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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Swedish expat stabbed to death at luxury villa in Phuket
PHUKET: Phuket Police are investigating the stabbing murder of a Swedish man ambushed and stabbed to death as he returned to his luxury villa in Koh Kaew subdistrict last night. The murder took place in full view of neighbors. The police identified the deceased as a 25-year-old Swedish national. The name of the victim is known to the Phuket Gazette,…
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Phuket in the mood for seafood
PHUKET: The Phuket Seafood Fiesta got underway today with an official launch at Jungceylon in Phuket’s resort town of Patong. The festival offers a 10 to 20% discount on seafood dishes at more than 60 restaurants on the island from today through August 31, explained Bangonrat Shinaprayoon, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) regional office in Phuket. Coinciding…
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Phuket daycare teacher charged over child beatings
PHUKET: The Phuket daycare teacher allegedly caught on video beating her students has been charged with child abuse, with the possibility of more charges to come. Meanwhile, Wichit Municipality has taken over the Wat Thepnimit daycare center, where parents and other teachers say the beatings took place regularly. The scandal unfolded on July 24 when teachers from the daycare center…
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New Phuket bridge opens to traffic
PHUKET: The new Thao Srisoonthorn Bridge, unofficially called “Sarasin Bridge 2”, opened to traffic heading northbound off Phuket this morning. The first vehicle to trundle onto the 300-million-baht span was a van carrying Phuket Provincial Highways Office Chief Arun Sanae and his immediate superior, Sakchai Suwanprasert, head of the regional Highways Office. However, Mr Arun warned motorists that the left…
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Missing Aussie tourist found alive and well in Phuket
PHUKET: Missing Australian tourist Geoffrey Hoffmann has been found alive and well. Mr Hoffmann disappeared while going for a morning walk at the lake at Karon Park on Saturday. His family raised the alarm after he failed to return four hours later. Their concern was heightened by the fact that Mr Hoffmann suffers from short-term memory loss. Mr Hoffmann’s brother-in-law…
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Final countdown
PHUKET: “It is not an easy draw. You have to be really, really focused and play every game like a final – but that will be another manager’s job.” England’s Italian manager, Fabio Capello, leaves advice for the next head on the chopping-block, that is the national team’s managerial role. Capello was present for the 2014 World Cup qualification draw…
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Buried alive in Phuket: How much longer do we need to suffer the landslides?
PHUKET: Another rainy season in Phuket, and yet another death from a landslide. The trench collapse on Monday that killed Burmese laborer Min Hla Thein came just nine days after new workplace ‘health and safety’ legislation came into effect. [See news feature, pages 4-5, current issue of the Phuket Gazette. Digital subscribers click here to download the full newspaper.] Among…
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Van crash kills two Phuket buffalo, tourists safe
PHUKET: Three people were injured early this morning when a Phuket passenger van slammed into two buffalo, killing both. Thalang Police were notified of the accident at 1:30am. At the scene they found a Toyota passenger van with its front smashed in and its three passengers slightly injured. The driver, identified as 43-year-old Suchart Kaow-ian, was taking two foreign tourists…
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It’s Official: Phuket Town still the worst for drugs
PHUKET: Phuket Town has maintained its place as the top district in upper Southern Thailand for drug crime, an accolade the popular tourist town has held for the past three years, a Bangkok health official was told yesterday. The news was revealed at a meeting of the Phuket Provincial Anti-Drug Committee at Provincial Hall. Regular chiefs on the committee include…
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Hurtling Phuket hill boulders continue to threaten resort
PHUKET: Heavy rains in Phuket over the past week have caused more boulders to hurtle downhill into the L’Orchidee Residences in Patong. Although the boulders were smaller than the original two-tonne “devil’s marbles” that crashed into the resort at the beginning of this month, they have still caused damage and much concern, said Wassana Yukhunthon, the resort’s public relations manager.…
