Phuket News
Phuket news, politics, business, tourism, and nightlife—stay updated with breaking stories, events, and expat updates from Thailand’s top island destination. Get the latest from The Thaiger, your trusted Phuket news source.
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Video Report: Phuket’s new governor arrives, Maitri says farewell
PHUKET: A welcoming committee and hundreds of joyous people greeted Phuket’s new governor, Nisit Jansomwong, at Phuket International Airport yesterday. “Phuket is home to many nationalities, not just Thais. I would like to encourage these people to learn to love Phuket as their real home, so that it becomes a place of real value to them – not just a…
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Boat operators ordered to move away from Phuket Navy base, or face jail time
PHUKET: The Phuket Marine Office has issued an official order for boats to stay at least 500 meters away from the Royal Thai Navy’s Third Area Command base in Cape Panwa, or face jail time. The directive was handed down by the Marine Office on Tuesday, following an order from the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to re-organize…
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Phuket flash floods lead to tailbacks on Thepkrasattri Road
PHUKET: Flash floods inundated Thepkrasattri Road in front of SuperCheap’s flagship store early this afternoon, causing a kilometer-long tailback of traffic leaving Phuket Town. “The flood continued for more than an hour, but drained away by about 2:30pm,” Wirat Sinthuwong, chief of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) for Rassada Municipality, told the Phuket Gazette. “However, flooding is…
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Patong beachfront power cables to go underground: Mayor
PHUKET: The power cables along the Patong beach road will go underground, the party town’s Mayor Chalermluck Kebsup has confirmed. The Patong Municipality Council finally agreed at a meeting on Tuesday how to source the required funds, a sticking point that saw councilors deny approval for the project twice earlier this year. “We have informed the Provincial Electricity Authority [PEA]…
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Phuket ladyboys arrested for drunken “hug and run’ thefts
PHUKET: A pair of pick-pocketing ladyboys were arrested in Phuket yesterday after two tourists reported having been robbed by the duo while receiving a hug. Pavel Abramov, 24, from Russia, and Moris Fosaati, 38, from Italy, both reported at separate times to Karon Police on Monday that they had been pick-pocketed by two ladyboys, said Karon Police Deputy Superintendent Sophon…
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Phuket truck driver held after woman crushed by 18-wheeler
PHUKET: A truck driver has been taken into custody after one woman was crushed under his 18-wheeler and another woman injured at the Tah Chat Chai checkpoint yesterday morning. The driver of the truck and trailer, Niran Sawasdee, 37, told police that he was driving onto Phuket from Phang Nga when the accident occurred at about 11am. “I didn’t see…
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Phuket freedive floats Wierenga to third in US rankings
PHUKET: American Katie Wierenga was ranked third among the USA female Dynamic No Fins (DNF) athletes after an outstanding performance at the We Freedive Suunto Series in Phuket on Sunday. Wierenga covered 105m underwater in what many believe is the most technically difficult of the eight Association Internationale pour le Développement de l’Apée (AIDA) freediving disciplines. “She had performed in…
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Phuket Navy base swaps top brass
PHUKET: After three years at the helm, Royal Thai Navy Vice Admiral Taratorn Kajitsuwan has been transferred from his post as the commanding officer at Phuket’s Third Area Command, the leading naval base for the entire Andaman coast. An assembly of sailors welcomed his replacement, Rear Admiral Sayan Prasongsamrej, at a handover parade at the base at Cape Panwa yesterday.…
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Phuket’s Patong tunnel project balloons past B10bn, to include flyover
PHUKET: The Patong tunnel project, now slated to cost more than 10 billion baht, is to be accompanied by a flyover to prevent a bottleneck at the Thung Thong Intersection in Kathu, it was revealed on Sunday. “Of the three options considered [story here], we have decided for the final plan to include the flyover,” said Aiyanut Tinaphai, governor of…
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Krabi tourism officials accuse EGAT of being “dishonest’
