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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Home stay project aims to provide tsunami relief
PHUKET: The Employer’s Confederation of Thailand (ECOT) will launch a “home stay” pilot project this month in a bid to help tsunami sufferers get long-term income. “The project will be launched on Koh Lone and at Cape Panwa, Ao Makham, Khao Khat and Baan Bo Rae. The idea is that local people will welcome foreigners into their homes so the…
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Free surgery offered at Patong Hospital
PATONG: Volunteer surgeons and nurses from the US are coming to Patong Hospital to offer a range of surgical procedures free of charge from February 11 to February 15 next year. The medical team will be available to treat ailments such as harelips, cleft palates, hernias, hemorrhoids, gynecological problems and inflamed tonsils. This will be the second time Patong Hospital…
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King’s Cup sees fast racing and collisions
PHUKET: Strong winds gusting up to 20 knots sent boats flying across the water from Kata out to Koh Racha and back in today’s racing in the King’s Cup Regatta.The hefty gusts saw two collisions, happily with no injuries. The lovely 100-year-old Eveline was retired after her stern was damaged when was she clipped by Lady M, a 104-foot superyacht.Platu…
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Cigarette tax goes up
PHUKET: A proposal by the Excise Department to increase cigarette tax from 75% to 79% of the factory price was approved by the Cabinet yesterday and came into effect today.Thai brand cigarette prices rose by 5 or 6 baht a pack, while foreign brands rose by 7 or 8 baht. Under Thai law, tax on cigarettes may not exceed 80%…
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Eight venues get “white’ approval
PHUKET: Eight businesses in Phuket have received “white entertainment venue” certificates, indicating that they are scrupulous about following the law.The eight are The Green Man Pub in Chalong; Zanzibar at the Royal Phuket City Hotel and the Walk In Pub in Phuket City; Phuket Bar, Baan Lai Mai and Crocodile Discotheque in Patong; and Surin Beer Garden and Koy Karaoke…
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Still time to register mobile phones
PHUKET: The deadline for registration of mobile phones using prepaid cards is officially over, but the Minister of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Sora-at Klinprathum, has announced on the Ministry’s website that phone users may still register at network service centers, by bringing their phones and ID card or passport with them.Some 80% of Thailand’s 400,000 prepaid SIM card users…
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Mystery surrounds death of Yasothorn woman
RASSADA: Police are investigating the violent death of a woman from Yasothorn Province who was found with her throat slashed on the morning of December 4. Pol Lt Col Amponwat Sangrueng of the Phuket City Police identified the victim as Nittaya Weruwanarak, 30, from Tambon Phai, Saimoon District, Yasothorn. Her body was found at about 6:15 am at an unnumbered…
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Mandrake takes early lead in King’s Cup
KATA: Nick Burns and Fred Kinmonth’s Mandrake from Hong Kong won the first race in the Racing Class in this year’s King’s Cup Regatta with a provisional corrected lead of 28 minutes ahead of Ray Roberts’s Drumstick.Bill Bremner’s Foxy Lady finished third in the class with a corrected time of 5 hrs 44 min 56 s, 1 min 58 sec in…
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Gov cool to idea of twinning with Denpasar
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura was noncommittal about a proposal by the Indonesian Ambassador to Thailand that Phuket City and the Balinese capital of Denpasar become “sister cities”, saying he would first have to raise the idea with local tourism industry associations.The idea of twinning the two cities was proposed by Indonesian Ambassador Ibrahim Yusuf during a December 2 courtesy call…
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Arcadia-Hilton split denied
KARON: A representative of the owners of the Hilton Phuket Arcadia Resort & Spa has denied widespread rumors that the Hilton brand will be dumped next year.Hilton International took over management of the Phuket Arcadia Beach Resort on October 1 last year, and the property was rebranded.The rumors posited that the Arcadia owners were unsatisfied with Hilton’s performance, and planned to take…
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Gambling still top of crime stats
PHUKET: According to figures released by the Phuket Provincial Police, gambling once again topped the list of criminal offenses in November, with 217 people arrested. Forty-two cases involved the sale of underground lottery tickets.Eighty four people were arrested for the illegal possession or use of controlled substances, with precisely 2,189½ ya bah (methamphetamine) tablets seized. Fifteen people were arrested for…
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Immigration launches hospital visa service
PHUKET: The Phuket Immigration Office (PIO) has launched a new free visa extension service for foreigners in hospital.Pol Capt Krissarat Nusen of Phuket Immigration Office told the Gazette that the new service, launched a few days ago, covers only genuine inpatients, who must get the hospital to contact the PIO at least one day in advance of the expiry of…
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Patong cracks down on street touts
PATONG: Municipal officials will patrol the streets of Patong day and night this high season in a crackdown on touts and street vendors harassing tourists, Patong Deputy Mayor Chairat Sukbal has announced.“We need to ensure that [touts] do not distribute leaflets or grab tourists’ hands to try to persuade them to buy from their shops. We will arrest them for…
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World Vision denies “aid for souls’ reports
PHUKET: Tim Costello, Chief Executive Officer of Christian aid group World Vision Australia, has rejected reports that the group has used tsunami donations and aid in an attempt to entice Thais to convert to Christianity.World Vision has helped more than 50,000 tsunami-affected people, through food distribution and providing much-needed items including 300 boats, fishing gear for 2,449 families, and 4,848…
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Property in the spotlight at forum
PHUKET: The Provincial Land Office and the Phuket Real Estate Club (PREC) will jointly organize a Phuket International Property Forum on December 17 as part of tsunami anniversary activities – and to assure potential buyers that the property market remains as buoyant as ever. PREC President Phummisak Hongsyok, who will serve as the seminar’s moderator, told the Gazette, which is…
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School closed after “pupils possessed by spirits’
