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.
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Plea for fairness in “spa wars’
PHUKET CITY: The Chairman of the Phuket Spa Business Club (PSBC) has called for spas to work together to train staff rather than poaching employees from one another.Pakin Raktae-Ngam said that poaching was not a problem within the club. But club members, and other smaller spas that are not members, were having problems with spas belonging to large chains, which…
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Wisut to stand for Thai Rak Thai
PHUKET: Wisut Santikul, former Vice-President of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), will stand in next February’s general election as a Thai Rak Thai (TRT) candidate, he and the party confirmed yesterday.K. Wisut, who stood as an independent in the OrBorJor elections in March, but lost to Democrat-backed Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr, will contest District 2 – all of the island except…
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Tourism roadshow makes its mark
PHUKET: Almost 2,000 Malaysians have decided to celebrate the end of Hari Raya/Ramadan by visiting Phuket, after seeing a promotional roadshow organized by the local office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT).Around 30 TAT staff, members of the Phuket Tourism Association and industry representatives from Phang Nga and Krabi took the “Thailand – Southern Paradise Roadshow” on a lightning…
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Murder suspect released on bail
PATTAYA: Belgian Sam Van Treeck, 24, who is accused of the murder his ex-girlfriend has been released on bail by the Pattaya Provincial Court.Chompoonut “Jeab” Kobram was found stabbed to death at Van Treeck’s apartment on June 25. The accused denies the charge, claiming he came home after being out drinking and found the body. K. Jeab had been stabbed…
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Travelers snap up Tiger’s cheap seats
PHUKET: Singapore’s first budget airline, Tiger Airways, will begin flights this month between Singapore’s Changi Airport and Bangkok, Phuket and Haad Yai. Salinla Seehaphan, Manager of Tiger Airlines Thailand, told the Gazette that one third of the tickets for the first week of one-way flights are promotional-fare tickets priced at S$1 (25 baht), excluding fees, insurance and taxes. She said…
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Malls comply with earlier closing order
PHUKET CITY: Shopping centres and malls in Phuket have been told that they must restrict their opening hours to save energy.Panjit Pissawong, Chief of Phuket Provincial Commercial Office (PPCO) told the Gazette that the island’s shopping malls had to fall into line with the resolution made by the national cabinet on Wednesday. But, she added, the PPCO would monitor how…
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SorPorKor papers on 3,000 rai revoked
PHUKET : The Phuket Provincial Land Reform Office (PLRO) has revoked 283 SorPorKor 4-01 land documents covering more than 3,000 rai in Phuket, following a ruling by the SorPorKor Land Commission in Bangkok that the land was not being used by poor farmers as intendedTeerawut Tawornpatanavong, Chief of the PLRO, told the Gazette that he will now begin notifying the…
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Gov moves to reduce drowning toll
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura is planning to erect signs at island beaches warning swimmers how to react if they get caught in a dangerous current. The idea follows a recent report that drowning claimed the lives of 13 tourists in the past eight months.“I just met with a foreign expert in sea safety, and he told me that swimmers…
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Police welcome B34m for guns and training
PHUKET CITY: The Superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, has welcomed the allocation of 34 million baht from the central government for weapons and training for police from Phuket and surrounding areas. The money was promised by Prime Minister Thaksin on his recent whistle-stop tour of the South.Col Paween said, “PM Thaksin has granted the budget…
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Hotels cough up B44m in rooms tax
PHUKET: With three weeks to go until the end of the tax year, Phuket’s hotels have paid more than 44 million baht in tax on room revenue to the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor), President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr announced today. K. Anchalee said that 217 of the island’s hotels – considerably less than half – had paid. The OrBorJor would be…
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Cool response to Pian’s policy speech
PATONG: Policies outlined in a speech today by Patong Mayor Pian Keesin at his first municipality meeting received a cool reception from the dominant opposition party in the Patong Municipal Council.K. Pian listed a number of plans that he categorized as “priority projects” for Patong.These include: finishing the first stage of the waste water treatment plant and beginning its second…
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Court orders Boonkeng to quit land
PHUKET: The Phuket Appeal Court today overturned the judgment of the Provincial Court and ordered businessman Boonkeng Srisansuchart to vacate two plots of land, of 21 rai and 68 rai respectively, in the Panturat Hills next to the bypass road.K. Boonkeng is a major property developer and the owner of Srisuchart Transportation.The successful appeal was made by the Provincial Land…
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Phang Nga tourism boss slams pipeline
PHUKET CITY: The President of Phang Nga Tourist Association, Anupong Sa-Nguannam, yesterday joined the growing lobby against the government’s plan to construct an oil pipeline across Phang Nga, arguing that it threatens tourism and the local fishing industry.Speaking in Phuket yesterday, he said, “It may well bring money into Thailand in addition to the money brought in by tourism but…
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Tourism roadshow targets neighbors
PHUKET CITY: About 30 Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) staff, members of the Phuket Tourism Association and industry representatives from Phang Nga and Krabi are taking a “Thailand – Southern Paradise Roadshow” to Kuala Lumpur, Malacca, Johor Bahru and Singapore in a lightning tour that will end Saturday.The focus of the promotion is Phuket’s Vegetarian Festival, due to start on…
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ICEC can be anywhere – Gov
PHUKET CITY: Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has said he does not care where the controversial 2.5-billion-baht International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) is built, so long as it benefits Phuket.“We have wasted a lot of time on this already. The ICEC can be built anywhere that will create growth in Phuket. We won’t argue over it anymore,” he said.Previously, Gov…
