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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Leaking policeman gets into hot water
PHUKET TOWN: Stopping to pass water can be a dangerous business, as an Immigration Police officer found out on Monday. Pol Snr Sgt Maj Wichien Petphang-nga told the Gazette that he was driving, in plain clothes, toward the center of Phuket Town when he heard the call of nature. He decided to stop at the Sanamchai football field, opposite the…
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Kathu police boss moving to new post
PHUKET: Pol Col Kokiat Wongvorachart, superintendent of Kathu Police Station – which is also responsible for Patong – is to move on Friday to a new post as a deputy provincial commander of Nakhon Sri Thammarat Provincial Police. He will be replaced by Pol Lt Col Paween Pongsirin, currently the litigation deputy superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station. Pol Col…
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Hotel tax row: Governor steps in
PHUKET: The island’s new Governor, Pongpayome Vasaputi, has stepped into the furious row between Phuket’s hotels and the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) over the OrBorJor’s new tax on hotel room revenue. After a five-hour closed meeting last Wednesday with representatives of both sides, the Governor ruled that the hotels must pay the tax, but that the OrBorJor must revise…
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Fire in Phuket Town
PHUKET TOWN: A fire on Saturday night caused damage estimated at 500,000 baht to a house on Sakdidet Rd. Four fire engines arrived within 20 minutes of being alerted by a neighbor. About 80% of the house was destroyed by the blaze. No one was hurt. The cause of the fire has not yet been identified, though an electrical short…
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New driving test area to be built
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Transportation Office (PTO) is to set up a new area for conducting driving tests. The project, which has received the go-ahead from the Department of Land Transport, is expected to be completed within the coming 12 months. Driving tests currently take place on an area next to the PTO office which, the PTO says, is…
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Air passenger figures rise by 13 pc
PHUKET: Passenger throughput at Phuket International Airport in September was up by 13% 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 about 7% to 140,470, while 98,008 people used the airport for international flights, representing a 24% increase. Cargo shipments, however,…
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Two more parties name parliamentary candidates
PHUKET: Two more political parties have named candidates to run in the national elections which, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai announced today, will take place on January 6. The New Aspiration Party, which is led by Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh and Pol Capt Chalerm Yoobamrung, has named Prasert Tantibutsapan to run for District 1. The Chart Thai Party, led by former Prime…
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Injured activist well enough to make statement
THALANG: Environmental activist Siripoj Cheechang, severely injured in what appeared to be an assassination attempt on October 4, was yesterday well enough to make a full statement to officers investigating the incident. But investigators are having trouble getting witnesses to come forward, and have had to resort to issuing subpoenas to force them to make statements. K. Siripoj, who is…
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Abbot charged with murdering woman
PETCHABUN (AFP): The abbot of a wat in this Isan province has been charged with murdering a woman who was found strangled and dumped in a septic tank, local police said today. Adhikarn Arn Wattanadhamo, the abbot of Wat Nonsawangarom, in Amphur Lomsak, Petchabun, has been charged with robbery and premeditated murder and will be prosecuted, the police said. Last…
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English resident killed in bike crash
PATONG: An English resident of Phuket died in a motorcycle accident at the intersection of Thaweewong Rd and Phrabaramee Rd early on Saturday morning. Pol Maj Pisit Cheanpeth of Kathu Police Station told the Gazette that at around 2.30 am, the man, whom he named as 27-year-old Robert William Mark McCartney, ran into a light pole on the road from…
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Golf match raises 400,000 baht for charity
PHUKET: The golf tournament organized by the British Business Association of Phuket (BBAP) on October 14 raised a grand total of 400,665 baht for charity, the BBAP has announced. Despite occasional heavy showers, the contest, at the Blue Canyon Country Club, drew 121 players. Of the total raised, 300,000 baht will go to the Phuket Old People’s Home for construction…
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Motorbike death rate drops sharply
PHUKET: Eight people died in traffic accidents between August 20 and September 20, according to statistics from the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. All the victims were on motorcycles, reported Ampaipan Pawawattananusorn of the Phuket Provincial Health Office. The death-rate on motorcycles in August/September was considerably lower than the average of 14.7 a month for the first nine months…
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Money-laundering regulations start tomorrow
PHUKET: From tomorrow, anyone wanting to withdraw more than 2 million baht in cash from a bank account – or deposit more than that amount in cash – will have to fill in certain forms in order to comply with the Money Laundering Control Act of 1999. “This applies to cash transactions of more than 2 million baht. The purpose…
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Two drown in three days
PATONG: A 22-year-old Malaysian tourist who was a national-level swimmer for his country drowned Tuesday afternoon at Patong Beach. Chan Oy Lye, 21, identified the victim as her boyfriend, Chew Hoo Hao. The couple had arrived in Phuket with two other friends just a few hours before the accident took place. The four friends had checked into the Panorama Hotel…
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Monk caught cavorting in guise of Army officer
BANGKOK (AFP): A Buddhist abbot caught masquerading as a well-heeled military officer was being investigated by police today after his secret life of luxury cars, bars and girls was exposed. Abbot Thammathorn Wanchai was defrocked and arrested when his illicit activities were broadcast nationwide by a television crew who had followed him for days. Their report showed him leaving his…
