, as the victim of the execution-style slaying (story here). Mrs Jintana was director of Human Resources at…
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Phuket Sports: Expecting the unexpected – NFL
PHUKET: After a regular season filled with the unforeseen, I decided to expect the unexpected while watching the Division Playoffs – and that’s exactly what I got. Predicting exactly how it would play out was not part of the equation, foreseeing that I would continue to bare witness to the amazement of the NFL’s 2012 season was a guarantee. Baltimore…
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Phuket Sports: Six of the best at Soccer Island
PHUKET: Season four of the Super Six League started last week at Soccer Island at Phuket’s HeadStart School, and the popularity of the league means there will be three divisions this season. Division 1 continues to exude a high level of performance; the first week’s results from Division 2 indicate that it could be a very tight league and Division…
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Phuket Sports: Laguna continue to dominate island cricket
PHUKET: In a hotly contested fifth match of Phuket’s Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels League on January 13, reigning champions Laguna Cricket Club faced early league contenders Patong Cricket Club (PCC). Dominance seesawed throughout both innings and it was only fitting for the winner to be decided in the last over of the second innings. Despite a determined effort by PCC,…
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PHUKET BREAKING NEWS: Woman executed with single gunshot to head
UPDATE: Police are now searching for a black Mitsubishi Triton pickup truck without license plates, which pulled alongside the victim’s vehicle when the shooting occurred. Police have yet to obtain descriptions of the gunman or the driver. PHUKET: A woman driving alone south of Phuket Town was killed by a single gunshot into her head this evening. Police arrived at…
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Phuket taxi driver rushes to his death
PHUKET: A taxi driver speeding from JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa at Mai Khao Beach to pick up a passenger at the airport died after losing control of his car on Thepkrasattri Road early this afternoon.Witnesses reported that Warongsak Rungsawang, 29, entered one of the sharp curves in Baan Mak Prok at high speed southbound, lost control and hit…
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Swede nabbed in Phuket over B100mn tax evasion
PHUKET: Swedish Police ended a two-year hunt for a tax exile on Monday when they arrested Bernt Olov Inge Eriksson at Phuket’s tourist-popular Patong Beach.Mr Eriksson was wanted in Sweden on a 100-million-baht tax evasion charge.A task force of Swedish officers began their hunt in Thailand after learning Mr Eriksson, 67, was in the country through a tip-off.After scouring Pattaya…
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New-look Phuket FC to take on Trang in pre-season friendly
PHUKET: Football fans will get a chance to see the new-look Phuket FC in action for the first time this year, with the Islanders set to take on Division 2 Southern regional champions Trang FC later today. The pre-season friendly match will be played at Surukal Stadium with a 4pm kickoff. Admission is free for all. Operating with an estimated…
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World Sports: Venus trapped as Sharapova flies
Merciless Sharapova eclipses Venus to reach fourth round Reuters / Phuket GazettePHUKET: Maria Sharapova missed out on a third successive ‘double-bagel’ but humbled Venus Williams 6-1 6-3 to charge into the fourth round of the Australian Open today.The center court crowd was left stunned as the second-seeded Russian scorched to a 4-0 lead in the first set to rattle her…
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Phuket blood bank grateful for urgent donations, calls for more in case
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) received two units of Rh-negative blood and two single-platelet donations yesterday, in response to urgent requests on behalf of a foreigner due to undergo heart surgery (story here). “We do not know what condition the patient is in. However, I think the patient will be okay… “The hospital itself has seven units of…
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Two Phuket motorcyclists die in separate accidents
PHUKET: The deadly stretch of Thepkrasattri Road that runs through the northern Phuket village of Kor En claimed another life before dawn today after months of no serious accidents. An unidentified man was riding in the northbound lane at about 3am when he lost control of his motorbike and hit a pole, breaking his neck. When Tah Chat Chai Police…
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Phuket Immigration arrests French chef for alleged rape of disabled woman
PHUKET: A French chef working in Phuket’s premier party town, Patong, was arrested yesterday for the alleged rape of a disabled woman in his home country in 2004.Christopher Pierre Verdino, 28, slipped into Thailand in 2007 three years after French authorities issued an arrest warrant. His exact whereabouts became known to the French Embassy in Bangkok after he made a…
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171 Rohingya refugees arrested north of Phuket
PHUKET: The flow of Rohingya fleeing Myanmar continues unabated with Border Patrol Police in Phang Nga, the province immediately north of Phuket, today taking into custody two boats carrying 171 Rohingya men, women and children. Today’s apprehension follows 73 Rohingya being arrested off the southern coast of Phuket on January 1. Those refugees were subsequently deported back to Myanmar (story…
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Phuket Police suspect Arabs in B3mn locker heist
PHUKET: Phuket Police are on the lookout for three men, all thought to be from the Middle East, who are suspected of doping a front desk officer at a resort near Karon Beach and robbing the resort’s guest safe boxes of about 3 million baht in valuables.The front desk officer at Karon Place Hotel who was allegedly drugged by the…
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Newborn baby’s body found dumped in Phuket trash heap
PHUKET: Police are searching for the mother of a newborn baby girl whose body was found dumped in a garbage heap in Wichit yesterday.A woman collecting recyclables discovered the three-day-old’s body stuffed into a rubbish bag among a heap of trash along Chao Fa West Road, said Sub Lt Suporn Muangkai of the Wichit Police.“Wan Rattanawilai, 57, told us that…
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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