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 Infinito helps hotels in Thailand with revenue management
Maximising revenue and profit–isn’t that the ultimate goal for every business in the hospitality industry? If you run a hotel, you might have heard that revenue management is an effective way to boost your top-line revenue. It involves using data...
-
Phuket Town pub owner arrested for B500mn ‘foreign-inheritance’ scam
PHUKET: An owner of the well-known H2O Pub and Restaurant in Phuket Town has been arrested for fraud in Phang Nga after cheating nearly 300 people from across Central Thailand out of more than 500 million baht. Phang Nga City Police arrested Wilawan Na Takuathung, 39, on Tuesday, said Phang Nga City Police Commander Chalit Kaewyarat. “Mrs Wilawan is no…
-
Scott returns to make amends at Australian Open
PHUKET: Adam Scott has confirmed he will return to Sydney for the Australian Open in November with the intent of making amends for his final-hole disappointment last year. Scott’s return is a major coup for organizers after world number one Rory McIlroy committed to returning to defend his title at The Australian Golf Club from November 27-30. McIlroy snatched the…
-
Phuket Airport health officials add Ebola to watchlist
PHUKET: Health officials at Phuket International Airport have added Ebola to their watchlist as a precaution against the deadly virus being carried to the island by visiting tourists. The Ebola protocol was introduced following the death toll from the virus rising to more than 1,350 in the West African countries of Nigeria, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia (story here). “Even…
-
Homeless man found dead in Phuket Town market
PHUKET: A homeless man from Nakhon Sri Thammarat was found dead early this morning lying on top of an empty market stall in Phuket Town. Police and Kusoldharm Foundation rescue workers were notified at 7:15am about the body located at the Norrahuch intersection market near the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization Hospital. “We found the body of Tienchai Kornsut, 42, lying…
-
Phelps confident of getting back to his best
PHUKET: Michael Phelps’ comeback to competitive swimming has been anything but smooth sailing. A series of rare defeats have illuminated the enormous challenge he faces getting back to the top. For a man who re-wrote the Olympic record books, those losses could have been enough to persuade him to pack up his goggles and quit for good, but if anything,…
-
B32mn set aside for Phase 3 of Phuket Town’s cable clean-up
PHUKET: A budget of 32 million baht has been set aside for Phase 3 of the project to hide unsightly cables underground in picturesque Old Phuket Town. This stage of the project is expected to focus on Yaowarat, Rassada, Phang Nga, and Montri roads. “Right now we are moving into the third phase. Phuket City Municipality will work closely with…
-
Swedes cycling to Phuket for post-tsunami orphanage cross halfway point
PHUKET: With a five-day sprint across Turkmenistan behind them, a group of cyclists who departed Sweden in April for the fair shores of Phuket to raise money for a local post-tsunami orphanage have now crossed the halfway point – on target to arrive well in time for the 10th tsunami anniversary. “The desert race through Turkmenistan was incredibly hot and…
-
NACC launches new anti-corruption campaign in Phuket schools
PHUKET: Officials launched a new anti-corruption campaign on Monday aimed at raising awareness among Phuket students about the negative effects of corruption. The National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) Phuket office signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with 15 well-known schools in Phuket, including Phuket Wittayalai, Satree Phuket and Phuket Technical College. “We are sending [NACC] representatives to the schools twice a…
-
Missing Phuket girl “Nong Guy’, 13, found alive and well
PHUKET: Sirinut “Nong Guy” Chaowalert, the 13-year-old girl reported missing by her parents on Saturday, has been found alive and well. The alarm was raised earlier today when Nong Guy’s father, Somsak Luesarntiwilai, made a public appeal for anyone who had seen his daughter to contact him urgently (story here). “Friends of Nong Guy called to tell us that she…
-
Phuket parents plead for information on missing 13-year-old daughter
