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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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...
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Korat Boy, 14, dies after crashing into parked truck in Phuket
PHUKET: A 14-year-old boy from Nakhon Ratchasima died after crashing his motorbike into a large truck parked by the side of the road in Phuket yesterday afternoon. Chalong Police at 2:15pm received a report of a crash near the Land & Houses residential estate on Chao Fa West Road in Chalong. Arriving at the scene with Phuket Ruamjai Rescue Foundation…
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‘Stars’ to shine in Phuket Life Music Festival tonight
PHUKET: Jaruwat “Dome” Cheawaram, better known as “Dome The Star”, will headline at the Phuket Life Music Festival 2012 in Phuket Town tonight. The concert will be held at Anuphas Field on Phang Nga Road, site of the old Phuket Weekend Market, from 7 to 10:30pm. Other live acts to appear on the night include “Hun and Can”, two contestants…
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Phuket Sports: Patong captain gets a duck as rest of team flies
PHUKET: The second week of Phuket’s Outrigger T20 League saw Patong CC take on ICC at the Alan Cooke Ground (ACG) last Sunday. ICC won the toss and decided to send Patong into bat in a move that seemed to be working early on, as ICC dismissed opener Richard (Foldsy) Folds for a duck. Richard Desmond (27) and Rishi Sadarangani…
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Phuket Violence: Another tourist severely beaten by taxi drivers
PHUKET: An Australian tourist filed a police complaint yesterday alleging that he was severely beaten after confronting a taxi driver about a sexual comment made to his girlfriend. Accompanied by the girl and an Australian consul, Peter Hulands filed the complaint with Patong Police shortly being released from hospital. He suffered a broken nose and a shattered eye socket in…
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Phuket Prison gates swing open for mothers’ hugs
PHUKET: The gates of Phuket Provincial Prison will be open on August 15 and 16 to enable mothers to hug their children inside the facility in honor of HM Queen Sirikit’s 80th birthday on August 12. During those two days, mothers will be allowed to visit their inmate children, and inmates’ children will be allowed to visit their convicted mothers,…
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Phuket mum not saddened by son’s Olympic exit
PHUKET: The mother of Phuket badminton star Maneepong Jongjit had words of encouragement for her son after his quarterfinal-round exit from the Men’s Doubles competition at the London Olympics 2012 yesterday. Pranee Jongjit was among more than 1,000 people who gathered at a hall in Saphan Hin at 3pm yesterday to watch Maneepong and his partner Bodin Isara of Bangkok…
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Phuket pessimistic about ‘Safety Zone’ plan: poll
PHUKET: Pessimism reigns over a plan by the Royal Thai Police to set up a “Safety Zone” in Patong, with more than four-fifths of people taking part in a recent Phuket Gazette online poll thinking the initiative would have “little or no effect”. A total of 1,640 people took part in the two-week poll, which was launched on July 13.…
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Justice Minister eyes new billion-baht Phuket Prison
PHUKET: Justice Minister Pracha Promnok today reviewed plans to close the 115-year-old and heavily overcrowded Phuket Provincial Prison in Phuket Town and establish a 3,000-person capacity prison in Thalang. Pol Gen Pracha announced details of the new prison, which is set to be established on 108 rai of government land near the Bang Jo detention center in Srisoonthorn, Thalang. However,…
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Man found dead in tin mine lagoon
PHUKET: Police are attempting to identify the body of a man found floating in an old tin mine lagoon in Chalong yesterday afternoon. Phuket Ruamjai Foundation rescue workers and Lt Col Boonlert Onklang arrived along with officers from the Chalong Police to find a large crowd of people gathered at the scene on Luang Por Chuang Road. The man was…
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Flood of candidates register for OrBorJor election
PHUKET: Scores of people arrived at Phuket Community Hall on Tuesday as candidate registration for the August 26 Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) council election opened. A total of 24 council seats are up for grabs, with 15 for Muang district, six for Thalang district and three for Kathu. OrBorJor Chief Administrative Officer Manop Leelasuthanon told the Phuket Gazette that…
