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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Police target teenage gangs
PHUKET TOWN: In a move to improve public safety, police have launched a campaign targeting wayward youngsters, with special attention being given to teenage gangs. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Veerayuth Sittimalic told the Gazette today that the crackdown began two weeks ago with after-dark patrols at Saphan Hin, long a hotspot for teenage gang violence. He explained that…
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“Troublemaker’ found drowned
PATONG : The body of a drowning victim discovered 70 meters off Patong Beach on Sunday morning has been identified by police as that of 42-year-old German national JĂĽrgen Schweiker. Mr Schweiker’s body was discovered by a local jet-ski operator, still clutching one of a string of floats used to demarcate the swimming area along the beach. Pol Lt Col…
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2,000 join mass dance
PHUKET TOWN: A sea of yellow shirts filled Surakul Stadium yesterday as 2,000 people in Phuket joined in with the nationwide “Yellow Shirt Power Dancing 2003” event. More than 8.2 million people around the country took part in the fun, aimed at persuading people to exercise for at least 30 minutes every day. The activities began at 2 pm with…
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Immigration warning over 90-day reporting
PHUKET TOWN: An Immigration official has advised foreigners holding any type of one-year visa extension that they must visit their local Immigration office every 90 days to confirm their identity and address – or face a 2,000 baht fine. “You will not be charged a fee for registering but you will be fined if you are late,” Capt Krissarat Nusen…
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“OTOP’ sales to get boost in Phuket
PHUKET TOWN: The provincial government has announced that work on a 1.4-million-baht packaging factory for goods produced under the “One Tambon One Product” (OTOP) scheme is almost complete. The facility, located in an existing building that has been extensively renovated, occupies a 150-square-wah site next to Kathu District Offices. Suthep Wuthisak, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Development Office, told the…
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Judges order Patong mayor to step down
PATONG: Chalermsak Maneesri was today ordered to step down as Mayor of Patong after two Provincial Court judges found that allegations of cheating in Patong Municipality elections in November last year were proven. Visawa Sasismith, Phuket’s Deputy Governor (Palad), told the Gazette that the court handed down its decision this morning. The judges ordered that a new election be held…
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Angry islanders in Phi Phi protest
PHI PHI: Boats to this tourist hotspot stopped running for about seven hours today after some 300 angry people assembled at the island’s pier, blocking incoming and outgoing traffic. The mob were protesting against an order to use a new pier in Krabi, three kilometers away from the old one in Krabi Town. They argued that it was too far…
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Lucky draw settles election recount
THALANG: Yongyut Kongsorn was convinced that the counting of votes in the election in Moo 6, Tambon Sri Soontorn, for two seats on the Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) was inaccurate. The result had been very close. According to the initial count after the poll on August 30, Olarn Krailert came first with 119 votes, followed by Trairong Khamwiset with 118…
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Violin karaoke faces the music
PHUKET TOWN: A 3 am swoop by police on the Violin karaoke bar on Phang Nga Rd on Saturday netted seven ‘VIP’ patrons and six hostesses drinking after hours. Officers found the after-hours party padlocked behind reinforced doors, front and rear. It took them an hour to saw through the locks. The 13 people arrested, who were each fined 100…
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International help to improve air and water
PHUKET TOWN: The city of Boston, Massachusetts, and Phuket Town will cooperate in efforts to reduce air pollution, Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok announced yesterday. The mayor made his announcement after returning from the World Congress of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives held in Athens, Greece, earlier this month. At the convention, 502 people from 68 countries discussed…
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Cabinet approves zero import duty on boats
BANGKOK: The Cabinet today approved the axing of the 30% import duty on boats brought into Thailand for either commercial or personal use, but have yet to set a date for introducing the zero rate. The announcement follows expectations among the local boating community that the tax would be dropped by the end of the year, and just 11 days…
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Cannabis bust at Heroines’ Monument
THALANG: Police manning a checkpoint at the Heroines’ Monument arrested a man in the early hours of Sunday after finding 100 grams of cannabis resin on his person. Kanchanaburi-born Monsit Mapiyaphan, 31, aroused the interest of officers after he got off the back of a friend’s motorcycle and tried to walk past the checkpoint. Pol Lt Col Chanuchan Pongsuwat, Inspector…
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Zero boat tax tomorrow? No, say officials
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Provincial Excise Office Chief Narong Sri Chakorn today dispelled rumors that the excise tax on imported yachts would drop to zero tomorrow. “The process is still awaiting Cabinet approval,” K. Narong said. “So far, there have been no decisions made and no regulations have been changed.” An officer at the Ministry of Finance, who asked not to…
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Buddha image construction on hold
KARON: Construction of the giant Buddha image on Royal Forest Department (RFD) land high in the Nakkerd Hills in Tambon Karon has been temporarily halted while various government agencies review the project to ensure that it complies with the law. Achira Na Nakorn, head of the RFD regional office in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, told the Gazette, “We have ordered a…
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Drive to legalize “black’ taxis
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Transportation Office (PPTO) expects 50 to 100 drivers to register their vehicles as private metered taxis in the coming month. Teerayuth Prasertphol, Deputy Chief of the PPTO, told the Gazette that he expected the cabs to come from among the 800 or so “black” taxis currently operating illegally in Phuket. Once the registration period is…
