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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Phuket car thief hears “God’, surrenders to police
PHUKET: Overwhelmed by a guilty conscience, a woman with 14 outstanding arrest warrants for car theft surrendered herself to Phuket Police yesterday. The woman, 32-year-old Cherry Piwsa-ard (whose name translates as “Cherry Clean-skin”) told officers at Patong Police Station last night that “God” had appeared to her in a dream and ordered her to surrender herself to authorities. Police Duty…
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Aussie woman missing, feared drowned off Phuket
PHUKET: Rescue workers are searching for an Australian tourist reported missing at Karon Beach yesterday. Jennifer Laidley (initially named by police as “Jennifer May”), 44, was staying with a friend at the Phuket Orchid Resort at the south end of Karon Beach. The friend reported Ms Laidley missing after she lost sight of her at about 6pm. Karon Municipality rescue…
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Filipino injured in Phuket motorbike crash
PHUKET: The dimly lit Baan Don – Layan road in Cherng Talay was the scene of yet another Phuket accident last night in which a Filipino man was injured. Teddy Dilag, the 38-year-old assistant operations manager at the Phuket & Marbella Villa Rental Management Company, suffered a broken arm when his motorbike and a pickup truck collided near the entrance…
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Guns, fights and ganja – but no election violence: Police
PHUKET: The police crackdown in Phuket in the run-up to the July 3 election landed a bumper haul of guns, drugs and arrests – but resulted in no arrests for violence related to the election. A total of 45 factory-made and homemade guns were seized and 350 people were arrested for drugs since May 12, according to statistics issued today…
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Mother’s Phuket plea for help in finding son Michael Carlberg
PHUKET: A Swedish mother has appealed for help in finding her adult son, who has not been in contact since arriving in Thailand two months ago. Writing from Sweden, Lise-Lott Carlberg informed the Gazette she had not heard from her 24-year-old son Michael since he landed in Bangkok on May 5. “We know that he has been located in Bangkok,…
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Election Thailand: Full count for Phuket is in
PHUKET: After a long day and night of work, the Phuket Election Commission has sent the following results to the Election Commission in Bangkok for final certification: Phuket 1 Constituency (Muang district, except Koh Kaew and Rassada subdistricts): Anchalee Vanich Thepabutr (Democrat Party): 52,921 votes. Wisit Jai-arj (Pheu Thai Party): 16,573 votes Weerasak Woranetiwong (Thaen Khun Phaendin Party): 281 votes…
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Jealous Phuket cop kills wife, self
PHUKET: A jealous policeman shot his wife point-blank then turned the gun on himself in the latest murder-suicide in Phuket. Patong Police identified the victim as 25-year-old Suchapha Saman-iam, wife of Snr Sgt Maj Boonsuk Saman-iam, 39. According to eyewitness accounts, the shooting took place at about 8pm at the couple’s home on Nanai Road, where they operated the Yaris…
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Wimbledon dream for Djokovic
PHUKET: “This is my favourite tournament, the tournament I always dreamed of winning, the first tournament I ever watched in my life. I think I’m still sleeping, I’m still having my dream.” Serbian Novak Djokovic claims the Wimbledon Men’s Singles Tennis title after a four set victory (6-4 6-1 1-6 6-3) over Spain’s Rafael Nadal in Sunday’s Final. By reaching…
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Pheu Thai in potential landslide after half the votes are counted
PHUKET: No results have been announced for Phuket yet, but nationwide the votes have been counted to the extent of 48 per cent and the Pheu Thai Party appears to be well in the lead, having garnered 255 MPs. The Democrats came second with 164 MPs, according to the count by the Royal Thai Police and the Election Commission as…
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Election Day: Gov Tri urges Phuket voters to ignore rain
PHUKET: Phuket Governor Tri Augkaradacha this morning called on voters to ignore heavy rain across the island and turn up at polling stations to cast their ballots. “We had heavy rain last night and more rain is predicted all day today, which may deter some people from turning up to vote. “Please do not ignore your right to vote. Turn…
