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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Dog unearths dead baby
PHUKET CITY: A stray dog dug up the body of a baby boy next to the tsunami warning tower at Saphan Hin on January 11.Pol Lt Col Yongyuth Klongmalai, Inspector at Phuket City Police Station, told the Gazette that he received a phone call from a jogger at Saphan Hin saying that a beach cleaner had stopped her to say…
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MoI to consider Thai nationality for 2,000 people
PHUKET: The Ministry of Interior (MoI) has set a deadline of January 20 for Governors of tsunami-affected provinces to submit applications for Thai nationality from an estimated 2,180 people who may qualify for nationality but who have not yet applied.The estimate was arrived at after research conducted by local officials in June last year, as part of a drive to…
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Get your smart card: Mayor
PHUKET CITY: Phuket City Municipality is now offering “smart card” ID cards, providing citizens with a replacement for old identification cards. Phuket City Mayor Somjai Suwannasuppana, explained at a press conference yesterday, “People who have a valid ID card can request a smart card by submitting their existing ID card and a copy of their house registration. “A 40-baht fee…
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Monorail project would cost B20bn – consultant
PHUKET: A consultant to the Phuket Provincial Government said today that his company estimates that a proposed monorail light rail transit (LRT) system linking Phuket International Airport and Phuket City would cost 20 billion baht.Krai Tungsanga, President of Pyramid Development International Co (PDI), explained that a feasibility study into the LRT proposal began in October last year and will continue…
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Thai fishermen confess to Horton murder
KOH SAMUI: Two young Thai fishermen whose DNA matched that of semen samples taken from the body of murdered tourist Katherine Horton have confessed to raping and murdering her, police said today.Ms Horton, a 21-year-old student from Wales, arrived on Samui with a fellow student on December 31, in time to celebrate New Year’s Eve there.She was last seen going…
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OrBorJor office broken into
PHUKET: The Division of Finance at the Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) building was broken into over the weekend.Wannee Supradit, Director of the Division of Finance, told the Gazette that some OrBorJor officers work during weekends and that, on Sunday, she went to work earlier than usual because of a heavy workload.She said she noticed nothing untoward until a fellow…
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Property sales taxes topped B1bn in 2005
PHUKET: The Phuket Provincial Land Office (PPLO) collected 1.1 billion baht in property taxes and fees in 2005.The tax gathered has soared recently, thanks to booming land prices and sales of homes in property developments. By comparison, PPLO statistics show that the province collected 370 million baht from land and property sales in 2003, and 932 million baht in 2004.PPLO…
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Swiss man arrested on pedophilia charges
PHANG NGA (The Nation): A 53-year-old Swiss national, Bernhard Rudolf Hager, has been arrested and charged with pedophilia and illegal detention of three underage Thai boys, police said yesterday.The arrest came after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation provided Thai police with a photo taken from the Internet, which showed a foreigner molesting young Thai boys, police said.In the photo,…
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Mea culpa, says highways chief
PHUKET: Phuket Provincial Highways Office (PPHO) Chief Thanit Sakiya has accepted responsibility for not delivering on a promise he made to Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura to have the surface of the bypass road completed by December 26 last year.On December 20, 2005, Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura ordered the road surfacing work finished by the December 26 deadline so as to avoid inconveniencing…
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New Year road safety campaign ‘a failure’
PHUKET: Dr Wanchai Sattayawutthipong, Chief of the Phuket Provincial Health Office (PPHO), yesterday called the provincial road safety campaign over the holiday period a “failure”.Between December 29 and January 4, one man and one woman were killed and 90 people were injured in road accidents on the island.The PPHO had set “targets” of a maximum of four dead and 69…
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Four questioned in Horton murder probe
KOH SAMUI (The Nation/Phuket Gazette): Police detained four men last night for questioning as part of their investigation into the murder of Welsh university student Katherine Horton on this popular resort island. They also took DNA samples from the four, all employees of a resort close to the bungalow where Ms Horton, 21, was staying. Witnesses saw the men dining…
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Phi Phi construction ban eased
PHI PHI ISLANDS: The government has finally allowed construction of tsunami relief homes on Koh Phi Phi Don, along with temporary structures so that locals may conduct business.Phankam Kitithorakul, Chairman of the Ao Nang Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor), the local authority responsible for the Phi Phi Islands, told the Gazette, “[It is] lucky for us that I had the chance…
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UK student found dead on Samui
SAMUI: The policeman in charge of the investigation into the death of British tourist Catherine Horton suspects foul play may be responsible, but said that a preliminary police examination of the body revealed no signs of assault or rape. Pol Maj Thanongsak Aksornsom of the Samui District Police told the Gazette that Miss Horton ‘s body, in a black dress,…
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Briton fined for having handgun
THALANG: Englishman Adam Douglas, 52, was arrested on December 30 after taking a .38 revolver loaded with five rounds into a restaurant near Wat Sri Soontorn on Thepkrasattri Rd.Pol Col Chinrat Rittakananon, Superintendent of Thalang Police Station, told the Gazette police visited Mae Khin Restaurant during their routine daily patrol to ensure that local venues closed at 1 am.Douglas was…
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One killed and 67 injured over New Year
PHUKET: One man was killed and 67 people were injured in road accidents in Phuket over the New Year celebrations.The fatal accident occurred at 4:30 am in Chalong on December 31 when a motorcycle collided with a pickup truck. The motorcyclist, Suwit Mumngen, was killed instantly.Siriporn Sasu, an officer with the Phuket Office of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), told…
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Gambling tops arrests for December