PHUKET: The Koh Lanta Tourism Association has lashed out against a coal-fired power plant slated for Krabi province, east of Phuket, claiming that the authority initiating the project has been dishonest with locals. “The Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand (EGAT) held a third public hearing at Ban Klong Ruo, Nua Klong district, on Sunday. We believe it was insincere, as…
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Phuket police chief says “no regrets’, names replacement
PHUKET: The outgoing commander of the Phuket Provincial Police told the Phuket Gazette today that he had no regrets about his time in Phuket and had complete faith in his replacement. “I did my best,” said Gen Krajang Suwannarat, who left Phuket yesterday to return to his post as one of the seven deputy commanders heading Region 8 Police. “The…
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Video Report: Krabi Police hunt gibbon tout east of Phuket
PHUKET: Krabi Police are looking to pull gibbon touts out from their hiding places after a video surfaced on Facebook showing a man photographing the protected species with tourists. “We haven’t received a complaint about gibbons being used this way in the Ao Nang area yet. However, I’ll put together a task force and deal with it immediately,” Col Witaya…
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Breaking News: Army to probe Phuket visa run “cash for clearance’ claims at Sadao
PHUKET: Reports of foreigners returning from visa runs to Malaysia being asked to pay 200 baht in cash to clear immigration at the Sadao checkpoint are to be directed to the regional Army chief for Southern Thailand, the Phuket Gazette confirmed yesterday. “I was doing a trip with a visa-run company to Penang, Malaysia,” said one British expat, who asked…
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Myanmar worker saved after Phuket retaining wall collapses
PHUKET: A Myanmar worker escaped serious injury last night when a retaining wall at a Phuket construction site collapsed, pinning him in a hole and covering him with earth. The accident occurred at a housing estate under construction in Baan Ao Por, near Ao Por pier, at about 9:30pm, Lt Suporn Muangkhai told the Phuket Gazette. “Mr Htat, 22, as…
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Phuket provides easy access to tech-diving world with PADI Tec Xplor Day
PHUKET: All divers in Phuket and the surrounding regions are invited to get a taste of the technical diving world with the PADI “Tec Xplor Day” on October 9. Kiwidiver, Blue Label Diving, Aquamaster and Dive Supply will have rebreathers, sidemounts and twin tank setups available for participants interested in “tech rec”. The technical diving community has a reputation around…
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Breaking News: Violent Phuket taxi drivers return to work
PHUKET: Expect to see taxi drivers who have been convicted for their role in Phuket’s taxi mafia back behind the wheel without delay, the Phuket Provincial Land Transportation Office (PLTO) confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. “Anybody who was sentenced for his or her role in the taxi mafia – even individuals who ripped people off, were violent or intimidated…
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Giant crab nips at Krabi villagers’ emotions
PHUKET: A huge mud crab caught by accident in a canal has stirred a veritable pot of emotions among local villagers in the mangrove-rich Klong Prasong area south of Krabi Town. Sompong Klongrouw, a 33-year-old local fisherman, landed the giant crab last week and brought it home so he could show his neighbors. By Friday, some locals were in a…
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Body of woman with hands bound washes onto Phuket beach
PHUKET: Police are trying to identify a woman whose naked body was found washed onto a Phuket beach with her hands bound behind her back this morning. Local resident Lumyong Kunpai made the gruesome discovery on Surin Beach and quickly called the police. “We believe that the woman was killed about a week ago and that her body was dumped…
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Phuket men wanted over street shooting
PHUKET: Police are scouring Phuket for two attackers who gunned down a man in Cherng Talay last night. Officers were called to a home in Pasak Soi 8, where rescue workers were tending to Rattikorn Weeraphruk, 25, from Roi Et, who was bleeding on the kitchen floor after being shot twice. Mr Rattikorn told police that he was riding his…
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Man denies rape of Phuket Russian tourist
PHUKET: A man* has confessed to tying up a Russian tourist before having sex with her, but has denied charges of rape and assault. Police arrested Somdet Srisai, 33, at his apartment on Patak Road on Saturday, hours after the 29-year-old woman lodged a complaint with the Karon Police. “The man was arrested and charged with sexual assault and rape.…
