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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Funeral begins for revered abbot of Phuket’s Wat Chalong
PHUKET: A seven-day funeral service began yesterday for the revered Abbot of Phuket’s famed Wat Chaithararam, well known among foreigners simply as Wat Chalong (Chalong Temple). Phra Ajarn Udomwetchakit Uttamuyano, often called “Phra Ajarn Lim Wat Chalong” by his devotees, died on Tuesday, September 11, at 4:21pm at the Coronary Care Unit of Bangkok Hospital Phuket. He was 87 years…
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Comatose French tourist dies from motorbike crash injuries
PHUKET: French tourist Jerome Sebastien Heras, 35, who was left comatose by a motorbike accident in Karon on September 3, died of his injuries early yesterday morning. Medical staff at Vachira Phuket Hospital told the Phuket Gazette that Mr Heras was unconscious when he was brought to the hospital, and remained so. “Mr Heras remained in critical condition as his…
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Phuket Labor welfare chief warns against minimum wage cheats
PHUKET: The chief of the Phuket Provincial Labor Protection and Welfare Office has warned employers that his office is inspecting businesses across the island and is prepared to take legal action against any firms found paying less than the 300 baht a day minimum wage. Phuket Labor Welfare chief Kittipong Laonipon explained to the Gazette that his concerns about minimum…
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“I believe my decision has the interests of British athletics…
“I believe my decision has the interests of British athletics at its heart in sustaining this culture.” PHUKET: Dutchman Charles van Commenee is to stand down as UK Athletics head coach, citing a poor medal haul during the Olympics as the reason. Before the games, he said he would step down if the team did not achieve his target of…
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Rawai rides for Phuket road safety
PHUKET: Local government in Phuket is continuing its battle to reduce the number of motorbike accident fatalities and serious injuries that frequently occur to children of school age.Yesterday, it was the turn of Rawai Municipality to take up the fight at Muang Phuket School on Wisit Road in Rawai.Phuket Democrat MP Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr presided over the opening ceremony of…
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Phuket blood bank calls for A-, O- donors
PHUKET: The Phuket Regional Blood Center (PRBC) is calling for donations of Rhesus-negative (Rh-) blood types to bolster stocks that are now critically low. “We have only one unit of ‘A negative’ and one of ‘O negative’ blood,” PRBC Director Pornthip Rattajak told the Phuket Gazette. She explained that Rh-negative blood types are far more common among Caucasians than Asians.…
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Off-duty cop accused of Phuket shooting kicked off police force
PHUKET: The off-duty police officer accused of shooting a man dead in Phuket Town on May 5 has been kicked off the police force, but has yet to face charges for the killing. Rachaporn Semaksorn was discharged from the Royal Thai Police about a month ago after months of being relegated to desk duties, Patong Police Deputy Superintendent Kittipong Klaikaew…
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On-board CCTV snaps Phi Phi “iPirates’ stealing tourist laptop
PHUKET: Two ferry crewmen were arrested and charged yesterday after CCTV evidence showed the pair stealing a laptop computer from a tourist travelling on their boat. The victim, 31-year-old Australian national Evan Russell Darnley-Pentes, was returning with a friend from Phi Phi Island on Sunday when the theft occurred. However, it was only after his return to Rassada Pier that…
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“I don’t know how I came through in the end…”
“I don’t know how I came through in the end, I just managed to get through.” PHUKET: Andy Murray has won his first Grand Slam final at the fifth time of asking. Murray defeated Novak Djokovic 7-6 (12-10), 7-5, 2-6, 3-6, 6-2 in four hours 54 minutes to win the US Open and in doing so ended Britain’s 76-year wait…
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Phuket Governor to retire September 30, but replacement yet to be named
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha is set to retire from civil service on September 30, just 19 days away, but his replacement has yet to be named, the Phuket Gazette has learned.Governor Tri took up the position of Governor of Phuket on October 1, 2010, but had already served as a Phuket Vice Governor for four years following a posting…