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FC Phuket call for Choi’s return
PHUKET: FC Phuket are demanding the return of South Korean player Choi Jai Won, following reports that he was preparing to leave the team for Thai League Division 1 rival Saraburi FC. FC Phuket allowed Choi to leave the team for a trip home to his native Korea, where his wife had a miscarriage, it was previously reported. However, the…
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Phuket politician cleared of vote-buying allegation
PHUKET: Five days after it was seized, over half a million baht has been returned to a former Phuket politician cleared of vote-buying allegations. Prasong Trairat, a former president of the Thepkrasattri Tambon Council, today went to Cherng Talay Police Station to collect 542,000 baht in assets taken from his home in Thepkrasattri by a provincial police anti-vote-buying task force.…
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Phuket Police doubt British woman’s rape allegation
PHUKET: CCTV images and other evidence have cast doubt over a British woman’s claim that she was raped at knifepoint by a Phuket tuk-tuk driver, Phuket Police say. The 21-year-old woman reported the alleged assault to Cherng Talay Police on Tuesday. The woman said she hired a tuk-tuk in Patong to take her back to her room at a resort…
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Phuket gears up for election weekend
PHUKET: More than 300 polling stations will be set up across Phuket for the island’s nearly-300,000 registered voters to cast their ballots in the general election tomorrow. The polling stations – to open at 9am and close promptly at 3pm– will be set up at schools, mosques, public pavilions, parks and other community locations. Registered voters must cast their ballots…
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Land Dept claims 90% of prime Phuket land controlled by foreigners
PHUKET: Phuket leads all of Thailand in the amount of land held by foreigners, with up to 90 per cent of prime beachfront land being illegally held through Thai nominees, claims one of the country’s top land officials. Speaking at a recent seminar on legal issues relating to land ownership, Land Inspector Sriracha Charoenpanit said Thailand’s positive characteristics, friendly people…
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Aussie family doubt suicide claim by Phuket police
PHUKET: The family of Australian tourist Marc Gerard Hoy, 34, who fell to his death from the sixth floor of a Phuket hotel last weekend, have expressed doubts that he committed suicide. “His relatives in Australia are finding it difficult to believe that he jumped off the building, but I told them that I have CCTV footage as evidence and…
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Korean charged over drunk driving death
PHUKET: A Korean man is facing a manslaughter charge after a head-on collision resulted in the death of Rik Johannes de Jong , 51, from the Netherlands. Mr De Jong is well known among foreign expats as the restaurateur of The Secret Cove restaurant at Ao Yon, which he ran with his Thai wife since 2009. Mr De Jong was…
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Long-term Phuket expat Joanne Cooney dies, age 51
PHUKET: Long-term Phuket expat Joanne Cooney died in Queensland, Australia, on Sunday night. She was 51. Originally from Adelaide in South Australia, Ms Cooney first arrived in Phuket in 1983. Ms Cooney became well known on the island. She spent years working for Thai Marine Leisure and was one of the original editors for the Phuket-based sailing magazine SEA Yachting.…
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Rolling boulders crash into Phuket resort
PHUKET: The management of an upscale hillside villa resort in Phuket has filed a police complaint after huge boulders tumbled down from a road construction project last Saturday, causing property damage and frightening guests. Wassana Yukhunthon, public relations manager at the luxury L’Orchidee Residences off Phra Barami Road Soi 4 at the north end of Patong, told the Phuket Gazette…
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High hoops for youth basketball in Phuket
PHUKET: THE PHUKET Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) and the Phuket Basketball Club’s second annual provincial basketball competition is now underway. The opening ceremony of the “Basketball PPAO Phuket Junior League 2011” was held at Saphan Hin, Gymnasium 1, on June 25 and the league will run until September 23 with matches starting at 4pm every Friday. OrBorJor President, Paiboon Upatising,…
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Phuket banks closed for mid-year holiday
