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.
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Gov denies reassignment rumor
PHUKET: Phuket Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi today scotched rumors that he will move from Phuket in October, saying that he wants to stay another year. Widespread rumors – which the Governor admitted had reached his ears – have predicted that he would leave in October’s annual rotation of government personnel. Some rumors even speculated as to the name of his…
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Chavalit backs devolution of power
PHUKET: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Gen Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, today reaffirmed the government’s commitment to devolution of political power from Bangkok to the provinces. In a speech at the Royal Phuket City Hotel to 600 representatives of Provincial Administration Organizations (OrBorJors) from all over Thailand, Gen Chavalit stressed that local administrations are a way of distributing power. Despite…
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Admiral ‘has no political ambitions’
AO MAKHAM: The Third Naval Area Command bade farewell today to Adm Prasert Boonthong, Commissioner of the Royal Thai Navy, in a ceremony involving 300 sailors from five provinces. Adm Prasert, who will retire on September 30 and will be succeeded by Adm Taweesak Somapa. In an exclusive interview, he told the Gazette that he had no formal retirement plans…
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Two fishermen missing, feared drowned
CHALONG: Two crewmen are missing, feared drowned, after their fishing boat sank off Racha Noi, a small island south of Phuket. Six other men from the “Por Paweena 9” were rescued by another fishing vessel. Survivors told of the boat being smashed by rough monsoon seas in darkness about 3 am last Friday (August 2). It sank soon afterwards. Lt…
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Charity opens center to help kids
PATONG: A round-the-clock center run by international charity World Vision is now operating in Patong to help children escape the sex industry, homelessness and poverty. The one-story centre, built with 800,000 baht in donations, was officially opened yesterday on Haad Patong Rd, opposite the Club Andaman Beach Resort and behind the football field. It will be run by Patong Municipality.…
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OrBorTors to become fire fighters
PATONG: In an attempt to improve brush fire control and save money at the same time, Thailand’s Tambon Administration Organizations (OrBorTor) are to be trained to deal with blazes in their areas. The new policy was announced in Phuket today by Sawat Dulyapach, Deputy Director-General of the Royal Forest Department, at the department’s annual seminar. The gathering attracted 148 unit…
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Phuket Town trash fee trebles
PHUKET TOWN: Garbage collection fees have skyrocketed for most homes in Phuket Town, from 10 baht a month to 30 baht a month. The increased rates, introduced on July 11 – nearly two months earlier than expected – have been adopted by Phuket Town Municipality because the old collection fees failed to cover costs. A house with 20 liters of…
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Tourism road show targets neighbors
PHUKET: One of the first activities organized by the newly-elected Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) committee will be a road show to Singapore and Malaysia, aimed at attracting low-season tourists. Pattanapong Aikwanich, the new president of the PTA, told a press conference this afternoon that the “Thailand Southern Paradise Road Show 2002” will run from August 13-17. Panu Massirat, Vice-President of…
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Rain damps drought concerns
PHUKET: Continuing rain should stave off the threat of drought on Phuket and replenish water supplies, Suwin Anukul, Chief of Water Allotment of the Phuket Irrigation Project, said today. “At least we should be fine through to the end of this year,” he added. K. Suwin said the recent monsoon falls increased supplies in the Bang Wad reservoir by 800,000…
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Kitchen knife killing: wife on the run
RASSADA: A woman who appears to have been a victim of domestic violence was on the run today after her husband was killed with a kitchen knife. Somsak Thepthong, 37, a laborer, was stabbed once in the stomach at the couple’s home on 12/66 Moo 1, Koh Sireh at the weekend. Pol Capt Sarit Buthnongsan, of Phuket Town Police Station,…
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Village chiefs bitter at ‘no guns&’ decision
PHUKET: Village leaders have protested over an Interior Ministry decision to stop awarding guns to village leaders who are voted provincial Kamnan or Phu Yai Baan of the Year. The Kamnan and Phu Yai Baan traditionally act as mediators in village disputes and are also responsible for security when police are not available. To this end, they are entitled to…
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Ya bah arrests drop by 50pc
PHUKET: The number of people arrested between July1 to July 25 on charges related to ya bah (methamphetamine) was just 28, compared to 56 during the same period in June, according to the latest statistics released by police. Police last month arrested 123 people on narcotics charges in raids that netted 455 ya bah pills, compared with 153 arrests for…
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Phuket kids head for Special Olympics
PHUKET TOWN: Two students from the Phuket Special School are to represent Thailand in this year’s Special Olympic Games in Japan. Fifteen-year-olds Suriyan Kwanprom and Sukasem Charoensuk were presented with 10,000 baht towards the trip when they met Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi at Phuket Provincial Hall today. The two leave Phuket on Monday to meet the other eight Thai representatives…
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Fake Dulwich papers “full of mistakes’
PHUKET TOWN: Fake Dulwich International College certificates were part of a recently uncovered Internet scam, but were of poor quality, the Phuket Provincial Education Office said today. Among the mistakes on the imitations were subjects listed that are not taught at the college and a logo that failed to match the real one. The signature on the fakes was that…
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Electricity firm opens pay kiosk at Big C
PHUKET TOWN: The Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) today opened a service counter at the Big C supercenter, on the bypass road, where consumers may pay their electricity bills. Sornchai Uparamai, the Manager of the PPEA, told the Gazette that the decision to open the kiosk was made following many complaints from customers about the hot and lengthy wait for…
