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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New incinerator for Phuket “on hold’
PHUKET CITY: Proposed plans for a new incinerator on Phuket were put on hold this week despite Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana insisting that the island’s garbage problem is too big to wait.The proposal came after large quantities of fish were killed in waters polluted by leaked toxins from the island’s sole incinerator in Saphan Hin.The incinerator, which can burn…
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Students charged over roadside beating
RASSADA: Two second-year university students were arrested after allegedly assaulting a man at an accident scene on Soi Phaneang on July 2.When Phuket City police arrived at the scene, they found the two students, named by police as “Wit”, 22, and “Karine”, 23, both from Pattani province, beating 30-year-old Jaroonsak Khongjit, an employee of Phuket Adventure company.Pol Capt Atthapol Wannasaengthong…
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Man surrenders over road rage shootings
PHUKET CITY: After a four-day manhunt, a Patong man wanted in connection with the shooting murder of two youths in front of Kaset Market, the fresh market near Robinson department store, turned himself in to police early yesterday morning.The suspect, 33-year-old building contractor Sukkasem Charoenrat, has denied the charges.Police say they have testimonies confirming that Sukkasem was pulling his Honda Phantom…
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Woman’s remains identified
THALANG: Police believe they have identified the woman whose remains were found in a wooded area in Tambon Thepkrasattri last Wednesday evening.A cousin of Anutch Maneekwan has come forward, saying that K. Anutch, 40, had not been seen since June 27.The cousin reported that K. Anutch was living in a rented room near Super Cheap, where she worked.“On June 27 she…
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German to be deported over no work permit
PHUKET CITY: German architect Frank Witzel is awaiting deportation following his arrest on June 22 by Immigration officials. He had been arrested in February as well, for working without a work permit while on a building site in Patong, and for performing work prohibited to foreigners. Witzel had pleaded guilty to the charges in court in February. He was fined 1,000 baht and handed a one-month…
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Gambling a sure bet in Phuket
PHUKET: Gambling has topped the latest crime statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police with 205 arrests made from June 1 to June 30.There were 125 people arrested in drug-related cases, of which 61 involved ya bah (methamphetamine): five for selling, 30 for possession with intent to sell, 14 for possession and 12 for use. A total of 7,821 pills were…
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TTVI staff pay delayed
PHANG NGA (Kom Chad Luek, Gazette): Thailand Tsunami Victims Identification (TTVI) officers working at Bang Maruan cemetery, where 400 bodies remain unidentified, worked without pay for two months because of red tape that prohibited the new TTVI boss from authorizing their salaries. The problems began after former TTVI chief Pol Col Khemmarin Hassiri was transferred to an inactive post in…
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Weerapoj and Suwat win Patong by-election
PATONG: Weerapoj Iamsup of the Sor Tor Kaow Mai Party and Suwat Somnam of the Patong Gao-na Party were elected to Patong Municipal Council in the resort town by-election on Saturday.Boonsong Nawarak, acting chief administrative officer at Patong Municipality, told the Gazette that K. Weerapoj drew 898 votes, K. Suwat 646 votes, Somkiat Kuru 637 votes, Wig Tonghom 587 votes,…
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Phuket wins To Be Number One prizes
PHUKET: Phuket province was honored with two prizes in this year’s To Be Number One competition, held at Impact Muang Thong Thani in Nontaburi on June 25: one for committed support of the competition and another for dedicated participation.The competition recognizes community projects put forward to tackle drug abuse by local youths.Phuket, Yasotorn and Khon Kaen provinces were each awarded…
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Police nab Patong ya bah dealer
PATONG: Phuket City Police seized more than 220 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and arrested two men and one woman in a series of drugs raids on Thursday.Pol Maj Chalermchai Hernsawat posed as a buyer and arranged to buy ya bah pills from Apiwat “Tee” Sumetheentikul at Sainamyen Soi 1 at 11:30 am.At the rendezvous, police found Apiwat in possession of…