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Weather warning for Phuket
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department has this morning issued a wet weather warning covering much of Thailand due to Tropical Storm “Nock Ten” in the South China Sea. At 5am today, Nock Ten was centered over the west coast of Hainan Island, in China, with sustained winds of about 50 knots, about 90kmh, said the warning. The storm was moving…
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Phuket tourism operators warned to prepare for AFTA
PHUKET: Phuket tourism operators were warned very plainly yesterday that they must become game-changers if they want to stay in business after 2015. The warning was fired at the Phuket Creative Tourism Forum held at Royal Phuket Marina. The forum was organized by the Phuket Tourism Association (PTA) in conjunction with Phuket Rajabhat University’s Faculty of Management Science. Somprasong Khomapat,…
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FC Phuket to resume league campaign on Sunday
PHUKET: FC Phuket will kick off the second half of the Thai Premier League (TPL) Division One 2011 season this weekend in Nakhon Pathom. Phuket face Rajapracha FC, or the “Crowns”, who sit 7th in the table, two places ahead of Phuket in 9th position. Speaking to the Phuket Gazette this afternoon, club secretary Soranun Sanae, clarified details of this…
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Phuket ‘luggage truck’ in fatal collision
PHUKET: Police are awaiting test results to confirm whether alcohol was a factor in a fatal traffic accident this morning involving a luggage-transport truck and a motorbike. Thalang Police responded to reports of the crash in Srisoonthorn Subdistrict – about 300 meters north of the Heroines’ Monument – shortly after 1am. At the scene was a bronze-colored Isuzu D-Max pickup…
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Like father like son
PHUKET: “Low point of the day so far, being called ‘Chris’ by an 8 year-old.” Stuart Broad, England’s opening strike bowler, having just finished coaching kids at the Urban Cricket Center in Nottingham, was not entirely happy when mistaken for his father by one of the children. Stuart was quick with a retort saying his ‘dad’ was terrible in the…
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Anchalee, Raywat confirmed as Phuket MPs
PHUKET: The Election Commission of Thailand (ECT) has confirmed Democrat candidates Raywat Areerob and Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr as Phuket’s two Members of Parliament. News that Mrs Anchalee had been confirmed as MP for Phuket 1 constituency broke on Wednesday. However, MP Raywat told the Phuket Gazette that his seat as an MP was endorsed on July 21. “The ECT was…
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House and home expo opens in Phuket
PHUKET: More than 50 exhibitors from across Thailand today unveiled their products for the first time in Phuket at the opening of the Architect & Engineering Exhibition 2011. Products on show at the expo, now in its 11th year, run the gamut from construction materials through to custom-made home decor items. The theme of this year’s A&E expo is “New…
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Archaeologist confirms 2,000-year-old relics safe in Phuket
PHUKET: An inquiry into the whereabouts of ancient beads, ceramic vases and glass shards excavated by a Phuket archaeological team in 2005 has revealed that the artifacts are safe on the island. The relics are all estimated to be more than 2,000 years old. A letter of complaint was filed with the Crime Suppression Division by Sutha Pratheep Na Thalang…
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Phuket rescue drill targets sea safety
PHUKET: Emergency service agencies staged their annual coordinated sea rescue drill off Phuket’s east coast yesterday, simulating a tourist boat catching fire after colliding with a cargo ship. The exercise aimed to improve coordination among a battery of rescue personnel from different agencies, including police, health officials and hospital staff, the Royal Thai Navy, local administration organizations and related departments…
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FC Phuket shatter Glass Rabbits in friendly 2-1 win
PHUKET: FC Phuket proved once again that it can conquer a Premier League team in a deserved victory over Bangkok Glass Football Club (BGFC) on Tuesday in Pathum Thani. Phuket dispatched Thai Premier League (TPL) side Sri Racha in the Toyota Cup earlier this month in a two-leg encounter, 4-3 on aggregate. Tuesday’s outing at Ho Saeng Chai Stadium was…
