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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Patong to get power boost
PATONG: To reduce the number of unscheduled blackouts in Patong, the Phuket Provincial Electricity Authority (PPEA) has installed a new substation opposite the Holiday Inn on Rat-U-Thit 200 Pi Rd. The substation – which has yet to be hooked up to the town’s power supply – has the capacity to boost power supply in the area from 33 kilovolts to…
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Governor CEO experiment “a success’
PHUKET TOWN: After five months, the experiment of having a governor CEO run Phuket has proved to be a success, says Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Interior, Yongyuth Wichaidith. Speaking at the opening of the new Patong Municipality Office yesterday, K. Yongyuth said the appointment of Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi has led to issues being dealt with faster than under…
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Patong Municipality moves house
PATONG: Patong Municipality moved into its luxurious new offices on Ratpatanusorn Rd this morning. Yongyuth Wichaidith, Deputy Permanent Secretary for the Interior, chaired the opening ceremony, which included the traditional blessing of the buildings by Buddhist monks. The new location comprises three buildings on 6.5 rai of land, built at a total cost of 58.2 million baht. The main Municipality…
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Long-tail owners win klong dispute
BANG TAO: Following a protest by local long-tail boat owners, the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) has ordered a halt to a land modification project by a local landowner. The protest, by Bang Tao boetmen, came after the landowner started filling in the klong, apparently intending to shift the course of the canal so that he could expand his…
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Cool relief blows across Phuket
PHUKET: After months of searing heat and little rain, blessedly cool weather reached Phuket today – but the relief will probably last no longer than 36 hours. Tawat Tantamanu of the Southwestern Regional Meteorological Center told the Gazette that the drop in temperature was caused by a low-pressure system moving up from Malaysia. “It has brought clouds and showers this…
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Fleeing Patong bombers dump grenade
PATONG: Police suspect that two young men who dumped a hand grenade in a garbage bin around midnight last night had been on their way to bomb an entertainment venue in Soi Bangla. A tuk-tuk driver alerted police after seeing a passenger on a motorbike holding the grenade. Officers were dispatched to cut off the men’s route into Rat-U-Thit 200…
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Mob blocks Laguna entrance
CHERNG TALAY: About 300 villagers from Cherng Talay blocked the entrance to Laguna Phuket today to protest over a variety of grievances against the operators of the five-star resort complex. The mob blocked hotel cars, taxis and buses, with the result that resort guests arriving or departing were forced to carry their bags through the picket lines. The protest started…
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Cobra tale ‘poisonous nonsense&’ – Super Cheap
PHUKET TOWN: The Managing Director of Phuket Town’s famed Super Cheap emporium admitted to being furious today about what he sees as a venomous whispering campaign, probably inspired by business rivals. The story going the rounds yesterday and today was that a 40-year-old woman shopping at Super Cheap went to take onions from a display in the vegetables section. As…
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Play fair, Songkhran revelers told
PHUKET: Police have issued a list of instructions to prevent next month’s Songkhran revels from getting out of hand. The list came with a plea from Pol Col Paween Pongsirin, Superintendent of Phuket Town Police Station, for people to indulge in traditional water play from April 13 to April 15 without drunkenness or lewdness. In past years, people’s clothes have…
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Airport traffic in February take-off
PHUKET: Passenger traffic at Phuket International Airport rose by 8.85% in February compared with the same month last year, according to figures just released by airport officials. The statistics show that 376,829 passengers arrived at, or departed from, the airport, compared with 346,179 last February. The number of international passengers rose by 17.94% to 156,185, while the number of passengers…
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Walking street project postponed
PHUKET TOWN: The launch of the “Seven Wonders of Phuket” project planned for April 7 has been postponed until April 21. The project aims to attract visitors to the town’s historical areas with activities supporting a “Seven Wonders” theme, and by turning Thalang Rd into a pedestrian-only zone on Sundays. Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra is expected to preside over the…
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Phuket ax man kills, then flees
PHUKET TOWN: A fierce argument between two laborers ended when one hacked the other to death with an ax, then fled. Police are still hunting for the killer. Officers were called to a construction camp in Sakdidet Soi 9 soon after 10 pm on Wednesday where they found a man, dressed only in blue jeans, with deep wounds at the…
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Shark rumor sparks official check
PATONG: Government officials checked the Shark Club last night after hearing a rumor that the venue, closed permanently on the orders of Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi, was planning to reopen tomorrow night. Chief of the Phuket Provincial Governor’s office Lertkiat Vongpuaphan visited the Shark Club in Patong to investigate the rumors, an officer in the Governor’s office told the Gazette.…
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Villagers fight to save klong
BANG TAO: About 30 villagers are fighting to preserve a public klong [canal] they say is being filled in by a private company against their wishes. Villagers of Baan Bang Tao submitted a complaint to the Cherng Talay Tambon Administration Organization (OrBorTor) at an extraordinary meeting yesterday. The villagers say 10 fishing boats could once park in the klong behind…
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Injunction slapped on editors’ assets probe
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Administrative Court has issued an injunction on a money-laundering investigation into journalists critical of the government, pending its review of the matter. Senior journalists of Nation Multimedia Group (NMG), who had petitioned the court for the injunction, hailed the decision as a symbolic gesture by the judges and a strong message upholding press freedom. “This court’s…
