Phuket News
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Israeli national arrested for nominee-run travel agency in Phuket
Police arrested an Israeli national in Phuket yesterday, April 8, for operating a travel agency illegally through a Thai nominee. Officers from the Department of Tourism and Tourist Police investigated illegal travel agencies in Phuket and found two companies in breach of the law. The first company, Gmat Hospitality, was found to be operating through a Thai nominee. Investigators said…
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Tourists warned after moon jellyfish found floating off Phuket
About 20 to 30 moon jellyfish were found floating near the surface and washed ashore at Ao Siam on Koh Racha Yai in Phuket yesterday, April 7, according to the Upper Andaman Coastal and Marine Resources Research Centre. An alert was issued after staff at the Racha Islands protected area management centre in Rawai, Mueang district, Phuket, reported the sighting.…
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Thai man arrested for shooting colleague at Phuket warehouse
A gunman who shot his colleague at a warehouse in Ratsada, Phuket, was arrested at a hotel yesterday evening, April 7, following a police search. The suspect, 50 year old Prakit Pannarai, opened fire on his colleague, 40 year old Wirat Nawadate, at a retail store warehouse on April 6. Prakit fired three shots, striking Wirat in the body and…
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Thai man escapes after shooting colleague at Phuket warehouse
Police are searching for a gunman who escaped after shooting his colleague at a warehouse in Phuket yesterday, April 6, leaving the victim in critical condition. Officers from Mueang Phuket Police Station were alerted to the shooting by medical staff at Mission Hospital Phuket. The victim, identified as 40 year old Wirut, suffered gunshot wounds to his body and leg…
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Phuket speedboat explosion kills Thai tour guide, injures 5 others
A Thai tour guide died, and five other crew members were injured in a Phuket speedboat explosion at about 11am yesterday, March 6, at Coco Pier in Vichit subdistrict, Mueang district, Phuket. The explosion was reported on the speedboat called Tequila while it was moored at the pier. Volunteer firefighters and rescue workers rushed to the scene after the blast…
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Phuket tuk tuk driver accuses Russian man of refusing to pay for service
A Phuket tuk tuk driver accused a foreign passenger of refusing to pay and then claiming the driver overcharged him at 3,000 baht. The driver, who operates in Patong in Kathu district, shared a video on social media showing him confronting the passenger in a hotel lobby. He said he may start collecting fares in advance to prevent passengers from…
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3 foreigners caught using toy banknotes at Phuket entertainment venue
Police arrested three foreigners on April 1 after they attempted to settle a bill at an entertainment venue on Bangla Road in Phuket with toy banknotes. A staff member at the venue contacted police after detecting suspicious banknotes used by the group of foreign men, whose nationalities were not disclosed. The suspects reportedly handed over three US$100 notes to pay…
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Phuket to raise boat fares to Koh Phi Phi and tour package prices from April 5
Phuket ferry and speedboat fares for routes to Koh Phi Phi, along with boat tour prices, are set to increase from April 5 after operators received approval to raise charges in response to higher fuel costs. Phuket Provincial Governor Nirat Pongsitthaworn met officials from the Phuket Provincial Marine Department and local operators at about 1.30pm yesterday, April 2, to discuss…
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Warning issued after toxic fire jellyfish detected in Phuket waters
Deputy Prime Minister and Natural Resources and Environment Minister Suchart Chomklin warned the public yesterday, March 30, after poisonous fire jellyfish were found in high density around Koh Aeo, Phuket. Suchart said the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) reported toxic jellyfish dispersed at a relatively high concentration of about 100 per square metre, floating near the surface at…
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Phuket airport immigration delay blamed on system fault, paid fast lane denied
Immigration police have denied claims that Phuket International Airport opened a paid “special lane” for passengers, saying recent queues were caused by a temporary system slowdown during an unusually busy flight period. On Saturday, March 29, Police Colonel Phongthon Phongrattanant, deputy commander and spokesperson for Immigration Division 2, said the agency reviewed reports circulating online about operations at the airport’s…
