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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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,...
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Man denies chopping off thumb to grab insurance
PHUKET (Gazette, The Nation): Kathu apartment owner Pichet Porntantipong, who stands accused of chopping off his thumb to collect 16 million baht in insurance, on May 21 insisted he suffered a mishap in the kitchen and welcomed a police investigation.“I’ve got nothing to hide…I’m ready for the police to investigate the facts,” he said.He declined, however, to go into the…
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Film fest coming to Jungceylon
PATONG: The first-ever Phuket Film Festival will be held from September 30 to October 6 to mark the opening of the SF Cinema, due to open soon at Jungceylon Shopping Center in Patong. The state-run Andaman News service this morning reported the Tourism Authority of Thailand as saying it hopes the festival will become an annual event.The film festival will…
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High tides slam Phuket’s northern beaches
PHUKET: Following Wednesday’s earthquake felt across much of the country, unusually high tides yesterday created fear of another tsunami among some residents of west coast beaches. Authorities said the waves, which damaged a number of seaside restaurants in Thalang District, were unrelated to seismic activity and were just the result of normal tidal conditions and strong monsoon winds.The waves damaged…
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Mobile diabetes clinic to tour Phuket
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO) is organizing a year-long mobile diabetes test clinic aimed at testing 50,000 people who fall into high-risk categories for the disease.Reporting to Phuket Vice-Governor Smith Palawatvichai at the “Governor Meets the Media” event at Phuket Provincial Hall on the morning of May 15, PPHO Chief Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong said the outreach project…
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OrBorJor launches low season lifeguard training
PHUKET: Phuket’s hazardous low-season beaches will be guarded by 100 lifeguards who are being trained at Phuket Community College this week.The lifeguards are being trained as part of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) lifeguard project. The training program was developed with the help of the Royal Thai Navy Third Naval Command.The project aims to reduce the number of drownings…
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Police urge gold shops to tighten security
PHUKET CITY: Phuket police have requested local gold shops tighten security and limit their trading hours to help police better patrol the shops. The call follows a reported spike in the number of gold shop robberies nationwide.Police met more than 50 local gold shop owners at Phuket City Police Station yesterday to discuss the request along with other possible ways…
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PM downgrades tourism projects in South
KRABI (The Nation): Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont has downgraded some major tourism projects in the South, including the reopening of some small airports, and the construction of a convention center in Phuket. The announcement came at a meeting between PM Surayud and the governors of the six Andaman provinces held in Krabi yesterday.The premier is concentrating more on a tsunami-warning…
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Cyclone prompts local weather warning
PHUKET: The Southern Meteorological Center (West Coast) issued a regional weather warning for Southern West Thailand at 4 pm today after tracking a Tropical Cyclone “01B” in the Bay of Bengal. The cyclone has winds of up 75kmh and has been causing unusually rainy conditions along the Andaman Coast over the past few days. At 1 pm today the depression…
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Peruvian drug “mules’ busted at airport
PHUKET: Two Peruvians were arrested at Phuket International Airport on Tuesday while attempting to smuggle 1.6 kilograms of internally concealed cocaine into the country. Police said that the drugs had a street value of about 4 million baht. Phuket Airport Immigration Office Superintendent Pol Col Surasak Atthapanyawanich told the Gazette that the arrests followed a tip off from Phuket-based Narcotics Suppression…
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Gazette appoints new Managing Director
PHUKET: Oranee ‘Ann’ Pienprasertkul has been elected Managing Director of the Phuket Gazette Co Ltd, with responsibility for all operating divisions and products of the company.Now in her eighth year with the Gazette, K. Oranee joined as an advertising sales person. She became marketing manager in 2002 and was appointed General Manager in 2005.The Bangkok native is a graduate of…
