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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Fried chicken terribly costly for Mercedes lady
PHUKET TOWN: A woman who parked her car briefly on Friday found herself half a million baht poorer when she got back behind the wheel. Pol Capt Anukul Nookate of Phuket Town Police Station said Lynchee Somsak, 42, stopped her car on Luang Por Wat Chalong Rd to buy fried chicken. She told the police that, because the chicken vendor…
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Westerner’s body found in Suan Luang Park
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a Western man was found floating in the lagoon at Suan Luang Park on Chao Fa Nai Rd on Saturday morning. Pol Col Chalit Tintanee, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, said the man, as yet identified, is estimated to have been about 25 to 30 years old. He was about 180 centimeters tall and…
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Diesel smugglers arrested
PHUKET: Four Thais were arrested on Saturday evening on charges of smuggling untaxed fuel into Thailand, and 60,000 liters of low-grade diesel, worth about 180,000 baht, was seized from their vessel, the Look Kob. The vessel was also impounded. Pol Col Surapol Tuanthong, Deputy Commissioner of the Royal Thai Marine Police, said that the modified fishing vessel was stopped near…
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Chalerm denies masterminding assassination attempt
BANGKOK (AFP): The deputy leader of Thailand’s main opposition party denied masterminding the attempted assassination of a prosecutor who was allegedly investigating his sons, reports said yesterday. “A man like me does not need to hire anyone to kill someone else. I would do it myself,” the Bangkok Post quoted Police Captain Chalerm Yubamrung, deputy leader of the New Aspiration…
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Permanent residence window about to close
BANGKOK: The Immigration Bureau has issued a reminder that, barring the remote possibility of an extension, June 30 is the deadline for foreign investors to apply for “special investment” permanent residence status in Thailand. Normally, those applying for permanent residence must hold a non-immigrant visa and reside in Thailand on a one-year-visa extension basis for three years consecutively. The period…
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Kao Mai Party denies election accusations
PHUKET TOWN: The OrBorJor Kao Mai Party, which swept into power in the Provincial Administration Organization elections (OrBorJor) on February 4, today denied in court accusations leveled at it by the losers in the election, the Pattana Tongtin Party. In the first hearing into the accusations, the Phuket Provincial Court this morning heard the charges filed by 10 of the…
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Health warnings issued as rains approach
PHUKET: With the rainy season approaching, the Phuket Health Office has issued warnings about the increased risk of dengue fever and malaria. The office recommended using an insect repellent to ward against the mosquitoes that spread dengue fever and malaria. Cases of dengue in Phuket have receded sharply over the past year. Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, chief of Phuket Health Office…
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Tourists hurt by long-tail propeller
PATONG: A Swedish father and his son were badly lacerated on Thursday when a long-tail boat ran over them as they swam at Freedom Beach, just south of Patong. Pol Capt Boonlert Onklang of Kathu Police Station said that the father and son, whom he named as Olle Sundin, 43, and Maenus Sundin, 15, were apparently under the water when…
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Police drop charges against dive instructor
CHALONG: Police today dropped charges against a foreign dive instructor who was arrested at the end of February for working without a tour-guide license. The charge was dropped on the grounds that a diver working in Thailand does not require such a license, contrary to assertions made earlier by the Phuket Tourist Police. The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), which…
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Chuan ally named to replace Sanan
BANGKOK (AFP): The deputy leader of the ruling Democrat Party, Banyat Banthadtan, is to be appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Interior Minister, Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai announced today. Banyat’s appointment will fill the two Cabinet posts left vacant by Sanan Kachornprasart who resigned last week after being accused of filing a false financial statement with the National Counter Corruption Commission.…
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Ya bah dealer arrested
PHUKET TOWN: The owner of an air-conditioner repair shop on Chao-Fa Nai Rd was arrested on Tuesday for selling ya bah (methamphetamine). Pol Lt Col Preecha Klaewtanong of Phuket Town Police Station said the police had received a report from an informant that Piya Watana, 27, had been selling ya bah from his shop, Piya Air, for several months. An…
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Phuket to ‘get tough’ on jet-skis
PHUKET: Phuket is to get tough on jet-ski operators again, it was decided yesterday at a meeting of officials from across the island. Chaired by vice-governor Amnuay Sanguannam, the meeting brought together officials from the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), district offices, the Harbor Department, the Marine Police, the Tourist Police and other police. Representatives from the local jet-ski industry…
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Similans to close on May 15
PHUKET: All nine islands in the Similan National Park will be closed to the public between May 15 and November 15 this year. Kittima Tinkohyao, an officer stationed at the park’s Tap Lamoo office in Phang Nga, explained that the islands are closed every year at about this time because the arrival of the monsoon season makes the seas too…
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Buffalo to face beach fees, gas tax
PHUKET: Pissit Raknamkwei, chief of the Phuket Buffalo Authority (PBA), announced this morning that all bovines in the province must obtain a Beach Use Permit (BUP) from his office no later than April 7. Those failing to do so will be “refrigerated”, he said. It was only the first setback of the month for the island’s water buffalo. The real…
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Drug dealers ride rails for sales
BANGKOK (AFP): Drug dealers are using Bangkok’s new mass-transit Skytrain system to target new clients and expand their markets, reports said this morning. Students are complaining that well-dressed amphetamine dealers are approaching them on the Bangkok Transit System (BTS) and offering them drugs, The Nation said, quoting the deputy director of Bangkok’s Transport Office. To combat the natty peddlers, the…