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Australian tourist stabbed in Patong street fight with Thai teens
PHUKET: Police are looking to press charges against an Australian tourist and a Thai teenager after both used broken bottles as weapons in an early-morning fight on the Patong beach road yesterday. Capt Thawatchai Srimai of the Patong Police arrived at the scene at 2am with other officers to find Dwayne House, 23, on the ground in agony. He had…
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Drinking buddies save Phuket man from drowning
PHUKET: A man who went swimming off the east coast of Phuket late last night is in hospital after being saved from drowning by two friends he was drinking on the beach with. Rescue workers from the Kusoldharm Foundation were called to Tala Beach in Pa Khlok at about 11:15pm. “We arrived to see two teenagers trying to help their…
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Bulgarians busted for ATM skimming in Phuket
PHUKET: Three Bulgarian men were arrested in Phuket early this morning for skimming ATM cards and making withdrawals from hacked accounts totalling more than 170,000 baht. Tsvetozar Georgiev Slavchev, 44, was arrested while withdrawing money from an ATM in front of a Super Cheap convenience store at Karon Beach at 1am. “We have CCTV recordings of Mr Slavchev making seven…
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Hotels silent on helping out-of-work Patong beach staffers
PHUKET: Patong hotels have failed to reply to government appeals to provide assistance to the beach business staffers who were made redundant through the Phuket clean-up campaign, say officials. “We have sent letters to many big hotels asking for their co-operation by providing space on their properties where unemployed vendors may work, but we have yet to receive any reply,”…
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Demolition efforts rock 21 buildings on Phuket’s west coast
PHUKET: Armed Navy officers blocked traffic on the Nai Yang beachfront road today as demolition started on two restaurants along the pristine Phuket west coast beach. The removal of the buildings was led by Cdr Pornprom Sakultem of the Royal Thai Navy, which has its eyes on seven buildings in the area. However, five are still going through the legal…
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Festival looters raid two Phuket restaurants on same day
PHUKET: Unidentified looters capitalized on the holiday closure of two Phuket restaurants yesterday, breaking in to steal electronics. Capt Wattana Bumrungthin of the Thung Thong Police received a call at about 3pm to investigate a robbery at the Fiesta Cafe in Kathu. “We closed the restaurant after all of the staff left to join the Vegetarian Festival in Phuket Town,”…
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Phuket’s Irish Times opens doors for captive dolphin debate [video]
PHUKET: Local marine conservationists and animal right activists will be hosting an event at the Irish Times pub at Jungceylon shopping mall in Patong on October 16 to discuss the implications of capturing dolphins in the wild and keeping them in captivity. Dolphin trainer turned animal rights activist Ric O’Barry, well-known for his role in the Academy-award winning documentary The…
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Laguna Phuket beach fence ruled legal
PHUKET: The beachfront land at Bang Tao that was fenced off, before local government officers ordered the fence to be torn down, earlier this week has been ruled to be private property, the Thalang Land Office confirmed to the Phuket Gazette today. Officers from the Thalang Land Office re-surveyed the area in question and confirmed that the fence had been…
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Thailand eyes more sepak takraw gold at Asian Games
PHUKET: His teammates call him the “left-footed killer”, an unlikely nickname for a veteran athlete who plays in the same cheap plimsolls worn by common people throughout his native Thailand. But with his prolific point-scoring record and deadly finishing, Pornchai Kaokaew carries Thailand’s hopes of delivering them yet another Asian Games gold medal in sepak takraw, an acrobatic hybrid of…
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Phuket’s billion-baht illegal beach rental scheme exposed
PHUKET: Police have turned their eye away from Phuket’s taxi mafia to the island’s billion-baht illegal beach rental scheme – starting with the role played by Kata-Karon Mayor Tawee Thongcham. Summons were issued today for 15 people, including Mayor Tawee, who stand accused of illegally issuing permits for local beach vendors to use the public beach land, said Region 8…
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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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