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Saudi drowns at Laem Singh
KAMALA: Phuket’s rainy season surf has claimed another life, this time that of 27-year-old dentist Abdullah Alamri from Saudi Arabia.Pol Col Chawalit Niemwadee, Deputy Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that Mr Alamri drowned while trying to rescue a woman who was in difficulties off Laem Singh Beach on Tuesday, the same day that a French visitor died…
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Hike in city water rates likely
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City residents can expect rising water charges in the coming few years, following former mayor Phummisak Hongsyok’s decision to begin charging for water the municipality pumps from his tin mines. For years, K. Phummisak has provided the water free of charge, but he told the Gazette last month that he intends to start charging about 2 baht/cubic…
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Radical changes to Phuket government proposed
PHUKET CITY: How should Phuket be governed? That was the question asked yesterday at a National Institute of Development Administration (NIDA) seminar at the Phuket Merlin Hotel.The seminar covered three main areas: the disadvantages of the current system of government in the province; what could replace it, and how residents would be likely to react to changes.The President of Phuket…
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Murdered politician’s daughter to run for his seat
PHANG NGA: The daughter of murdered politician Nithas Siribenjakul has announced she is to stand as a candidate in the election to replace him on the Phang Nga Provincial Administration Organization (OrborJor) council, and she has urged the police to do more to find his killers.K. Nithas, who was chairman of the OrBorJor, was gunned down at Takuapa bus station…
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Shoppers mob Central Festival mall
PHUKET CITY: Around 10,000 people are estimated to have passed through the doors of the new Central Festival Phuket (CFP) shopping centre within the first few hours of them opening.As she took members of the press around the complex yesterday, Wanna Thamromdee, General Manager Corporate Communication for Central Retail Corporation Ltd, told the Gazette, “There must be about 10,000 people…
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Road accidents kill 13 in one month
PHUKET: Between June 20 and July 20, 13 people died in accidents on Phuket’s roads, according to the latest statistics from the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals.Of the 13 dead, 12 had been riding motorcycles, while one was in a car, Ampaipan Pawawattananusorn of the Phuket Provincial Health Office reported.In the same period, 963 people were hurt in crashes…
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Fourth drowning in five days
SURIN BEACH: A retired Frenchman planning to make his home on Phuket drowned at Surin Beach yesterday, just hours before the body of a Singaporean tourist who disappeared while swimming off Karon on Monday was found.The two incidents bring to four the number of people drowned in the waters around Phuket in just five days.Frenchman Patrick Michel Peters, 56, drowned…
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New police chief outlines plans for Phuket
PHUKET: The police general who is about to become Phuket’s new provincial commander has outlined how he plans to solve Phuket’s “many problems”.Pol Maj Gen Suvith Othong, who is currently provincial police commander for Krabi, is due to be transferred to Phuket on October 1.He will replace Pol Maj Gen Veerayuth Sittimalic, who took over the top spot in Phuket…
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One drowns, one disappears at Karon
KARON: A Singaporean tourist drowned off Karon Beach yesterday afternoon, while another is missing after disappearing under large waves. A third, in the same incident, was rescued from a similar fate.The three Singaporeans were all from a party of six who arrived in Phuket on Friday.A Tourist Rescue Center (TRC) worker stationed at Kata, who declined to be named, told…
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Pian back in Patong hot seat
PATONG: It’s official: more than two months since his apparent election as Mayor in the June 21 town council elections, Pian Keesin can finally take office after his victory was confirmed by the Central Election Commission.K. Pian, a former mayor of the town who lost office in a council coup in October 2001, will now face a daunting challenge in straightening…
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One more year for Udomsak
PHUKET: Udomsak Usawarangkura is to be Governor of Phuket for at least one more year.K. Udomsak’s name did not feature in a list of governors who are being promoted or moved on this year. As a result, he told a meeting of senior government officers this morning at Phuket Provincial Hall, “We will be working together for at least one…
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Policeman’s killer caught
TRANG: Police have arrested Sompong “Jorm” Prayongyam, one of the two men alleged to have been invloved in a vicious attack on Kathu police officer Pol Sgt Pramual Thongaugsorn that led to his death.Sgt Pramual, who was being treated at the Bangkok Phuket Hospital for severe head injuries, later died when his parents requested that he be removed from life…
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Pongtorn murder investigation shelved
PHUKET: The investigation into the assassination of land official Pongtorn Hiranyaburana, who was shot dead on the way to his home in Surat Thani in April last year, has officially been shelved, pending further evidence being presented to the police.K. Pongtorn was the Deputy Chief of the Phuket Provincial Land Office (PPLO) and was ordered to look into the issuing…
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Makro opens tomorrow
PHUKET: Wholesaling giant Makro opens its 27th Thai branch on Wichit Songkhram Rd tomorrow, raising the number of hypermarkets on the island to three.At least 1,000 guests are expected to attend the official opening, and the store has arranged three additional parking areas to accommodate them all. Makro Southern Area Manager Noppachai Meetam told the Gazette that sales of memberships,…
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Court orders Anchalee’s husband to quit land
PHUKET: The Phuket Appeal Court yesterday overturned a judgement of the Provincial Court and ordered Tossaporn Thepabutr to quit 98 rai of land in the Nakkerd Hills in Karon. K. Tossaporn is the husband of Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepabutr. The successful appeal was made by the Provincial Land Reform Office (PLRO), which argued that K. Tossaporn…
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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