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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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,...
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Police “know who Supercheap killers are’
PHUKET TOWN: Police believe they now know the identities of the two men involved in the recent Supercheap murder-robbery, but are compiling more forensic and witness evidence before they can move to arrest them. Pol Col Chalit Thintanee, superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that he and his men are currently awaiting the results of forensic tests…
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14-year-old girl sold her body to buy drugs
PHUKET TOWN: Shortly after the discovery recently of the body of a man stabbed 58 times on the playing fields near the public housing estate in Tambon Rassada, Phuket Town, police were again in action in the area on Saturday, this time after a tip-off that drugs were being traded there. Their raid netted four young people in possession of…
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Factory explosion kills 22, injures dozens more
CHIANG MAI, (AFP): At least 22 people were killed and dozens injured this morning when an explosion destroyed a Taiwanese-owned fruit factory in San Pa Tong, northern Chiang Mai province, police said. All of the victims were Thai. The blast ripped through a longan processing plant while 30 people were working in it. Bodies and charred equipment lay in the…
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Skal Golf event raises 125,000 baht for charity
CHERNG TALAY: The Skal Club held a highly successful golf tournament on Wednesday at the Banyan Tree Golf Club, raising 125,000 baht for charity. Forty-six golfers took part. A total of 65,000 baht was raised on the golf course, plus 4,000 baht from the dinner at the Whispering Cock pub following the tournament, 42,000 baht in an auction, and 18,000…
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Court told how Tong murder suspects were arrested
PHUKET TOWN: A senior policeman gave evidence in court today about the circumstances surrounding the arrests of four of the five people charged in connection with the 1997 murder of American businessman Danis Wayne Tong. On trial for the murder are Thais Manit Panme, Pratin Praktong, Prajuab Sukkong and Pairat Raksawong, and Belgian Hugo Vandervelde. Prosecution witness Pol Maj Sian…
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Man found dead with 58 stab wounds
PHUKET: Police are trying to identify a man found dead yesterday of multiple stab wounds in the playing fields on Soi Si Sena, near Phya Thai Hospital. Pol Maj Vinai Kongkaew of the Phuket Town Police Station told the Gazette that the man had 58 stab wounds — in his back, neck and ears. The victim, Pol Maj Vinai said,…
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Film to be screened free to dodge censorship
BANGKOK (AFP): Organizers of the Bangkok Film Festival refused today to cut scenes from a controversial Dutch film and said they would hold free screenings in order to avoid violating a censorship law passed in the 1930s. Festival director Brian Bennett said he had been told by police that the film “Jesus was a Palestinian” would have to be cancelled…
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Microsoft battles to fix “very dangerous” bug
SEATTLE: Microsoft Corp is rushing to create a patch for flaws in its Internet Explorer web browser, versions 4 and 5, and in Outlook 98. These flaws allow anyone who has a website, or who can send email in HTML format, to upload instructions to the victim’s computer. Phuket-based computer expert Michael Jenselius said: “Anybody can do it through a…
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Thailand to lead SEA force in East Timor
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand today agreed to a request from UN Secretary General Kofi Annan that it lead the Southeast Asian contingent in the international force for East Timor, officials said. Thailand will take the post of deputy commander of the operation under Australia’s overall command, government spokesman Akapol Sorasuchart said. “Kofi Annan wanted to see Thai cooperation and involvement as…
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French team to train local police in VIP security
PHUKET: Eight expert bodyguards from France will arrive in Phuket next month to teach police here how to mount effective security for the growing number of VIPs visiting the island. Pol Col Kokiat Wongvarachart, superintendent of Kathu Police Station, told the Gazette that the team will be led by Thierry Guilleminot, technical director of the police unit which provides security…
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Patong takes different approach to dog killings
PATONG: Following the recent announcement by Phuket Municipality that it has launched a month-long drive to kill stray dogs, the Mayor of Patong, Pian Keesin, has told the Gazette that his town, too, is targeting strays, though its approach is somewhat different. “You see, Patong has a lot of tourists,” he explained. “If the officers want to kill stray dogs,…
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Prurience leads to arrest, charges”¦ and hospital
PATONG: A laborer who molested a Czech tourist early on Saturday morning ended up in hospital with a broken leg and the prospect of a prison sentence. Pol Col Kokiat Wongvorachart, Superintendent of Kathu police station, told the Gazette that the tourist, 20-year-old Jana Mikulasona, was staying in the Kalim Apartments with her American boyfriend. The two went out on…
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New source of funding for smaller firms
PHUKET TOWN: Amnuay Sanguannam, one of Phuket’s three vice-governors, today opened the newest branch of the Industrial Finance Corporation of Thailand (IFCT), at 18/15-16 Mae Luan Rd, Phuket Town. It will serve companies in both Phuket and Phang-Nga. Anothai Techamontrikul, the Bangkok-based president of the IFCT, said the Phuket branch was expected to approve 200 million baht in loans to…
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Gun found: May be Supercheap murder weapon
PHUKET TOWN: Police say they have found a gun that may be the one used in the Supercheap murder-robbery on Monday. Speaking with reporters today, Pol Maj Gen Kongpol Suwannaraks, commander of police in Phuket Province, declined to say where the gun had been found. He said investigators are currently awaiting the results of forensic tests to determine whether the…
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Thai woman in Kamala suicide
PATONG: Police were called to the Kamala home of a retired Western businessman yesterday after receiving a report that his girlfriend had committed suicide. Pol Lt Col Suchert Supmee told the Gazette that they found the body of 26-year-old Wannapa Pasom, from Nakhon Phanom, hanging by the neck from a belt attached to window security bars in the bathroom. The…
