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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Yanui remains confirmed as missing dive instructor
RAWAI: Autopsy results have confirmed that the skeletal remains recovered at Yanui beach on June 10 are those of missing Dutch dive instructor David Wiewel, who disappeared on March 26 after leaving his Kata home to take a walk. Supatra Wiewel, wife of the deceased, told the Gazette that the bones had been cremated in Phuket after the Police Department’s…
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Duo arrested for snatching
PHUKET CITY: Two young men were arrested yesterday on charges of snatching and receiving stolen property. Police said that Sampan “Ab” Pantunit, 18, and Prakij “Tum” Nariwandee, 20, confessed to snatching a variety of items from their victims but denied receiving stolen goods. Also arrested was the unnamed owner of the SR mobile phone shop on Damrong Rd, who was…
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Investigators check 400 rai of land
Phuket City: Police from Bangkok and Phuket, and officials from the Land Development Department (LDD) today examined 14 plots of land in the Punturat Hills, next to the bypass road, that are suspected of having illegal land documents.The 14 plots, totalling about 400 rai, purportedly belong to members of the Srisansuchart family and their associates. The papers name the owners…
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Massive operation to suppress gang violence
PHUKET CITY: Police arrested 100 youngsters at the weekend in a citywide crackdown on teenage gang violence and law-breaking. More than 200 officers from the Phuket City police and Bangkok-based Patrol and Special Operations Division set up some 20 checkpoints around the city, Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette. “We have received complaints…
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Seven hotels get official star ratings
PHUKET: Seven Phuket hotels have been assigned star ratings under a new classification system set up jointly by the Thai Hotels Association (THA), the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Association of Thai Travel Agents (ATTA). The announcement was made by the new certifying body, the zippily-named Foundation of Standards and Human Resource Development in the Service and Tourism Industry,…
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Malaysians arrested for credit card fraud
PHUKET CITY: Police arrested two Malaysians at the Thavorn Grand Plaza Hotel on Thursday for using fake credit cards and charge cards. Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket City Police Station, explained that the American Express office in Bangkok had notified police in Phuket that the men were known to be on the island and that they were wanted…
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Rawai Beach vendors evicted
RAWAI: Provincial officials today evicted some 20 stall owners from the Rawai beachfront in a swift conclusion to a long-drawn-out battle to clean up the view. Using an excavator, the eviction crew, led by Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura, took a matter of hours to clear the illegal shops, in stark contrast with almost two years of promises by the Rawai Tambon…
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Finally, Phuket City has a mayor
PHUKET CITY: Nearly three months after the Phuket City Municipality elections, Somjai Suwannasuppana of the Khon Noom (Young Turks) Party today received official confirmation that she is Phuket City’s first directly-elected mayor. In the April 4 election, K. Somjai polled 11,986 votes, defeating Prawat Suwannadithakul, of the Chao Baan Sarng San (Creative) Party, by a scant 1,406 votes. Phuket City…
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Police kill “50-hit’ assassin in shoot-out
TRANG: The fugitive ex-policeman wanted in connection with the murders of Prasert and Thavorn Trairat, the parents of Thepkrasattri Mayor Prasong Trairat, was killed by police in Trang early this morning after a high-speed chase during which a grenade was thrown, followed by a 12-hour manhunt in a forest and a final gun battle. Police, who have been searching for…
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Tourism industry to protest oil pipeline plan
PHUKET: Vice-Governor Vinai Buapradit will represent Phuket at what promises to be a heated meeting on Friday with Ministry of Energy (MoE) officials to discuss a proposed oil pipeline from Tab Lamu in Phnag Nga to Nakhon Sri Thammarat. The proposed 240-kilometer pipeline, known as the Strategic Energy Landbridge, is intended to link oil production sources in the Middle East…
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Friends mourn murdered dive master
PHUKET: Members of the dive community in Kata and friends of dive master Chompoonut “Jeab” Kobram, 23, are mourning her loss after she was found stabbed to death in a Pattaya apartment on Friday. Police in Bang Lamung District, Pattaya, have arrested and charged Sam Van Treeck, a 24-year-old Belgian, with her murder. K. Jeab, who came from Buri Ram…
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Democrat rallies draw thousands
PHUKET CITY: Thousands of people who turned up for two Democrat Party rallies on June 25 and 26 heard a speech by Democrat Party deputy leader Jurin Laksanavisit in which he berated the Thai Rak Thai government as a failure, and outlined his party’s platform for the upcoming general election. The well-attended rallies were held on consecutive nights, the first…
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Commander “satisfied’ with police reforms
PHUKET CITY: Six months after Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra called for improvements to police practices nationwide, the Commander of Police Region 8 (which includes Phuket) says he is satisfied with the progress the region’s police have made in their efforts to reform themselves an d improve their public image. Pol Lt Gen Somsak Buppasuwan, Surat Thani-based commander of Police Region…
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16 die on roads in May
PHUKET: Traffic accidents remain the No 1 killer in Phuket, with 16 people dying as the result of accidents on Phuket’s roads in May. Twelve of the 16 who died were riding motorbikes. According to the latest statistics from the three government hospitals in Phuket – Wachira, Thalang and Patong – 1,045 people were injured in road accidents in May.…
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Thank you, 29 million times
PHUKET CITY: Pol Col Chalit Thintanee, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, yesterday received a bouquet of flowers to show appreciation for his arrest of a postman from Sakhon Nakhon who had stolen 29 million baht. The postal worker, Wirachai Gaiseeta, was in charge of the remittances section of the Sakhon Nakhon Post Office, and diverted money intended for remittances into…