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Mahouts trained to look after elephants
PHUKET: The Provincial Livestock Department today held a training seminar for mahouts from Phuket, Phang Nga and Krabi, in which they were taught the basics of elephant health. About 50 mahouts attended the seminar at the Royal Paradise Hotel in Patong. A similar seminar last year attracted about 300 mahouts. Suwut Chalayjorn, Director of the Veterinary Service Division, explained, “The…
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Convention center decision closer
PHUKET: The site of the island’s proposed international convention and exhibition center (CEC) remains undecided but a verdict is one step closer. Napasorn Kakai, Assistant Director of the local Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) office, told reporters that a sub-committee led by businessman Wichit Na Ranong has carefully examined the proposed sites and voted on each. Their opinions have been…
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Mayor to lead 500 on Penang junket
PATONG: The Mayor of Patong, Surasak Maneesri, is to take 500 local people on an educational tour to Penang in Malaysia next week, at a cost to local tax payers of two million baht. The money to provide the 500 travelers with free bus transport, accommodation and food from August 4-7 will come from the municipality’s human resources development budget.…
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Mangrove walk to be closed at night
PHUKET TOWN: The Mayor of Phuket Town, Phummisak Hongsyok, has announced that the two entrances to the Saphan Hin mangrove walk will be fenced off, and the walk will be closed between 7 pm and 8am every day. His announcement came after a young mechanic from Surin was murdered late on Friday when he tried to stop two men raping…
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Fisherman witnesses colleague’s murder
PHUKET TOWN: A Thai fisherman watched as a Burmese man who worked on the same boat was stabbed to death at Rassada Port in the early hours of Sunday. Pol Maj Pissanu Poonwong, of Phuket Town Police Station, told the Gazette yesterday that the witness, who works on the fishing boat “Yod Duangporn”, called the police after seeing his co-worker…
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Key Aussie probe witness turns up in Patong
PATONG: A key witness in a major Western Australian inquiry into misdeeds by the state’s police, who disappeared from Australia recently, has turned up in Patong. The witness concerned is Tony Lewandowski, an ex-detective who recently signed an affidavit concerning the rigging of evidence to secure the convictions of three brothers, Raymond, Peter and Brian Mickelberg, for the notorious Perth…
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Murder, attempted rape on mangrove walk
PHUKET TOWN: A man was stabbed to death as he tried to save his girlfriend from two would-be rapists on the new Saphan Hin mangrove tourist walkway on Friday night. One attacker dropped his wallet in the struggle, leading to the arrests of both the following day. The murder victim, Nopparat Thongjanthuck, a 26-year-old air-conditioning technician from Surin, had taken…
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Tourist Police stage sea rescue seminar
PATONG: Phuket Tourist Police held a seminar today on sea rescue techniques for 150 people, including officers and volunteers such as lifeguards, paramedics and others who work on the beach. In his opening address at the Royal Paradise Hotel, seminar chairman and Kathu District Chief Sutin Uthaitamrong emphasized the need for speed in alerting rescue organizations in the event of…
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Girl drowns at Nai Harn Beach
NAI HARN: The body of an eight-year-old Thai girl who was pulled under the waves on Wednesday washed ashore at Nai Harn Beach this morning. Pol Capt Anake Mongkol of Chalong Police Station told the Gazette that Nisamanee Malilam was reported missing around 5 pm on Wednesday. Capt Anake said Nisamanee had come to Nai Harn with her aunt and…
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Pursuit of robber brings traffic to a halt
PHUKET TOWN: Traffic in Samkong was brought to a standstill this afternoon as local residents chased a thief down Yaowarat Rd, accompanied by police firing shots in the air. The thief, Witaya Meejai, 26, from Nakhon Sri Thammarat, was caught by police, with the help of local residents, outside the Steak Samkong restaurant at about 4 pm. Pol Maj Vichakom…
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Bars, nightclubs urged to close
PHUKET: Police are requesting bar and nightclub owners to close their doors tomorrow and Thursday, out of respect for the religious holidays. Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, said today, “We ask only for cooperation from the bar and nightclub owners in Phuket. It’s not a law or rule. “It has become customary for Thais not…
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Man caught passing forged B500 note
CHERNG TALAY: Police yesterday arrested a 35-year-old Trang man for passing forged 500-baht notes – after rescuing him from a group of local people who were beating him up. The locals told police that the man, Jamnong Longklang, had earlier bought some cigarettes from the JR Mart in Kamala, using a 500-baht note to pay for them. After receiving the…
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Phuket Aquarium to get giant face-lift
AO MAKHAM: The Phuket Aquarium has received 81 million baht from the Department of Fisheries to renovate and expand to include a glass tunnel that will allow visitors to walk through a fish tank. The improvements, it is estimated, could bring as many as half a million visitors to the aquarium a year. Potchana Boonyanate, a marine biologist at the…
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PTA elects new president
PHUKET TOWN: Pattanapong Aikwanich, Managing Director of Diamond Cliff Resort, was elected President of the Phuket Tourist Association (PTA) on Saturday. The biennial election attracted 117 of the PTA’s 198-strong membership to the Metropole Hotel to cast their votes. First business of the meeting was for members to elect a committee of 11, which later voted for K. Pattanapong to…
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Russian drowns at Surin Beach
SURIN: A Russian tourist drowned at Surin Beach on Friday while swimming with his wife. Pol Maj Anan Jingjit, Inspector of Cherng Talay Police Station, identified the victim as 42-year-old Alexey Afonichev. “He was swimming with his wife and disappeared under the strong waves. Other tourists in the area located him and pulled him to shore,” Maj Anan said. Police…
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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