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
5 hidden healthcare costs in Thailand and how to avoid them
Thailand's healthcare system is affordable and supported by the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) scheme, offering essential services to most citizens. However, hidden healthcare costs can surprise patients and lead to unexpected expenses. These include specialist fees, insurance gaps, emergency services,...
-
Worst-ever road death, injury statistics
PHUKET: Sixteen people died in traffic accidents between January 20 and February 20, according to statistics from the Wachira, Thalang and Patong government hospitals. All the victims were on motorcycles, Ampaipan Pawawattananusorn of the Phuket Provincial Health Office reported. In the same period, 906 were hurt in crashes involving motorbikes, while 35 people were injured in car accidents. The year’s…
-
Another blow for foreign investors
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra today urged developing Asian nations to abandon economic policies modeled after the United States and Japan, and to try to build local businesses rather than attract foreign investors. At the opening of the 57th session of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), Thaksin said that economic reforms…
-
Braggart raped by five women
SRISAKET (AFP): Five Thai women have agreed to pay compensation to a man they allegedly gang-raped on Songkhran Day, police said today. Police said the women, aged between 20 and 40, admitted to plying the 47-year-old man from this northeastern Srisaket province with alcohol, tying him up and stripping him naked before taking turns having sex with him. “All the…
-
Homeowners urged to join watch program
PATONG: Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, has urged Patong homeowners and tenants to notify the police when they go on vacation, leaving their homes unattended. Police officers will check on the houses while on patrol. A red box will be installed in front of each home, containing a logbook for patrolmen to sign when they check…
-
Patong “may be exempt from 2 am rule’
PATONG: The Ministry of Interior is looking at the enforcement of the 2 am closing law and may decide to make an exception for Patong, allowing bars and other entertainment venues in the town to stay open later. The announcement of the possible reprieve was made today by the Governor of Phuket, Pongpayome Vasaputi. He stressed that the clampdown on…
-
Bikers raise B38,000 for schools
PATONG: Organizers of the 7th Phuket Bike Week have announced that the event, which ends today, has raised 38,000 baht for charity. Proceeds will go to Wat Suwan Kiriwong School, Baan Sai Namyen School and Baan Kalim School. Somnuek “Nicky” Phonkaew, one of the organizers of Bike Week, told the Gazette that the funds are to be earmarked to buy…
-
Gambling tops arrest stats
PHUKET: Gambling once again topped the arrest statistics in March, according to figures provided by the Phuket Provincial Police. In the course of 136 raids, 223 people were arrested for gambling. Narcotics offences came second in the league, with 102 people arrested in the course of 96 busts. A total of 1,679 “ya bah” (methamphetamine) pills were seized. The other…
-
Man hangs himself from tree
PHUKET TOWN: A man was found on Sunday hanging from a tree behind his home in Phuket Villa California. A neighbor walking by saw Teap Bourkeaw, 73, a native of Nakhon Sri Thammarat, hanging by a piece of cloth from the tree. The neighbor managed to get K. Teap down from the tree and called the police, but K. Teap…
-
Six dead, 520 hurt during Songkhran
PHUKET: Six people died in traffic accidents in Phuket during the Songkhran holiday, according to statistics compiled from all of the island’s hospitals. In addition, 520 people were injured in traffic accidents. “Ninety percent of the accidents involved motorbikes, and most occurred between the evening of April 13 and the early morning of April 14,” Ampaipan Pawawattananusorn of the Phuket…
-
Homeowners urged to join anti-crime scheme
KATHU: Police are urging anyone going away during the Songkhran period to notify them so that they can keep an eye on their homes until they get back. Joining the “Let The Police Watch Your Home” scheme is free, and is very simple, said Pol Lt Col Witoon Kongsudjai, inspector of Tung Tong Police Station. All householders need do is…
-
Airport passenger throughput falls
PHUKET: In a sharp reversal of recent trends, passenger throughput at Phuket International Airport during February was down by 2.3% compared with the same month last year, according to figures released by airport officials. The number of people arriving or departing on domestic flights was, at 213,755, almost the same as last year. But the number of people using the…
-
What next? Dog passports, of course
PHUKET: Phuket has begun issuing dog passports, making it the first place in Asia (and the second in the world) to do so, according to the Phuket Provincial Livestock Office (PPLO). Koh Samui will be the next location in Thailand to adopt the system, with the rest of the country to follow in due course. The introduction of dog passports,…
-
June launch for 30-baht medical treatment
PHUKET: The Thaksin government’s scheme to provide medical treatment for Thai citizens at 30 baht per hospital visit will become available in Phuket from June 1. Dr Jessada Chaikunwat, Deputy Chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PHO), explained that dates will soon be announced on which Thais who wish to join the scheme may go either to the PHO…
-
Two more found dead in fishing port
PHUKET TOWN: Two more bodies were found on Sunday in the area of the fishing port, bringing the number of corpses found in the area to four in the space of 24 hours. Pol Maj Thanet Puangmanee of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that the first man, as yet unidentified, appeared from his facial features to be from…
-
Briton and Thai die in road crash
PHUKET: A British man on a motorcycle and a Thai pedestrian both died after the bike struck the pedestrian early Friday at the entrance to Moo Baan Anupas Manorom, on Chao Fa Nok Rd. Police named the men as Kenneth Patrick Ford, 24, and Soonthon Sripudtong, 40, from Phatthalung. Pol Maj Songwut Khunjun of the Phuket Town Police Station told…
