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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German tourist takes on foul latrine in Kamala
KAMALA, PHUKET: A German tourist disgusted with the state of a public toilet at Kamala Beach has taken it upon himself to give the bog a thorough cleaning every day. The German, 56-year-old Rohlofe Jeck, is in Kamala on a one-week holiday, staying in a rented accommodation near the Kamala Public Health Office. Yesterday afternoon, Mr Jeck was spotted by…
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OPINION: A positive step at last for Phuket
PHUKET CITY: In a show of public-private sector co-operation, Phuket’s major retailers are working with the government to institute a nominal fee for shoppers who carry off their purchases in plastic bags. The first of its kind in Thailand, the initiative is a sensible and long overdue attempt to deal with Phuket’s waste management crisis. With each passing day, approximately…
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Dutch biker killed in Phuket collision
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Dutchman Klaas Verbeek was killed and his Thai passenger seriously injured when the motorbike they were riding collided with a pickup truck driven by a policeman in Tah Chat Chai early yesterday evening.Mr Verbeek, 53, was an annual visitor to Phuket for at least 15 years and was highly regarded in Phuket’s expat community.His body is being…
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Patong Carnival plans announced
PATONG, PHUKET: Plans for this year’s Patong Carnival are starting to take shape, with entertainment set to include shadow puppetry, Northern Thai drumming and a host of Thai musicians of various genres. The event sponsor, Beer Chang, is spending more than 40 million baht to ensure there are plenty of famous names on the bill for the festival, which takes…
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Phuket police nab fugitive murder suspects
PHUKET CITY: Chalong Police on Sunday arrested two brothers wanted for armed robbery and murder in Ratchaburi province last year. Police identified the pair as 28-year-old Aekapop Soonthorn and his brother Anurak Soonthorn, 25. Both are Ratchaburi natives. Mr Aekapop was arrested first on Soi Anusorn in Chalong Village 2. Mr Anurak was picked up later the same day at…
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Jet-ski jamboree’ to restore Phuket’s image
PATONG, PHUKET: Phuket’s jet-ski operators are going all out to mend their industry’s grubby image on Thursday, when a ride on any of the island’s 200-plus jet-skis will be entirely free of charge. The message they hope to send out: Phuket’s jet-skis are no longer a rip-off. The Phuket jet-ski industry made headlines earlier in the year when foreign diplomats…
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Phuket Buddha image thief shot dead
PHUKET CITY: A suspected serial robber was shot dead in an intense shootout between police and alleged thieves earlier today in Rama IX Park.The deceased, identified as 32-year-old Phuket City resident Amnard Rodpradit, was wanted by police in connection with a recent spate of robberies of Buddhist images from stores and homes around Phuket.Police told the Gazette that Mr Amnard…
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HRH Princess Bejaratana birthday celebrations in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Religious ceremonies marking the 84th birthday of Her Royal Highness Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda Sirisobhabannavadi will tomorrow be held by Buddhist, Islamic, Christian and Sikh groups around the island. The Muslim ceremony will be held at the Dubai Mosque in Koh Kaew where students at the Muslim Witthaya School, on the same grounds as the mosque, will hear about…
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Phuket Spa Association to push for licensing
PHUKET: In a bid to improve health and safety standards, the Excise Department has canceled excise tax for spa treatments in licensed spas. It is good news for licensed venues, but not the vast majority of Phuket spas that are unlicensed and will have to continue paying the tax after the new regulation takes effect on January 20. Even worse…
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Melee in Chalong rice soup shop
CHALONG, PHUKET: A man smashed a stranger over the head with a bottle, sparking a brawl at a Phuket khao tom (rice soup) restaurant in the early morning hours on Saturday. Worakrit Wisutthitham, 40, lost a lot of blood and needed eight stitches to his head at Vachira Phuket Hospital following the attack. Mr Worakrit was eating with two friends…
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Phuket ladyboy found dead from gunshot wound
WICHIT, PHUKET: Phuket City Police are searching for the killer of a 35-year-old ladyboy found dead on Saturday morning with a single bullet wound to the head. The body of Wanchai Tongwijit, a restaurant employee from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, was found in an abandoned workers’ camp off Sakdidet Road Soi 7 in Tambon Wichit at around 6.45am. Mr Wanchai’s body…
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Phuket Governor treks and checks road project land
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop on Thursday set off on an extensive walking tour of the strip of land he would like to see become the island’s second north-south road artery. The first day of the tour started off on the bypass road, opposite the newly-opened Premium Outlet Mall, and proceeded all the way past the British International School,…
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Handicraft bargains at Phuket OTOP fair
PHUKET CITY: Carved wooden ornaments, stylish cloth bags and Lanna-style garments are just some of the hundreds of hand-made products from northern Thailand currently on sale at an OTOP market fair at Saphan Hin until tomorrow.Over 100 booths are selling the handicrafts from 10am to 9pm at the fair dubbed ‘OTOP: From Lanna to Andaman Sea’.There’s also plenty to eat…
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Patong floods: no end in sight
PATONG, PHUKET: In the latest developments on the Nanai Road flooding saga, the Patong municipality says a new pump is set to be installed under the road. However, disgruntled local residents will have to wait until next year for the project to be completed. Problems first began in April this year, when heavy rains caused floodwater three-feet deep to collect,…
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Phuket murder suspect collared in coffin shop
CHALONG, PHUKET: Police yesterday morning arrested two suspects for the November 4 shooting murder of 38-year-old Weerathep Kamchan inside a flower shop on Chao Fa East Road. Police initially suspected romantic jealousy as the motive for the murder, as the victim was known to be having a relationship with 36-year-old Boonruen Buasi, a married woman. Mrs Boonruen, who was with…
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Tsunami warning critic to launch new system
