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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Carabao heading for Phuket
PHUKET: Thai superstars Carabao are to perform in Phuket on Monday. The group will be joined on stage by Thai songstress Thanaporn “Parn” Waegprayoon, who collaborated with them on their latest album.Carabao’s career spans 25 years and their songs are some of the most recognizable in modern Thai music. The 12-piece band is part of the “Songs for Life” movement.…
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Dive industry facing tough new rules
PHUKET: Phuket’s Chief Administrative Officer (Palad) Nivit Aroonrat yesterday handed the Governor a proposal to issue an order that will require all dive businesses on the island to register with the government within 30 days. Thereafter, the dive shops will have to provide specific details – including how many foreigners they employ and whether the foreign employees have work permits.The…
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Fascinating detail revealed by cache of old documents
PHUKET: The effort to classify four huge stacks of old documents found by workers fixing the roof of Phuket Provincial Hall nearly six years ago should be completed by the end of September, the official in charge of the project says.Suntree Sungayuth, Chief Archivist at the National Archives in Trang, told the Gazette that some of 70,000 pages of official…
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Public urged to wear yellow shirt every week
PHUKET CITY: Vice Governor Vorapot Rattasima has urged everyone, whether in government service or the private sector, to wear a yellow polo shirt with the symbol of HM King Bhumibol’s Diamond Jubilee every Monday for the rest of the year.He was speaking at the regular gubernatorial meeting with the press today. Also there was Sompoch Sungkapong, Chief of the Phuket…
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Swedish royals arrive in Phuket
PHUKET: HM King Carl XVI Gustaf and HM Queen Silvia of Sweden arrived in Phuket yesterday for a week’s stay in a private villa at Trisara, near Nai Thon Beach, after attending HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in BangkokDuring their Phuket stay they will celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. They were married on June 19, 1976.HRH Crown Prince…
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Direct flights from HK, Korea “coming in July’
PHUKET: Dragonair still has no plans to restore its direct Hong Kong-Phuket service, but no fewer than three other airlines are planning to start flights on the route, a Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) official has announced. The first of these will start flying as early as next month.Anoma Wongyai, Assistant Director of the TAT office in Phuket, returned from…
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Bike gang terrorizes Kalim motorists
KALIM-KAMALA: Kathu Police Station Superintendent Pol Col Teerapol Thipjaroen has warned motorists using the Kalim-Kamala road at night to take extra caution after one woman was dragged off her bike and nearly held at gunpoint and another woman had the rear window of her car smashed by a motorbike gang.Vanessa Temple reported that she was attacked while riding her motorbike…
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More yellow shirts on the way
BANGKOK (The Nation): Clothing manufacturers have been asked by the government to produce 500,000 more yellow shirts, commemorating HM King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s diamond jubilee, to meet huge demand from the public. The shirts will be available at supermarkets including Big C, Makro and 7-Eleven stores nationwide. Siriphol Yordmuangcharoen, Director General of the Department of Commerce, said he has met with…
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Chalong police issue burglaries warning
CHALONG: Pol Col Chalit Kaewyarat, Superintendent of Chalong Police Station, this morning urged residents in the Chalong and Rawai areas to take extra precautions against burglaries following a recent spate of break-ins, mostly involving homes of foreigners.“A house in Soi Taiad [Chalong] and another one in Soi Samakkee 2 [Rawai] were recently broken into by burglars.“A couple of days ago…
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Phuket to receive award for “fastest recovery’
PHUKET CITY: Phuket has won the Arabian Travel Market 2006 (ATM) “New Frontiers Award” for being the tourism destination that recovered fastest from a natural disaster, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura announced yesterday.“The Arabian Travel Market has praised Phuket for its outstanding recovery and positive contribution to tourism development after the tsunami,” Governor Udomsak said.“The island was chosen after organizers consulted professionals…
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Police get strict with red-plate cars
CHALONG: Traffic Police set up a checkpoint on Chao Fa East Rd on Monday night to check that all vehicles bearing red “temporary” license plates for newly-purchased cars were registered with the Transport Department and that the vehicles were not stolen or being used to commit crimes. The checkpoint, near the intersection with Soi Palai, was also manned by officials…
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Land Office moves to allay property bust fears
PHUKET: The Chief of the Phuket Provincial Land Office (PPLO), Supot Suwannachote, has moved to reassure businesspeople that the closer inspection of companies wanting to register land titles, as ordered by the Ministry of Interior, does not mean that transfers of ownership will be refused.He stressed that he did not want to see a slowdown in Phuket’s booming property industry.…
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Airport limos give ground to keep concession
PHUKET CITY: The Phuket Limousine and Business Services Cooperative Ltd (PBC) is to have its concession to operate limousines at the airport renewed, but members will have to agree to a number of conditions. The news came after both the PBC and the Airports Authority of Thailand (AAT) asked the provincial authorities to intercede in negotiations. The current concession agreement…
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More than 3,000 ya bah pills seized in May
PHUKET: Statistics released by the Phuket Provincial Police show that 3,183 ya bah (methamphetamine) pills were seized by police, with 71 arrests made in connection with the drug, between May 1 and 25. Seizures of ecstasy were also up on last month’s figures. In total, 121 people were arrested on drug-related charges. The second most commonly seized intoxicants were solvents…
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Market launched to honor HM The King
PHUKET CITY: An open-air market is being held from 9 am until midnight at Queen Sirikit Park on Thalang Rd as part of the activities being held around the island to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee of HM The King’s ascension of the throne. The market, organized by the Phuket Provincial Commercial Office (PPCO) and the Phuket Market Vendors’ Association, opened…
