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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Big Discounts to Europe on Lauda Air
PHUKET: Lauda Air has today announced a whopping 20% discount on Business Class fares from Phuket and Bangkok to any of its destinations in Europe. The offer is available to Gazette Shopper Card holders only and includes a bonus of an extra 10-kilograms in luggage allowance (from 30 kg to 40 kg). Tickets, whether originating from Phuket or Bangkok, must…
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Alleged hirer of hit men surrenders
PHUKET TOWN: A man who is alleged to have hired three hit men in March to kill a 77-year-old woman, surrendered to police on Wednesday. As reported in the Online Gazette in March, the three hit men, Somporn Paotong, Wannarat Kamsoot, and Soontorn Siripan, were first contacted by Saman Jarnjit, a guard at a prawn farm, who hired them to…
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Big hike in water prices imminent
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Town Municipality announced yesterday that the price of piped water supplied from the council’s waterworks will increase massively from next Thursday (June 1). The price will rise by as much as 33% for households and by as much as 44% for businesses. Deputy mayor Jongrak Narukatpichai explained that the hike was necessary because of the spiraling…
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Bus company boss finally gives up
PHUKET TOWN: Samkhan Saengfai, who a year ago proposed to launch Phuket’s first local bus service, has finally admitted defeat. K. Samkhan, managing director of PB Holdings, told the Gazette that his company would relinquish the concession it was awarded for two bus routes in Phuket Town. He explained that he had decided to pull out because the company would…
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Man held for selling pirated game CDs
KARON: A street stall owner was arrested on Monday by Chalong Police for selling pirated computer game CDs. Pol Lt Teerawat Liumsuwan of Chalong police station told the Gazette that the arrested man, Charn Mongkolratsameeroj, sells CDs from a stall on Soi Bangla in Karon. He was taken into custody after being reported by Tanarat Meechaiyo, a representative of the…
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More descendants of princess emerge
KAMALA: After the naming of the Yayee family of Kamala as the descendants of the legendary Princess Mahsuri of Langkawi, five more families in the village have claimed blood connections to the princess. The five families– the Doomlak, the Sangthong, the Sariya, the Sooksrisin and the Sungwarn – say they want nothing; they just want the public to know that…
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Fighter pilot crash-lands tuk-tuk
KAMALA: An American fighter pilot who later told police he was bored of flying jets, “borrowed” a tuk-tuk in the early hours of May 22. His high-speed flying skills did not get him far, however; he crashed the tuk-tuk into a ditch and landed in a punch-up with the vehicle’s owner. Pol Capt Komdej Pohthong of Kathu Police Station told…
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Gunman kills club owner’s brother
PATONG: Eekaphan Hin-on, 37, was shot dead in his brother’s snooker club early yesterday morning by a young gunman. The gunman, identified by police as Somjit Kongton, 20, ran away after the killing, but later that night went to the Kathu Police Station to turn himself in. According to Pol Capt Komdej Pohthong of Kathu Police Station, Eekaphan was talking…
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Kamala family named as princess’ descendants
KAMALA: Chern Yayee, 62, from Kamala and his family have been named by the Malaysian Government as the long-lost relatives of Princess Mahsuri, a legendary figure in on the Malaysian island of Langkawi. The Yayee family have now been invited to Kuala Lumpur, where they will dine with Malaysia’s Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamed, on May 31. According to the…
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QSI confirms PINS takeover
PHUKET: The Board of Directors of the Phuket International School (PINS) announced today that the US-based Quality Schools International (QSI) has accepted its invitation to take over PINS. PINS will therefore close permanently on June 30, and the QSI International School of Phuket will open on the same premises the following day. Mr James Gilson, president of QSI, will be…
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Body found on Cape Panwa beach
AO MAKHAM: The body of a man believed to be a Muslim fisherman was found on the beach in front of the Cape Panwa Hotel on Tuesday evening. Pol Capt Cha-oom Kaosrisuwan of the Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that the man, as yet unidentified, wore a black T-shirt, a green camouflage jacket, and a pair of fishermen’s…
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Police catch second big drug dealer
PHUKET TOWN: Kamol Ratakarn, 27, described by police as a major drug dealer whose trademark was a bronze-colored BMW, was arrested on Tuesday evening in possession of 350 pills of ya bah (methamphetamine). He was the second big dealer arrested this month. On May 8, police caught Seksan Tuambang with 200 tablets of the drug. Pol Capt Passakorn Sonthikul told…
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Sleeping teenager shot dead
PATONG: A 15-year-old boy, sleeping peacefully at home, was killed in the early hours of Saturday in what police say appears to have been an accidental shooting. Pol Col Kokiat Wongworachart, Superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that Suchart Duangjamlong, 15, was asleep when two bullets, fired from outside, went through the wooden wall of the boy’s home.…
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Missing boatman’s body found
CHERNG TALAY: The body of a missing boatman was found on Saturday, on the sand at Bangtao Beach. Pol Capt Watcharin Jirattikarnwiwat of Cherng Talay Police Station said police had been told last week that the boatman, Boonthep Padsamai, 25, had been washed out to the sea on Wednesday, May 10. Friends said that Boonthep was helping them to haul…
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Parties gear up for national poll
PHUKET: Two of Thailand’s three major political parties, the Democrats and Thai Rak Thai, are close to final selection of their candidates in the run-up to national elections which must be held before the end of this year. Because of the growth in its population, Phuket will elect two members of parliament – it currently has just one. Thai Rak…
