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,...
-
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…
-
Swede dead in Phuket of apparent cocaine overdose
CHALONG, PHUKET: Police have confirmed that a 48-year-old Swedish man found dead in the room of a guesthouse late yesterday afternoon appears to have died of a cocaine overdose. The 48-year-old Swede, whose name is being withheld pending notification of kin, was found in a room at the Happy Days guesthouse, located at Chalong Bay. Chalong Police Duty Officer Thienchai…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
Phuket Pinoy sports fest underway
PHUKET: The second stage of the four-part “Pinoy Sports Fest 2009” will take place at the QSI International School on Sunday, May 24. The event which is helping to bring together Phuket’s 850-strong Filipino community is being held over four consecutive Sundays and has attracted some 200 competitors. The term Pinoy is now commonly used among Filipinos to describe themselves.…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Tossaporn pushes for Phuket conference center and sports complex
PHUKET: Funds for Phuket’s long-awaited convention center are to be included in next year’s budget, according to Phuket MP Tossaporn Thepabutr. If the budget is approved, the center could be finished within three years.The convention center has been on the drawing boards for well over a decade. The center was initially proposed to be built on reclaimed land off Saphan…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Phuket Police: Aussie arrest no laughing matter
PATONG, PHUKET: Kathu Police Superintendent Grissak Songmoonnark has defended the actions of his men in detaining Aussie holidaymaker Annice Smoel for stealing a branded bar towel from the Aussie Bar in Patong earlier this month. Col Grissak told the Gazette today that the matter was a clear case of theft and that his officers had sufficient evidence to prove her…
-
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…
-
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…
-
Update: Phuket tourist jailing
PHUKET / MELBOURNE (AAP): The Australian woman arrested in Phuket, Thailand for allegedly stealing a bar mat says she’s “scared, helpless and alone” and is pleading for the Australian government to intervene. Annice Smoel, who spent four days in a cramped Thai jail with three other women, described her holiday gone wrong as “totally unbelievable”. Ms Smoel, 36, from Montrose…
-
Phuket FC lose to Pattani, 2-1
PHUKET CITY: Phuket FC’s dismal home form continued Sunday night, when the Sea Dragons slumped to a fourth consecutive defeat at the Surakul Stadium, losing 2-1 to Pattani. Despite taking an early lead, the reverse means that Phuket FC are still without a point in front of their home fans. The Sea Dragons started brightly and were rewarded with an early…
-
Another foreign tourist arrested, jailed in Phuket
PHUKET: According to a story released this morning by AAP, Australia’s national news agency, a Melbourne mother of four is facing five years in a Thai jail after allegedly “stealing” a bar mat [‘coaster’] from a Phuket pub. The report says 36-year-old Annice Smoel was arrested by undercover police as she left the Aussie Bar in Patong on May 3.…
-
Power cuts in Thalang tomorrow
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket office of the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) has announced scheduled power cuts to carry out maintenance on high voltage lines in parts of Thalang tomorrow, May 19, from 9am to 5pm. Affected areas will include Phanason Park Ville, the National Housing Authority estate at Baan Lipon, Baan Kluay, Baan Ya, Aekachai Village, Baan Tuk Sea Khuan and Baan…
-
Paiboon suspended pending appeals court ruling
PHUKET CITY: The Region 8 Court of Appeals has ordered Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (PPAO) President Paiboon Upatising and a fellow PPAO member to cease their duties following a report of electoral fraud from the Election Commission (EC) in Bangkok. PPAO Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Manop Leelasuthanon confirmed the letter and said Mr Paiboon and fellow PPAO member Sawat Muchawej…
-
Phuket gardener stabs boss to death on motorbike
KOH KEAW, PHUKET: A gardener stabbed his boss to death in broad daylight as the pair were riding a salaeng (motorbike with an illegal sidecar) down Thepkrasattri Road yesterday afternoon. Around 5pm, police officers investigating what was causing a half-a-kilometer long tailback on the road arrived at the scene outside the TT&T office in Koh Keaw. Just as they arrived…
-
Krabi man survives assassination attempt
NAKHON SRI THAMMARAT: The key witness in a trial against six security forces personnel was shot and injured in Phra Phrom District on Saturday. The victim was due to testify against the men in an attempted murder case stemming from a previous attempt on his life. Jit Jansiriwong, 52, was shot as he driving his pickup truck through Tambon Thai…
-
Star mayor gunned down in Haad Yai
SONGKHLA: The mayor of Khlong Hae Town in Songkhla’s Haad Yai District was gunned down in his car on the evening of May 16. Aphichat Sangkhachat, 39, was shot at around 10:30pm as he stopped at an ATM on Ratyindee Road in downtown Haad Yai City while on the way home from a funeral at Wat Khlong Ple. He was…
-
Land borders to Phuket under intensive flu screening
PHUKET: Thailand yesterday tightened the screening of people entering the country through its southern borders as Malaysia confirmed its second case of swine flu. The southern Thai borders are the land gateways to Phuket and the Andaman region’s other international resort areas. The borders are also used heavily by expatriates working in Phuket, Krabi and Khaolak for their visa runs.…
-
Homeward bound: Simon Burrowes finally gets off Phuket
PHUKET: After spending a his final night in Phuket under the observation of Phuket City Immigration officers, British national Simon Burrowes finally left Phuket at 5.50pm yesterday aboard a Silk Air flight destined for Singapore, where he was scheduled to catch a connecting flight to the UK. Asked why Mr Burrowes had to spend his final night on the island…
-
Thai Prime Minister does not believe in media neutrality
BANGKOK: Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjiva said yesterday that he did not to want to discuss media neutrality because he did not believe that such a thing exists, pointing out that everyone has an opinion. “The point is that opinions must be expressed freely and responsibly,’ he said. He was addressing the Congress of National Media on “The media’s lesson, the…
-
Thai woman bites Belgian tourist’s organ
PHUKET: A Belgian tourist in Pattaya was severely injured early Thursday morning when a Thai woman took a bite out of his penis and almost severed it, police said. The tourist, age 56, was rushed to Pattaya Memorial Hospital where doctors managed to save his organ. The hospital reported the event to police at 5:30 am. The man told police…
-
Vachira Hospital doctors save nine-bullet attack victim
PHUKET CITY: Doctors at Vachira Hospital Phuket saved the life of a 25-year-old photographer admitted to the emergency room with nine bullet wounds yesterday afternoon. Sarawut Seebatkhan, a photographer at the Baan Chang Elephant Safari camp in Rawai, was shot five times in the right arm, twice in the ribs and twice in the back in an attack in broad…
-
New director for Patong Hospital
PATONG, PHUKET: Dr Taweesak Netwong, the long-serving director of the government-run Patong Hospital, has been transferred to serve as the director of Takua Thung Hospital in Phang Nga, effective from May 19. Dr Taweesak will swap positions with Dr Phumin Silaphan, currently the director of the 30-bed government hospital in Takua Thung district, just over the Sarasin Bridge from Phuket.…
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.