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.
-
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,...
-
Hollywood-style bar brawl in Patong
PHUKET: A bar in Patong was wrecked this morning when a vicious fight broke out between two gangs at 3am.The men, numbering at least ten, were all young and muscular and smashed wooden chairs and bottles over each other in the fight on Soi Happy off Rat-U-Thit 200 Pii Road, said Phuket Immigration Volunteer Mr Robin Lee.Three police officers, including…
-
UPDATE: Phuket tuk-tuk assault case
PHUKET: A Patong tuk-tuk driver charged with assault for allegedly beating a Canadian tourist has been granted bail. Tassanarit Damthong, 30, handed himself in at Kathu Police Station at 3pm on Tuesday. He was arrested and charged with the assault of Canadian tourist Ivan Bob Anwar, 51. Mr Anwar claimed he was punched five times after refusing to pay 150…
-
Mystery hanging in Rawai woods
PHUKET: The body of a man presumed to be of European descent was discovered hanging from a tree in a secluded area of Rawai yesterday afternoon.Police were unable to identify the deceased but said he was Caucasian, about 180cm tall and estimated to be in his 40s.He had been dead for about eight hours before his body was found, police said.A local…
-
Fabio: Grazie Mille Phuket
KAMALA, PHUKET: Italian tourist Fabio Fanzani was reunited with his lost wallet today after an appeal was launched on this website yesterday. Kamala Police had been trying in vain to contact the owner of the wallet after it was found by a Thai tourist, Ms Khanungnit Kwanyao, at Surin Beach and handed over to authorities over a week ago. When…
-
British man dies in Phuket
KOH KAEW: A 65-year-old Englishman was found dead in his rental home near the Boat Lagoon yesterday afternoon. The deceased, Barry Ronald Cutler, was found at about 4pm, naked and lying on a staircase landing in his rented home in Phuket Inter Villa residential estate on Soi Bangkoo 1. Mr Cutler rented the house in October and lived alone. A…
-
Disabled to help Phuket City Police with CCTV monitoring
PHUKET: Phuket City Police are moving forward with a plan to have disabled people monitor closed-circuit television (CCTV) security cameras, but the project will be limited to those who can get up the stairs to the fourth-storey CCTV control room on their own. Phuket City Superintendent Wanchai Ekpornpit told the Gazette yesterday that his department is working with the Phuket…
-
Crackdown on roadside food vendors in Wichit
WICHIT, PHUKET: Wichit Municipality has made an ambitious New Year’s resolution: to rid public roads of food vending carts and trolleys. Wichit Mayor Kreetha Saetan said the municipality and local public health workers have pleaded with mobile food vendors for over a year not to set up along public roads, especially in the market area across from the Phuket Villa…
-
Phuket holiday road toll: 8 dead, 92 injured
PHUKET CITY: Final figures are in for this year’s ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign in Phuket and they are depressing indeed with eight dead – almost triple the number from last year, when three died. Figures released by the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) today showed that 82 reported accidents left 92 people with injuries requiring…
-
Fabio! Your wallet’s in Phuket
KAMALA, PHUKET: Kamala Police are trying to contact an Italian tourist named Fabio Fanzani, whose wallet was found by a Thai tourist at Surin Beach and handed over to authorities a week ago. Lt Col Supavich Suvanpirom said the wallet was found by 31-year-old Petchaboon native Khanungnit Kwanyao, who is in Phuket for the New Year holiday. “I saw the…
-
Snatch-and-run bandits nabbed in Phuket
KAMALA, PHUKET: A pair of of English tourists will leave Phuket today with no pictures of their holiday to show friends back home – thanks to the depredations of a trio of thieves in Kamala. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Thantipong and Kamala Police yesterday afternoon held a press conference to announce the arrest of two men wanted in connection…
-
Phuket holiday road toll: 6 dead, 85 injured
PHUKET CITY: Going into the last day of the ‘Seven Days of Danger’ road safety campaign there were six dead and 85 injuries from 79 reported accidents in Phuket. One of the dead was an Australian. Statistics from the Phuket office of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) show Muang District had the highest numbers, with four dead…
-
Wild car crash in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Like a scene out of a Hollywood action movie, an out-of-control car plowed through market stalls in the Samkong area of Phuket Town yesterday morning, leaving scores of motorbikes damaged and one woman with a broken arm. Phuket City Police were informed of the accident at 9am. Arriving at the scene, opposite the Dairy Hut restaurant on Hongyok U-thit…
-
Sea turtles fitted with GPS in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Researchers from the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) have fastened GPS electronic tracking devices to the backs of eight young green turtles, which were released off the coast in Phang Nga. The small GPS transmitters will transfer important research data back to the PMBC at Cape Panwa. These turtles will provide much needed information about the behavior patterns…
-
Readers’ Poll: CCTV expansion in Phuket Town
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) is installing 53 more CCTV cameras in and around Phuket Town at a cost of 17 million baht. The stated aim is to improve security for residents and tourists alike. The PPAO says it plans to extend coverage to other parts of the island, including Chalong, in the future. Do you think this…
-
The Sam Van Treeck case: five years on
PHUKET CITY: Thailand’s five-year effort to extradite fugitive murder suspect Sam Van Treeck to stand trial for the stabbing murder of Chompoonut ‘Jeab’ Kobram in Pattaya in 2004 appeared to take a step backwards on December 31 when a Belgian court granted his release from prison on a conditional basis. Van Treeck, a former tour guide in Thailand, was charged…
-
Phuket holiday road deaths at provincial average – so far