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Briton drowns at Patong Beach
PATONG: A British man who had been living in Phuket for 10 years drowned at Patong Beach today. Police named him as Anthony Lord, 71, of Soi Sainamyen, Patong. Mr Lord appeared to get into difficulties about 10.15 am and although other swimmers raced to his aid, they were unable to save him. Pol Maj Sanguan Muangtham, Inspector of Kathu…
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Metered cabs to start April 1
PHUKET: Metered yellow and blue taxis will be cruising Phuket’s streets from April 1, says the proprietor of the private company starting the service. Tawatchai Meeniam, Managing Director of Phuket Metered Taxi Service Co, told the Gazette today that he hopes to start with five taxis, all of them new Mitsubishi Lancers. Fares for the 24-hour service will be 30…
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Drought puts spotlight on mine pits
BANGKOK (The Nation): The Town and Country Planning Department is looking into the possibility of using mine pits as supplementary sources of fresh water for Phuket, where current water resources are being depleted, the department head said yesterday. Phuket has more than 100 mine pits capable of supplying about 49.5 million cubic metres of water for consumption each year, said…
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Riddle of the frozen fisherman
RASSADA: Police believe a Filipino tuna boat crewman, whose body parts were kept in a freezer after a fatal incident at sea last month, died accidentally. After the “Hong Swun Ju” docked at Rassada on Sunday morning, the captain, Hsu Kuo-Ho, 52, told Phuket Town police what happened. He said that while fishing in international waters on February 24, he…
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Weapons of war found in Patong
PATONG: A sack of hand grenades, guns and ammunition found near a hotel in Patong has sparked a police hunt for whoever dumped the dangerous weapons. Police received a telephone call at about 6pm on Thursday, alerting them to the discarded sack of munitions found near the Patong Palace Hotel on the Patong-Karon Road. Inside the bag were two grenades,…
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Phuket Town water to be shut off
PHUKET TOWN: Central Phuket Town will be without tap water from 10 am tomorrow until about 7 am on Wednesday to allow a rainwater pipe to be hooked up to the main water supply. The hook up will be carried out at the intersection of Yaowarat Rd and Soi Rungrawee, near Wachira Phuket Hospital, where Phuket Town’s Public Works Department…
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Snatch-and-go robbers grab gold
PHUKET TOWN: Two men on a red Honda Dream snatched a gold chain from a woman’s neck on Thursday as she rode a motorcycle with her husband. The couple, Jian Boontiem, 68 and his wife Kiat Saetan, 68, told police they had been shopping at the market on Ranong Rd and were returning along Soi Phuton about 9 am when…
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Phuket slated for ban on firearms
BANGKOK (The Nation): Police will slap a sweeping ban on firearm carrying in Phuket under a plan to strengthen security and orderliness in the island, the national police chief said today. Only police in uniforms will be permitted to carry firearms under the plan, the time frame for implementation of which has yet to be worked out, said Pol Gen…
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Goods valued at B2m netted in Rawai raid
RAWAI: Marine police today raided the 2nd Hand shop on Wiset Rd and seized boat parts they estimate to be worth more than two million baht. Officers raided the store after being tipped-off by an informant, who stands to receive a reward of 30% of the value of the goods determined by Customs. Officers asked shop owner Kaewta Brickley to…
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PM expected to launch “Seven Wonders’
PHUKET TOWN: The “Seven Wonders of Phuket” project, which aims to attract tourists to Phuket Town, gained momentum today with the news that Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra might open the first Sunday of festivities on April 7. The announcement, made by Phuket Town Mayor Phummisak Hongsyok at a press conference, comes before three private companies – Kantana, JSL and All…
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Watchdogs rap Thaksin for media fiasco
PHUKET (AFP & Gazette reporters): In an address to the Phuket Reporters Club last night, Governor CEO Pongpayome Vasaputi declared his support for freedom of expression in the press. Reporters are not obligated to write only good things about government, he said, noting that criticisms were both “normal” and expected. The governor received a thundering round of applause, apparently in…
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Motorbike taxi rider shot dead
PATONG: Police have launched a murder investigation after a motorcycle taxi rider was shot dead on Patong Hill last night. A blood-stained red Honda Dream and three spent shells from a 11mm pistol marked the spot on the Bonsai Curve on Phra Barami Rd to which police were called at 1:35 am. At Wachira Phuket Hospital an autopsy on the…
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U.S. senator dismayed by Thai government
WASHINGTON (AFP): U.S. Senator Jesse Helms on Monday slammed the Thai government’s move to expel two reporters, warning that their deportation could cause Washington to rethink its aid to Thailand. “The Thai government’s decision to expel an American journalist and one from Great Britain is the most recent move toward authoritarianism in Thailand,” said Helms, the ranking Republican on the…
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Phuket to get German consulate
PHUKET: The German government is to open a representative office in Phuket Town on April 1, to deal with passport and visa applications and to assist German nationals with legal and health issues. Dirk Naumann will act as representative of the German Embassy for Southern Thailand while awaiting his formal appointment as honorary consul, at which time the office will…
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Police order story off worldwide web
BANGKOK (AFP): Thai police have today ordered The Economist magazine to take its controversial Thailand survey off its website, where it was made available for free after being barred from (hard-copy) distribution here. The Economist’s circulation director for Asia, Peter Bakker, said the company decided to put the 14-page survey on the website to serve readers and subscribers in Thailand…
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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