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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5 hidden healthcare costs in Thailand and how to avoid them
Thailand's healthcare system is affordable and supported by the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme, offering essential services to most citizens. However, hidden healthcare costs can surprise patients and lead to unexpected expenses. These include specialist fees, insurance gaps, emergency services,...
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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 FC draw with Trang while Phuket United advance in FA Cup
PHUKET: About 1,000 fans chanced the looming threat of rain on Saturday evening to come out and see the new-look Phuket FC in action against an unexpectedly strong Trang FC, in a friendly match in Phuket Town. Played under overcast skies at Surakul Stadium, the pre-season friendly did not end up getting washed out by the rain, nor did it…
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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 Island View: No taxi experience impossible
PHUKET: Imagine this headline: “Taxi driver returns money to customer; says she overpaid.” Impossible? It happened to me. All the taxi news seems negative recently, what with high fares, delays in getting illegal drivers to register as legal, and metered cabs being pushed out of some markets (story here). The problem is apparently so bad that even the British Ambassador…
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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 Police release sketch of resort safe box heist robber
PHUKET: Police today released a composite image of one of the two men wanted for the robbery of the guests’ safe boxes at the Karon Place Hotel, on Phuket’s west coast, in the early hours of Monday morning (story here). An arrest warrant has been issued for the man, Phuket Provincial Police Deputy Commander Col Arun Kleawwatee told a press…
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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 safety police blitz nets 8 drug, 3 gun arrests in first week
PHUKET: The first seven days of the month-long police safety boost (story here) in Phuket has yielded eight arrests on gun and drug charges in road checkpoint stops alone. Maj Gen Kittisan Detsunthonwat, Deputy Commander of Provincial Police Region 8, announced yesterday that so far his officers had seized over 300 grams of ya ice (crystal methamphetamine), 2,031 pills 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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Thailand Futsal League: Phuket United edge Si Saket
PHUKET: The island’s pro indoor soccer club Phuket United came from behind to beat Sripatum Sunrise Si Saket Futsal Club 4-3 in a fantastic and exciting match in Phuket Town last night. Played in front of an energetic crowd of about 1,000 fans at Phuket’s 4,000-seat Indoor Sport Complex in Saphan Hin, the match was Phuket’s seventh home match of…
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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…
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World Sports: Arsenal and Man United sneak FA Cup wins; EPL update
Arsenal and Man United sneak FA Cup replay wins Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Jack Wilshere’s late strike gave Arsenal a 1-0 FA Cup third-round replay win over Swansea City and Manchester United also progressed with a 1-0 victory over West Ham United on Wednesday. Arsenal wasted a hatful of good chances before sealing the win over Swansea thanks to…
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Dutch tourist autopsy results from Bangkok expected next week: Phuket Police
PHUKET: Police yesterday morning confirmed that the body of 26-year-old Dutch tourist Stephan Buczynski had been sent to Bangkok for an autopsy. Mr Buczynski was last seen by his fellow Dutch travel companion on Saturday night. His body was found floating off the north end of Patong Beach early the next morning (story here). “The body was sent to the…
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Live Wire: Phuket’s Internet options
PHUKET: As many of you know, I am in the process of moving. Sometime in the next month or so, I’ll be moving from a Patong townhouse – where I’ve lived for the past 12 years – to a modest housing development in Kathu, near Loch Palm Golf Course. For most of you, moving is a massive pain. For people…
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World Sports: Armstrong confesses to drug taking – USA Today
Lance Armstrong confronts doping charges in interview Reuters / Phuket Gazette PHUKET: Lance Armstrong could be jailed and cycling could be dropped from the Olympics as a result of the disgraced American athlete’s reported admission that he had used performance-enhancing drugs during his racing career. USA Today and other media said on Monday that Armstrong confessed to the doping in…
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Phuket First Person: Taxi greed still in driver’s seat – Iain Barnes
British tourist Iain Barnes arrived in Phuket to begin his dream of traveling to Asia while in his twenties – he turns 30 on January 19.Here, at the start of his trip, Iain describes his “welcome” to Phuket from the taxi touts stationed at the Phuket International Airport.PHUKET: The scene at the airport was bedlam. The taxi drivers were grabbing…
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Phuket Island View: Deporting Rohingya only feeds traffickers – Phil Robertson
PHUKET: The Rohingya refugees rescued off of Phuket on January 1 reportedly requested to be sent back to Myanmar, according to Phuket Governor Maitri Inthusut.Since Thai authorities systematically deny access to detained Rohingya for humanitarians, NGOs and journalists, it’s impossible to actually know what the Rohingya told the officials, but you can bet they were not given much choice in…
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Swiss tourist dies after being pulled from Phuket waters
PHUKET: Police are waiting for doctors to confirm whether or not a 75-year-old Swiss man pulled from the water at Patong Beach yesterday afternoon died from drowning or other – more natural – causes. Staff at Patong Hospital notified Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Pratuang Polmana of the man’s death at about 4:15pm. Police named the man as Thomas Nebel, 75.…
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Monk defrocked after robbing Phuket “money tree’
PHUKET: A monk chose to be defrocked at the main temple in Phuket Town, Wat Wichit Sangkharam, this afternoon after being caught stealing a temple donation “money tree” and running off with 1,000 baht in cash. Wichit Police were alerted to the theft at 11:30am after local residents near Wat Nakaram (click map here) reported a monk absconding with a…
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Phuket metered taxis still under the gun
PHUKET: A spat between “regular” taxi drivers and a metered taxi driver broke out in Patong on December 26, highlighting the ongoing tensions between the two groups. The Patong taxi drivers accused the metered taxi driver of trying to pick up a fare from the street while on “their turf”, when all he allegedly did was provide directions to a…
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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