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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Sponsored 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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Bangkok squad called in to catch Phuket “bag snatch killer’
PHUKET: More than 50 police officers, including a team from the Crime Suppression Division in Bangkok, have been dedicated to catching the two men who attacked Australian tourist Michelle Smith, 60, who was stabbed to death in Kata last night. Ms Smith died after being stabbed in the chest, puncturing her heart and a lung, when a bag snatch attempt…
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Phuket Live Wire: What to do if your email is blocked
PHUKET: I send out a lot of email – many dozens of pieces every day. Lately, I’ve been having more and more problems with the email being rejected at the receiving end. Here’s a message I just received in response to a message I sent to a reader in the US last night: “SMTP error from remote mail server after…
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Off-duty cop accused of Phuket street killing gets bail
PHUKET: The off-duty cop who shot a man dead in Phuket Town on May 5 has been granted bail. Though some details about the case have come to light, the exact cause of the argument that led Cpl Rachaporn Semaksorn to shoot Eakkasit Sangangam in the head ,on Phun Pol Soi 11 in Phuket Town, is still unclear. “The shooting…
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Burmese fisherman, electrocuted at sea, returned to Phuket
PHUKET: Two Burmese fishermen working on a local fishing boat were brought to Phuket’s Rassada Pier yesterday, after apparently being electrocuted at sea.Once notified, police and Kusoldharm Rescue Foundation workers rushed to the scene to find grieving relatives surrounding the two bodies.“Mr Kham, 25, and Mr Wan, 27, were pulling a fishing net from the sea, when Mr Kham touched…
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Phuket Sports: 7 races, 7 winners
PHUKET: THE Canadian GP was a magnificent race for Hamilton. Team strategy was absolutely right, and the driving was superb. The decider was tyre strategy. Vettel and Alonso ran a one-stop strategy for Red Bull and Ferrari respectively, while most drivers went for a two stopper. The strategic question was whether the time and track position gained by saving a…
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Phuket Sports: “Clubbin it’ the correct way
PHUKET: There are always an infinite number of excuses in golf for hitting a bad shot, but few sound more irrational, perhaps, than actually blaming your clubs. But is it really that irrational? No, strangely enough it is not! Having your golf clubs fitted specifically for your own swing really can have a massive impact on your whole game, and…
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Phuket Sports: Pietersen – draw card or drawback?
PHUKET: Kevin Pietersen, who has a reputation for dropping bomb shells – and not just while he is at the crease – has announced his retirement from limited overs cricket. Surprising? Yes, considering the fact that “KP” (as he is known to followers of the game) was voted ‘Player of the Tournament’ in England’s Twenty20 triumph at the last World…
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Phuket Sports: Seventh heaven for Phuket marathon winner
PHUKET: THE seventh annual Run Paradise Laguna Phuket International Marathon (LPIM) took place in the early morning hours of Sunday, June 10, with over four thousand participants of varying ability taking part. The event, sponsored by the Phuket Gazette, was divided into five categories: the grueling full marathon of 42 kilometers; the half marathon of 21km; the 10.5km run; the…
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Cheap eats: Phuket curry shops get Blue Flags
PHUKET: Three curry shops in Phuket have been issued “Blue Flag” signs confirming them as cheap, high-quality and hygienic by the head of the Department of Internal Trade office in Phuket (DIT-Phuket). The shops were the first to receive the Blue Flag signs, handed out on Tuesday, as part of the ministry’s latest initiative to keep rising consumer prices in…
