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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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...
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Rotted corpse found behind Wat Chalong
CHALONG: The badly decomposed body of an unidentified man, who police believe may have died about six months ago from a drug overdose, was found behind Wat Chalong yesterday morning. Pol Col Sati Malakanont, Superintendent of Chalong Police Station, today told the Gazette that he and other officers went to investigate the gruesome discovery after a local resident called the…
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Gov arrests two, nets 600 ya bah pills
PHUKET TOWN: A squad of 12 officers handpicked by Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi this afternoon arrested a couple, Lateng Artharn, 46, and Sa’ard Somwang, 35, on charges of possession and trafficking in ya bah (methamphetamine). The officers, all members of Phuket’s Provincial Defense Office (PDO), arrested the couple at 12:30 pm in a sting operation at the 999 hotel on…
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Mayor denies he staged shooting
PATONG: The Mayor of Patong, Surasak Maneesri, today shrugged off allegations that he had staged Sunday’s assassination attempt on him in a bid to garner sympathy votes for the upcoming mayoral election. He also said it was not the first time that someone had paid to have him shot. In a previous incident, he explained, a gunman who was about…
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Tuk-tuk drivers agree to fares
PHUKET: A two hour-meeting today between officials and representatives of the island’s tuk-tuk drivers finally achieved agreement on a scale of official fares for journeys between towns. In principle, fares for trips of less than 15 km will be lower than the tuk-tuk drivers wanted but for trips longer than that they will get more than they originally negotiated for.…
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Another stabbing in “Burmese Cemetery’
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a man believed to have been a Burmese fisherman was found floating in the water near Sri Sena Rd on Monday afternoon. The victim had been stabbed about 30 times. Pol Lt Col Tawate Pleumsuk, an inspector at Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that the man was found by villagers floating face down…
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Police take vow to battle drugs
PHUKET TOWN: Police and village representatives vowed today to fight drugs. About 60 officers from Phuket Town, led by Superintendent Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, joined 184 villagers to make the anti-drug pledge in front of the police station. Col Paween also revealed that in the first five months of this year, 24 people had been arrested for marijuana offenses, 85…
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Attacker sought for Karon murder
KARON: A man is being sought by police over the killing of a construction worker in a drunken quarrel late on Sunday night. Witnesses told police that the wanted man, another worker known only as Noi, disappeared after bludgeoning the victim, Nikom Sungkapia, over the head with a piece of wood. The men were drinking at a camp behind Karon…
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Patong Mayor survives murder attempt
PHUKET TOWN: Patong Mayor Surasak Maneesri last night survived an attempt on his life when a gunman fired three shots through the driver’s side window of his Mercedes Benz as he waited at a red light outside the Tesco-Lotus Supercenter. K. Surasak suffered only light cuts to his arm from flying glass. Speaking at Thung Thong Police Station last night,…
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US envoy to reward recovery efforts
PHUKET: The United States Ambassador to Thailand, Darryl Johnson, is to recognize the work of organizations involved in sea rescues when he visits Phuket next month. On July 19 he will present certificates to the Royal Thai Navy, the Marine Police, and the Marine Police Underwater Search and Rescue Unit. The Navy and Marine Police were involved recently in recovering…
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Tuk-tuk drivers reject revised fares
PHUKET TOWN: Representatives of the island’s tuk-tuk drivers today rejected the Phuket Transportation Office’s (PTO) revised scale of proposed fares, even though they would be the highest in the country. At today’s meeting, held at the PTO’s offices in Phuket Town, Transportation Chief Prasit Amarapal initially proposed a rate of 30 baht for the first two kilometers plus four baht…
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New flight to link Phuket and Israel
PHUKET TOWN: Direct weekly flights between Phuket and the Israeli city of Tel Aviv are to begin in November, an Israeli diplomat told the Gazette today. Subject to confirmation in September or October, El Al Israel Airlines will provide a weekly service for six months. Edward Shapira, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of Israel, said the aim was…
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Frenchman drowns at Kata
KATA: A 74-year-old French tourist who was staying at Club Med drowned near the resort yesterday morning. The body of the man, named by police as Rene Massoud Hogege, washed up on the beach about 9 am. Others on the beach thought Mr Hogege had gone for a walk, and when his body was found, called Chalong police and Phuket…
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Phuket governor’s performance under fire
BANGKOK: Two of Thailand’s five governors with CEO-style powers turned in worse performances in their first six months on the job than governors in five control provinces where traditional administration is still in place. ‘The Nation’ reported today that The governors of Phuket and Narathiwat scored lower on their six-month evaluations than the traditional, non-CEO governors of Phang Nga and…
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Phuket Town trash levy to rise 200%
PHUKET TOWN: In September, if Phuket Town Municipality gets its way, households in Phuket Town will be required to pay 200% more for their trash to be collected. Businesses face a 50% rise. Aryoot Tamsiriroj, Vice-Mayor of the town, yesterday told the Gazette that the municipality has proposed a rise in its trash collection fee from 10 baht per house…
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Gambling raid nets three women on ya bah
PHUKET TOWN: Police in the early hours of yesterday morning arrested three women for possession and sale of ya bah (methamphetamine) in a house on Vanich Rd, near Si Sena Rd in Tambon Rassada. The women were named by police as Thanomsri Mongkut, 35; Pranee Pengjan, 30; and Sunat Jithong, 35. Pol Maj Vichakom Kamchampa, an inspector at Phuket Town…