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Chart Pattana picks Phuket candidates
PHUKET TOWN: The Chart Pattana Party has finally chosen its candidates for Phuket’s two parliamentary seats in the coming general election. Samkhan Saengfai, managing director of PB Holdings, is to stand for Voting District 1, which covers Phuket Town apart from Tambon Rassada and Tambon Koh Kaew. K. Samkhan, Gazette readers may recall, was the man who tried to launch…
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Police announce softer traffic policy
PHUKET TOWN: Although they will continue stopping those who break traffic laws, Phuket’s police say they will be more systematic about it, and will issue fewer tickets for traffic offenses than before. The new policy follows riots in the streets of Nakhon Sri Thammarat recently when motorcycle owners went on the rampage in protest against what they saw as excessively…
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Parks coupon scheme sees few takers
BANGKOK: Only 150 tour and dive operators in the whole of Thailand have submitted applications to join a concessionary coupon scheme recently announced by the Marine National Parks Department (MNPD) of the Royal Forestry Department (RFD). The coupon scheme allows operators to take foreigners into parks at the old rate of 20 baht or 40 baht, rather than the new…
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Rape victim goes home
PHUKET TOWN: The Scottish rape victim, 22-year-old tourist Dawn Farmer, left Phuket yesterday for home, but police say they will stay in touch with her, and her departure will not stop them from hunting her rapist. However, Pol Lt Col Paween Pongsirin, deputy superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, admitted that his officers are finding it hard to identify the…
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Another week of rain, says weatherman
PHUKET: The current bad weather in Phuket is likely to continue for another week as a tropical depression passes over the island, Amorn Chantanavivate, director of the Southwestern Regional Meteorological Center, said today. The rain and wind are being caused by a moderate southwest monsoon over the Andaman Sea and the southwestern coast of Thailand, he explained.
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Swingin’ monk gets the sack
BANGKOK (AFP): An abbot at a Thai temple was forced to leave the monkhood in disgrace today after being caught carousing with a group of women in a karaoke bar. Phra Pativetviset, from the Bangkok temple Wat Sriboonruang, was banished after being captured on film during a police raid on the karaoke joint last weekend. Despite wearing a disguise of…
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Blast and fire damage yacht
AO MAKHAM: A fire broke out this morning on a 4-million-baht sailing yacht berthed at Ao Yon, causing damage estimated at 1 million baht. The fire started at 7 am aboard the ketch “Red Moon”. Pol Lt Col Teerapol Thipjaroen, acting superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that villagers heard an explosion before the yacht began to…
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Decade of inaction on twin city slammed
PHUKET TOWN: The man behind a twin-city agreement between Phuket and the French Riviera city of Nice slammed the provincial government today for ignoring the agreement for more than 10 years, causing Phuket to miss some big opportunities to learn from Nice and to attract more French visitors. Jessada Kraipusspong, former deputy managing director of Asia Voyage and Pansea Group…
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Tambons angry over slow progress in investigation
PA KHLOK: The chairman of the Phuket OrBorTor Association (POA), an umbrella organization for the island’s Tambon councils, says the POA is ready to complain to the Ministry of Interior about the slow progress made by police investigating the attempted assassination of Pa Khlok OrBorTor member and journalist Siripoj Cheechang. K. Siripoj was working to stop a local “investor” from…
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Hotels reiterate refusal to pay new tax
PHUKET: The committees of the Thai Hotels Association (THA), Southern Chapter, and the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) today announced that they will not collect hotel tax from tourists on behalf of the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) until the organization is able to clarify a number of issues. The refusal to collect the tax came in response to the latest…
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Slow progress in murder and rape cases
PHUKET: The police have admitted that investigations of two recent headline-grabbing cases have not being going as well as they had hoped. In the case of the mutilated corpse of an unidentified woman found in Kathu on October 7, Pol Maj Withoon Kongsoodchai, Inspector of Tung Tong Police Station, said, “There has been almost no evidence that points us towards…
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Lions Club raffle results
PHUKET TOWN: The Lions Club of Phuket Pearl has announced the winners of its “Smile for the Future” raffle and food fair, drawn on Saturday at Saphan Hin during the club’s annual fund-raising event. The winner of the first prize, a Nissan pick-up truck, was K. Chalermpong (ticket number 19195). Sompong Aunmettajit (ticket number 27367) won the Yamaha motorcycle, Maneerat…
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Contractor takes drastic measures to get payment
PHUKET: A building contractor was so irritated by a dispute over payment with a customer that he did some extra work around her house this morning. He nailed planks across all her doors and windows, making her a prisoner in her home with her two small children. House owner Paetai “Noi” Kaeser, 35, living at 78/392 Soi 3, Phuket Villa…
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Police arrest motorbike hit-man
PHUKET: A finance company employee was shot dead while on his way home at 8:20 this morning. His killer was arrested just three hours later. Pol Maj Sanya Thongsawas of Phuket Town Police Station said that the victim, Aroon Yutitham, 28, was riding his motorbike from Phuket Town to his home at 8/4 Moo 1, Tambon Wichit, and had stopped…
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Red-tape nightmare for parks entry
PHUKET: It’s official: the postponement of the fee hike for foreigners visiting national parks in Thailand has been canceled. Thais will be allowed into the parks at the old price, ranging from as little as 5 baht to 20 baht, whereas foreigners (including foreigners resident in Thailand) will have to pay 200 baht for adults and 100 baht for children.…
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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