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Phuket: Lord of the flies
PHUKET: The Phuket Chamber of Commerce (PCC) has voiced its concern over the increasing number of flies found swarming across the island, which the chamber fears could affect the island’s tourism industry. PCC Deputy Secretary General Charan Sangsarn raised the issue at a meeting held at the Phuket office of the National Economics and Social Development Board. “We have received…
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Boxing title fight to raise funds for Phuket sea turtle research
PHUKET: A World Boxing Organization (WBO) title fight will take place at Nai Yang Beach next month to raise funds for sea turtle preservation projects in Phuket and other provinces along the Andaman coast.Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha, Government Spokesman Prompong Nopparit and other dignitaries announced the five-bout card that will take place in Sakoo on July 6.The two-hour event will…
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Land grab probe targets “Ocean View 16′
PHUKET: THE Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) will recommend that legal charges be pressed against 16 current and former Phuket officials, all alleged to have conspired to encroach on state forest land high in the Kamala Hills north of Patong Beach.PACC Secretary-General Dusadee Arayawuth on Monday led his team and members of the media to the disputed site, which covers…
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Trailer overturns on Phuket Town bypass road
PHUKET: A tractor trailer overturned on the bypass road skirting Phuket Town late this afternoon, leaving the road surface covered in energy drink and creating a tailback. No injuries were reported.Rawin Hangnark, the 42-year-old driver of the cab and flatbed rig, told the Phuket Gazette he was travelling in the left southbound lane en route to Chalong with two other…
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Pickup slams Heroines’ Monument in Phuket, one dead
PHUKET: Police believe that the driver of a pickup who died after slamming his vehicle into the Phuket Heroines’ Monument before dawn yesterday fell asleep at the wheel. Thalang Police were notified of the accident at Phuket’s most iconic roundabout just before 4am yesterday. Arriving at the scene, they found the wreckage of a black Mitsubishi pickup against a roadside…
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Scrappy Phuket FC beat Bangkok FC, 2-1
PHUKET: Phuket FC recorded their first home win of the season last night with a scrappy 2-1 win over mid-table side Bangkok FC. Despite gorgeous weather, only 1,200 paying fans turned up for the 6:30pm kickoff at Surakul Stadium, which got a number of improvements thanks to its recent hosting of the 28th National Youth Games. The most notable of…
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Somjai re-elected Phuket City Mayor
PHUKET: The preliminary vote count inyesterday’s Phuket City Municipality elections show that SomjaiSuwansupana has been re-elected as Phuket City Mayor, with 11,477votes from the 15,786 voters who showed up at the polls. Ms Somjai, the only candidate in theelection for Phuket City Mayor, received 34.75 per cent of the totalnumber of votes available in the electorate, which is more than…
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Phuket Light Rail: All stop at feasibility studies
PHUKET: The Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning (OTP) will ignore all feasibility studies conducted by companies that have expressed interest in developing a light-rail system in Phuket. Thenews was delivered by Kobkul Motana, the assistant director of the Bureau of Regional Transport and Traffic Promotion under of the Ministry of Transport’s OTP department, on Friday. Ata meeting…
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Phuket Poll: How can we effectively warn tourists of drowning dangers?
