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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Five murders in Phuket in June
PHUKET: June proved a murderous month for Phuket as a wave of violent crime swept across the island with five murders and 14 cases of manslaughter being reported, according to the latest crime statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police. Among the unsolved cases is that of the murder of bar hostess Wanphen Pienjai, 33, whose naked body was discovered…
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Phuket hotels urged to discount
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. PHUKET: The Thai Hotels Association (THA) will launch a Buy-One, Get-One-Free promotion this month to match the time frame of the Amazing Thailand Grand Sale 2010, TTR Weekly reports. Phuket hotels are being encouraged to participate in the promotion.…
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Family file assault charges against Phuket policeman
PHUKET: The parents of a teenage boy are considering legal action against a Phuket policeman they allege assaulted their son outside a municipal school in Phuket Town. Anchada Tabkrai visited the Phuket Reporters’ Club office at Phuket Provincial Hall at about 2.30pm on Thursday to announce that her son, 15-year-old Atthaporn Tubklai, was hit on the head repeatedly by the…
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Phuket Police nab thieving rapist
PHUKET: Phuket City Police held a press conference on Wednesday to announce the arrest of a Wichit man arrested for raping a young woman at gunpoint and then stealing her computer. The suspect was identified as Phuket resident Wuttikrai ‘Nueng’ Prasopsorn, aged 25. On the night of June 29, the victim reported that a man entered her rented room with…
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Phuket Amateur Golf Open on Sunday
PHUKET: Following an impressive debut by 12-year-old Newport Lapojkit, the second round of the Phuket Amateur Golf Open is set to tee off next Sunday, July 18 at Loch Palm Golf Club in Kathu. The tournament will be the second in a series of 11 to determine the best amateur golfer in Phuket. The first and second place winners in…
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IP crackdown underway in Phuket
PHUKET: A Crime Suppression Division (CSD) intellectual property rights unit from Bangkok is leading local police in crackdowns on intellectual property (IP) violators in Phuket this weekend. Officers at Phuket City Police Station last night were busy counting up a large haul of counterfeit CDs, DVDs and music videos seized in a raid on four stalls at the Phuket Variety…
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Phuket named best Asian yachting capital
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. World Cup? Get instantaneous scores and news updates right here on the Gazette Online (fed directly from FIFA). PHUKET: Phuket, voted as the Best Asian Maritime Capital 2010 in May, will bring in US$306 million in revenue from boating…
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Phuket Raceweek Photo Contest: Deadline looms
PHUKET: As the island gears up for Six Senses Phuket Raceweek, to be held in and around Chalong Bay from July 21-25, the Phuket Gazette‘s Phuket Raceweek Amateur Photo Contest is offering budding photographers the chance to win a five-night stay at an exclusive Phuket resort – free of charge. But hurry; the deadline for entries is Thursday, July 15.…
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Honda Phuket Bt50m renovation complete
PHUKET: Anticipating continued strength in local auto sales, Honda of Phuket has invested some 50 million baht to renovate its dealership on Phang Nga Rd in Phuket Town. The new facility’s service bays enable maintenance of up to 40 vehicles per day. Montri Hongyok, managing director of Anuphas Wiwitgarn Co Ltd, said: “Renovation of the showroom and service center are…
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Plant Fair underway in Phuket
PHUKET: The 18th annual Phuket Ornamental Plants & Flowers Fair got underway with an opening ceremony at 5pm today.Held at Saphan Hin, the event will run through July 18.Organized by the Phuket Provincial Agricultural Office, Phuket City Municipality and Phuket Provincial Administration Organization, this year’s fair will feature Phuket Pineapple exhibitions, pineapple peeling and processing competitions, and flower decoration contests.Various…
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Phuket Ironman: ‘I’m alive!’
PHUKET: Friends and family of a Phuket Ironman athlete currently climbing Europe’s highest peak will be praying for his safe return after hearing that two climbers fell to their deaths in the same area earlier this week. Cherng Talay resident Les Bird, 59, is attempting to reach the 4,810-meter summit of Mont Blanc in the French-Italian Alps. He is climbing…
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New Phuket Gazette launched today
PHUKET: Following months of intensive work with content and design editors, we are happy to launch today a whole new style for your Phuket Gazette. But the new format, type of paper and layout style are only a beginning. In the weeks ahead, you will find a ‘tighter’ newspaper with more news, more features, more photos, more letters and more…
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Phuket family seeks runaway boy
PHUKET: The family of a 13-year-old boy who disappeared from his home in Wichit almost three weeks ago are offering a 5,000-baht reward for clues leading to his safe return. Anuchit “Erk” Tan-a-pirom went missing on the morning of June 19. His aunt, 33-year-old Warangkana Tan-a-pirom, appeared at the Phuket Reporter’s Club office at Phuket Provincial Hall yesterday afternoon to…
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Islamic meetings underway in Phuket
PHUKET: Thailand’s top Muslim leaders assembled at the Royal Paradise Hotel in Phuket Town yesterday for the opening of three days of ‘Provincial Islamic Committee 2010’ meetings. Chaired by Deputy Interior Minister Thavorn Senniam, the opening ceremony was attended by Sheikhul Islam Aziz Phitakkhumphol, advisor to HM The King on Islamic affairs, as well as two representatives from Central Islamic…
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Phuket punters mourn as World Cup favorites fall
PHUKET: Like the rest of Thailand, Phuket is prey to the quadrennial month-long madness known as ‘World Cup Fever’. This year, owing to the peculiar string of upsets resulting in early elimination of such favorites as France, England, Italy, Brazil, and Argentina, at least one bookie is reporting drastically reduced business.Sale of football jerseys, meanwhile, are up.The bookie says wagers…
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Phuket woman arrested for ‘karaoke’ slot machines