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Long queues at Phuket Airport raise ‘special paid lane’ questions
Claims of a “special paid lane” at outbound immigration in Phuket have circulated online after photos showed long queues at Phuket International Airport over the weekend, according to reports yesterday, March 28. Images shared from the Phuket Info Centre page showed large numbers of tourists queuing at the Immigration Bureau checkpoint on the international departures side. The images prompted widespread…
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Phuket man arrested for groping 4 Thai and foreign women
Police arrested a Thai man for sexually assaulting at least four women in the Chalong area of Phuket throughout March. Chalong Police Station said it received four reports of sexual assault from four victims, including Thai and foreign nationals. Police said the incidents caused fear in the area, and some victims were injured while trying to break free from the suspect.…
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Foreign pickup driver kills Thai motorcyclist on Phuket road
A foreign woman crashed a pickup truck into two motorcycles, killing one Thai man and injuring another rider in Chalong, Phuket, yesterday, March 25. Phuket Times Facebook page reported that the fatal crash happened at about 5pm. Video of the incident circulated on Thai social media today, but the identities of those involved have not been disclosed. In the clip,…
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Luxury car service centre worker in Phuket steals client’s Rolex watch
A employee, initially suspected to be employed at a Porsche service centre in Phuket, returned a stolen Rolex watch worth nearly 500,000 baht after police identified him through fingerprints found inside the vehicle. A Thai woman said on Facebook that her son’s Rolex, valued at 479,000 baht, went missing from a storage compartment inside her white Porsche Taycan GTS after…
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Saudi tourist files complaint after 40000 baht massage in Phuket
A masseuse in Phuket allegedly charged 40,000 baht to the credit card of a Saudi Arabian tourist, despite the customer agreed to pay 1,200 baht for a massage. The Facebook page โหดจัง จังหวัดภูเก็ต reported that the tourist filed a complaint at Patong Police Station yesterday, March 25, after discovering a 40,000 baht charge made at a massage shop near Patong…
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Foreign couple breaks into Phuket restaurant to swim and smoke cannabis
A restaurant owner in the Rawai area of Phuket reported a foreign couple to police after they were filmed entering the property without permission, using the swimming pool and consuming cannabis on-site. The owner of Grills Nai-Harn shared a video online showing an employee confronting the couple and asking them to leave. In her post, she asked for help identifying them…
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Foreign woman attacked by transwomen on Phuket’s Bangla Road
A group of Thai transwomen physically assaulted a foreign woman on Bangla Road in Patong, Phuket, after the foreigner allegedly caused a disturbance and provoked conflicts. The video of the incident did not specify the date or time, but showed a foreign woman, believed to be Russian, confronting several Thai transwomen on the street. The foreigner, wearing an elephant-pattern skirt, is…
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Singaporean driver charged after hitting traffic police in Phuket
A Singaporean driver is facing charges after crashing a pickup truck into plastic traffic barriers at a roundabout in Phuket yesterday, March 18, causing the barriers to strike a traffic police officer before leaving the scene. A video of the incident, shared on Thai social media, showed a white Ford Ranger driving into the barriers, which then knocked into the…
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Chinese tourist struck in the face by bullet at Phuket shooting range
A visit to a shooting range in Kathu, Phuket, ended with a Chinese tourist being taken to the hospital yesterday evening, March 18, after she was struck in the face by a stray bullet when a staff member’s firearm discharged. Police in Kathu were notified at about 6.10pm that a foreign tourist had been shot at a shooting range opposite…
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Phuket van crash kills Russian woman, injures 11 others
A Russian woman was killed, and 11 other Russian nationals were injured in a Phuket van crash on Thep Kasattri Road in Thalang district in the early hours of today, March 18, while travelling to Similan Island in Phang Nga. Thachatchai Police Station officers were notified about the fatal accident at about 4am and went to the scene with rescuers…
