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...
-
Drinker caught with live grenade
PHUKET TOWN: Sa-eak Chu-on, 24, from Trang, was arrested on Saturday night for being in possession of a live hand grenade while drinking in a restaurant on Si Sena Rd. Pol Sub Lt Wiwat Chamnarnkit, of Phuket Town Police Station, today told the Gazette that he was on routine patrol when he entered Nimit 2 restaurant and pub in search…
-
“Sting’ traps Burmese ya bah dealer
PHUKET: Police have arrested a Burmese in possession of 110 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills and are now pursuing the man’s supplier. Acting on a tip-off, officers spent more than a month on the case before trapping the man in a “sting” as he tried to sell the drugs to undercover police. The man, named by police as Samsor, 32, worked…
-
Soccer gambling den raided
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Town Police raided the Smile Snooker Pub at 27 Hongsyok U-Thit Rd on Thursday and made one arrest. Pol Capt Akanit Danpitaksan said that after receiving a tip-off, officers visited the pub and found 37-year-old Somyos “Yai” Kweangsopa poring over a list of customer names on his desk, along with a list of the odds for the…
-
Illegal immigrant arrest tally falls
PHUKET: The number of arrests of illegal immigrants fell sharply in the period from May 1 to May 25 compared with the same period in the previous month, police statistics show. The total plummeted from 237 arrests to 75. Gambling arrests also dropped, from 229 arrests in 73 raids to 198 from 106 raids. Six of the May gambling raids…
-
Tuk-tuk fares “to be imposed next month’
PHUKET: Negotiations on fixed fares are underway with the island’s tuk-tuk drivers, and an agreement will be hammered out at a meeting planned for June 21, says the provincial government. Teerayout Prasertphol, chief analyst at the Phuket Provincial Transport Office, told the Gazette today that survey forms have been sent to tuk-tuk drivers, provincial and municipal government officials, TAT officials,…
-
OrBorTor President resigns over road scandal
CHERNG TALAY: The President and two other members of the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) resigned their positions today amid allegations of corruption in a 4-million-baht road project in Moo 2. OrBorTor President Siri Yokthong and his deputies, Suchart Yooyen and Sin Kapana, announced their resignations after a five-hour meeting in the OrBorTor office, chaired by the Chief of…
-
Snack seller hangs herself
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a young woman was found yesterday morning hanging from a concrete beam in the upper-floor bathroom of her shophouse on Soi Nerttip. Police say the death was a suicide. The victim was Supaporn Auttalee, 23, who sold Thai snacks on Sakdidet Rd, near her home. Pol Capt Rassada Klengvong, of Phuket Town Police Station, said…
-
Lehman to up Thai holdings by $250m
BANGKOK (The Nation): US investment bank Lehman Brothers said it was committed to boosting its investment in Thailand by an additional US$250 million (Bt10.6 billion). The announcement followed a meeting on Tuesday between Lehman Brothers Inc chairman and CEO Richard S. Fuld, Jr, and Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. It was the third meeting between the two in the last 18…
-
Island’s elephants get wired
PHUKET TOWN: Want to know the name of the elephant that left a steaming pile in your driveway? Chances are it can now be traced because 176 elephants on Phuket have had microchips implanted. Wiraparp Termkietpaisan, a vet from the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO), said today that keeping tabs on the elephants from 23 camps will also enable authorities…
-
Commercial Office issues pyramid schemes warning
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Commercial Office (PPCO) has issued a warning to the public about the spreading business practice of direct selling, also known as multi-level marketing (MLM). Direct sales operations are expanding further into all regions of Thailand. The products range from electrical appliances to herbal remedies. Most of these direct sale companies operate legally, are registered in…
-
Man murdered while guarding beans
CHERNG TALAY: Somphong Keawpitak, 32, a boat tour guide working at Banyan Tree Phuket, was shot dead yesterday in a small hut in a Cherng Talay hillside while guarding bunches of freshly picked “sator” – the spicy beans that are a specialty of the South. Pol Maj Winai Kongkeaw, Inspector of Cherng Talay Police Station, told the Gazette that a…
-
Thalang Rd “walking street’ to continue
PHUKET TOWN: At the closing ceremony of the Seven Wonders of Phuket festival on Sunday evening, Deputy Prime Minister Pitak Intrawitayanun announced that Thalang Rd will continue to be a “walking street” every Sunday. He explained that Phuket Town Municipality will continue to stage events there for a further 17 weeks, under the slogan “Amazing Phuket”, and sponsored by the…
-
Deputy PM denies land fiddle
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister Pitak Intrawitayanunt took reporters to the northwest end of the island on Saturday for a tour of a piece of land he bought in 1990, which was at the center of accusations made in the recent parliamentary no-confidence debate. K. Pitak repeated his assertions, made during the debate, that he had obtained the land near Baan…
-
Two girls drown in pool
THALANG: Two girls, one 10 years old, the other 12, died while swimming in a pool near their home in the Thalang area yesterday. Police named the two girls as Kittima Butlada, 10, and Praemai Poltawee, 12. Cousins, they both lived in a house in Moo 8, Baan Prusompan in Tambon Thepkrasattri, where they went to school. Pol Maj Adul…
-
Corruption: Thai police a “national scandal”
BANGKOK (AFP/The Nation): In a survey on corruption and political interference in justice systems in Asia, the Hong Kong-based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) found Indonesia at the bottom of the heap, and noted that Thailand had descended to second worst in the region. The survey, concluded last week, sought the views of expatriate business people in each of…
-
Sea walking probe starts in Phuket