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Czech Republic names Honorary Consul for Phuket
PHUKET CITY: Anurak Tansiriroj, Managing Director of Phuket International Hospital, has been appointed Honorary Consul for Phuket for the Czech Republic.K. Anurak today met Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit and invited him to the official opening of the Honorary Consulate of the Czech Republic in Phuket, to be opened by the Czech Ambassador to Thailand Ivan Hotek at The Metropole hotel…
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File work permit renewals early, says new PPEO Chief
PHUKET: The new Chief of the Phuket Provincial Employment Office (PPEO) has called for holders of work permits to apply for renewals at least three working days before their current permit expires.Nataya Anudit, who took over as PPEO chief two weeks ago, told the Gazette that the reminder aims to reduce the number of foreigners whose work permits needlessly expire…
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Diver airlifted from Similans after “fish’ attack
PHUKET: Russian tourist Rustem Teregulov, 39, was airlifted by Royal Thai Navy helicopter from the Similan Islands to Phuket yesterday after he was bitten by a fish – or possibly a moray eel – while diving in the world-renowned national park. Mr Teregulov today told the Gazette that he was diving off one of the smaller islands about 1:30 pm…
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Police bust Phuket ya bah connection
PHUKET: Police have arrested three men and three women, and confiscated 5,830 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills imported from Laos, in two separate but related raids.On Tuesday evening, police arrested Dej “Reem” Suebsod, 42, from Phuket, after he sold a bag containing about 30 ya bah pills to an undercover officer during a sting operation in front of Moo Baan Iravadee…
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Phuket Immigration nab wanted Korean
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Immigration Police yesterday arrested a Korean hiding in self-exile in Trang’s Kantang District. The man is accused of defrauding a construction company of US$343,000 (11.3 million baht) in his native South Korea.At Phuket Immigration Office yesterday afternoon, Acting Commissioner of the Immigration Bureau Pol Lt Gen Boonraung Ponpanich explained that Immigration officers had, via Interpol, received a…
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53 repossessed vehicles up for auction
PHUKET CITY: Kiatnakin Bank will publicly auction 53 repossessed vehicles on May 19 at the Yee Teng Complex on Bangkok Rd.Kiatnakin Bank Chief of Operations Thanyaporn Suwanyayee told the Gazette that this is the second time that the Phuket branch has held such an auction. The first was in December last year.The vehicles will be available for inspection at the…
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Small retailers call for more government support
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Chamber of Commerce (PCC) has called for the central government to do more to help small retailers cope with the on-going expansion of superstores and convenience store chains on the island – including having the stores pay more in local taxes. PCC President Eam Thavornwongwongse on Friday led a small delegation of PCC representatives at a…
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Norwegian’s home burgled, B600,000 missing
PATONG: A burglar made off with 600,000 baht in cash and valuables stashed in a safe that he stole from the home of a Norwegian man living on Soi Maneesri.The victim, Oystein Karlsen, 38, told the Gazette the burglar broke into his hillside home in Soi Maneesri, located off Petchakut Rd, opposite the entrance to Simon Cabaret, between 3 am and…
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Swiss man found dead in hotel room
KARON: A housekeeper in Karon discovered the body of a 64-year-old Swiss man, the victim of apparent heart failure, last Thursday.The man, identified by police as Beat Fritz Meier, was staying at the Marina Cottage bungalow resort.In her report to the police, a resort housekeeper said she found him naked under a sheet.Lt Col Chana Sutthimas, Inspector at Chalong Police…
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Boy drowns at Bang Wad
KATHU: A 12-year-old boy drowned in a canal near Bang Wad Dam after swimming there with five friends yesterday afternoon.Pol Sub Lt Pathaphi Srichai of Tung Tong Police Station told the Gazette, “Yesterday afternoon Songwut Chanmee and five friends went to swim in the klong, which is five meters deep.”Sub Lt Pathaphi explained that after swimming, Songwut’s friends went home,…