PHUKET: The worried parents of 13-year-old Sirinut “Nong Guy” Chaowalert are urging anyone who has seen their daughter to call them immediately. Nong Guy was last seen at the family home in the Prompan housing estate near the SuperCheap complex on Thepkrasattri Road in Rassada on Saturday. “She was at home with her 15-year-old sister while I was at work…
-
Fight begins for billion-baht Phuket land at Freedom Beach
PHUKET: The Land Department has set up a task force to specifically establish whether two land titles covering 65 rai at Freedom Beach – with an estimated value of at least 1 billion baht – were legally issued. The task force was officially formed last Friday and has 60 days to submit its findings, Land Department Deputy Director-General Thammasak Chana…
-
Helmetless motorcyclist dead after hitting pick-up truck
PHUKET: A motorcyclist was killed after colliding with the back of pick-up truck in rush-hour traffic on Thepkrasattri Road yesterday afternoon. “I was on the way home after having picked up my child. We were about to make a u-turn when I heard something slam into the back of the truck,” said Hathairat Songyot, 39. Ms Hathairat called police, who…
-
Atletico’s Garcia earns Super Cup draw at Real Madrid
PHUKET: Atletico Madrid’s Raul Garcia netted a late equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw at Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup first leg on Tuesday after substitute James Rodriguez had opened the scoring with 10 minutes left. Colombian Rodriguez, who came on for the injured Cristiano Ronaldo at halftime, thought he had won the game when he slotted the…
-
Phuket national park land encroachment hearing reveals two claims for same plot
PHUKET: A total of 47 people today explained to the Navy how they came to possess plots of land deemed to be inside Phuket’s Sirinath National Park. Present at the meeting to hear the explanations was Commander Pornprom Sakultem of the Third Naval Area Command. One attendee, Tawee Ngerndee, told Cmd Pornprom that he “used to own” just over 10…
-
Champion Nadal out of U.S. Open with wrist injury
PHUKET: Champion Rafa Nadal has pulled out of the U.S. Open, which began on Monday, after failing to recover from a right wrist injury. The 28-year-old Spaniard sustained the injury in practice last month and had been training with a cast on his right wrist, forcing him to miss the Rogers Cup in Toronto and last week’s Cincinnati Open. “I…
-
Officials confident 700 rai of Phuket park land to be returned
PHUKET: More than 700 rai of public land inside Sirinath National Park could be returned to the public by September 16 if a dozen land documents under investigation by the Land Department are found to have been illegally issued. “I am quite confident that most of the [12] documents [under investigation] were illegally issued. We are just waiting for officers…
-
Phuket official assures Patong kingpin not above the law
PHUKET: Kathu District Chief Sayan Chanachaiwong has vowed that the sandbags in front of the Patong Bay Garden Resort will be removed from the beach, or resort owner and Patong kingpin Preechavude “Prab” Keesin, son of former Patong Mayor Pian Keesin, will have to answer to the military. Mr Sayan, accompanied by Phuket Vice Governor Chamroen Tipayapongtada, Patong Mayor Chalermluck…
-
Ancient human remains unearthed in Krabi, WWII shipwreck found off Chumphon
PHUKET: Ancient human bones have been unearthed along with clay pots believed to be up to 5,000 years old in Khao Na Wang Mi in Krabi, across Phang Nga Bay from Phuket. Following the discovery of the bones in a cliff area in Thap Prik, north of Krabi Town, the Phuket-based 15th Archaeology Office director Riam Phumpongphaet said the office…
-
Mourinho hopes Cech stays despite losing Chelsea spot
PHUKET: Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said he hoped goalkeeper Petr Cech will stay loyal to the club despite losing the starting spot to Belgian Thibaut Courtois. Courtois, 22, who has returned to Chelsea from a successful loan spell with Atletico Madrid, was Mourinho’s choice for the club’s Premier League opener on Monday, a 3-1 win at Burnley. Cech has been…
-
Scores of alleged Phuket mafia taxi drivers shuffle into court
PHUKET: The first 70 of 108 Phuket taxi drivers facing charges for alleged involvement in the taxi mafia appeared in court for their preliminary hearing today. Those unable to fit in the court room were told that they would be seen by the court in early-September. The defendants, some of whom denied the charges, were arrested during a historic, island-wide…
