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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King’s Cup ends on a breezy note
PHUKET: The 14th Phuket King’s Cup Regatta – the biggest yet – came to a close on Saturday with skippers and crews reinvigorated by good winds after a week of light breezes had turned much of the racing into a frustrating exercise for crews and regatta jury alike. As the last day of racing dawned across Phuket, the largest fleet…
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Phuket-Krabi flights mark launch of Air Andaman
PHUKET: The new Phuket-based airline, Air Andaman, will take to the air on Monday with a twice-daily service between Phuket and Krabi. The frequency will increase to three flights a day from Friday. Montri Rattanapiphop, Regional Sales Manager at Air Andaman’s Bangkok office, told the Gazette, “We will fly from Phuket to Krabi at 0930 and 1720. The return flights…
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King’s Cup: wind disappoints again
KATA: White caps on the waves and a spectacular start by the Premier Cruisers gave everybody hope that Wednesday’s Andaman Sea Race would see hard, fast competition. The race, sponsored this year by Volvo, has a reputation for being long and hard – a grueling 40 nautical miles around the southern tip of Phuket, between Koh Racha Noi and Koh…
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PM hopeful “forgot’ to declare assets
BANGKOK (AFP): Prime ministerial hopeful Thaksin Shinawatra admitted to Thailand’s anti-graft body today that he had failed to declare assets of nearly 15 million dollars, but insisted he had simply forgot. “I have filed an incomplete asset declaration, but I did not intend to, because I had no reason to conceal my assets,” Thaksin told reporters after a crucial appearance…
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40 illegals, 5 employers netted in crackdown
PHUKET: About 40 illegal workers and five people employing them have been arrested since a crackdown on illegal labor began last Friday. Vowing to continue to arrest illegal workers and their employers, Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi yesterday noted, “There are people who do not agree with me for cracking down. “I have even heard that some employers may raise a…
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King’s Cup sees better conditions on Day 2
KATA: After a first day’s racing that ended with no results in most classes thanks to lack of wind, yesterday’s King’s Cup racing saw better conditions. An enthusiastic start to the Boathouse-QBE race saw a collision on the start line between Mats Johansson’s Diah Tantri and Rodney Cran’s Slice of Heaven in the Performance Cruising class, which cost the former…
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S & P maintains ratings, outlook for Thailand
NEW YORK (AFP): U.S. ratings agency Standard and Poor’s yesterday announced that it has maintained all its credit ratings on Thailand and that its outlook on the country remains stable. The agency predicted no change in Thailand’s general economic policy and reform efforts following national elections on January 6. But it also warned that ratings could weaken if the pace…
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Road accident figures improving
PHUKET: A total of 855 people were killed or injured in traffic accidents between September 20 and October 20, according to statistics from the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. Of the 12 fatalities during the period, nine involved motorcycles while the remaining three involved cars. The death rate was lower than the average per month for the year to…
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Singer commits suicide
PHUKET TOWN: A singer was found on Thursday hanging from a beam behind the room she rented on Soi Bornam in Tambon Taladyai. Chanpen Srirat, 26, a native of Phang Nga, left a note saying that she had been living with a baldheaded pimp who had spent all her savings. She had no money to pay the rent, the note…
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Another murder in fishing port
PHUKET TOWN: A man believed to have been a Burmese fisherman was found murdered near the fishing port yesterday morning. This was the second such murder in the space of 24 hours, and the 13th in or around the fishing port this year. Pol Maj Adul Nirapai of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that the man, as yet…
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Mass reburial of unclaimed bodies planned
PHUKET: The Kusonlatham Foundation has announced that it will exhume and rebury some 2,000 unclaimed bodies between February 7 and March 27 next year. This will be the fourth time that unclaimed bodies in Phuket have been reburied. The first time was in 1976 and the most recent was in July 1989. About half of the corpses involved in the…
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Phuket tops list for AIDS in pregnant women
PHUKET: The island has Thailand’s highest rate of HIV infection in pregnant women, the Chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office, Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, has revealed. He said that of every 100 woman going to the province’s hospitals for pre-natal care or to give birth, four test positive for the deadly disease. Dr Boonrieng stressed that all government departments should…
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Hotels lose battle to stop tax
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has finally won its battle to introduce a tax on hotel room revenue. The tax is payable at a rate of 0.2%, effective November 1 this year. The announcement was made yesterday at The Metropole hotel in Phuket Town by senior members of the Phuket Tourism Association (PTA), the Thai Hotels Association –…
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Police crack down on pubs
PHUKET TOWN: In the run-up to national elections, Phuket Town police have been cracking down on errant entertainment venues. In a series of raids in the town between Monday and Thursday last week, establishments known for ignoring opening and licensing laws were targeted, resulting in 18 pubs and restaurants being charged with a variety of offenses. Boopachon Pub, Sip Tam…
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Three Germans arrested on paedophile, theft charges
BANGKOK (AFP): Three German fugitives, wanted on a range of serious charges including child rape, theft and murder, have been arrested at the seaside resort of Pattaya, police said this afternoon. Thai immigration police said the three men were detained separately over the weekend. Jahn Robert, 37, faces two paedophile charges after attacks on children in Munich. Heinz-Peter Ohlenschlager, 52,…
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Prison cancels Open Days