THALANG: The Director of Cherng Talay Wittayakom secondary school sent students home for three days from Monday, following an apparent case of mass hysteria the previous Friday.On that afternoon, a number of students were supposedly possessed by a spirit after a backhoe being used as part of a renovation project accidentally damaged an old Chinese shrine behind the school.According to…
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Suwat raps warning demo delay
PATONG: Deputy Prime Minister Suwat Liptapanlop yesterday rapped the Nonthaburi-based National Disaster Warning Center (NDWC) for a mix-up that resulted in a delay in a demonstration of tsunami sirens in Patong.The Deputy PM, who was in Phuket to check on preparations for the December 26 tsunami anniversary, had asked for the demonstration.“We are checking everything, especially the warning system [in…
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2 die, 4 hurt in Patong landslides
PHUKET: Landslides caused by torrential rains claimed two lives in Patong last night and injured four others, according to Patong Hospital. The downpour also caused extensive flooding in Phuket City and many other parts of the island.Padungkiat Utoksenee, Deputy Director of Patong Hospital, said that while flooding in Patong often resulted in accidents, last night was the first time people…
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Aussie teen latest jet-ski casualty
PATONG: An Australian teenager was critically injured on Wednesday afternoon when his rented jet-ski was in collision with another jet-ski operated by a friend.Both men were rushed to Patong Hospital after the crash, which happened at the south end of the beach at about 4 pm.Pol Maj Sophon Borrirak of Kathu Police said 19-year-old Antonio Scognamigli, was rushed unconscious to…
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Starwood buys Le Meridien
WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide has announced that it has completed its acquisition of the Le Meridien brand and the related franchises and management contracts.It has paid about US$225 million (9 billion baht) for control of the 130 hotels and resorts worldwide – including Le Meridien’s two properties in Phuket, one in Khao Lak and one…
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Man found dead in rubber plantation
KATHU: The badly decomposed body of a man was found yesterday morning in a Kathu rubber plantation.Pol Lt Prathung Pholmana, Duty Officer of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that he received a phone call from locals saying that they had discovered a male corpse in the Tung Tong area near Patong Hill.Police found the body under a tree but…
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Island has water to last until mid-March
PHUKET: Despite almost daily rain over the past few months, Phuket’s principal water supply source is still only about half full.With the rainy season drawing to a close, Isara Anukul, Chief of the Water Allocation Division of the Phuket Irrigation Office (PIO), told the Gazette yesterday that the Bang Wad Reservoir in Kathu currently has 3.28 million cubic meters in…
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Vice-Governor’s home burgled
PHUKET CITY: Police have few leads in their investigation of the burglary on Tuesday of Phuket Vice-Governor Niran Kalayanamit’s official residence on Kamnan Rd.Phuket City Police Superintendent Pol Col Nos Avettalekha today confirmed to the Gazette that K. Niran’s house had been broken into while the island’s senior Vice-Governor was in Bangkok attending a meeting on preparations for next month’s…
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Last minute rush of entries for memorial contest
BANGKOK: The final week for registration of competitors for the Tsunami Memorial Design Competition has seen a flood of new entries.By November 15, the deadline for registration, 679 contestants from 49 countries had signed up for the competition, a leap of 130 from the previous week.The US topped the list with 151 registrants, followed by Thailand (134), Japan (43), Germany…
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PM’s Office announces ‘Andaman Grand Sale’
PHUKET CITY: In order to aid in the region’s post-tsunami economic recovery, the government has announced a special “Andaman Grand Sale” to take place in Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi from December 27, 2005 to January 28, 2006. Chaiyapak Siriwat, Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister, announced the campaign at a press conference at the Royal Phuket City Hotel late…
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Tennis tournament axed: lack of funds
PHUKET: A one-day international women’s tennis tournament, set to feature such tennis superstars as Serena Williams and Lindsay Davenport playing at the Saphan Hin municipal tennis courts on New Year’s Day, has been canceled due to lack of funding. Chaiyapak Siriwat, Vice-President of the National Olympic Committee of Thailand, made the announcement at a press conference on upcoming tsunami anniversary…
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Disgraced tycoon Boonkeng shot in Bangkok
BANGKOK (Phuket Gazette/Kom Chad Luek): Disgraced businessman Boonkeng Srisansuchart, evicted in 2004 from land in the Panturat Hills along the bypass road, was wounded in a gun attack in Bangkok on Saturday morning.An associate of his, Nimit Pokaphol, a former civil servant in the Phuket Provincial Land Office (PPLO), was killed in the attack by a round from a .22…
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Indonesian property giant buys 123 rai at Bang Tao
BANG TAO: A 123-rai plot of land next to the beach at the northern end of Bang Tao Bay has been sold by Hongkong & Shanghai Hotels (HSH) to Indonesian property giant PT Jakarta Setiabudi Internasional Tbk (JSI).JSI bought the land through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Cayman Islands-based Durham Holdings, for just under 865 million baht – about 7 million baht…
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Alcohol sale rules tightened
PHUKET: The hours when alcohol may be sold in shops and supermarkets are to be shortened with effect from January 1, 2006, the Phuket Provincial Excise Office has announced, after receiving orders from Minister of Finance Thanong Bidaya.From New Year’s Day, sales of alcohol in retail outlets will be allowed only between 11 am and 2 pm, and between 5…
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Monorail proposal to be aired
PHUKET: A proposal to build a passenger monorail system in Phuket will undergo its first public hearing in February. The aim of the hearing is to allow discussion between those likely to be affected by the project and the consultancies responsible for the planning and routing of the monorail.The proposed system would provide a route between the airport and 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.
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