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Tourism discount program set to launch
PHUKET: Phuket Province and the Phuket Tourism Association (PTA) are launching a “Phuket Super Save Super Value” promotion on July 1 to stimulate tourism over the low season. Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi yesterday held a meeting with Kitti Phatanachinda, Vice President of the PTA, along with representatives from several hotels, to discuss strategies to bring in more low-season business.…
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Man killed in drive-by shooting
PATONG: A young man was shot dead early yesterday morning in Loma Park by a motorcycle passenger in what police believe was a case of mistaken identity. Pol Lt Col Manop Kositanant, Deputy Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, named the victim as Vichit Srisangchai, 21, a worker in a Patong restaurant. He died from a single shot in the stomach…
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Twin cities seek tourists
PHUKET: How twin cities could get closer was the topic when representatives from Yentai in China met Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi on Friday. Luan Bingliang, Yentai’s Vice-Mayor, led the delegation to try to improve awareness and opportunities for exchanging tourists. Gov Pongpayome said afterward, “I suggested to them that if they want Thai people to visit Yentai, they should…
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Tin maiden runner-up in national fair
PHUKET: Krongthong Thepsiriamnuay, from Moo 5, Tambon Wichit, has won second place in the metal products category of the “One Village, One Product” fair, which was held in Nonthaburi province on May 25-31. K. Krongthong told the Gazette today that she won the prize for a decorative tin plate she made. It featured a raised motif of Phuket island bordered…
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Man confesses to raping girl, 14
PHUKET TOWN: Witchapol “Joe” Jongsujarittham, 26, yesterday confessed to charges of raping a 14-year-old girl twice and of being in possession of an unregistered firearm, Phuket Town police said today. Pol Maj Bhanjong Amarit told the Gazette that officers arrested Witchapol outside his Phuket Town home at 9 am. Armed with a search warrant, they then checked his home and…
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Ban on carrying guns from next month
PHUKET: Next month will see the introduction of a ban on the carrying of firearms in public anywhere in Phuket. The ban, Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi said, applies even to off-duty government officers. Gov Pongpayome, supporting the anti-gun drive announced by the national police chief in March, advised people who have licensed firearms to leave them at home or…
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Glittering opening for car showroom
PHUKET TOWN: Accompanied by dancing girls clad in gold, the glamorous new BMW 735Li was launched in Phuket last night. The launch was part of the celebrations of the official grand opening of the Performance Motors (Thailand) showroom on Thepkrasattri Road. The top-of-the-range 735Li sells for 9.9 million baht. Three have already been sold in Phuket. As the authorized dealer…
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Patong “ready to fight flood menace’
PHUKET: Action is being taken to prevent a repetition of last year’s heavy flooding in Patong, a meeting of about 50 officers of the Municipality and other authorities heard yesterday. Public klongs had been cleared of silt, and permission is being sought from owners to clear waterways and conduits on private land too. Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, who chaired the…
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German President to visit Phuket
PHUKET: Johannes Rau, President of the Federal Republic of Germany, will spend one night relaxing in Phuket on June 23 en route to Korea and Japan, where he will be attending the closing ceremony of the World Cup. Mr Rau is scheduled to arrive in Phuket direct from Berlin with his wife and an entourage of 70 people. They will…
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“Supertour’ tipped to splurge B75m
PHUKET TOWN: The biggest single group of tourists ever to visit Phuket will arrive next month for what, it is hoped, will be a massive spending spree that sets the precedent for more large groups to follow. One estimate puts the spending potential of the group in Phuket at more than 25 million baht a day over three days, boosting…
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Karaoke operators sing the blues
PHUKET TOWN: More than 200 karaoke operators gathered at the Phuket Provincial Hall this morning to protest about the closure of their premises and to petition the authorities to allow them to reopen. The protest comes after a three-day campaign by police to check karaoke bars for licenses. Many were found to have none, or to have licenses that had…
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Smart new police reporting center
PHUKET TOWN: The Commissioner of Provincial Police Region 8, Pol Lt Gen Paisarn Tangjaitrong, today opened a smart new public service center on the ground floor of the Phuket Town Police Station. The first of its kind in the country, the new 1.45-million-baht center – paid for entirely by private donations – has more in common with a modern banking…
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Phuket finally gets power boost
PHUKET: New high-capacity power cables installed by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) to upgrade the island’s power supply are now hooked up to the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) grid and are supplying power, Banlue Teeramethawit, EGAT’s Assistant Governor of Transmission Construction, announced yesterday. The cables, costing 500 million baht, stretch 77 kilometers from the nearest main substation in…
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Another yacht seized for forged papers
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Police today seized another yacht on charges that it was registered with the Harbor Master’s office using forged documents that purported to show the boat was made in Thailand. The yacht is the Samakki, a 40-feet fiberglass motor catamaran equipped with twin 200hp engines. The boat, which police say belongs to Thrinuch Kingkaew, who now lives…
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Time of month saves girl from rape
PHUKET TOWN: A girl student of Rajabhat Institute Phuket managed to avoid being raped by an unknown assailant on Sunday by crying out that she was having her period. The girl was found lying unconscious, still in uniform, in a small dark soi opposite Phuket Town Police Station, on Chumphon Rd, by one of the soi’s residents. After regaining consciousness…
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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