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Sharply rising costs hit Laguna profits
PHUKET: Laguna Resorts & Hotels plc (LRH) saw its net profit drop 21% in the first quarter of 2000, compared with the same period of 1999. The drop, management explained, came mainly as the result of sharp increases in hotel operations and sales costs, and administration expenses. LRH made a profit of 143.6 million baht in the period, compared with…
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Construction worker electrocuted
SAMKONG: A workman fixing an aluminum ceiling in a new house in the Sam Kong area died yesterday of electrocution. A colleague of the dead man told police that he was working at the back of the house on Yaowarat Rd, about 200 meters from the Bangkok Phuket Hospital, when he heard a scream from the front of the house.…
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French tourist dies after pool mishap
PATONG: A 31-year-old French tourist, Franck Amani, who was pulled from the bottom of a hotel swimming pool yesterday morning, died last night at the Bangkok Phuket Hospital. Pol Maj Pisit Cheanpetch of Kathu Police Station told the Gazette that Mr Amani and his friends had gone to Soi Bangla in Patong the previous night and had not returned to…
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Burmese fisherman murdered
PHUKET TOWN: A Burmese fisherman was found murdered in a rented house near the fishing port early yesterday morning. Pol Lt Kaneuing Pitakkultorn of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that, at around 10 am yesterday, he received a phone call informing him of the murder. In the house on Anuphasphuketkarn Rd in Tambon Rassada, Lt Kaneuing found the…
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Concessionaires sought for boat quay
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) has admitted defeat in its attempts to get tour boat operators to use its smart new Rassada Quay on Sri Sena Rd. Instead of trying to run the 65-million-baht quay itself, the OrBorJor now plans to call for bids from companies interested in running the pier on a concession basis. “We just…
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Farmers demand help with debts
BANGKOK (AFP): Ten thousand Thai farmers massed in Bangkok today, demanding government help in their battle to pay debts and a new push on agricultural reform. The demonstrators arrived in trucks from 17 northern provinces and congregated at the city’s Royal Plaza, close to Government House. “They want the government to pay off their debts and to solve problems over…
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CAT makes deep cuts in overseas call rates
PHUKET: The Communications Authority of Thailand (CAT) has reduced the rates for overseas calls to 44 countries by as much as 35% (see table above). Voravit Vorapiboonpong, chief of the Phuket Telecommunications Center, told the Gazette that the rate reductions were introduced because the CAT wants to encourage more people to make overseas phone calls. The reductions will apply to…
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Drug bust nails big ya bah dealer’s brother
PHUKET TOWN: Police yesterday arrested a 30-year-old man who, they believe, had ambitions to take over from his brother as one of Phuket’s biggest dealers in ya bah (methamphetamine). The man, Seksan Tuambang, was arrested in possession of 200 tablets of the drug in a sting operation involving the dealer’s right-hand man, Mongkol Kantakarn, 19. Pol Maj Manat Iamchareonchaikul, Inspector…
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Head-to-head contest in Kathu poll
KATHU: Two parties will each contest all of the 12 seats in the June 10 election to choose the new Kathu Municipal Council. One party, the Kathu Ruamjai Party, is led by Suthep Sanguanpanont, the Mayor of the Municipality until it was dissolved at the end of April to prepare for the election. K. Suthep was also President of the…
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Dolphin found dying at Sansook Beach
PHUKET: Boys playing on Sansook Beach in Tambon Rassada found a female bottlenose dolphin dying yesterday evening. “She was still alive when the boys found her floating near the shoreline. They told us that they heard her cries first,” said Supoj Jantrapornsil, a technician at Phuket Marine Biological Center. The dolphin died on the beach not long afterwards. There was…
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Exchange firm robbed of 1 million baht
PHUKET TOWN: Two armed men stole a million baht from a currency exchange in Phuket Town yesterday. Pol Maj Sanya Thongsawas of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that Parinya Sangrangchujit, 45, manager of the exchange operation, was counting money he had just withdrawn from a bank in Phuket Town, when two neatly dressed men rang the bell. The…
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Ya bah bust next to police station
CHALONG: Three men were arrested on Saturday for possession of ya bah (methamphetamine) at a house just 100 meters from Chalong Police Station. Pol Capt Chokchai Suttimek of the Chalong station told the Gazette that an unidentified man called the police and told them that a ya bah deal was going to take place at Ao Chalong Bungalow. Officers strode…
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Fire aboard survey vessel
AO MAKHAM: A fire broke out yesterday afternoon in the refrigerator room of the vessel Chulabhorn, berthed at the Phuket Marine Biological Center Pier. The fire started while welding work was being done on pipes in the room, said Pol Capt Thanapong Mokthong of the forensic science department, but was extinguished in half an hour using the vessel’s own fire-fighting…
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UK dialing codes change
BANGKOK: Telephone dialing codes in Britain have just been changed radically in what has been labeled “The Big Number Change”, the British Chamber of Commerce in Thailand reports. The changes entail the introduction of new telephone codes and local numbers for six locations: Cardiff, Coventry, London, Northern Ireland, Portsmouth and Southampton. There are also changes made to certain mobile phone,…
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Helicopter rescue fails to save woman
MAITON ISLAND: The Police Aviation Division’s helicopter flew to Koh Maiton on Friday to pick up a woman who had had a heart attack. She was rushed to a hospital in Phuket Town. Dr Boonrieng Chuchaisangrat, head of the Phuket Provincial Health office, told the Gazette that he had received a phone call from Maiton Resort at 6 pm on…
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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