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Senators check Bang Tao land “abuses’
CHERNG TALAY: The probe into land titles in Phuket, which recently went quiet in the run-up to the Apec summit meeting in Bangkok, reopened dramatically today with accusations of misuse of former tin mine concessions along Bang Tao Beach. Members of the Governmental Land Inspection Working Group (GLIWG), a self-appointed committee of senators led by Sen Pricha Pitanon, Vice-Chairman of…
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Long-necked Karens banned
PHUKET TOWN: The provincial government has banned businesses from bringing long-necked Karen people to stay in the province following reports that a well-known local businessman was planning to use the refugees to make money in the tourism industry. Lertkiat Vongpuaphan, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Governor’s Office, told the Gazette yesterday that existing regulations make it impossible to employ long-necked…
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Patong beautification an ugly mess
PATONG: Hotels and other businesses in Phuket’s capital of fun, having battled their way through the effects of the Bali bombing and the Sars epidemic, are now viewing with despair another deterrent to tourists. The deterrent this time is of local origin – a “beautification program” which has the beachfront looking like Sarajevo at the height of the Balkans war.…
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Filmmakers looking for extras
PHUKET: German movie company Lisa Film is looking for extras to fill out the cast of a romantic made-for-TV drama it will be shooting in and around Phuket over the next few weeks. The movie, Hotel zum Traumen (Dream Hotel) will run for 90 minutes and will premier on the ARD channel in Germany and ORF in Austria. The drama…
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Take a break and park your gun
THALANG: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) is building a 2-million-baht rest area at the Tah Chat Chai police checkpoint on Route 402 that will include a weapons depository. The first-of-its-kind service will allow visitors to store registered firearms with police while they are on the island, in line with a government ban on carrying firearms on the island. The…
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Diving lures more Russians
PHUKET: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is set to open an office in Moscow as Phuket attracts more visitors from Russia – especially for diving vacations. Napasorn Kakai, the Deputy Director of the local TAT office, told the Gazette yesterday, “Phuket is appealing to more and more Russian tourists. We now have 5,000 coming each year, especially between November…
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Breakthrough “soon’ in land scandal killing
PHUKET: A senior policeman in charge of investigating the murder that triggered the Phuket land title deeds scandal believes there will be a breakthrough in the case soon. Pongtorn Hiranyaburana, Deputy Chief of the Phuket Land Office, was shot execution-style on a lonely stretch of road as he drove home to his wife in Surat Thani on April 25. Officers…
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TAT denies move to give foreigners right to own land
BANGKOK: Reports that foreigners who buy the one-million-baht Thai Privilege Card will be able to own land have been denied by a senior official of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) parent of the card issuer, the Thai Privilege Card Co Ltd (TPC). The reports suggested that the government was moving to allow card-holders to buy and own up to…
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Sea Canoe boat sunk by arsonists
THALANG: Arsonists are believed to have been responsible for the total loss of a vessel owned and operated by tour company Sea Canoe Thailand, and an attempt to sink the company’s other boat. The Urida 98 had put into Ao Por and was moored at the pier after returning from a tour. The crew left the ship to attend a…
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897 declare wild animal ownership
PHUKET: A total of 897 people in Phuket have been officially registered as having protected wild animals in their possession, Sukree Attaporn, Officer of Protected Area Management Administration 19 at Nakhon Sri Thammarat, has told the Gazette. The 19th area includes Phuket, Phang Nga, Krabi and Nakhon Sri Thammarat). Compilation of the figure came after a 120-day amnesty for people…
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Last call for yellow pages
PHUKET: With an unprecedented volume of listing activity in its online database, the publishers of the Gazette Guide, Phuket’s Business & Entertainment Directory, have extended the deadline for listings in the 2004 hard-copy edition from this Thursday until 6 pm on Friday, November 14. Listings (and any modifications to listings) received after Friday will not appear in the 2004 directory,…
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Report fake border stamps, expats told
BANGKOK: Some expat residents will be required to present a police document at Immigration border checkpoints in the continuing crackdown on illegally-obtained or forged entry-exit stamps in passports. Foreigners with passports containing fake stamps who do not report to police before leaving Thailand and are caught at the border may be arrested for conspiracy to commit forgery. The Gazette understands…
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Dog pound strays to wrong site
THALANG: Completion of Phuket’s first large pound for stray dogs will be delayed for at least a month – and the chief of the Phuket Livestock Department plans to lodge a complaint with the Phuket Provincial Public Works Department for not building the facility to his specifications. Sunart Wongchawalit, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO), told the Gazette…
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Arms cache seized in Trang
CAPE PANWA: Third Naval Area Command recovered a small cache of assault weapons and ammunition from a small island in Trang’s Kantang district yesterday, and an investigation is now underway to determine if the weapons were intended for insurgents in Sri Lanka or Indonesia. V/Adm Pairoj Theerachai, Commander of Third Naval Area Command, said today that a seven-man navy unit…
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PSU joins French tourism project
KATHU: The Prince of Songkla University (PSU) Phuket Campus has joined a 5.4-million-baht project aimed at developing better ways of catering for tourists visiting France and Thailand. The aim is to improve standards and promote education about tourism, and to exchange knowledge about the cultures of the two countries. PSU will work on the program with the UniversitĂ© de Perpignan…
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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