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Magic date sees boom in babies, car sales
PHUKET TOWN: The Thai for the number nine sounds like the Thai for “to advance” or “make progress”. So today – 9/9/99 – was a special day in Thailand, and very much so in Phuket. At hospitals babies were induced, or even delivered by Caesarian section, so that they would enter the world on this auspicious date. The director of…
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Tourist Police boss appeals for help
PHUKET TOWN: The new Inspector of Phuket’s Tourist Police today appealed to the private sector for help in repairing the department’s two vans, eight cars and eight motorcycles. Pol Lt Col Chak Onnim – who moved to Phuket on August 23 from Chokchai Police Station in Bangkok, where he was in charge of investigations – explained that the hilly landscape…
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Police issue sketches of murder duo
PHUKET TOWN: Police have issued sketches of two men wanted for the murder of the accountant for the Supercheap warehouse store yesterday afternoon, and the theft of 1.7 million baht that the victim, Jennarong Utoksaenee, was taking to the bank. Jennarong, 65, was shot three times with a .375 caliber pistol wielded by the passenger of a motorcycle which drew…
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Supercheap employee killed in robbery
PHUKET TOWN: Jennarong Utoksaenee, 65, a Phuket-born employee of Supercheap, the warehouse store on Thepkrassatri Rd, Phuket Town, was shot dead in his car at 3 pm today by robbers who fled with around 1.6 million baht. Police said two men on a motorcycle came alongside the car outside the electricity substation near Supercheap. The passenger on the bike fired…
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Thai MP commits suicide in family feud
BANGKOK, Sept 6 (AFP) – A Thai member of parliament shot and killed himself this morning after a family argument over assets worth millions of dollars, police said. Hangthong Thamawattana, of the opposition Prachakorn Thai Party, apparently shot himself with a pistol after a row with his brother, Deputy Police Chief Pornsak Durongkaviboon told reporters. “Initial reports say he committed…
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Phuket needs more geriatrics, says export chief
PHUKET TOWN: Phuket could be developed to rival Switzerland as a destination for well-heeled people seeking rejuvenation therapy or cures for chronic conditions, or simply wanting relief from the stress of life at home. Addressing an audience composed mostly of people from private hospitals, resorts, traditional massage centers and restaurants, Rachane Potjana, vice-director of the Department of Export Promotion, said…
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Steam-bath gas victim leaves hospital
SINGAPORE (AFP): A Thai executive who fell into a week-long coma last month after a steam bath in a Singapore hotel has been discharged from hospital. Pongkeeree Yossingha, 27, of Bangkok told the Straits Times he was glad to be leaving the hospital. “I’m lucky to be alive,” he said, adding he was touched by the kindness of the hospital…
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Tax Office reaps huge gains from business profits
PHUKET: If tax paid by businesses is any indication of an island’s prosperity, then Phuket has made a positively astounding recovery from the depths of the Asian crisis. According to the latest figures from the Phuket Provincial Revenue Office, revenue from Juristic Income Tax, levied on the net income of most companies and partnerships, is up by a massive 52.7%…
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Survey of tourists highlights problems
PHUKET: The Provincial Government is to look at ways of improving certain aspects of tourism on the island, following a survey of foreign tourists’ attitudes before and after visiting Thailand. The survey, conducted in Phuket by Sasirat Tanapanpanis of the local branch of the Office of Educational, Religious and Cultural Development, spotlighted the following five main problems, in descending order…
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Gamblers top list of arrests
PHUKET: Gamblers topped arrests in Phuket between August 1 and 26, Phuket Provincial Police have announced. A total of 176 people were arrested on charges related to gambling during the period. Following a long way behind, were 121 illegal workers and 84 people nabbed on narcotics charges. This figure excluded ya bah busts, which netted 30 miscreants and 578½ pills.…
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Special deal for employers of illegal workers
PHUKET: Employers of illegal Burmese, Cambodian or Lao workers – who were warned of severe penalties if they did not turn the workers in to the authorities by August 4 – have been granted a reprieve. Thanks to a decision by the Council of Ministers in Bangkok, employers in roughly half of Thailand’s provinces, including Phuket, will be allowed to…
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Phuket to have new governor
PHUKET: The Governor of Phuket for the past two years, Chadej Insawang, will move on October 1 to a new post as Governor of Kanchanaburi Province, on the Thai-Burmese border, as part of a nationwide reshuffling of 56 governors and senior staff of the Ministry of Interior. He will be replaced by Charnchai Soontorramat, currently one of two vice-governors of…
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Lawyer not well, Alice trial hearing postponed
PHUKET TOWN: Judge Amornpoj Kulwijit today postponed testimony in the trial of two people charged in connection with the stabbing death of 56-year-old British publican Roger Jennings at his home in Patong Hill Estate on December 15, 1997. The judge postponed the hearing after being told that Eakapong Aroonrat, lawyer for one of the accused, Jennings’ common-law wife Nongnut Tungkaburi,…
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Bangkok Bank posts huge first-half loss
BANGKOK (AFP): Thailand’s biggest bank, Bangkok Bank Plc, today posted a huge first-half net loss of 26.98 billion baht, compared with a loss of 16.34 billion baht in the same period last year. Bank president Chartsiri Sophonpanich said that the result reflected the continued negative effect of massive non-performing loans on the banking system. “While the economic conditions of the…
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Fisherman drowns while diving for shellfish
CHALONG: A 38-year-old fisherman drowned among the mangroves at Pakrongmudong, Tambon Vichit, yesterday afternoon. Police, who named the dead man as Virrut Sawatdirak, from Srakaew, said he and three friends had gone diving for shellfish. The friends told police that all had drunk some alcohol beforehand, “but not too much”. They did not realise that Khun Virrut was in trouble…
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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