-
Phuket man stabs relative over a bottle of whiskey
PHUKET: A 19-year-old man wanted for stabbing a relative late last night over 500 baht to buy a bottle of whiskey is expected to surrender to police tomorrow, the Phuket Gazette was told today. When Thalang Police arrived at the house near the Heroines’ Monument about 30 minutes past midnight, the stabbing suspect had fled the scene. His relative, however,…
-
Officers inspect Phuket waterfall area for encroachment
PHUKET: An investigation squad yesterday inspected developed areas allegedly encroaching on the protected forest area surrounding the Wang Kee Aon Waterfall in the hills of Patong, one of the places HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej visited on a trip to Phuket in 1959. The team, composing Royal Forest Department (RFD) officers and Navy personnel, were following up on complaints from Patong…
-
Numbers for Phuket’s popular visa run to Ranong nose dive
PHUKET: Bookings for Phuket’s renowned “Ranong visa run” have plunged by as much as half, a fall that is threatening the once-daily service that has become a hallmark experience for many expats on the island. The number of people attempting to re-enter Thailand at Ranong has dropped by about 50 per cent, popular Phuket visa run companies and Ranong immigration…
-
Phuket lottery winners to spend B26mn prize on children’s education
PHUKET: A Phuket couple who won 26 million baht from the national lottery this weekend have set their children’s education as their top priority in spending the windfall prize. Sutin Nuanjan, 46, and his wife, Puangkaew 39, discovered on Saturday that they had won millions of baht. “On Wednesday [August 13], we went to the market in Rawai and asked…
-
Park wins LPGA Championship in playoff
PHUKET: Park Inbee of South Korea won the LPGA Championship in a sudden death playoff against Catriona Matthew of Britain on Sunday, giving her victories in the first two women’s major championships of the year. Park won on the third hole of the playoff at Locust Hill Country Club outside Rochester, New York, with a birdie on the par-four 18th…
-
Federer downs Ferrer to capture sixth Cincinnati title
PHUKET: Roger Federer’s hopes of adding to his record grand slam haul got a boost as he beat Spain’s David Ferrer 6-3 1-6 6-2 to win the Western and Southern Open title in Cincinnati on Sunday in the last key U.S. Open tune-up event. It marked the sixth Cincinnati title for the Swiss second seed and, coming off last week’s…
-
Heavy rain brings Phuket morning traffic at Tesco junction to a crawl
PHUKET: Heavy rain caused flooding and slowed traffic to a crawl at Tesco-Lotus intersection early this morning. The intersection was deluged with knee-deep flood water causing long tailbacks along the by pass road. The underpass construction site at the intersection, where excavation is already well underway, was also flooded. However, Chalermpol Wongkiattikun, head of construction at the Tesco junction site,…
-
Phuket woman attempts suicide, ingests insecticides to escape financial woes
PHUKET: A Phuket woman plagued by financial woes was rushed to hospital last night after she tried to commit suicide by ingesting a lethal insecticide. Thalang Police were called to the scene by the woman’s boyfriend, Chamnan Kornsuwan, at about 10pm, but 43 year-old Samrong Rongsab had already been rushed to Thalang Hospital by the time officers arrived. Sen Sgt…
-
Patong Police Station hit by Phuket flooding, again
PHUKET: Patong Police are scrambling to move everything from the first floor to the second floor as their station is swamped for a second time in two days by Phuket flash floods. “The water is about up to our knees in the station,” said Lt Col Suttichai Tianpho of the Patong Police. “The computers and case files are still on…
-
Iconic Match of the Day celebrates 50th anniversary
PHUKET: Hours after the dust settled on the first skirmishes of a new Premier League season yesterday, fans across Britain flicked on the TV, grabbed a cup of tea and settled down to digest the day’s action from a comfy sofa. It is a time-honored ritual enjoyed by generations, young and old, since the BBC’s Match of the Day first…
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.