PHUKET: Banks throughout Phuket are closed today for the annual “Mid-Year Bank Holiday” across Thailand. However, to ensure some access to finances, branches at some major retail centers are open. Somrudee Kanhayuva at the Kasikorn Bank call center in Bangkok confirmed that Kasikorn branches at major department stores are open as usual. “In Phuket, Kasikorn has seven branches open today:…
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Phuket guides call for action over Korean, Russian rivals
PHUKET: A Phuket provincial sub-committee has been formed to tackle the issue of illegal guides from Russia and Korea working in the local tourism industry. Phuket Vice Governor Nivit Aroonrat on Tuesday chaired a provincial committee meeting aimed at tackling a variety of tourist rip-offs. The gathering followed a visit to Phuket by the Interior Ministry in May when officials…
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Sailing courses at Phuket’s ACYC
PHUKET: Ao Chalong Yacht Club (ACYC) is now an officially recognized Royal Yachting Association (RYA) Shore Based Training Center and will be running theory courses at the club in Chalong. Courses are open to members and non-members and apply equally to sail boats and powerboats. Being shore-based, the courses are invaluable to people who have their own powerboat, but have…
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Phuket expo center coming “no matter what’: Raywat
PHUKET: Construction of Phuket’s International Convention and Exhibition Center (ICEC) will begin in three to four months no matter which party forms the next government, a Democrat Party candidate said yesterday. Raywat Areerob, incumbent MP candidate for Phuket constituency two, told the Phuket Gazette the election results would not affect existing plans to build the ICEC in Mai Khao. “[If…
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Phuket restaurants race against coastal erosion
PHUKET: Restaurant owners along the Rawai beachfront on Phuket’s southern coast are racing to repair a collapsed section of the seawall and pavement before monsoon surf causes more damage. The damaged section of the seawall spreads over about 100 meters and includes at least one privately owned restaurant. Rawai Municipality has placed rocks along 60m of the waterfront to slow…
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Phuket official arrested, denies vote buying
PHUKET: A village headman in Phuket has been arrested for alleged electoral fraud after police found evidence of vote buying in his Thalang home this morning. At 6:30am Thalang Police served a search warrant on Pa Khlok Village 4 headman Jaran Thorthip and found a box containing 70,000 baht, a list of 157 names and campaign brochures promoting Jirayus Songyos,…
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Federer out, Murray in
PHUKET: “I was just perfect today. I served just unbelievably.” Jo-Wilfried Tsonga doesn’t hold back on describing his performance against six-time Wimbledon champion Roger Federer in Wednesday’s quarter-final at the All England Lawn Tennis tournament.True, it was a fantastic performance, but certainly not perfect. Federer had gone two sets up before the big serving French player clawed his way back…
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Phuket outshines Big Bang in Toyota Cup
PHUKET: In Toyota League Cup second round play last night, FC Phuket downed Division 1 rivals Big Bang Chulalongkorn University (BBCU) 2-1 in extra time in front of a large crowd at Surakul Stadium. The ‘Southern Sea Kirin’, as FC Phuket is sometimes known, got the scoring underway on 15 minutes with slick passing between Niran Phanthong and Nitirote Sukuma…
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Phuket tuk-tuk driver questioned over rape of tourist
PHUKET: A Patong tuk-tuk driver questioned by police has denied any involvement in the alleged rape of a 21-year-old British female tourist in Phuket early on Monday morning. The woman went to Bangla Road with friends on Sunday night but later separated from them and went to another bar alone, said Kathu Police Duty Officer Jakkrapong Luang-aon. “She hired a…
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Butti killing: Kavatassi denied bail
PHUKET: The Italian man who allegedly hired a hit squad to assassinate a business partner in March has been denied bail by Phuket Provincial Court. See our earlier report here. A bail request lodged by Denis Kavatassi was rejected and the Italian remains in custody at Phuket Provincial Prison on charges of conspiracy to commit murder, Lt Col Weerayut Sittirattanakul…
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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