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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Chikungunya cases in Phuket: 349
PHUKET CITY: Cases of chikungunya continue to rise in the province, with 349 confirmed cases in Phuket – and the actual figure is probably far higher. The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) yesterday confirmed that 331 Thais are receiving hospital treatment for the disease, along with 18 Burmese immigrants. Two foreign tourists – one from Korea and one Scotsman –…
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Phuket youth incarceration: German ambassador speaks out
PHUKET CITY: German Ambassador to Thailand Dr Hanns Schumacher has spoken out in defense of the German teenager currently incarcerated in the Phuket Juvenile Observation and Protection Center on charges of sexually abusing minors. In an interview with the Gazette, Dr Schumacher said he believed the evidence against the youth justified the investigation, but expressed hope that the court would…
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Punchup in Phuket: Oleydong defends WBC belt this afternoon
PATONG, PHUKET: WBC straw-weight champ Oleydong Sithsamerchai has been busy shedding pounds to meet the 105lb limit for his WBC title defense against Muhammad Rachman of Indonesia this afternoon. At a press conference held at the the Bangkok Residence Hotel on Soi Sansabai on Tuesday, Oleydong and Rachman posed for photos with Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop. The fight will take…
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Incarcerated German youth’s mother died on Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The mother of the German youth incarcerated in the Phuket Juvenile Observation and Protection Center on charges of sexually abusing minors died last month, the Gazette has learned. The woman, who will not be named in order to protect the youth’s identity, died in Vachira Phuket Hospital on April 23. She was 56 years old. The youth was…
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Phuket FC holds tryouts for foreigners tomorrow
PHUKET CITY: The long-awaited Phuket FC football club recruitment tryout for foreign talent will take place at at Saphan Hin Stadium starting at 4:30pm tomorrow. With the Sea Dragons languishing in the bottom half of the table, Phuket FC manager Mr Somsak is hoping to find some gems amongst Phuket’s expat population to relaunch the team’s dismal start to the…
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Land purchase through Thai spouse forbidden: Land Dept
PHUKET CITY: The director general of the Land Department has reiterated that foreigners using Thai nominees to buy land anywhere in the country will have their land title deeds revoked if caught – even if the nominee in question is a lawfully wedded spouse.Land Department Director Anuwat Meteewiboonwut made the comments during a recent stop in Phuket as part of a…
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Phuket PO Box 101 is a hit, says governor
PHUKET CITY: The number 101 is a cinch to remember for those who have read George Orwell’s grim parable of totalitarianism Nineteen Eighty-Four or taken a freshman college class. Whether this fact figured in Phuket Governor Wichai Phraisa-ngop’s thinking when he launched PO Box 101 – an address any Phuket resident can use to inform the governor, anonymously, of crimes…
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Bt20m for tourism improvements in Rassada
RASSADA, PHUKET: In a recent meeting, Rassada Municipality agreed to allocate almost Bt20 million to improve landscaping and build new facilities near the causeway leading to Koh Sireh, in a bid to promote tourism and improve the quality of life for local people. The work will take place near the Malikaew embankment in the Koh Sireh community in Rassada Village…
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Revenue from Phuket real estate deals plummets
PHUKET CITY: In an indication that the Phuket real estate market is not quite as robust as some like to suggest, statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Land Office reveal that income on land and property sales transactions was down over 70% year-on-year over the first four months of 2009. There were a total of 1,945 transactions involving land title…
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Land tax could spur the economy
BANGKOK: A respected economist has backed a proposal that the government impose a land tax, saying the move will ease concentration of land ownership in the hands of a few rich people and open more land to agriculture. Speaking at a round table conducted by Krungthep Thurakij newspaper last week, economist Duangmanee Laovakul said the faculty’s Economic Research and Training…
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German still in Phuket Juvenile after three months
PHUKET CITY: Despite efforts by the German Embassy, a young man arrested on charges of sexually abusing minors remains in detention at the Phuket Juvenile Observation and Protection Center almost three months after his arrest. The youth, who was just 17 when he was arrested on March 9, recently spent his 18th birthday behind bars. His arrest, together with that…
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German manslaughter suspect gets bail, whereabouts unknown
PHUKET CITY: German tourist Florian Zehentmair, charged with the manslaughter of his friend Sebastian Wolff in Khao Lak, has been released on bail. Police do not know where he is staying. In another development in the case, preliminary investigation into the cause of death by the police forensics institute in Surat Thani has determined the cause of Mr Wolff’s death…
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Phuket weather: high humidity expected to continue
PHUKET: Phuketians have been feeling the heat more than usual over the past few days with humidity high as temperatures reach 33 degrees Celsius or 91.4 Fahrenheit in Phuket.According to the Southern Meteorological Center (Phuket), the high on the heat index (HI) – the combination of air temperature and relative humidity, which makes it feel hotter than the true temperature…
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Body found on Nai Harn Beach Phuket remains unidentified
CHALONG, PHUKET: Phuket Police have yet to identify the remains of a heavily tattooed Caucasian man found washed ashore on Nai Harn Beach late last week. For the original report click here. Lt Col Boonlert Onklang of the Chalong Police told the Gazette today that no missing person reports have been filed to aid in identification of the body, which…
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Phi Phi tourist deaths possibly food poisoning
PHUKET CITY: The mysterious deaths of two female tourists on Phi Phi Island earlier this month were possibly caused by food poisoning, preliminary lab findings suggest. Krabi Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Pasin Noksakul told the Gazette today that researchers at the Police Institute of Forensic Medicine in Bangkok have found signs of microbial infection in blood samples taken from…