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Foreigners urged to give blood at Phuket Immigration
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) will host a special blood donation drive at Phuket Immigration Headquarters on August 9 to honor the 80th birthday of HM The Queen three days later. PRBC Director Pornthip Rattajak told the Gazette her agency hopes the drive will help the center stock up its supply of rare Rhesus negative (Rh-) blood types…
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Phuket Sports: Badminton scandal rocks London Olympics
PHUKET: The badminton scandal that has rocked the London Olympics not only reflects badly on the players involved, but also on the sport as a whole. Speaking to iSportconnect, before the eight players were disqualified from the women’s doubles, President of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Dr Kang Young-Joong was confident the sport would be successful at the Olympics, and…
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Phuket’s first “Safety Zone’ set up in Patong
PHUKET: In the wake of several high-profile violent crimes that have rocked Phuket over the past few months, Phuket Police are moving ahead with their plan to set up “safety zones” in key tourist areas, starting with Patong. Phuket Provincial Police Commander Chonasit Wattanavrangkul delivered the news to more than 800 people from different walks of life in Patong, all…
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TAT Phuket Director steps up to Bangkok
PHUKET: Bangonrat Shinaprayoon, Director of the Phuket office of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), bade her final farewell to Governor Tri Augkaradacha at Phuket Provincial Hall this morning before her move to Bangkok.Ms Bangonrat leaves the island on August 1 to take up her new position in Bangkok as Director of Attractions Promotion Division.“My new department is responsible for…
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Phuket expat Dokset murder trial: all charges denied
PHUKET: In a day for denying criminal charges at Phuket Provincial Court, Norwegian national and long-term Phuket expat Stein Havard Dokset yesterday denied all charges against him for the murder of his ex-girlfriend Rungnapa Suktong. Dokset was arrested in a police raid on his luxury villa in Kata on February 28. Officers searching the house found the remains of a…
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Krabi killers escape after ‘M16 ambush’
PHUKET: Krabi Police suspect revenge was the motive for a shooting in Khlong Kanan subdistrict on Saturday, when gunmen opened fire on a moving pickup truck in a well-planned ambush. One person was killed and five others were injured in the attack. The murder victim, driving an Isuzu D-Max, was identified by police as Paruhas Kongbannuek, village headman of Baan…
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Murder suspect arrested in Phuket flown to Bangkok
PHUKET: A murder suspect arrested in Phuket yesterday was flown to Bangkok* last night, flying out of Phuket at 9pm. Chalong Police Superintendent Sirisak Wasasiri told the Phuket Gazette that 57-year-old Marc De Schutter was arrested at a home on Soi Samakee 2 in Rawai, where he was living with his Thai girlfriend. Phuket Immigration Police and Chalong Police both…
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Phuket Live Wire: How Windows 8 will roll out
PHUKET: Even if you have no intention of getting Windows 8, there are currently forces at work in the computer industry that will have an enormous impact on what kinds of computers are available in the near future, and how much they will cost. If you’re thinking about buying a new computer, you need to understand what’s about to happen.…
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Belgian ‘Most Wanted’ arrested in Phuket
PHUKET: A top-secret investigation has led to the arrest of one of Belgium’s most-wanted criminals in Phuket. The suspect, named as Marc de Schutter, was reportedly wanted for murder, money laundering and economic crimes in his native Belgium. His arrest by some 30 officers of the Crime Suppression Division and Chalong Police followed a one-month investigation launched at the request…
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Election alcohol bans to cost Patong venues B5mn a night
PHUKET: The mandatory ban on the sale of alcohol for upcoming elections at the end of this month will cost Patong’s nightlife industry at least 5 million baht a night, the Phuket Gazette has been told. The sale of alcohol will be banned across Phuket on August 26 and again in Patong on September 2 as voters go to the…
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Krabi drug rehab school owner called to answer police inquiry
