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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One small step for a tunnel
PATONG: The planned Kathu-Patong tunnel has taken a small step closer to reality with the publication of an “inception report”, the first report on progress in the 3-million-baht pre-feasibility study for the project. The inception report was prepared jointly by Skanska Teknik Co Ltd of Sweden and Bangkok-based Water Development Consultants Co Ltd. The pre-feasibility study, which is scheduled for…
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Two seized yachts to be auctioned
PHUKET TOWN: Two boats, a classic Hatteras motor yacht and a small sailing yacht, are to be auctioned on August 29 at the Phuket Customs Region 5 offices on Phuket Rd. The boats were seized after their owners, both foreigners, failed to pay Thailand’s crushing 209% boat import taxes. The motor yacht, the ‘Old Crow’, which belonged to a Swiss…
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Thai police, FBI arrest “most-wanted” paedophile
BANGKOK (AFP): An American paedophile rated by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as one of its 10 “most wanted” fugitives was arrested this morning in the Thai capital. Thai police working with FBI officers collared 48-year-old pianist Eric Franklin Rosser, who is charged with producing and possessing child pornography and exporting it to the United States. After his…
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Patong bar owner raped and murdered
PHUKET TOWN: The body of Pranorm Anuan, owner of the Shark Otto Bar in Soi Eric, Patong, was found in an old tin mine north of the Tesco-Lotus Supercenter early on Saturday morning. A villager who was jogging in the area found the body and notified the police around 6:20 am. When found, 24-year-old Pranorm was wearing black boots and…
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B500m tourist center planned for Rawai
PHUKET: A Bangkok-based businessman plans to begin work next year on the construction of a 500-million-baht tourist complex that will provide visitors with “everything they need to know” about the island’s history, culture and environment. Ramese Kanjanapokin, Executive Vice President of architectural consultancy Design 103 International Ltd, told the Gazette that the planned complex will cover 10 rai behind the…
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Ex-mayor to remain in custody
PHUKET TOWN: The former mayor of Patong, Dr Anan Ananthanawat, was today remanded in custody in the Phuket Provincial Prison for a further 12 days while police continue their investigations into charges against him. Dr Anan is accused of hiring hit men to kill former Pol Sub-Lt Weerapol Panrod on Luang Phor Wat Chalong Rd, Phuket Town, in December 1998.…
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Andaman ordeal ends on Karon beach
KARON: Four Indonesian fishermen and their boat ended up on Karon beach yesterday after a three-week ordeal at sea, drifting with a broken engine. Pol Maj Sana Pandee of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette today, “I was informed by the Navy that a foreign vessel was sitting on Karon beach.” When he arrived at the beach, he said, he…
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Police close in on Frenchman’s killer
KOH SAMUI: Police in Koh Samui told the Gazette today that they are on the verge of arresting the person they believe murdered a Frenchman who worked for one of the island’s top hotels. Fabrice Rabete, 28, the head of the diving division of Le Royal Meridien Baan Taling Ngam, was shot in the head in the hotel’s parking lot…
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Upbeat ending to narcotics conference
CAPE PANWA: The 5th Thailand-Burma Drug Law Enforcement Cooperation Meeting has ended on an upbeat note, participants said today. In a press conference held at noon at the Cape Panwa Hotel, officials from Thailand and Burma announced that it was decided at the one-and-a-half-day meeting to set up three “Border Drug Trafficking Control Centers” on the Thai-Burmese border. These will…
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Pedophile Darling released and deported
SCOTLAND: James Fraser Darling, arrested in Phuket five years ago on pedophilia charges, is back in Scotland after being given an early release and being expelled from Thailand, according to the Scottish newspaper, the Daily Record. Darling, 51, was convicted of sexually abusing nine sea gypsy boys aged between eight and 15, and was sentenced to 33 years in jail.…
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Journalists slam government over press freedom
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai journalists and academics have attacked the government over what they say is an unprecedented attempt to control the press and curtail media freedom, a report said today. At a meeting organised by the Thai Journalists Association, participants accused Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s administration of using its business links and strong mandate to intimidate the media. “Unlike in…
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HRH Princess Chulabhorn here tomorrow
PHUKET: HRH Princess Chulabhorn Valayalaksana will arrive in Phuket tomorrow (August 16) for a three-day visit, which will include a performance in a concert of traditional Chinese music and dance at the Royal Phuket City hotel in Phuket Town. Her Royal Highness will arrive from Chiangmai at 11:30 tomorrow morning, going first to the Dusit Laguna Resort Hotel and then,…
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Governor coy over CEO appointment
PHUKET: Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi today deflected questions about Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra’s plan to turn Phuket into an experimental province with a Chief Executive Office, or CEO, instead of a governor. At his bi-weekly press briefing, Gov Pongpayome pointed out that the name of the CEO will be announced by the government at the end of next week. “Don’t ask…
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Thailand and Burma discuss narcotics
CAPE PANWA: High-level talks between top officials from Thailand and Burma on narcotics problems started today at the Cape Panwa Hotel. The two-day meeting, between officials from Thailand’s Office of the Central Narcotics Board and its Burmese counterpart, the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control, is the fifth such meeting. The venue alternates between the two countries. Gen Thammarak Isarangura,…
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Call for flood-relief donations
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Public Welfare Office (PPWO) today urged the public to donate water, food, clothing and cash for the thousands of people left homeless by the recent floods in northern Thailand and Isarn. Worst hit in the floods were seven villages in Phetchabun province’s Lom Sak district. Agence France Presse reported this afternoon that 90 corpses have…