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Prison has canceled its Open Days, scheduled to take place between December 2 and 8, following the breakout and hostage drama at Samut Sakhon prison last week. Pairoj Pankaew, chief of the prison, told the Gazette today that he had received instructions from the director of the Region 8 Prison Service, in Nakhon Sri Thammarat, that Open…
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Airport passenger figures rise
PHUKET: Passenger throughput at Phuket International Airport in October was up by 8.07% compared with the same month last year, according to figures just released by airport officials. The number of people arriving or departing on domestic flights rose by 3.17% to 184,210, while 98,852 people used the airport for international flights, representing an 18.55% increase. Cargo shipments, however, fell…
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Cyberport meeting identifies challenges
PHUKET TOWN: Experts who gathered on Thursday in Phuket all agreed that the island has the potential to be a “cyberport” — a center for information technology — but that it still has challenges that need to be met. “We still need to address three important factors,” said Prof Dr Pairash Thajchayapong, president of the National Science and Technology Development…
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Governor backs IBAP
PHUKET TOWN: At a meeting also attended by the Senator for Phuket, Paiboon Upatising, Provincial Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi today gave his support to the International Business Association of Phuket (IBAP). The Governor said that he could see IBAP’s potential as a forum in which Thais and foreigners could work together to come up with new ideas to benefit society. Also…
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Tough ‘B’ visa rules introduced in Penang
PENANG: In the beginning there was light. Then there was darkness. First, in September, the Thai Consulate in Penang introduced 12-month, multiple-entry non-immigrant B visas. Then, with effect from this month, the consulate began demanding a pile of paperwork, some of it consisting of copies of highly confidential company documents. According to an announcement issued by the consulate to any…
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Hostage-takers die in hail of gunfire
KANCHANABURI (AFP): Thai security forces today shot and killed a band of nine Burmese who had held a jail governor and two other prison staff captive overnight, police said. The governor, his deputy and a policeman were injured in the rescue attempt and had been taken to hospital for treatment, officials said. “The prison governor is seriously injured. He is…
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Eight Burmese in jail-break hostage drama
SAMUT SAKHON (AFP): Eight armed Burmese prisoners holding the jail governor and six of his staff hostage have broken through the gates of the prison here and driven outside the compound in a pick-up truck, police said this afternoon. Provincial police chief Major General Surasri Sunthornsarathoon said negotiators were now trying to win the release of the hostages, two of…
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Loch Palm murder victim “not Thai’
TUNG TONG: The police, continuing their investigation into the murder of an unidentified woman found near the Loch Palm Golf Club on October 6, have decided that she was probably not Thai. “I think the victim could not have been Thai because the clothes, bra and bikini that she wore were cheap. I’m certain she bought [her clothes] from the…
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Death of jet-ski operator solved
PATONG: The mystery of the jet-ski operator found dead on the rocks below Nakalay viewpoint on November 10 has been solved. In a confession to police, Kwanchai “Dum” Chookum admitted that he had caused the death of Boonsung Wassana, 26, but said that he had done so accidentally. Pol Capt Ardinan Benjasamai from Kathu police station said that Dum had…
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Thai team wins sportfishing contest
PATONG: Hong Tong, a team of Thai anglers, won the top award in this year’s Phuket International Sportfishing Classic competition. Second place went to Oily Reelers, a team with members from Australia, New Zealand, Britain and the USA. The award for top captain and crew went to the boat “Andaman Hooker”. The winner of the Lady Angler Trophy was Toola…
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International hunt for murder suspect
KAMALA: Police are trying to track down a German national, 39-year-old Walter Ober Lener, who is wanted in connection with the murder of his 21-year-old Thai girlfriend, Waraporn Tawaetwong, on Monday. The hunt began after K. Waraporn’s body was found yesterday afternoon in the house she shared with Lener. Her neck had been broken and she had been sexually mutilated.…
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French deputy mayor killed in bike smash
PATONG: A deputy mayor of the French ski resort of Chamonix died in a motorcycle accident in front of Phuket Simon Cabaret early yesterday morning. Pol Maj Pisit Cheanpeth of Kathu Police Station told the Gazette that at around 2.30 am, the man, whom he named as Jean-François Girod, aged about 38-40, crashed his rented motorbike into a culvert at…
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Policeman murdered on bypass road
PHUKET TOWN: Pol L/Cpl Piyanut Singkaew, 31, of Phuket Town Police Station, was found murdered late last night opposite a deserted building on the bypass road, about 200 meters past the Gems Gallery. Responding to a call at 11 pm, police found the victim lying face down beside the road. He had been shot seven times with a 9mm pistol,…
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Phuket to crack down on illegal workers
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket’s Governor, Pongpayome Vasaputi, has warned that illegal Burmese, Laotian and Cambodian workers – and those who employ them – will be singled out in a crackdown starting December 1. The proposed crackdown follows a cabinet meeting on August 29 at which a limit was set of 5,308 work permits for Laotian, Burmese and Cambodian workers in Phuket.…
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Four held for trying to rob currency exchange firm
PHUKET TOWN: Four men who had lost money gambling decided on Saturday to take an even bigger gamble – they held up a currency exchange company. But their luck was still bad. They came away empty-handed and were nabbed soon afterwards by police. The four, identified by police as Jaroen Sakjapitak, 42, from Sakhon Nakhon, Jantai Singkam, 34, from Loei,…
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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