PHUKET: The disappearance of an American student Joshua Shane, who went swimming with friends at Patong Beach on Tuesday night, once again raises the issue of how best to warn tourists about the dangers of swimming along Phuket’s west coast beaches during the monsoon season. Reliable sources told the Phuket Gazette that the group of students who entered the surf…
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Phuket FC ready for Bangkok FC tonight
PHUKET: The re-branded Phuket FC “Islanders” hope their new look and a strong fan turnout will help lead them to their first home win of the year this evening against Thai League Division 1 mid-table side Bangkok FC. Phuket FC’s immediate goal is to try to bag three points and begin their climb out of the five-team relegation zone of…
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Canadian sisters found dead in Phi Phi hotel room, poisoning suspected
PHUKET: Police are investigating the cause of death of two Canadian sisters found dead in their hotel room on Phi Phi Island yesterday afternoon. Lt Siwa Saneha of Phi Phi Island Police Station told the Phuket Gazette, “We received a report at about 9pm yesterday, that two tourists’ bodies were found in the same hotel room at the Phi Phi…
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Officials push for new Phuket hospital
PHUKET: Officials are pushing for the public health clinic in Chalong to be upgraded to a fully equipped hospital in order to reduce the number of people dying en route to emergency wards at major hospitals in Phuket Town. Clinic Director Ruedee Suriya told the Phuket Gazette that on average two people every month die while on their way to…
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Phuket City top cop transferred
PHUKET: Phuket City Police Superintendent Chote Chitchai has been transferred to Takua Thung Police Station in Phang Nga province, just north of Phuket.The transfer comes after Col Chote was temporarily suspended from duty on May 5 following allegations of underage staff working in Phuket Town clubs and entertainment venues.Acting Superintendent of Phuket City Police Sakchai Limcharoen also confirmed to the…
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Phuket Health authorities stage airport epidemic control drill
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Health Office, assisted by three airlines, yesterday carried out an exercise aimed at preventing a serious infectious disease spreading among passengers on board an aircraft and then infecting the island’s population.The drill took place in and around Phuket International Airport’s multipurpose building. Personnel and equipment from Business Air, Thai Airways and AirAsia airlines played a part…
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Phuket City Police issue reminder: election alcohol ban in Phuket Town tonight
PHUKET: Phuket City Police Superintendent Sakchai Limcharoen this afternoon reminded operators of bars, restaurants, nightclubs and other entertainment venues in Phuket Town that a ban on the sale of alcohol will come into effect within Phuket City limits from 6pm today. “Due to the Phuket City Municipality election tomorrow, alcohol sales will be banned from 6pm tonight until midnight tomorrow…
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Phuket needs to clean up its act: V/Gov Chamroen
PHUKET: Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada has given local officials until June 30 to at least draw up action plans to redress key problems affecting the island.Speaking at a meeting at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday, V/Gov Chamroen listed several key issues, including trash, roadside billboards, flower vendors at traffic lights and the long tailbacks at Koh Kaew.Trash“Main roads are surrounded…
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Phuket parents appeal for help in finding missing daughter
PHUKET: Distressed parents are appealing for any information that may help locate their missing teenage daughter, Mullika “Nong Fah” Suansan, who disappeared from her Phuket school last Friday morning. Security-camera footage at Muslim Wittaya Phuket School in Koh Kaew, north of Phuket Town, shows 15-year-old Mullika arriving at the school on the school bus, but she failed to show up…
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NEWS UPDATE: Phuket Police to order DNA confirmation of Joshua Shane’s body
PHUKET: Phuket Police will ask the Central Institute of Forensic Science in Bangkok to conduct DNA tests to confirm that the body recovered off Patong Beach yesterday afternoon is that of missing American student Joshua Shane. The institute is headed by the well-known Pornthip Rojanasunand, who spearheaded the huge task of identifying victims of the 2004 tsunami. “Although people close…
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Phuket assault victim left for dead at garbage tip
PHUKET: Phuket Police have launched an investigation after a man with severe head injuries was found, apparently left for dead, at a garbage tip before dawn yesterday. The police were notified of the man’s condition by a passer-by who noticed him, unconscious and bleeding profusely from the head, next to a collection of garbage cans on a dark stretch of…
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Body of Phuket drowning victim Joshua Shane recovered, identified
PHUKET: The body of Phuket drowning victim Joshua Shane was recovered from the pounding surf at Patong Beach this afternoon and has been positively identified. The body was discovered at 2:40pm in the water off Loma Park, not far from where the 21-year-old American student went missing in heavy surf on Tuesday night. Rescue workers from the Phuket Kusoldharm Foundation…
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Phuket police take chainsaws to drug problem
PHUKET: Chainsaw-wielding police took a cut out of the drug-supply in Phuket on yesterday, bringing down several enormous kratom trees on Luang Poh Road. Despite kratom trees being native to Southeast Asia, their leaves have been considered a controlled substance, in the same category as cannabis, since promulgation of the Kratom Act in 1943. The law made planting the tree…
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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