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.
-
Sponsored A healthy tomorrow starts today: Celebrate the great American Smokeout day
The Great American Smokeout, held this year on November 17, is a nationwide event that encourages smokers to take their first steps towards a smoke-free life. If you’re an expat in Thailand, this day could be a timely reminder to...
-
Motorbike gunmen strike at Saphan Hin
PHUKET TOWN: A 21-year-old man was shot and seriously injured at Saphan Hin yesterday. The gunman fled on a motorbike ridden by an accomplice. Witnesses to the shooting took the victim, Niruj Mokakom, to Wachira Phuket Hospital about 3:20 pm. He was in the intensive care unit today with wounds to his chest and right arm, and in no condition…
-
Politician survives assassination bid
PHUKET TOWN: Local politician Supachai Rakmit was fighting for his life in Wachira Phuket Hospital today after two hitmen dressed in black gunned him down in broad daylight at the weekend. Police believe the execution attempt may have been over a drugs case last year or some other business dealings. The shooting followed three other recent similar attacks in Phuket…
-
11 police “involved in drugs’
PHUKET TOWN: Just 15 days since the launch of the nationwide campaign to eradicate illegal drugs in Thailand, 17 Phuket government officers and elected officials, including 11 policemen, stand accused of being involved with illegal drugs. Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi announced the findings at a press conference at the Phuket Against Drugs Center at Provincial Hall on Saturday. Gov…
-
A less-than-romantic evening
PATONG: In keeping with Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s drive to stamp out illegal drugs within three months, the authorities conducted a surprise raid on the popular Tiger Pub on Soi Bangla on Friday evening – Valentine’s Day. As police swooped in, a large number of tourists – mostly foreigners – managed to escape, leaving just 70 romantic revelers in the…
-
Frenchman dies in road accident
CHALONG: Frenchman Jean Vidal, 39, was killed in a road accident on Chao Fa East Rd, near Soi Ta’iad Rd, in the early hours of February 9. Pol Capt Chana Sutthimas of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette today that he received an anonymous call about 2:30 am reporting an accident between a car and a motorcycle. When Capt Chana…
-
Big day for big love
PHUKET: On the day marking the patron saint of lovers, St Valentine, 240 couples yesterday turned up at the three district offices on the island to tie the knot. At Thalang District Office, 49 couples got hitched, up from 30 couples last year, while 27 made vows of love at Kathu District Office. Happy with the turnout, up from 16…
-
Murder victim dumped in port area
PHUKET TOWN: The body of an unidentified man was found floating in a canal in the Rassada port area in the early hours of Thursday. Pol Capt Rassada Kloung-Wong, of Phuket Town Police Station, said that a local fisherman discovered the body. “The man was shot twice in the chest with a 9-mm handgun. He was about 35 years old…
-
Thailand “should tax sex workers and bribes’
BANGKOK (The Nation): Increasingly hungry for state revenues, the Thaksin government received an unusual proposal from the national think tank yesterday that the sex trade should be legalized to boost the country’s coffers. The National Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) also suggested legalizing some corrupt practices by, for example, turning bribes into “tips” to be shared by staff of…
-
Wachira seeks cash for equipment
PHUKET TOWN: Wachira Phuket Hospital is seeking donations so that it can buy medical equipment worth more than 10 million baht. Wachira Phuket Hospital has 522 beds for patients from Phuket and nearby provinces including Phang Nga, Krabi and Ranong. Visiting foreigners also go there for treatment. The equipment needed includes nine respirators for infants and four for children and…
-
Reporters call for swift justice
PHUKET TOWN: Vichean Utsa, Chairman of Phuket Reporters Club, yesterday requested Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi to expedite the police investigation into shooting of local reporter Surapong “Od Patong” Rittee. The call came just 48 hours after K. Surapong, a local reporter for newspapers Thai Rat and Siang Tai, and for Channel 3 television, was gunned down early on Tuesday.…
-
Mayor announces D-Day for illegal signs
PATONG: Patong Municipality Mayor Chalermsak Maneesri announced today that all Patong businesses will be given one month to remove signs that are out of compliance with municipal regulations. On March 10, at the end of the grace period, the Municipality will send out crews to remove all illegal signs. Vendors operating in restricted areas, especially the sidewalks along Thaweewong (Beach)…
-
Man dies as bike crashes and burns
PHUKET TOWN: Police are investigating a crash last night that left a foreigner dead and his hired motorcycle a burnt-out shell. Two cars were also involved. The man, named by police as Etienne Jacques Payan, was carrying an international driving license issued in Britain. Today an officer went from Phuket Town to Krabi, where the motorcycle was rented, to investigate…
-
Vendors arrested over fake CDs
PATONG: Police arrested five vendors on Sunday after a Sony representative alerted them to the sale of illegal copies of CDs along the beach road. Three of the vendors were each fined 30,000 baht for being in breach of copyright laws. Police named them as Boonchu Saiwichian, Orasa Kritkamjorn and Kiatisak Krongsintham. Pol Lt Ampol Jantakul, of Kathu Police Station,…
-
Police raid gambling den
KATHU: Sixteen gamblers were nabbed by police on Sunday after an informant led them to a rented house on Wichitsongkram Rd. Pol Maj Chawalit Petchsripia, of Kathu Police Station, was told that the popular dice game “High-Low” was being played there, so police raided the house about 9 pm. Those arrested, mostly couples, confessed that they rented the house for…
-
TAT targets Europe, Africa
PHUKET TOWN: Tourists from South Africa and Switzerland will be the new targets as the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) attempts to increase the number of visitors coming to Phuket. Anupharp Thirarath, Director of the local TAT branch, revealed the new aim yesterday at an Aviation Business 2003 Trends Conference at the Royal Phuket City Hotel. The TAT is planning…