PHUKET: Police on Tuesday night arrested a Phuket woman for possession of three karaoke jukeboxes allegedly modified to function as ‘slot machines’. Following complaints about slot machine gambling lodged by local residents, Phuket City Police Deputy Superintendent Chaiwat Auykham and Crime Suppression Division (CSD) Area 5 Inspector Sitthikiat Srichan led the raid on a shop on Soi Rungrawee, just north…
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Phuket surf claims two, endangers 170
PHUKET: The rough surf that arrived with the monsoon season has claimed two lives and resulted in at least 117 swimmers being dragged to safety ashore between April 26 and June 25, according to statistics recently released by the Phuket Lifeguard Club. The club, which patrols Phuket’s main beaches, took on the work on April 26 after signing a contract…
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Phuket butterfly release on Saturday
PHUKET: The Phuket Butterfly Garden and Insect World will hold its annual butterfly release ceremony on Saturday morning at the Khao Phra Thaew Wildlife Conservation Area in Thalang. Phuket Butterfly Garden Managing Director Wasin Koysiripong said the event, now in its fourth year, came about from the Butterfly Garden’s ability to breed butterflies and the recognition that the number of…
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Phuket karaoke killing: teen arrested
PHUKET: Phuket City Police have charged a young man with murder and issued an arrest warrant for his father, after the pair allegedly stabbed to death a Phuket man at a karaoke bar in Wichit on Sunday night. A crowd of bar girls, patrons and other onlookers were standing outside the Chumporn Karaoke bar on the corner of Kwang and…
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Phuket Ghostbusters: illegal guide crackdown looms
PHUKET: Kathu Police are setting up a new center aimed at cracking down on unregistered ‘ghost guides’ operating in Patong, the local police chief says. Kathu Police Superintendent Arayaphan Pukbuakhao told the Gazette that the new center, to be based in the police box on the beach at the foot of Soi Bangla, is scheduled to open in about one…
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Phuket City Police helmet crackdown hits the big screen
PHUKET: It was ‘standing room only’ at Phuket City Police Station this morning as hundreds of people caught on motorbikes without helmets crammed into the fourth-floor meeting room to watch a movie showing graphic images taken from road accident scenes. The viewings are all part of the Phuket City Police effort to enforce a long-ignored traffic law requiring all people…
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Phuket murder suspect turns self in, claims innocence
PHUKET: Police on Saturday announced the arrest of the third suspect wanted in connection with the June 26 shooting murder of 17-year-old Witarn Chuaykuea at a Phuket Town gas station. Watcharin “James” Limmanee, 21, handed himself in to Phuket City Police Station last Thursday to proclaim his innocence. Narongchai “Tan” Boonprom of Nakhon Sri Thammarat, arrested earlier, confessed to shooting…
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Readers call for charity for family of Phuket murder victim
PHUKET: In response to recurring suggestions from readers that a donation channel be set up to raise funds to help the mother and two young children of murder victim Wanphen Pienjai, the Phuket Gazette is currently working with a major, worldwide charitable organization to receive and administer funds. We hope to be in a position to announce details of that…
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Readers’ Poll: Is Phuket tourism sustainable?
PHUKET: According to one definition, the term “sustainable tourism” is an industry committed to making a low impact on the environment and local culture, while helping to generate future employment for local people. Given this definition, to what extent do you think Phuket’s tourism industry is sustainable? To vote in the latest Phuket Gazette Reader’s Poll, click here or on…
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FAT Football: Phuket beat Trang, 2-0
PHUKET: FC Phuket strengthened their grip on the Football Association of Thailand’s Division Two (South section) title with a hard-fought 2-0 win over second-placed Trang at Surakul Stadium on Saturday. With a game in hand, FC Phuket were two points ahead of Trang going into their first home match since the mid-season break. FC Phuket dominated possession in the first…
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Phuket chosen as Asian HQ
Phuket NEWS Hound – A daily digest of news from around the world compiled by Gazette editors for Phuket’s international community. World Cup? Get instantaneous scores and news updates right here on the Gazette Online (fed directly from FIFA). PHUKET: Asia Travel Tips reports that Outrigger Hotels and Resorts Asia has officially established Phuket as its Regional Operating Headquarters (ROH).…
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New sketch of suspect in Phuket murder of Wanphen Pienjai
PHUKET: Police have released a sketch of what the prime suspect in the Wanphen Pienjai murder case may look like without a full beard. Ms Pienjai’s naked body was found stuffed in a suitcase in Phuket on June 24. For our previous report, click here. She was last seen leaving her workplace at the Sweetheart Bar in Kata with a…
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Man murders friend with homemade gun in Phuket
PHUKET: A construction site foreman has been charged with murder after allegedly shooting one of his laborers with a homemade pen-gun, police said. The shooting happened about 9pm last night in the Phanson Villa (Bor-Rae) housing project in Wichit. Arriving at the scene shortly after the incident, Phuket City Police officers found a single .38mm bullet casing and were told…
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Phuket ‘bypass-bypass’ construction stalled
PHUKET: Budget problems are holding up work to complete a road linking the bypass road to a section of Ekwahnit Road near the back entrance to Surakul Stadium. Work on the project, known jokingly as the bypass-bypass road, was stalled for months because the road was blocked by a home belonging to a family of squatters who settled the area…
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Mother of Phuket murder victim tells of her pain
PHUKET: The mother of Wanphen Pienjai, the bar hostess whose body was found stuffed in a suitcase in Phuket last week, has spoken of her anguish over the murder of her daughter. Sa-ard Maliwan, 59, told the Gazette she is praying every day for police to catch the killer. “He deserves to be punished hard for what he did to…
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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