PHUKET: In the latest development in one of Phuket’s longest-running sagas, researchers from the Thailand Institute of Scientific and Technological Research (TISTR) arrived yesterday to begin checks on local sea walking operators. The checks are part of a six-month study to develop regulations for the controversial industry which, according to critics, is damaging to the environment – particularly coral –…
-
Gazette Guide to the World Cup
PHUKET: The latest issue of the weekly Phuket Gazette, on sale today, includes the guide that’s a must for all soccer fans. The clip-and-keep – or clip-and-stick-on-the-wall – chart contains a full guide to all World Cup matches, from the early group contests through to the finals, with dates, times (in Thailand), venues and TV channels carrying the games. Get…
-
Governor heads anti-gambling parade
PHUKET TOWN: Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi led a parade today urging people not to gamble during football’s World Cup, which begins tonight. A microphone and speakers were used to address bystanders as the governor and police moved in a cavalcade of vehicles around Phuket Town this afternoon. Later, anti-football gambling brochures and information about penalties for gambling will be distributed,…
-
British woman drops rape charge
NAI HARN: A 20-year-old British resident of Phuket today agreed to drop charges of rape against a man from Songkhla after negotiations at the Provincial Court. Details are sketchy, but sources who asked not to be named told the Gazette that the two had been seen together in intimate proximity on three successive evenings. On Wednesday evening, they had been…
-
It’s official: Phuket goes crackers
PHUKET TOWN: The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is to stage a Fireworks Festival at Saphan Hin on July 26. More than 4,000 skyrockets and other fireworks, costing about 2 million baht, will be fired off in a 45-minute spectacular, which the TAT hopes will attract tourists from overseas and from neighboring provinces. If it is successful it will become…
-
Thirsty threesome in bungled burglary
PHUKET TOWN: A trio of thirsty drinkers, finding that the nightclubs, bars and restaurants of Phuket Town all seemed to have stopped selling beer after 2 am, decided that self-service was the only solution. So they broke into the Tungka Café at the top of Rang Hill and helped themselves to several crates of amber fluid. What they hadn’t bargained…
-
Probe finds road is substandard
CHERNG TALAY: The committee investigating the 4-million-baht road fiasco in Moo 2 Cherng Talay, today dug up the road in question and announced that accusations that the road is shoddy are well-founded. Committee chairman and Thalang District Chief Kanthee Silapa announced the findings after a three-hour meeting at the Cherng Talay Administration Organization (OrBorTor) offices. Although invited, neither the road…
-
World Cup hits tourist arrivals
PHUKET: Predictions that Phuket will reap windfall profits as thousands of football fans head for the island, seeing it as the perfect venue for sun, sand and soccer, are, apparently, wide of the posts. Anupharp Thirarath, director of the Phuket office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), today told the Gazette that the World Cup has had the opposite…
-
Damaged cable slows Internet access
PHUKET: Access to large parts of the Internet has been slow, if not impossible, since Sunday when an undersea telecoms cable was damaged between Taiwan and Japan. It is unclear what caused the damage. One source at a local Internet service provider (ISP) said the damage was caused by sharks mistaking the cable for a large fish. But Thitiporn Panichphol,…
-
Road death toll falls
PHUKET: Eighteen people died in traffic accidents on Phuket’s roads between March 20 and April 20, a drop of 25% when compared with the 24 deaths during the previous 30-day period, according to statistics from Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. The figures, issued yesterday, show that one person died in a car accident while 17 deaths involved motorbikes. In…
-
Crackdown on Burmese labor imminent
PHUKET: In what it describes as an effort to protect Phuket’s image, the island’s work permit committee has announced that officials will soon begin arresting illegal Burmese laborers living “in a campsite on a mountain”. Vice-Governor Manit Wattanasen, chairman of the committee, said that a request has also been sent to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare to reduce…
-
Three toddlers drown in tin mine lagoon
PHANG NGA: Three toddlers drowned in a lagoon in an old tin mine on Sunday after wandering off from their grandfather’s home in Tai Muang. Pol Maj Somporn Paungthong, inspector of Tai Muang Police Station, said that Prapaet Jaikeaw, 53, called police to report that the bodies of his three grandsons, three-year-old Apiwat Jaikeaw, two-year-old Watcharin Chunak and two-year-old Supawat…
-
Navy arrests Burmese timber smugglers
RANONG: The Royal Thai Navy stopped a suspicious boat in Thai waters around Koh Chang, Ranong, last Saturday, and found it full of timber, which the boat’s 10-man Burmese crew were apparently trying to smuggle into Thailand. Vice-Admiral Pairoj Theerachai, Commander of the Third Fleet, said that a warship spotted the 20-meter gray boat lurking around the island. The cargo…
-
Gov denies bowing to pressure on land title
PHUKET: In response to recent intense national media coverage, Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi has emphatically denied employing his powers in unusual ways to effect the upgrading of titles on land owned by Deputy Prime Minister Pitak Intrawitayanunt. Nipat Intarasombat, Democrat MP for Phattalung, raised the controversial issue on Thursday, during last week’s televised censure debate. Since then Governor Pongpayome…
-
Trailer-truck flips on curve
PHUKET: A 10-wheel truck towing an 8-wheel trailer and carrying 900 bags of cement overturned on Chao Fa West Rd last night. While the overturned truck and trailer made for a dramatic scene for motorists on their way to work this morning, no one was hurt in the accident. Pol Maj Peeraphan Meemak, inspector of Phuket Town Police Station, told…
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.