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Dead dolphin washes ashore at Kamala
KAMALA: A dead dolphin two meters long and weighing about 40 kilograms was found on Kamala Beach yesterday.Kanjana Adulyankosol, a biologist at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC), told the Gazette that the dolphin had been dead for about five days.However, the dolphin’s sex and exact species could not be determined due to decomposition of the carcass, she added.The cause…
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Skeleton found in Thalang
THALANG: Police are investigating the identity of woman’s skeleton found in woods in Tambon Thepkrasattri on Wednesday evening.Col Chinnarat Rittakananond, superintendent of Thalang Police Station, told the Gazette that the woman was about 40 years old and had been dead for about one month.The skeleton, found near Soi Kok Mu in Moo 1, was dressed in a dark blue T-shirt…
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Nanai bars face by-election alcohol ban
PATONG: Businesses on Nanai Rd and parts of Sainamyen Rd and Phisit Gorani Rd will be banned from selling alcohol from 6 pm tomorrow night ahead of the Patong Municipality by-election on Saturday.A notice issued by Kathu Police Station warns that the sale of alcohol will be prohibited in Patong Municipality Voting District 2 from Friday 6 pm until midnight…
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Karon bank robber evades police
KARON: Chalong police, still stumped after a farang bank robber made off with 420,000 baht last week, are appealing to owners of motorcycle rental companies in Karon to come forward with information of suspicious individuals who rented black, automatic motorcycles between June 26 and 28.The perpetrator may have used a Suzuki Step, a Yamaha Mio or Nouvo, or a Honda…
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Resident population continues to register
PHUKET: The island’s official population rose by 2,976 to 321,514 people between May 21 and June 20.The rise is being attributed to Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit’s campaign, initiated late last year, to increase the number of Thai citizens in the province whose names appear on household registration forms.Muang District saw the biggest jump with 1,622 new registrations. There were also…
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Free seminar on Phuket property issues
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Real Estate Club (PREC) and Delice Thai Co Ltd will host a forum titled “Problems and Solutions in the Phuket Real Estate Market” on July 14.Speakers will include Thawan Thimasarn, director of the Subdivision of the Bureau of Standard Land Document Issuance; PREC President Phummisak Hongsyok; Eric Tomlin, secretary to the Association of Phuket Property Agents;…
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Chalong bomber investigation downgraded
CHALONG: The investigation into bombings that injured two Burmese workers and severely damaged three houses in Chalong on November 28 last year has been downgraded, Chalong Police Superintendent Col Chalit Kaewyarat has said.The announcement came during the Security Committee Provincial Monthly Meeting on Friday, when Col Chalit said that nearly eight months after the bombing there was still no strong…
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Mixed messages from tsunami tests
PHUKET CITY: Mock tsunami evacuations at Baan Laem Tukkae and Saphan Hin were staged on Friday and Saturday, but with voice announcements that could not be understood and firetruck sirens instead of the tsunami warning towers alarms.However, government officials have insisted that the “quiet” testing was intentional to avoid panic.The tests, on Friday in Baan Laem Tukkae and Saturday at…
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Phuket to have biggest aquarium in Southeast Asia
BANGKOK (The Nation): Ripley Entertainment, operator of Ripley’s Believe It or Not Museum, plans to build and open a 2.1-billion-baht aquarium in Phuket within three years.The firm will enter into a joint venture with Thailand-based conglomerate Minor International Plc, the franchisee of the Ripley museum in Pattaya.The aquarium project will be Ripley’s second property in Thailand and its first aquarium…
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Beached dolphins have “slim’ chances of recovery
PHUKET: Two gravely ill dolphins are being treated at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) after washing ashore in separate incidents – the first at Karon Beach yesterday and the second in Phang Nga’s Tai Muang District this morning.PMBC biologist Kongkiat Kittiwattawong told the Gazette that the first, a 40-kilogram female spinner dolphin (S. longirostris), washed ashore at Karon Beach about…