PHUKET CITY: Former National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) director and a critic of the current warning system’s administration plans to launch an additional disaster warning system with the aim of better informing the public of impending disasters. The man behind the new warning system, Dr Smith Dharmasaroja, is preparing to launch the ‘parallel’ national tsunami warning system on December 26, the fifth anniversary of the Indian Ocean…
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Middle Way meditation on Sunday
PHUKET CITY: There will be a Middle Way meditation training session at the Phuket Meditation Center from 3pm to 5pm on Sunday. The teaching monk will be Phra Thada Jaranatharou, who has re-arranged his busy schedule and will fly in from Bangkok for the session. Fluent in English, Phra Thada has a bachelors’ degree in industrial electrical technology from King…
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Phuket acid attack meters from cop shop
PATONG, PHUKET: A man threw acid in the face of a 27-year-old woman just 100 meters from Kathu Police Station in the early hours of this morning. The victim, Sirirat Nankham, is being treated at Vachira Phuket Hospital. Her left eye is swollen shut and she has blisters all over her body. Ms Sirirat, who works as a cashier at…
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Foreign diver found dead in Patong
PATONG, PHUKET: Kathu Police are still trying to determine the identity of a foreign woman found dead in Patong Bay on Tuesday afternoon. The body, presumed to be that of a middle-aged Caucasian woman, was pulled from the water at about 5pm by Kusoldharm Foundation workers. The bloated corpse was discovered floating at 4:30pm about four meters offshore from Paradise…
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Hold outs against jet-ski insurance scheme
PHUKET CITY: The majority of jet-ski operators on the island have applied for compulsory insurance, but five operators are holding out against the new regulation. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop yesterday afternoon held a meeting with 15 jet-ski operators to discuss compliance with a provincial policy requiring all jet-ski operators to apply for policies by the deadline that passed on Monday.…
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Phuket bag charge delayed by two months
PHUKET CITY: The launch of a plastic bag charging scheme which aims to reduce the amount of garbage generated on Phuket has been postponed for more than two months. Phuket Energy Office chief Jirasuk Tummawetch said the slated December 5 launch date did not leave enough time to promote the project sufficiently. The scheme will see major retailers such as…
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Phuket prepares for HRH Princess Bejaratana’s birthday
THALANG, PHUKET: Phuket will join the rest of the nation in celebrating the 84th birthday of Her Royal Highness Princess Bejaratana Rajasuda Sirisobhabannavadi on November 24. Tha Rua Temple in Thalang has been chosen as the focal point for the celebrations. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop will open the activities at the temple at 9.30am. Locations for celebrations held by the…
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Fury over flooding in Patong
PATONG / PHUKET: Pedestrians and motorists were struggling through meter-deep floodwater on Nanai Road this evening following heavy rains earlier today. Local residents fed up with the flooding, which they claim has become worse over the past few months, have nicknamed the 50-meter stretch of road ‘Nanai River’. Several local residents who spoke to the Gazette in May predicted severe…
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Phuket man demands justice after cops’ “black bag’ threat
PHUKET CITY: A foreign exchange teller questioned in connection with the theft of 1.8 million baht from a Patong bank claims Kathu Police officers threatened to send him home ‘in a black bag’ unless he confessed to the crime. Samarn Pul-ied, who spent around 24 hours in custody at Kathu Police Station on November 8 and 9, also claims officers…
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Phuket to host Asia-Pacific Ironman Championship
LAGUNA PHUKET: The world’s top Ironman competitors will descend on Laguna Phuket next year following confirmation that the Cherng Talay-based resort complex will host the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship race. The announcement of the season-ending event comes after an agreement to stage the race was signed between Laguna Hotels and Resorts Plc and the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC). The…
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Expectations high for Phuket’s high season
PHUKET CITY: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has announced that hotel occupancy rates in Phuket should hit 80 percent during the high season. According to the new TAT South Region 4 office director Ms Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, Phuket hotel and tour operators say advance bookings are on the rise. Occupancy rates should climb to 80 percent after the Christmas and New Year…
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Belgian beauties arrive on Phuket
PHUKET: Twenty Miss Belgium 2010 contestants began an eight-day stay on Phuket today with an introduction to the media at the Cape Panwa Hotel and Spa.The beauty pageant finalists are in Phuket by invitation of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and will be taking part in photo and video shoots, kayaking and Thai cooking classes around the island.TAT South…
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Celestial light show over Phuket this week
PHUKET: If the night sky over Phuket remains clear this week stargazers will be treated to the spectacle of hundreds of meteors streaking overhead, early Wednesday morning.The annual celestial show known as The Leonids occurs as the Earth passes through the trail of an ancient comet.Astronomers predict a shower of up to 500 meteors per hour, visible to the naked…
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Readers’ Poll: Will plastic bag scheme help Phuket?
PHUKET CITY: Some said it could never happen, but starting on December 4 most of the island’s major retailers will begin charging customers for plastic bags. Already on board with the project are Central, Big C, Tesco-Lotus, Makro, Supercheap and Jungceylon. Do you think this initiative will cut down significantly on the approximately 500 tonnes of garbage sent to the…
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Race against time on Phuket’s Thalang Road
PHUKET CITY: Work to bury power cables along Thalang Rd is nearing completion and the city is hoping to have the project completely finished in time for the fourth Old Phuket Town Festival next month. Aekapop Patpathom, project engineer with the Provincial Electrical Authority (PEA) office in Phuket, said all of the underground conduits have been installed. He initially expected…
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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