PHUKET: New Year’s Day in Thailand saw 686 road accidents kill 70 people and injure another 737, bringing the cumulative casualty count for the long holiday to 238 deaths and 2,725 injuries from 2,510 accidents. Of the 238 deaths, 3 have been recorded in Phuket, in line with the average for the country’s 78 provinces. But Phuket’s serious injury count,…
-
Boy, age 10, Phuket’s first drowning victim of 2010
RAWAI, PHUKET: A ten-year-old boy celebrating New Year’s Day with his family at Nai Harn Beach is the first drowning victim of the year in Phuket. Duty Officer Chingchai Duangsuwan of the Chalong Police identified the victim as 10-year-old Apichet ‘Nong Max’ Srinakarak, a student at Wat Thep Nimit School in Wichit. Notified of the drowning at 5pm, Chalong Police…
-
New Year’s Eve shooting murder in Phuket
RAWAI, PHUKET: Police are searching for the gunmen who shot and killed a man celebrating the New Year holiday early yesterday morning in what police believe was a revenge killing by rival gang members. Chalong Police Investigator Boonlert Onklang identified the deceased as 24-year-old Wanchai Withaya, a Chalong resident. Police received a report of the shooting at the popular Icon…
-
53 more CCTV cameras for Phuket
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) has provided 17 million baht in funding for the installation of 53 more closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in and around Phuket Town. PPAO President Paiboon Upatising met with Phuket Provincial Police Commander Pekad Thantipong and other high ranking police officers on Wednesday morning at the CCTV monitoring center in Phuket City Police Station.…
-
Phuket Gov pushes for ‘ring road’
PHUKET CITY: Phuket’s Governor continues to push for new road projects on the island, the latest a ‘ring road’ though the east side of Phuket Town connecting Wichit and Rasada. Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop told a meeting of provincial department heads on Tuesday that he is hoping the controversial Klong Koh Pee (‘Ghost Canal’) Road project will get the green light…
-
Phuket jet-ski woes continue
PATONG, PHUKET: Despite the mandatory insurance scheme for rental jet-skis that went into effect last month, problems between jet-ski operators and tourists persist and scores of unregistered jet-skis continue to operate in Patong Bay. Marine Transport Department officer Songchai Na Nakorn told the Gazette forty-one jet skis in Patong are currently out of service because their insurance applications are still…
-
Phuket tuk-tuk driver goes into hiding after assault on tourists
KARON, PHUKET: The tuk-tuk driver wanted in connection with the savage beating of French tourists in Kata last Saturday has gone into hiding, the Gazette has learned. “Now, the suspect has run away. He is not at his house and didn’t show up at the tuk-tuk parking area as normal,” Chalong Police Investigator Chana Sutthimaat told the Gazette today. The…
-
Phuket minimum wage increased 7 baht
PHUKET CITY: Minimum wage workers will get a very modest wage rise on New Year’s Day, when an increase in the minimum pay rate in Phuket increases from 197 baht to 204 baht. Phuket Provincial Labor Office chief Suttipong Saisakares confirmed the pay hike, saying it was just two baht lower than the requested rise of nine baht. Phuket was…
-
Student dies of electrocution in Phuket
CHALONG, PHUKET: A 17-year-old student of the British International School died from an accidental electrocution on Christmas Day. Chalong Police Investigator Boonlert Onklang identified the deceased as Anurak Gottschalk, son of a German photographer and his Thai companion who works as a cook aboard a tour boat. At about 5:30pm, the boy’s German uncle and a housemaid found Anurak dead…
-
Phuket gets THB 10 billion for development projects
PHUKET CITY: Cabinet has approved a 2010 budget that includes ten billion baht (approx US$ 295 million) in funding for Phuket under the Finance Ministry’s ‘Thai Khem Khaeng’ (Strong Thailand) stimulus package. The new budget green lights projects intended to solidify Phuket’s position as one of Southeast Asia’s leading tourist destinations. Highlights of the plan include a major airport expansion,…
-
TAT ‘worried’ about Phuket tuk-tuk gangs
PHUKET CITY: The director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office in Phuket says her agency is ‘working on a plan’ to deal with aggressive tuk-tuk drivers in Phuket, the Gazette has learned. Bangornrat Shinaprayoon, director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) South Region Four office in Phuket, told the Gazette today that she was aware of the…
-
Phuket Red Cross Fair starts tomorrow
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Governor and his wife this morning took part in a ceremony praying for good luck during the annual Red Cross Fair that starts at Saphan Hin tomorrow. The ceremony was led by Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngob and his wife Thaisika, who as the governor’s wife, is president of the Phuket chapter of the Thai Red Cross Society.…
-
Malacca Strait security meeting in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Royal Thai Navy officers and their counterparts from Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are taking part in the four-day ‘Intelligence Exchange Group Meetings’ aimed at boosting security in the Malacca Strait.Leading the Thai contingent is Commander Suchart Thammapitak, Director of the Naval Civil Affairs Department at the Royal Thai Navy Third Naval Area Command Base at Cape Panwa.The talks,…
-
Phuket Gov calls evacuation drill a success
MAI KHAO, PHUKET: Five years after the tsunami that devastated parts of the Phuket coastline, authorities set out to prove that the island is ready to cope if a similar tragedy occurred today. Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop pronounced the Christmas Day simulation a success. “Everybody took it seriously,” he said. The exercise came as part of activities organized to mark…
-
Phuket Rajabhat Students to take census data
PHUKET CITY: The National Statistical Office (NSO) will get the help of 650 Phuket Rajabhat University students when it collects data in Phuket throughout July as part of its 11th National Census. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) formalizing the agreement was signed at Phuket Provincial Hall last week. The document was signed by NSO Director-General Jirawan Boonperm, Rajabhat Phuket University…
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.
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.