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Phuket Sports: ASC’s final ride at Quiksilver Open Phuket
PHUKET: The Quiksilver Open surf contest is back in town with surfers streaming in from all over the world. Patong Beach, the most popular in Phuket, will host professional surfers from all over Asia, from Wednesday to Sunday. This year’s tournament has been upgraded to a 6-Star, dual-sanctioned competition and Asian surfers are expected to turn out in force. They…
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New B153mn indoor sports center opens in Phuket Town
PHUKET: Sports fans and spectators packed the 4,000-seat Indoor Sports Complex at Saphan Hin to the rafters on Saturday for the new venue’s official opening ceremony. Built on 207 rai at a cost of about 153 million baht, the center was first used for the 28th National Youth Games, dubbed the “Phuket Games”, held on the island earlier this year.…
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Phuket Food Festival goes “booze-free’, but lays on the entertainment
PHUKET: For the first time in its 15-year history, the annual Phuket Good Taste Food Festival at Saphan Hin in Phuket Town this year will be held specifically without any alcohol for sale and with no plastic food containers. Announcing the news on Saturday, Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwansupana said that about 100 booths selling food will be at this…
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“I honestly can’t believe I won…”
“I honestly can’t believe I won. I was preparing my runner-up speech because she was playing so great.” PHUKET: American Serena Williams won her 15th Grand Slam singles title and became the first woman over 30 to win the US Open since Martina Navratilova in 1987. Williams beat world number-one Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 2-6, 7-5 in a match that lasted…
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Phuket Live Wire: A galaxy of pads, a clamour of nooks and an army of androids
PHUKET: Welcome to the third of four installments in my ongoing series about where the computer industry is headed as we barrel along to the Christmas season. If you are thinking about buying any new electronics – computer, tablet, phone, maybe even a TV – it would be worthwhile to stay on top of developments between now and Christmas. Some…
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Death of German woman ‘natural’, say Phuket Police
PHUKET: Police do not suspect foul play in the death of a foreign woman found dead in her Phuket villa yesterday morning. Cherng Talay Police inspector Sarubadee Butranongsaeng told the Phuket Gazette that the woman was found dead by her husband at her home in Baan Layan. He named the deceased as German national Maria Makeenta, as identified by her…
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Phuket’s first underpass to spur new traffic woes
PHUKET: Motorists have been warned to expect major delays when construction begins next month on a 599-million-baht underpass at the Darasamuth Junction, on the bypass road near the Central Festival Phuket shopping mall. Chavalert Lertchavanakul, Project Manager at the Department of Highways’ Bureau of Bridge Construction in Bangkok, broke the news at a meeting in Phuket to finalize areas of…
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Phuket park raids prompt villagers’ plea to keep road, power supply
PHUKET: A community of farmers living on a road leading into Sirinath Marine National Park, on Phuket’s west coast, have appealed for the road and power supply to their village not be cut off following a police complaint being filed against a nearby villa project for encroaching on national park land. In making the plea, Jaroon Boonchu presented to Sirinath…
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Chalong seeks B300mn for Phuket flood prevention
PHUKET: The Chalong Municipality has requested 300 million baht in funding from the Royal Irrigation Department for a permanent flood-prevention system after last month’s floods again highlighted the issue of flash flooding in Phuket. The project proposes the construction of retaining walls along all canals in the Chalong area to prevent debris and soil from clogging and disrupting the water…
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Phuket hacks back drug “growers’ in Thalang
PHUKET: Thalang police and district officers hacked open a path for progress in the war on drugs in Phuket by cutting down more than 60 kratom trees in Srisoonthorn yesterday. Despite the trees being native to Southeast Asia, their leaves have been designated a controlled substance, in the same category as cannabis, since promulgation of the Kratom Act in 1943.…
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Phuket Sports: Rory continues to roar; Golf tip