-
Reporter slain execution-style
PATONG: A newspaper and TV reporter was killed by two shots to the head in an execution-style killing in Patong early this morning. Surapong “Od Patong” Rittee, 43, was gunned down by two .38 rounds fired close to his left ear as he was walking out of the Aree Karnka mini-mart on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd at 3:30 am. His…
-
Last chance for drug offenders
PHUKET TOWN: Police have given drug dealers and addicts until February 15 to surrender in the face of the national crackdown on illegal drugs. The leeway in the campaign was announced by Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, and Phuket Town District Chief Weerawat Janpan, who said the dealers would have a chance to be converted…
-
Two die as drug dealers crack down on “squealers’
PHUKET TOWN: Two suspected drug dealers have been shot dead in separate incidents, and police fear a wave of gangland-style slayings could follow in Phuket. The executions, within hours of each other, indicate that the island’s drug overlords are having potential “squealers” permanently silenced rather than risk them talking to police. Elsewhere in Thailand, scores of killings over the past…
-
Democrats fight back
PHUKET TOWN: Confident Democrat Party leaders said yesterday that they would hold their three seats in Phuket at the next election and could even topple the Thai Rak Thai (TRT) party. About 1,000 people attended the Phuket Merlin Hotel yesterday to hear Abisit Vejjajiva, Deputy Leader of the Democrats, and Chamni Sakdiseth, the party’s Deputy Secretary. K. Chamni said that…
-
Chalong TOT office to open soon
CHALONG: Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) customers living in the south of the island will be able to pay their phone bills at the new TOT office on Chao Fa West Rd from February 24. The payments counter will be open from 8 am-4:30 pm on weekdays, while other services, including applying for a telephone line and transferring numbers from…
-
Man dies in wild Saphan Hin brawl
PHUKET TOWN: A 45-year-old man was shot dead and others were wounded as a minor confrontation escalated into a wild brawl at Saphan Hin last weekend. At its height, about 30 people were involved, with at least eight shots fired and long knives being used to slash opponents. When police reached the scene at 2 am on Sunday, the group…
-
Couple held for marijuana deal
PHUKET TOWN: Police arrested a couple for selling marijuana after a plain-clothes officer posed as a customer in a drug deal sting. Mahamasu Dearama, 29, and Suwannee Libong, 27, from Phuket Villa 3, were arrested after they met the officer in Sakdidet Road about 6:30 pm on Monday. Police confiscated one kilogram of compressed marijuana and goods allegedly linked to…
-
Attack on jogging German couple
PHUKET TOWN: Police are hunting two attackers who bashed a German jogger and her husband at Saphan Hin early on Wednesday. Police said that Andrea Tran, 28, was jogging in the park about 6:30 am with her husband, Toan, 29, accompanying her on a motorcycle. The two men, who had been sitting at a roadside pavilion, ran to the couple…
-
Marine Police seek drug informants by post
PHUKET: In keeping with the central government’s three-month, all-out war on drugs, the Phuket Marine Police are encouraging informers to send anonymous tip-offs to PO Box 42, Phuket Town, 83000. Pol Maj Prasert Srikunnarath, Inspector of the Phuket Marine Police, told the Gazette, “PO Box 42 is intended to help us get information about drug dealers and addicts, especially those…
-
17 tourists hurt as bus crashes
PATONG: Police are still investigating the cause of a bus crash in which 17 tourists bound for Phuket FantaSea were injured last night. The driver was also injured. The bus, coming from Karon about 8 pm, went through a safety rail, hit a drain and flipped to one side, bringing down power lines and knocking over two pillars and a…
-
Pytheus Aura in startling regatta win
PHANG NGA BAY: The most startling result in this year’s QBE Phang Nga Bay Regatta was surely the victory by Pytheus Aura in the Racing class. Last year the boat managed only a third place in the Cruising A class. Summersalt made it two in a row by winning the multihull class, while Tag repeated its second place in Cruising…
-
New reservoir on hold for tests
THALANG: Construction of Phuket’s new reservoir, which Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has agreed will be paid for by the central government, is to be delayed while tests are made of the site. The tests center on the quality of the soil at the spot in Thalang where the 300-million-baht Bang Neaw Dam is to be built as a solution to…
-
Arrests start the anti-drug crusade
PHUKET TOWN: Two alleged drug dealers arrested for selling ya bah (methamphetamine) on Sunday were among the island’s first casualties in the national crackdown on illegal drugs. Vice-Governor Winai Buapradit said that the arrests came about because of a tip-off to Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, who is concentrating his energies on the anti-drug war for the next three months. Phuket…
-
Petty robbers pose as policemen
PHUKET TOWN: Two young men impersonating plain-clothes policemen searching for Ecstasy tablets robbed a 16-year-old boy on Sunday outside the Phuket Public Library on Phuket Rd. Pol Capt Pin Inmak, of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that Somkeat Maliwan was riding his motorbike along Phuket Rd at about 5 pm when two men on a motorbike pulled alongside…
-
Krabi airport to get upgrade
KRABI: Krabi International Airport is now handling visas on arrival and will gain a longer runway and an expanded car park, thanks to a 700-million-baht government grant. Attapol Mansutthi, the airport’s Director, told the Gazette, “The total area of the airport is 2,300 rai including one building, car park and airfield. We will expand the car park and lengthen 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.
Don't forget to check out some other things to do in Thailand - get help starting a business or finding a job in Thailand, buy Thailand property, rent a yacht or book a medical procedure worldwide.