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Official denies extortion and bodily harm charges
CHALONG: Sassiri Klinhom, a district official from Surat Thani, presented himself to Chalong Police Station on June 1 to deny charges of extortion and causing bodily harm.Pol Lt Col Jessada Sangsuree told the Gazette that at about 10 am on May 29, he and other officers responded to a call saying that a woman had been found handcuffed and drugged…
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Property boom makes tax office glow
PHUKET CITY: If taxes paid are any indication of economic health, then Phuket’s economy, in particular the property sector, is very healthy indeed. Between October 1 last year and April 30 this year, the Phuket Area Revenue Office (PARO) collected 455.75 million baht in taxes from property businesses alone – an increase of 64.58% on the same six-month period a…
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Blue Canyon out of bankruptcy
BANGKOK: The Central Bankruptcy Court (CBC) in Bangkok today announced its decision to allow Murex Co Ltd, the holding company for Blue Canyon Country Club (BCCC), to officially exit the debt restructuring process it has undergone under the court’s administration.BCCC, in an official release, stated, “The Plan Administrator of Murex, BC Golf Resort Management Co Ltd, has been instrumental in…
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Swiss man found dead in pickup
CHALONG: A Swiss man was found dead in the driver’s seat of his pickup truck on Chao Fa East Rd on Monday. The 63-year-old man, identified by police as Johann Kupreest, was discovered slumped at the wheel with the engine off and the windows and doors locked. Local residents noticed the unconscious Mr Kupreest and tried to assist him, but…
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Land crackdown targets Thai shareholders
BANGKOK: The Ministry of Interior has ordered a crackdown on property companies attempting to circumvent Section 74 of the Land Act in order to allow foreigners to control land ownership.Section 74 states (unofficial translation): “In the process of registering [land] possession rights and contracts between parties … officers have the power to investigate both parties and call them for questioning…
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Patong waitress in acid attack horror
PATONG (Kom Chad Luek): A 23-year-old waitress has been badly disfigured after acid was thrown on her, allegedly by her jealous ex-boyfriend. The woman then traveled to Bangkok with her mother to seek help from the Paweena Hongsakul Foundation for abused women and children.Tassaya Wanich, 24, met K. Paweena on May 26 and explained that she had been frequently abused…
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Document forging gang arrested
PHUKET CITY: Two Burmese men and a Thai woman have been arrested for producing fake work documents to sell to illegal immigrants. The two men, Sommay Mahapong, 24, and So (last name unknown), 25, and the woman, Nipaporn Boonbunjob, also 25, were arrested in their Phuket City apartment where document-forging equipment was also found and seized. Pol Maj Pheeranat Chatinkaew,…
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Reserve water pipeline to be complete by end of June
KATHU: The 17-kilometer pipeline to tap water supplies from the Hitlor and Manik lagoons in Tambon Srisoonthorn is now about 80% complete and should be finished by the end of June. The 60-million-baht pipeline is part of the Phuket Provincial Water Supply’s (PPWS) short-term plan to fight water shortages on the island. PPWS Manager Sayan Wareearoonroj told the Gazette today,…
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Gov moves to unite dog welfare bodies
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Usawarangkura has appointed a committee to try to solve the problem of stray dogs in Phuket. One main responsibility of the new Stray Dog Committee will be to promote coordination between the various government bodies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who, Gov Udomsak believes, are not cooperating efficiently.Dr Prasit Koeysiripong, the newly appointed Chairman of one of the…
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Gibbon problem returns to Patong
PATONG: The problem of gibbons being hawked around Patong for photo opportunities has returned after a two-year absence. Over the past two weeks gibbons and their handlers have started to reappear, particularly around Soi Bangla. The problem had previously been cleared up by the Wildlife Conservation Office (WCO) which carried out a campaign to confiscate illegally-held gibbons and house them…
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Chetwynd-Talbot gets 10 years for murder
PHUKET CITY: Briton Paul Chetwynd-Talbot was sentenced to 10 years in jail today for the murder of his girlfriend, Debra O’Hanlon, on July 31 last year in the Patong room the couple shared at the time.The 32-year-old accused and his lawyer, Somsak Chattay, had hoped for a reduced charge of manslaughter, arguing that Chetwynd-Talbot had not intended to kill Ms…
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New rules reduce sailboat confusion
PHUKET: The Marine Department has announced that Thai-registered sailing vessels with a length of 16 meters (52.4 feet) or less no longer need to have a Thai skipper or crew on board when in Thai waters.Phuket Marine Office Chief Surin Theerakulpisut told the Gazette today that the new rule came into effect on March 1.Vincent Tabuteau, Managing Director of Asia…
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Sea gypsies halt Rawai road-widening project
RAWAI: A protest by a group of Sea Gypsies has led to the Rawai road-widening project being halted. The group from Village 2, Rawai, complained about the proposed destruction of four houses to make way for the widening of Wiset Rd. The project has now been put on hold until a solution is found. On May 19, Seksan Bangjak, a…
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Weekend storms damage 35 houses
PHUKET: Around 35 houses were damaged during storms over the weekend, which caused damage around the island estimated at more than 3 million baht.The Phuket Office for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM) reported that heavy rain and strong winds during Saturday night and in the early hours of Sunday toppled trees and electricity pylons, damaging buildings and cars and causing…
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Rugby 10s tourney moves to Phuket City
PHUKET CITY: The 8th Molly Malone’s Phuket International Rugby 10s tournament, originally to have been played at Karon Municipal Stadium this Saturday and Sunday, will now be held at Sanam Chai, opposite Phuket Provincial Hall on Narisorn Rd.Tournament organizer Patrick Cotter, of the Phuket Vagabonds FC, told the Gazette that at about 3 pm today that he finally written received…
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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