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THAI boosts flights for Songkran
PHUKET: Thai Airways International announced yesterday that it will increase flights between Phuket and Bangkok during the Songkran festival next month. “The demand for Phuket during the festival this year has been stronger than last year because Songkran coincides with a weekend,” explained Pricha Nawong, district sales manager for Upper Southern Thailand. “So we have decided to add seven more…
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Seven arrested on drug charges
PHUKET: Police yesterday arrested six men for possession of ya bah (methamphetamine) and one for possession of marijuana. The six, named as Prasert Tongruang, 23, Taewa Sansook, 21, Montri Pongkan, 22, Prasert Boopphakarn, 19, Nareth Kongkaew, 22, and Jaroong Pimkij, 26, were arrested in a police raid on a home in Moo 1, Tambon Karon, just after dawn. Pol Lt…
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Body found floating at fishing port
PHUKET TOWN: The body of a man believed to be a fisherman was found floating near a fishing wharf on Soi Si Sena yesterday morning. Pol Maj Sanya Thongsawas of the Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that the man, as yet unidentified, was wearing only blue jeans and a white amulet string around his waist. He is estimated…
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Illegals top arrest statistics
PHUKET: Illegal immigrants topped the list of arrests in Phuket between March 1 and 25, according to statistics released today by the Phuket Provincial Police. Of 675 people arrested, 247 were illegal immigrants. This was followed by gambling, with 189 people arrested in the course of 85 raids. Drug-related cases came in a close third with 155 arrests. Thirty-seven of…
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Police rethink death of Burmese woman
THALANG: Police are looking more closely into the death of a young Burmese woman found buried in a shallow grave in a rubber plantation near Baan Manik Mountain in Tambon Srisoonthorn two days ago. The woman was originally reported to have died of malaria and to have been buried secretly by her family. But Pol Col Prapakorn Saksupa, Superintendent of…
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Thai government in crisis after corruption accusation
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s government was rocked by scandal today after an investigation found Interior Minister Sanan Kachornprasart guilty of filing a false statement of his assets. The National Counter Corruption Commission (NCCC) ruled that Sanan had submitted a false declaration outlining a 45-million-baht (1.2-million-dollar) loan which he said he had obtained from a trading company. The NCCC says that no…
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Woman found buried in rubber plantation
THALANG: The body of a young Burmese woman was found in a rubber plantation near Baan Manik Mountain in Tambon Srisoonthorn yesterday afternoon. A villager searching for wild vegetables alerted police after finding a mound that looked like a grave, with pieces of torn cloth and burned paper mixed in with the dirt. Pol Col Prapakorn Saksupa, Superintendent of Thalang…
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10 Laotian women arrested
CHALONG: Ten young Laotian women were arrested at around 1 pm today in Chalong. Pol Lt Teerawat Liumsuwan of Chalong Police Station said police officers spotted the women walking along Chao Fa Nork Rd, near Chalong Circle. They looked “lost and suspicious”, said Lt Teerawat, so the officers stopped them and asked for their ID Cards. They had none. “Certainly…
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Tong Tin Kao Nah in landslide election win
KARON: The Tong Tin Kao Nah Party has won a landslide victory in the Karon Municipal Council elections, which took place on Saturday, winning all of the council’s 12 seats. Two thirds of the municipality’s 3,745 registered voters cast ballots. Tawee Thongchaem, the party’s leader, gathered the highest number of votes, 1,789, setting the stage for him to be selected…
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Tourist Police save American’s holiday
PATONG: American tourist Stanley Olchowski’s holiday in Phuket nearly came to an abrupt end when he left his waist pouch on the 5:30 pm bus from Patong to Phuket Town on Thursday. In the pouch were US$2,700 (about 100,000 baht), 11,480 baht and his passport. Mr Olchowski, 48, promptly contacted the Tourist Police. Pol Cpl Surin Pitpan was dispatched to…
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“Lenient’ visa rules slammed again
PATTAYA (AFP) – A senior security official has slammed Thailand’s lenient tourism policies for allowing international crime syndicates to enter the country and wreak havoc at will. “More and more international crime syndicates are basing themselves in Thailand because of the ease with which they can enter the country due to tourism policies,” said Khachadpai Buruspatana, secretary general of the…
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Inquiry into Patong beatings launched
KATHU: Siripong Sripayang, deputy district officer of Kathu District, is to head an investigation into the beatings of five staff of the Tara Patong Hotel on March 13, allegedly by undercover police from Kathu Police Station, the Gazette learned today In the meantime, the accused officers will remain on duty, said Pol Lt Col Jarus Jetsadawan, Deputy Superintendent of Kathu…
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Phuket launches drive for Thai tourists
PHUKET: The Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) in coordination with the local office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and Phuket FantaSea will launch a campaign to draw more Thai tourists to Phuket in the coming low season. Pamuke Achariyachai, president of the PTA, said the aim of the campaign is to improve the domestic market for Phuket and to…
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Governor irked by scofflaws, flexed muscles
PHUKET TOWN: About 60 people from the Phuket Construction Association staged a protest yesterday afternoon outside Phuket Provincial Hall in an effort to pressure Governor Charnchai Soontharamut to extend the deadline for registration of foreign workers. Soothichai Pinkate, president of the association, first lodged a complaint that when the police went to construction workers’ camps in Patong on March 17,…
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Patong police beatings under investigation
PATONG: Officers from Kathu Police Station met yesterday with representatives of the Tara Patong Hotel to discuss the March 13 beatings of five employees of the hotel by undercover police. “We asked the police for two things,” said Sutham Saejea, personnel manager of the hotel. “First, we asked for 550,000 baht compensation for the victims and their families, and, second,…
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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