-
Corpse and skeleton found near fishing port
PHUKET TOWN: The body of one man and the skeleton of another were found on Soi Si Sena near Phuket’s fishing port on Saturday morning. Neither has been identified but both are believed to be Burmese fishermen, and to have been murdered. Pol Capt Chaum Kaosrisuwan, of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette that the skeleton was found in…
-
Drunk-driving crackdown starts tonight
PHUKET: The police have warned that they will begin serious spot checks for drunken driving from tonight, in a campaign that will last until April 18 – after the Songkhran festival. At a highly publicized trial roadblock set up in Phuket Town a week ago, police stopped and breathalysed 70 drivers – 60 men and 10 women. Of these, 40…
-
Korean interpreter found murdered
PHUKET TOWN: A Korean interpreter was found dead yesterday in a pool of blood at his home in Phuket Villa 3. Pol Maj Thanet Puangmanee of Phuket Town Police Station identified the dead man as Park Ho-Yong. He was found in the kitchen at house number 70/44 Soi Polchareon, Phuket Villa 3, on Chao Fa Nai Road. Krongsit Kamtalob, who…
-
Thaksin admits weak defense against graft charges
BANGKOK (AFP): Embattled Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra admitted Thursday that his lawyers had mounted a lacklustre defense against graft charges that threaten to end his political career. Thaksin said he would not sack his legal team despite its poor showing in the Constitutional Court which this week opened a hearing into the indictment handed down by the nation’s anti-corruption body.…
-
Songkhran celebrants warned
PATONG: The superintendent of Kathu Police Station has warned Songkhran celebrants not to throw or daub talcum powder or powdered dyes on other people. Such activities, Pol Col Paween Pongsirin says, reflect badly on Thailand’s culture. Those caught using powder risk being arrested for making public places dirty or for creating a nuisance. Both offenses carry a maximum penalty of…
-
Governor “not worried’ about transfer rumors
PHUKET TOWN: Provincial Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi says he has heard the recent rumors that pressure is building to have him transferred out of Phuket because he is applying Thailand’s laws too stringently. He said he had heard that business people whose profits had been hit by his strict enforcement of laws were prepared to pay money to get him moved…
-
Abattoir worker slaughtered
PHUKET TOWN: A slaughterhouse worker died an ironic death in the early hours of Friday morning when his throat was cut during an argument that got out of hand. Police were called to housing near Suan Luang Park on Chao Fa Nai Rd after neighbors witnessed the killing. Pol Capt Anukul Nuket of Phuket Town Police Station, naming the dead…
-
Thaksin begins fight of his life
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s Constitutional Court opens a hearing this week into corruption charges against Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra that threaten to cut short his political career. Thaksin won the January national elections despite having just been indicted for deliberately concealing some of his assets while deputy prime minister in 1997. The billionaire businessman faces a five-year ban from politics if…
-
Valhalla closed down indefinitely
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket Governor Pongpayome Vasaputi yesterday cancelled the operating license of the Valhalla Entertainment complex on Soi Sunset, Patong, closing it indefinitely. The closure came after police raided the place on March 21 and allegedly found five underage girls performing “improper” acts. “I have canceled their license because they have been operating a business that is different from that…
-
Appeal for 12-year-old’s kin to come forward
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Public Welfare Office (PWO) has made a public appeal for the relatives of Worawut Hahom – or anyone who knows anything of their whereabouts – to come forward. Worawut was eight years old when he was sentenced by a court to four years of state care and rehabilitation at the Observation and Protection Center (OPC) of…
-
Crackdown on drunk driving
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Police and the Phuket Provincial Health Office are to launch a breath-test campaign to catch drunk drivers, starting in the early hours of Friday, March 30. Happily for drunk drivers, Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, Chief of the Health Office, has revealed that the checks will take place in front of Surakul stadium between 2 and 4…
-
Major blackout coming
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) will be installing new power lines from Phang Nga into Phuket, which will result in blackouts on March 29 lasting from 7 am to 5 pm. These will affect two main areas: Area one: Along the west side of Chao Fa Nok Rd from the PPEA substation, including Soi Nakok and Soi Sainamyen…
-
Swimming race ends in tragedy
KATHU: A young Thai man drowned on Sunday afternoon in the Bang Wat reservoir after getting into trouble during a swimming race with a friend. Pol Capt Boonlert Polkwang of Tungtong Police Station named the dead man as Uthai Srimuddee, 19, an air conditioning engineer with Pravej Chang Air. Capt Boonlert said that Uthai and his close friend and colleague,…
-
Charn re-elected as Chamber Chairman
PHUKET TOWN: Members of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce, meeting late into the night, voted on Saturday to re-elect Charn Wongsatayanont as Chairman of the chamber. K. Charn received 11 votes, just one vote more than his rival for the position, Pamuke Achariyachai, president of the Kata Group of Hotels. The 21-member committee elected at the same time includes eight…
-
IBAP looks at BoI advantages
PHUKET TOWN: The International Business Association of Phuket (IBAP) saw a record turnout of around 100 members and guests for its bi-monthly general meeting on Friday. Guest of honor was Charn Wongsatayanont, chairman of the Phuket Chamber of Commerce. The main topic of the meeting was the Board of Investment (BoI), its aims and the ways it can help businesses.…
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.