PHUKET: Following the reported drowning of a runaway student, the owner of the Por Noh Klong Gom School during a video-conference with Royal Thai Police Deputy Commissioner-General Adul Saengsingkaew admitted that “improvements” to the school’s management were urgently needed. The video conference, at Krabi Provincial Hall on Saturday, was in reaction to the drowning and subsequent mass-walkout by hundreds of…
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Restaurant, resort ordered removed from Phuket protected forests
PHUKET: More than 150 officers from the Royal Forest Department (RFD) led raids on three sites in Phuket on Saturday.In Thalang, officers discovered a resort under construction within the boundaries of the protected Bang Kanoon Forest.“We found buildings that looked like a resort under construction on land inside the forest. However, there was no one at the site to declare…
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Yamaha Division One: Phuket 0 – 1 PTT Rayong
PHUKET: A single goal was all that PTT Rayong FC needed to prevail over Phuket FC on Saturday night at Surakul Stadium in Phuket Town. It was the second time the two sides met this season; exactly two weeks earlier Phuket endured a 6-0 thrashing at Rayong. It was the last straw for former coach Milos Josic of Serbia, who…
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Bone fragment of Lord Buddha installed at Phuket temple
PHUKET: A bone-fragment relic of Lord Buddha was respectfully installed at Chedi Dok Bua Kaew “Crystal Lotus Pagoda” in Nakaram Temple, Wichit, during a ceremony on Friday. The ceremony was led by Phra Thepsitthimunee, Deputy Monk Dean of Region 16 from Dusidaram Warrawiharn Temple in Bangkok, along with 108 Buddhist monks from the greater Phuket area. “The relic of the…
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Kenyan Sammy Ridrond wins Phuket Marathon
PHUKET: Kenyan runner Sammy Ridrond won the open division of The Phuket Health International Marathon in a time of just over 2 hours, 35 minutes this morning. The 42-kilometer event, which got underway at 4am at the Mai Khao Tambon Administration Organization offices, finished at Phuket Provincial Hall in Phuket Town. Two other events, a 13-kilometer mini-marathon and a 4.5-kilometer…
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Phuket’s Big Buddha project cleared of wrongdoing
PHUKET: An internal inquiry by the Royal Forestry Department’s Community Forestry Management Bureau has found no wrong doing by any parties involved in the Phuket Big Buddha project. The inquiry was launched after a flood of complaints, led Phuket Vice Governor Somkiet Sangkaosutthirak, demanding a completion date from the project’s managers, the Mingmongkol Faith 45 Foundation. The complaints have now…
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Wildlife activist supports Forestry, National Parks merger
PHUKET: A well-known wildlife activist has told the Phuket Gazette that he supports the planned merger of the Royal Forest Department and the Department of National Parks (DNP), Wildlife and Plant Conservation. The merger was announced on July 11 by Preecha Rengsomboonsuk, who heads the Natural Resources and Environment Ministry that controls both departments. Once the merger gets the green…
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Krabi drug rehab student drowned in escape, says friend
PHUKET: Eyewitness reports are now indicating that the student who died after escaping a youth drug rehab facility in Krabi last week was not beaten to death by teaching assistants, as initially reported, but rather drowned during his escape. Allegations that student Maha Manitaya was beaten to death by the teaching assistants at Por Noh Klong Gom School prompted more…
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Phuket Life Music Festival to honor “The Stars’
PHUKET: Phuket-born Jaruwat “Dome” Cheawaram, better known as “Dome The Star” after winning the popular television singing contest, will headline the Phuket Life Music Festival 2012, to be held in Phuket Town on August 14. The concert will be held at Anuphas Field, near the Phuket bus terminal on Phang Nga Road, from 7pm to 10:30pm. Other live acts to…
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Drug rehab youths escape facility after friend beaten to death
PHUKET: More than 200 youths escaped from the drug rehabilitation center at Por Noh Klong Gom School and sought the protection of a local mosque in Krabi on Thursday after one of their classmates was allegedly beaten to death by teaching assistants. The school, although in Krabi, serves as a drug rehabilitation center for about 800 troubled youths from throughout…
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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