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Teen killed by friend in “mistake’ shooting
PHUKET CITY: Police have charged a 20-year-old man for the murder of his friend after he allegedly shot his friend in the back – accidentally – while the pair were riding through Saphan Hin on a motorbike early Thursday morning.Phuket City Police Inspector for Investigation Lt Col Somkid Boonrat told the Gazette that the shooting took place near a stoplight near the Provincial…
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Phuket beaches closed due to bad weather
PHUKET (Gazette, The Nation): Winds gusting up to 35 kilometers an hour and waves of up to two meters in height crashing along Phuket’s west coast forced lifeguards to close nearly all of Phuket’s main beaches today.Siripong Yukhonthorn, Deputy President of the Andaman Life Saving Club and a senior figure in the provincial government’s Life Guard project, told the Gazette,…
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Phuket OrBorTor to go to the polls
PHUKET: The four-year terms of 11 Tambon Administration Organizations (OrBorTor) in Phuket will end on August 29. Elections for new OrBorTor councilors and Presidents must be held within 45 days of dissolution.The 11 tambon are Wichit, Rawai, Chalong, Rassada, Koh Kaew; Kamala, Mai Khao, Srisoonthorn, Cherng Talay, Sakoo and Thepkrasattri.The Phuket Election Commission (PEC) has announced that the elections are…
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Local venues make Conde Nast “hot list’
PHUKET: Three local hotels and two spas have been listed on Conde Nast Traveler’s 2007 “Hot List”. The list is compiled by the prestigious international travel magazine to give “an inside look at the latest scene stealing hotels, restaurants, bars and spas”.The spa hot list, rated by undercover reporters, listed Lemongrass House in Cherng Talay as “laid back and funky”,…
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Khun Woody salutes Patong’s finest
PATONG: Police early yesterday morning arrested a burglar minutes after computer guru and Gazette columnist Woody Leonhard had chased the robber out of his home with a butcher’s knife.K. Woody told the Gazette, “The burglar first tried to come into my townhouse through the sliding glass door in the top floor bedroom. Apparently he saw my 82-year-old father sleeping, so…
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Storm warning issued
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department this morning issued a regional weather warning for Southern Thailand after tracking a tropical depression that has been causing unusually rainy conditions in the region over the past few days. At 10 am this morning the depression was centered about 300 kilometers west of Chumphon. The system, with maximum wind gusts of about 55kmh, was…
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Suniran re-elected Mayor of Cherng Talay
CHERNG TALAY: Suniran Rachtapruek was re-elected mayor of Cherng Talay in the April 28 election, beating one challenger to retain the role. Voters also chose 12 new administrative members, six from each electorate. Of the 2,546 registered voters in Cherng Talay, 1,983 went to the poll, a 78% turnout. Mayor Suniran was re-elected with 1,300 votes, while the challenger, Manit…
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Fifth time unlucky for furniture thief
CHALONG: A man was placed under citizens arrest by the owner of a furniture shop after he was caught stealing three large wooden clocks at 3:45 am on April 25. It was the fifth time within a month that the man had broken into Watthana Wood Furniture on Chao Fa East Rd.Lt Col Chokchai Sutthimek, an Inspector at Chalong Police…
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Kathu Chief moves to close Safari Pub permanently
PATONG: Kathu District Chief Khantee Silapa will ask Phuket Governor Niran Kalayanamit to order the permanent closure of Safari Pub as the venue has been caught repeatedly trading after hours, most recently early Friday morning.Chief Khantee told the Gazette, “I have ordered the police to watch the Safari Pub closely and to not allow it to reopen. This will be…
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Public Prosecutor defers Valentino land charges
BANGKOK (Kom Chad Luek, The Nation): Prosecutors in the land encroachment case against Malaysian Tan Teik Hai, better known as “Valentino”, and his associates have delayed bringing the trial to court as they are still waiting for the Department of Special Investigations (DSI) to submit more evidence.The first Public Prosecutor’s hearing of the case was held yesterday morning at 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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