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Phuket flight forced back to Bangkok now on the ground in Phuket
PHUKET: The Thai Airways flight that was forced to return to Bangkok this morning due to bad weather has safely landed in Phuket with all 316 passengers on board. “Flight TG301 left Suvarnabhumi Airport at 7:35am and was to land in Phuket at 9am,” said Boonlert Nuanla-or, chief of the Thai Airways critical information unit. “But when the plane arrived…
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Phuket police claim “breakthrough’ with drug mule bust
PHUKET: Police believe they have made a major breakthrough in breaking a Phuket drug delivery chain that leads all the way to Bang Kwang Prison in Bangkok. A provincial anti-drugs task force together with Border Patrol Police from Takuapa in Phang Nga arrested Prapan “Ae” Nammali during a sting operation in Saphan Hin Village on Sunday night. The arrest was…
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Football star Therdsak to coach at Phuket’s Thanyapura
PHUKET: Thailand Premier League midfielder, Therdsak Chaiman, will be in Phuket on Saturday, July 30 to conduct the “Bend It Like Therdsak Football Clinic” at Thanyapura Sports and Leisure Club (TSLC). Therdsak, who plays for Chonburi FC and has captained the Thailand national team, will coach players on improving techniques and how to play together on teams more effectively. The…
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‘Surf House’ to promote Phuket surfing
PHUKET: Phuket surfing culture got a boost today with a major retailer opening a “surfing center” at Jungceylon shopping mall in Patong. Quiksilver Surf House opened today to promote the upcoming Quiksilver Thailand Surf Competition 2011 and to grow Phuket’s surfing culture, Quiksilver Retail (Thailand) Ltd General Manager Surached Mungthong said. “I would like to help expand the surfing community…
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Dane’s death accidental: Phuket police
PHUKET: The Danish man found dead at a Phuket hotel last Tuesday likely died as a result of diabetes and heavy drinking and smoking, police said. The body of 62-year-old Preben Thamsen Schmidt was found in the gardens of the Print Kamala Resort early in the morning. He had wounds to his face and arms and was last seen drinking…
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Japanese to power up Phuket offshore students
PHUKET: Koh Lone School will receive their first free wind turbine in August following a joint initiative by a Japanese manufacturer and the Phuket Provincial Energy Office (PPEO). PPEO Chief Jirasak Tummawetch along with representatives from A-Wing Co Ltd, the Thai affiliate of the Japanese small wind turbine manufacturer, made the announcement at a meeting with Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet…
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Driver “not drinking’ in fatal Phuket crash
PHUKET: Police have confirmed that alcohol was not a factor in a fatal car accident in central Phuket on Friday. The driver of the car, Lithuanian Tamara Latvijas Rabo, 31, died instantly in the crash and Kuwaiti Waleed MHH Alostad, 37, the front-seat passenger, later died at Phuket International Hospital (PIH), Police Duty Officer Kittiphum Tinthalang told the Phuket Gazette.…
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Exciting finale at Phuket Six Senses Raceweek
PHUKET: Neil Pryde and his Team Premiere crew have claimed overall IRC Racing class honors at the Six Senses 2011 Phuket International Raceweek. Final day conditions brought early rains which gave way to good winds and allowed for decent racing. The battle for Racing class boiled down to who would take second. Ricky Pointon’s Jing Jing won both races to…
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Storming last day ahead for Phuket Six Senses Raceweek
PHUKET: An eight point gap keeps Neil Pryde’s Team Premiere in pole position of the 2011 Raceweek regatta’s Racing class heading in to the final day of competition. A resurgent Katsu skippered by Ben Copley on 13 points has laid down a late challenge by taking over at second place from KukuKERChu with David Ross, while Ricky Pointon’s Jing Jing…
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Phuket pirates plea for sympathy, assert right to sell illegal goods
PHUKET: A group of pirates from Kata and Karon staged a protest in Phuket Town on Wednesday to fight rising opposition to the sale of illegal wares. The protest leaders first arrived at Phuket Police Station, where their letter of complaint was received on behalf of Phuket Police Commander Pekad Tantipong. The crowd of about 60 vendors then moved on…
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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