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Tourist finds used syringe on plate at Phuket hotel buffet
A family holiday meal at a Phuket hotel has raised food safety concerns on March 17 after a tourist and their group found what appeared to be a used syringe on a plate at an all-you-can-eat seafood buffet. The incident was shared via a Facebook post to a group, which is a community for Chinese travellers in Bangkok. The original…
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Foreign man assaults girlfriend and tuk tuk driver in Phuket
A foreign man physically assaulted his girlfriend on a tuk tuk in Phuket and later attacking the Thai driver who tried to intervene. The tuk tuk driver posted the footage to Facebook under the account name Ko Nus Ok on Friday, March 13. He said the couple had asked him to stop so the woman could buy medicine at a…
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Irishman detained after road rampage in Phuket
Police arrested an Irishman after a Phuket road rampage that was recorded on video and shared widely on Thai social media on Saturday, March 14. Footage circulating online showed the foreign man in a blue T-shirt and underwear walking barefoot on Choeng Talay-Ban Don Road in Thalang district, Phuket. In the clip, the man approached a yellow-and-red taxi and jumped…
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Two Thai women filmed brawling on Phuket street over customers
A late-night fight between two Thai women, reportedly over customers, in Soi Bangla, Patong, Phuket, today, March 15, was captured on video and later shared online, drawing criticisms on social media. The incident occurred around midnight in the busy nightlife street in Patong subdistrict, Kathu district, an area frequented by both Thai and foreign visitors. The footage shows the two…
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Phuket landlord says tenant leaves room with mountains of rubbish
A social media post shared yesterday, March 12, showed the interior of a rented room in Phuket, which a landlord said was discovered filled with rubbish after the tenant left without paying rent. The Facebook page Phuketandamannews published photos reportedly taken inside a room at a dormitory in Koo Koo subdistrict, Mueang district. The images show large piles of waste…
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German captain arrested in Phuket over unlicensed yacht tour
A German national was arrested yesterday, March 12, after officials responded to a tip-off about alleged unlicensed tour activity linked to a sailing yacht named Moana in Phuket. The arrest came after the Tourism Business and Guide Registration Office under the Department of Tourism, working with Phuket Marine Police and Phuket Tourist Police, inspected Moana, a sailing yacht operating in…
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Indian man found dead on Kalim Beach in Phuket
An Indian tourist died on Kalim Beach in Phuket this morning, March 12, right after having breakfast. The cause of his mysterious death remains under investigation. A hotel worker found the Indian man, 44 year old Gaurav Sethi, lying face down on the beach outside the accommodation at about 9am. The worker then informed Sethi’s wife, Vartika Bassi, and contacted…
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Air India Express plane stuck on runway after hard landing in Phuket
An Air India Express flight carrying 133 passengers made a hard landing at Phuket International Airport today, March 11, leaving the aircraft disabled on the runway and disrupting airport operations. No injuries were reported. Tourist police were notified at about 11.20am after an aircraft encountered a landing problem at the airport. The plane was identified as Air India Express flight IX938…
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Phuket restaurant owner defends refusal to serve Israeli man
A Phuket restaurant owner defended his decision to refuse service to an Israeli man, saying the foreigner provoked a confrontation by demanding he remove a Palestinian flag displayed inside the restaurant. The owner posted videos of the incident on Facebook on Monday, March 9. The footage showed him telling the man to leave, following him out of the premises and…
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Phuket restaurant owner sparks debate for refusing serve to Israeli man
A Phuket restaurant owner drew mixed reactions online after posting videos showing him chasing an Israeli man from his restaurant and shouting “free Palestine” as the man walked away. The restaurant owner shared two videos on his Facebook account yesterday, March 9. In his caption, he said he asked the man to leave after seeing Hebrew on the man’s phone…
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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