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Environmentalist warns of action over expo center
MAI KHAO: Thanu Naep-nien, spokesperson for the environmentalist group Wildlife Fund Thailand, today warned that action will be taken if protected sea turtles that lay their eggs on Nai Yang Beach, in Sirinart National Park, are affected by the proposed international convention and exhibition center (CEC). “If the site is near Nai Yang beach, it will affect every sea turtle…
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Man found dead with 37 stab wounds
KOH SIREH: The body of a murdered man was found washed ashore near the Rassada Fishing port on Thursday morning. Pol Lt Khaneung Pitakkullatorn of Phuket Town Police Station said that he arrived at the scene at 8.30am to find the 25- to 30-year-old man lying face up, dressed only in a blue T-shirt and green underwear. He had been…
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Major drug dealers busted
THALANG: Acting on a tip-off, police yesterday arrested Thanakrit Channum and his wife Aroon, and Rorchad Utsaha, and seized 11,720 tablets of ya bah (methampthetamine) with a street vale of around 1.75 million baht. Thalang police had been informed that a lot of ya bah was circulating in Baan Pru Somparn and that one of the traffickers was a police…
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Murder-suicide in Kuku
PHUKET TOWN: Two bodies were discovered yesterday morning in a rented room on Soi Tah Cheen, Baan Kuku, apparently the victims of a murder-suicide. Pol Lt Kanuang Pitakkulthorn of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that police broke down the door to the room after receiving complaints from neighbors about a bad smell. Inside, they found the body of…
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International call rates slashed
PHUKET: The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) has announced that it has cut its overseas call rates between 7% and 40%. In addition to these savings, those making international calls between 7 am and 9 pm on Sundays receive a further 20% discount. Phone calls to Australia and North America now cost 22 baht a minute at peak rate (between…
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Dead man was stabbed 25 times
PHUKET: The body of an unidentified man was found yesterday in a tin-roofed shack near the deserted Phya Thai Phuket Hospital building. Pol Lt Parichat Jaturonpun of Phuket Town Police Station said that the victim, estimated to have been between 25 and 30 years old, had been dead for at least seven hours when found. He said that the body…
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Expo Center to be at Mai Khao
MAI KHAO: It has now been confirmed that the site for Phuket’s international convention and exhibition center will be a spread of 2,800 rai of state-owned land near the Sirinart National Park on Mai Kao beach, in the north of the island. Local officials confirmed that an inspector from the Interior Ministry was in Phuket today to survey the land.…
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German tourist drowns at Nai Harn
NAI HARN: Olaf Gerlach, a 30-year-old German tourist, drowned off Nai Harn beach on Wednesday afternoon. Pol Maj Jetsada Sangsuri told the Gazette that a Thai local resident saw Mr Gerlach swimming alone around 4 pm. He was pushed underwater by a large wave and then a current carried him out to sea. The Thai man took a speedboat out…
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Ex-mayor’s detention extended
PHUKET TOWN: The former mayor of Patong, Dr Anan Ananthanawat, has been remanded in custody for a further 12 days, this time in the Phuket Provincial Prison, while police continue investigations into charges against him. Yesterday, armed with a search warrant, officers took Dr Anan to his house on Mae Luan Rd, Phuket Town. What they found astonished them, said…
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Governor suspends seven bars
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi today announced the temporary closure of seven entertainment venues for breaking a variety of laws and regulations. In Phuket Town, the Pe-Tai, near Saphan Hin Stadium, will be closed from August 4 to August 18 for staging lewd shows. The Candy Pub, on Ong Sim Phai Rd, will be closed from August 4 to August…
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TOT launches B0.50-a-minute service
PHUKET: The Telephone Organization of Thailand (TOT) has raised the bar in its battle against fixed-line and mobile phone rivals by chopping prices for those using its Y-tel 1234 service. It is now offering long-distance calls within Thailand for as little as 50 satang a minute during August and September. The 50-satang charge applies on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays,…
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Gambling still the No. 1 vice
PHUKET: Gambling remains Phuket’s favorite illegal pastime with 276 people being arrested in 82 raids between July 1 and July 25, according to the latest statistics released by police. Narcotics held the No. 2 spot with a total of 79 arrests for the period, of which 61 involved ya bah (methamphetamine). The statistics show that 781 tablets of the drug…
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Passenger figures up on last year
PHUKET: Passenger throughput at Phuket International Airport was up in June by 7.56%, compared with the same month last year, according to figures just released by airport officials. The statistics show that 224,178 passengers arrived at or departed from the airport, compared with 208,426 last June. The number of international passengers rose by 9.19% to 98,623, while the number of…
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Boat import taxes demystified
PHUKET: Taxes for importing a yacht into Thailand have long been a matter of confusion, discussion, argument and speculation. Now, however, Gazette inquiries with the Customs Department, both in Phuket and in Bangkok, have uncloaked the way that the various taxes are applied. For a start, it has been confirmed that there is no such thing as a “luxury tax”…
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Chain of raids nets 1,800 ya bah pills
PHUKET TOWN: The arrest on Friday afternoon of a woman found in possession of four tablets of ya bah led to Phuket Town police arresting three more people within hours and netting more than 1,800 tablets of the drug. The chain of seizures started with the arrest of Omaporn Sornnon, 26, from Khon Kaen, at 2 pm on Friday, after…
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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