PHUKET: This week marked the second of golf’s FedEx playoffs, with the PGA’s Deutsche Bank Open at the Tournament Players Club, Boston. The parkland golf course with narrow curving fairways requires more precision than power off the tees and tests players accuracy and short games more than their all out power games. Only 100 players from the FedEx points list…
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Phuket Sports: Italian Grand Prix preview
PHUKET: In my last article I said I thought Hamilton would be a very strong contender at Spa together with Räikkönen, Rosberg, Michael Schumacher, Romain Grosjean and Jenson Button. I said it looked hard for Ferrari and Red Bull to shine, but also said “Who knows“? In the event Lewis Hamilton, Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso were shunted off the…
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B100bn up for grabs: Krabi told to prepare for AEC 2015
PHUKET: With 100 billion baht (US$ 3 billion) requested by government agencies for Thailand’s preparation for the Asean Economic Community (AEC) in 2015, private and government organizations in Krabi were called on yesterday by the Asean Secretary-General to step up their efforts in order to establish a “central role” in the Andaman. “Krabi will have an advantage over several other…
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Phuket Park chief files complaint against “Encroacher No 5′
PHUKET: The new chief of Sirinath National Park, Cheewapap Cheewatham, has filed a police complaint against another landowner for allegedly encroaching on national park land. The complaint, against the fifth landowner of the 10 plots raided on August 15, accused two companies of encroaching on five rai of state forest land. The two companies are allegedly controlled by the same…
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Phuket ocean trash inflicting mayhem on turtles
PHUKET: A turtle with one flipper severed and another suffering a deep cut inflicted by discarded fishing nets was recovered from Karon Beach yesterday. The discovery brought to 24 the total number of turtles rescued from Phuket and Phang Nga beaches in the past two months alone. Lifeguards patrolling Karon Beach found the turtle stranded in the sand near Karon…
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Thai Smile launches new Phuket routes
PHUKET: Thai Smile Air, the new regional sub-brand of Thai Airways International (THAI), will launch daily direct flight services from Phuket to Bangkok and Chiang Mai starting next month. Prasert Tanhansa, manager of the THAI district sales office in Phuket Town, announced the new flights yesterday.“We are going to start one daily round-trip from Phuket-Chiang Mai-Phuket and Phuket-Bangkok-Phuket on October…
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Asean in Phuket: Immigration to launch fast-track entry for tourists
PHUKET: The Commissioner of the Thai Immigration Bureau has announced that a new automated entry system will be installed at all airports in the country, including Phuket. The system will allow passengers to enter the country without having to endure long immigration lines.The technology, called “Advance Passenger Processing” system, or “APP”, will be installed at all international airports in Thailand…
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Patong Hospital staff get wet for fire safety
PHUKET: As the rain continued to drench Phuket, staff at Patong Hospital this afternoon staged their annual fire and evacuation drill. “The exercise simulated a fire starting in a medical storeroom in a building next to the inpatient ward. The flames spread into the recovery ward, forcing us to evacuate the entire inpatient building,” explained Hospital Director Phumin Silapunt. As…
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Weather warning issued for Phuket, Andaman
PHUKET: The Thai Meteorological Department (TMD) has issued its second weather warning in 24 hours for Phuket and other provinces along the Andaman coast, advising the public to beware heavy rain, rough seas and possible flooding. The latest advisory, issued by the Southern Meteorological Center at Phuket Airport at 11am today, repeated the TMD’s warning of “abundant rain to very…
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“It’s a huge challenge…”
“It’s a huge challenge – probably the biggest I have ever undertaken, especially in such a short timeframe”. PHUKET: The 34-year-old former England cricketer, Andrew Flintoff, has been training with boxing legend Barry McGuigan and his son Shane McGuigan in preperation for his boxing debut on November 30. The popular 6’4 cricket legend is yet to announce his heavyweight opponent…
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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