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85 confirmed chikungunya cases in Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Public Health Office (PPHO) has set up a “war room” to halt the spread of the viral disease chikungunya, which now has 85 confirmed cases in Phuket alone. The war room, which will host regular meetings on Tuesdays and Thursdays, is also tasked with monitoring flu patients to see if there are any cases of infection…
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Phuket’s Vanich Foundation awards annual scholarships
RASSADA, PHUKET: The Boonrod Ekapojna Vanich Foundation on Thursday presented its annual scholarships totaling 105,400 baht to 30 needy students. This event took place at the Vanich Estate on Thepkasattri Rd in Rassada. The scholarships were presented to the lucky recipients by foundation vice-presidents Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr and her brother Apirak Vanich. Foundation chairman Boonrod Ekapojna Vanich, now 73 years…
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Phuket kids eyed by Ronald McDonald clinic
PHUKET CITY: The Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC) Thailand Foundation, in association with the Thai Red Cross Society, the Top Charoen chain of optical shops, and Bangkok’s Phyathai Hospital, gave free eye exams to hundreds of Phuket students earlier this week. The event, at a mobile eye clinic parked on the grounds of the Phuket City Municipality offices, was attended…
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Fuelish mistake at PTT Phuket station in Chalong
CHALONG: A mix-up at a gas station in Chalong caused large headaches for a number of motorists on Monday morning. Staff refuelling the PTT station on Chao Fa West Road near Wat Chalong accidentally pumped 500-600 liters of diesel fuel into the station’s benzene 91 tank. A number of customers who thought they were getting benzene 91 ended up with…
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Body of Caucasian found washed up on Phuket beach
RAWAI, PHUKET: The heavily tattooed body of an unknown Caucasian man washed up on Nai Harn Beach yesterday. The body was in an advanced state of decomposition, with its skull exposed. Police believe the man died several days before the body was discovered. One local newspaper carried a graphic photograph of the body, clothed only in a pair of red underpants,…
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Young Brit dies in Phuket motorbike smash
PHUKET CITY: A young British teacher died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident on Chao Fa East Road in the early hours of yesterday morning.Phillip Ian Mussell, 24, was returning to his home in the Chalong area following a night out drinking with friends at the Roxy Bar in Phuket City when the accident happened at around 3.45am.Duty Officer Kitthiphum…
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Power cut in Phuket City tomorrow
PHUKET CITY: Residents of downtown Phuket City will be without power from 9am to 2pm tomorrow as the Phuket Office of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) carries out maintenance and repair work on power lines.The affected area will include areas along Montri Road starting from near the post office and running south though the Pearl Intersection and on to Surin…
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Thai senator stunned by ‘new media’
PHUKET: Thai people have little “need” for multiple media outlets such as cable TV and websites since most spread misinformation, Bangkok Senator Rosana Tositakul opined yesterday. “Do we really need so many media channels? And how could we “control” a large number of media channels, anyway?” Rosana asked at a seminar entitled “How to Reform the New Media”, held by…
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Melbourne mum reunited with kids after Phuket ordeal
PHUKET CITY: Australian holidaymaker Annice Smoel is safely home after leaving Phuket on a Thai Airways flight to Bangkok at 9pm yesterday, then catching a connecting flight to Melbourne. During a visit to the Phuket Immigration Office yesterday, accompanied by her husband Darren, Ms Smoel was smiling broadly in the knowledge that her departure from the ‘Land of Smiles’ was…
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Gloomy outlook for Phuket tourism
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Tourism Association (PTA) has forecast that Phuket hotels will see average occupancy rates dip to as low as 25-30%, compared to 60% in the summer season last year. Citing a number of negative factors, PTA Vice President Bhurit Maswongsa said the spread of the type-A (H1N1) flu virus was one of the main problems hitting the…
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Austrailian tourist pays 1,000 baht fine for Phuket bar mat theft
PHUKET CITY: Australian tourist Annice Smoel pleaded guilty on Wednesday to stealing a bar mat from the Aussie Bar in Patong and paid a 1,000-baht fine (approx US$ 28.00) before leaving Phuket. Pol Maj Songserm Preecha of the Kathu Police, which operates in Patong, told the Gazette that the maximum sentence for the theft charge was one year imprisonment and a…
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Bangkok Hospital Phuket to hold “Be Healthy Fair”
PHUKET CITY: Bangkok Hospital Phuket will hold a “Be Healthy Fair 2009” from May 30 to June 6 as part of its 14th anniversary celebrations.The fair, from 9.30am to 5pm each day, will take place on the first floor of the hospital, located on Yaowarat Rd in Phuket City. The event is part of the hospital’s “Care and Share” program…
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Compulsory insurance plan for Phuket jet-ski rentals
PHUKET CITY: In the latest bid to rein in the island’s controversial jet-ski rental industry, the province is considering imposing a mandatory insurance scheme.A major aim of the policy is to cut down on the number of complaints about operators charging inflated fees for alleged damages to their machines.A meeting was held at Phuket Provincial Hall on Monday to discuss…
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Phuket property under fire: Lersuang revisited
PHUKET: Earlier this month, Web blog thephuketinsider.com and the Phuket Gazette reported on an article in the UK’s Daily Mirror about the Phuket-based Lersuang Group. The Mirror story put Lersuang in the international limelight, saying that customers were demanding their money back but offering no comments from company management. The Phuket Gazette promised to get comments from the companies involved…
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Paiboon ready to fight back
PHUKET CITY: Suspended Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) President Paiboon Upatising has vowed to fight an Election Commission ruling that he was guilty of vote-buying in last year’s PPAO elections. Mr Paiboon and his pink-shirted Khon Baan Rao team trounced incumbent PPAO President Anchalee Vanich Tephabutra of the Democrat Party in elections in April last year. Eleven months later, the…
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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