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“Farang’ robs Karon bank
KARON: Despite an intensive manhunt, police have yet to apprehend the Caucasian man who held up the Siam Commercial Bank branch on Patak Rd in Karon late yesterday afternoon, getting away with 420,000 baht in cash.At the monthly Phuket Provincial Security Committee meeting held at the ST Hotel in Phuket City this morning, Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Decha…
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Krabi Airline to debut November 1
BANGKOK (The Nation): Soon to be Thailand’s newest carrier, Krabi Airlines is now being set up and plans to begin flight service to international destinations starting on November 1, just in time for the start of the 2007-2008 high season.Civil Aviation Department Director General Chaisak Angkasuwan said the airline, with four investors, including former Thai Airways International employee Kosol Vongsrisart,…
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Five major hotels to be re-branded
PHUKET: Three Phuket hotels will be renamed under the Central Group’s re-branding of its hotel and resort business, while another two will be taken over by the Marriott chain of hotels.Central Karon Village, Central Karon Beach Resort and Central Kata Resort will be renamed Centara Villas, Centara Karon Resort and Centara Kata Resort, respectively.Centara, the Central Group’s new hotel brand,…
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Night Station ordered closed
PATONG: Night Station discotheque, in Soi Sukhumvit on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd, has been ordered closed for 60 days for late trading and allowing minors entry to the club.Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit signed the order Thursday, and the closure went into effect last night. The club is ordered to remain closed until August 27.Kathu District Chief Khantee Silapa told the…
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Tsunami evacuation drills in Rassada, Phuket City
PHUKET CITY: The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM-Phuket) will hold two planned tsunami evacuation drills over the next two days. The first will be at Laem Tokkae tomorrow morning and the second at Saphan Hin and parts of Rassada on Saturday morning.DDPM-Phuket Chief Aroon Kerdsom said the tests will be followed on July 25 by a regional testing…
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Phuket art gallery gutted by fire
PHUKET CITY: Firefighters were called to Phang Nga Rd this morning after flames engulfed the 111 Phuket Art Gallery building, destroying up to 50 paintings on sale at prices ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 baht each.A local resident alerted police and fire officers around 11:30 am after seeing smoke rising from the building, located behind the Sinthavee Hotel. Five fire…
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Rotting corpse found in Thalang
THALANG: Police made a grim discovery on Monday morning, when they found the badly decomposed body of an unidentified man lying in a ditch.A local fisherman alerted police of a sickening odor at Tambon Srisoontorn Village 1, where the body was discovered by Pol Lt Col Kritthana Putluecha and his team around 8:30 am.The victim, who suffered a fractured skull…
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Huge kratom bust in Thalang
THALANG: Police seized about 2,000 kilograms of kratom leaves and cut down kratom trees up to 15 meters tall at a house in Thalang last Thursday.In what is believed to be the biggest kratom bust in the district, officers raided the house in Tambon Sri Soontorn after obtaining a search warrant, applied for after an investigation led to a tip-off.Lt…
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Woman dies in Kata hit-and-run
KATA: Lamphun Kotpanna, 27, from Sakhon Nakhon, died last night after her motorbike was hit by a pickup truck on the steep hill near the Marina Phuket Resort.Sayan Thammapan, of the Phuket Ruamjai Rescue Foundation, told the Gazette, “She was riding her blue Honda Sonic motorbike on the hill in front of Marina Cottage Hotel in Kata, which has a…
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Police bust gang of motorbike thieves
PHUKET CITY: Police have busted a gang of motorbike thieves, including their leader, who have allegedly stolen about 50 motorbikes over the past four months.Col Nos Svettalekha, superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette, “The leader of the gang is Krittanai ‘Max’ Buapeng, 36, from Krabi. We have followed him for about nearly four months.” Krittanai was arrested…
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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