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No second runway “in near future’
PHUKET: Lt Cdr Boonchart Prompoon, Director of the Airports Authority of Thailand, Phuket, has denied reports in national newspapers that Phuket International Airport is to get a second runway in the near future. Cdr Boonchart told the Gazette today that there are no plans for a second runway but that the existing runway will be extended from its current 3,000…
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Immigration website launched in 10 languages
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Immigration Office (PPIO) has launched its revamped website, which now includes information about Immigration regulations and procedures in 10 languages. The website, found at https://www.phuketimmigration.com , now has Immigration information in Thai, Swedish, Russian, English, German, Norwegian, Japanese, Italian, French and Korean. Besides general immigration information for foreigners wanting to enter or stay in Thailand, the website…
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Pian “wins’ Patong election
PATONG: Former mayor Pian Keesin, leader of the Rak Patong Party (RPP), beat rival Songserm Kepsap of the Patong Progress Party (PPP) by just 147 votes in the replay of municipal elections held yesterday. The results have yet to be confirmed by the Central Election Commission, which declared the previous election void. Of the 9,213 Patong residents eligible to vote,…
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Fake visa stamps probe faltering
PHUKET: The investigation into the alleged issue of 20 fake entry permits by a Phuket-based visa service company appears to have stalled at the Sadao Police Station, which is now in charge of the case. Last December Phuket Immigration officers seized 20 passports with forged exit and entry stamps during a raid on the visa and accounting company, but were…
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D-day for Phuket strays
THALANG: The great round-up of stray dogs in Phuket destined for the island’s new dog pound will start on Monday and is expected to continue until August 11. Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO) Chief Sunart Wongchawalit announced the plan at a meeting with other provincial officials yesterday at the Phuket Provincial Hall. More than 1,000 stray dogs will be brought…
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Land official murder case stalled
PHUKET: The investigation into the murder in April last year of land official Pongtorn Hiranyaburana has gone cold and police officials have stopped interrogating witnesses, citing lack of evidence. Pol Col Ronapong Saikaew, Superintendent of Investigation of Police Region 8, told the Gazette today, “We have to investigate more and check to see if the evidence found at the scene…
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Spas get a healthy boost
PHUKET CITY: Jurai Skulpuak, Head of the Health Consumer Protection Division of Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), yesterday announced that spas that have been approved by the PPHO as “health business” will not be classified as “entertainment” venues. K. Jurai told the Gazette, “Spas will not be forced to comply with the same legal health requirements as massage parlors, and…
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Rawai vendors ordered to leave
RAWAI: Roadside vendors along Rawai Beach, where the issue of illegal vendors has been a persistent irritant for years, have been given eviction notices and have until July 3 to leave. On that date, officers of Rawai Tambon Administration Organization and the Muang District Office will check whether they have moved. If they have not, they will be forcibly removed,…
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Dead whale washed ashore
NAI YANG: A dead sperm whale washed up on Nai Yang Beach last night. The whale, 10 meters long and weighing around 3 tonnes, is thought to have been about 40 years old when it died,. Kongkiat Kittiwattawong, a biologist at the Phuket Marine Biological Center (PMBC) in Cape Panwa, told the Gazette, “It was impossible to determine very much…
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New election ordered for Patong
PATONG: Thailand’s Central Election Committee (CEC) has declared the Patong Municipal elections of February 8 void and handed “yellow card” warnings to both parties in the poll. On June 11, the decision was passed to the apparent winners, the Patong Progress Party (PPP) of Songserm Kepsap, and to the rival Rak Patong Party (RPP) of Pian Keesin. A new election…
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Leading researchers to attend Aids talks
NAI YANG: Professors John and Deborah Greenspan, acknowledged as being among the world’s leaders in the field of oral manifestations of HIV infection, will attend the 5th World Workshop on Oral Health and Disease in Aids conference at the Pearl Village Hotel from July 6-10. The couple have been involved in HIV research since the early 1980s when the first…
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Port Blair talks end in optimism
PORT BLAIR: Talks between a visiting Thai delegation and their counterparts in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands ended with no decisions but on a distinctly positive note. The 63-strong Thai delegation, including local and central government representatives, private sector figures and naval personnel, and led by Phuket Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura, visited the islands’ capital, Port Blair, from Friday to Sunday.…
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Jilted tourist hangs himself
PATONG: A young Norwegian tourist was found hanged in his room at the Baan Pornpateep rooming house on Taweewong Rd, Patong, at about 12.30 pm on Friday. Thomas Andreassen, aged about 21, apparently attached a rope to the shower head in the bathroom and hanged himself after his heart was broken by his Thai girlfriend. Pol Lt Col Chawalit Niemwadee…
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Skeleton believed to be missing Dutchman
CHALONG: A skeleton found yesterday evening near Yanui Beach is believed to be that of missing Dutch dive instructor David Wiewel. Local people found the remains at about 5pm while looking for shellfish, said Pol Col Chalit Kaewyarat, Superintendent of Chalong Police Station. The colonel said that it was impossible to tell from the remains whether foul play was involved,…
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Michael Learns To Postpone
CHERNG TALAY: Danish pop group Michael Learns To Rock have postponed their charity concert, slated to take place at Laguna Phuket on July 2, due to unforeseen scheduling problems. Announcing the postponement, Laguna Hotels & Resorts said today that ticket holders could obtain refunds at the Canal Village Shopping Centre, which is open from 9 am to 5 pm daily.…
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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