PHUKET: Statistics released by Phuket Provincial Police show that gambling came out trumps once again to top the arrests table, with 256 people arrested from December 1 to 25 for the offense. Thirty-seven cases involved the sale of illegal underground lottery tickets.Two murders were reported during the month, with one case solved. There were two cases of attempted murder in…
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Phuket residents on British New Year Honours List
PHUKET: Cindy Ratcliffe, President of the Phuket International Women’s Club (PIWC), Martin Carpenter, Chairman of the British Business Association of Phuket (BBAP), UK Honorary Consul Alan Cooke and Lucy Norton have been made Members of the British Empire (MBE) in the UK’s New Year Honours List for their efforts in helping tsunami victims, it was announced on Saturday.“I feel quite…
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Japan wins international beach volleyball tourney
PATONG: Japan defeated Thailand 2-0 in the final of the Phuket Thailand Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) Beach Volleyball Challenge 2005 in front of some 3,000 spectators at Patong Beach yesterday afternoon.Southeast Asian Games gold medalists Jarunee Sannok and Kamoltip Kulna, comprising one of Thailand’s three teams, entered the finals after beating Bulgaria’s Yanchulova sisters 2-0 in the semi-finals. Petia…
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Reward offered for missing catamaran
KATA: Yacht owner Chris Sieber is offering a US$5,000 reward for information directly leading to the recovery of his 46-foot catamaran Kilo, which went missing off Kata Beach on December 18. Mr Sieber told the Gazette this morning that Kilo was last seen anchored offshore from the Kata Beach Resort on December 17, following the King’s Cup Regatta, for which…
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Tourists hurt as bus overturns
PATONG: A tour bus carrying 37 Israelis overturned on Prabarami Rd in rainy weather about 5 pm yesterday, while it was en route to Patong from Khao Lak in Phang Nga. Two passengers were seriously injured in the crash.All of the passengers were taken to Patong Hospital to be checked for injuries.Theerayuth Prasertphol, Chief Technical Officer of the Phuket Provincial…
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No closing time on New Year’s Eve
PHUKET: Entertainment venues will be able to stay open as long as they wish on New Year’s Eve, Phuket’s top law enforcement official told the Gazette today.Pol Maj Gen Decha Budnampeth, Commander of Phuket Provincial Police, said that the exception to the normal closing time would apply only on the night of December 31-January 1. From the evening of January…
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Stray dog round-up to begin – again
PHUKET: Representatives from just five of the island’s 13 local government bodies attended a meeting yesterday morning to address the island’s long-standing stray dog problem. At the meeting it was also announced that dog owners in two areas can now apply for “passports” for registered pets.The low-key meeting, held at Phuket Provincial Hall and chaired by Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura,…
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She said YES! Tsunami victim to wed doctor who looked after him
PHUKET CITY: In a year when it seemed that almost every story concerning Phuket was relating bad news – with perhaps the exception of Hannes Bergstrom, the “unidentified” Swedish toddler reunited with his uncle and grandmother two days after the tsunami – ending these 12 months with a story of hope is a newspaper’s dream.December 26, 2004 saw Ron Bombiger,…
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Move for airport taxi meter desk stalls
PHUKET: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura’s October 31 call for a service counter for metered taxis to be installed inside the terminal at Phuket International Airport has stalled, with his request yet to be reviewed by the Airports Authority of Thailand (AAT) headquarters in Bangkok.Gov Udomsak called for meter taxis to have a counter at the airport within two weeks following a…
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Police to set up New Year road safety checkpoints
PHUKET: Police will set up checkpoints across the island from December 29 to January 4 in a campaign to reduce the number of road fatalities during the New Year celebrations.The checkpoints, manned by police, volunteers and officers from the Phuket Office for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (ODPM), will be set up at:– Thepkrasattri Rd (in front of the Muang Mai…
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Vendors forced from Kamala Beach
KAMALA: More than 40 police officers forced beachfront food stall vendors and sun-bed operators to vacate Kamala Beach yesterday morning, to clear the area for the tsunami memorial services on Monday.Kathu District Chief Khantee Silapa told the Gazette the beach was cleared after an order from Phuket Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura, because Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is to visit the area.However,…
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Work on B46m “Welcome Gate’ under way in Tah Chat Chai
TAH CHAT CHAI: For most of next year, the northern tip of the island will become a building site as heavy machinery is used to transform scrub forest in the area into a landscaped “Welcome Gate” rest stop and vehicle control point (VCP).Work on the 46-million-baht project, the brainchild of Phuket Provincial Administration Organization (OrBorJor) President Anchalee Vanich-Thepbutr, officially began…
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Gov prepared to pay B2.05m missing tsunami money
PHUKET CITY: Governor Udomsak Uswarangkura is prepared to pay 2.05 million baht out of his own pocket should he be found ultimately responsible for the tsunami aid money that was reported missing from Phuket Provincial Hall on February 15.“Under administrative law, there is no way that government funds can just disappear,” he told reporters on Tuesday. “But don’t worry; if…
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Tsunami memorial service for Australians
PATONG: There will be a tsunami memorial service for Australian families in front of the Graceland Hotel on Patong Beach, from 8 am to 9 am on Monday. The memorial service, organized by the Australian Embassy, will precede formal Thai ceremonies at Patong Beach, commencing at 10 am, and other venues throughout the day. For more information contact the Australian…
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Phang Nga ‘stealing Phuket tourism staff’
PHUKET: Employers in Phuket’s hotel and tourism industry are losing skilled staff to Phang Nga businesses – which are reportedly offering up to double the workers’ current salaries. Phuket Provincial Labour Office (PPLO) Chief Decha Prekpattanarak said today, “The ‘stealing’ of labor is a major problem that is creating a shortage of skilled workers in Phuket this high season.” He…
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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