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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New Phuket estate projects get the green light
Phuket housing estates continue to grow as investors are putting their money into the construction of townhouses and single storey housing around the island. The Board of Land Allocation has approved four projects which cost many hundred thousand Baht. Phuket Land Officer Amnouy Pitsuwan says, “Four housing estate projects have been approved for commencement including ‘The Rich 3 @ Paklok’…
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Futsal charity to raise money for light aircraft crash victim
Friends of a male student, who was one of the passenger victims in the light aircraft crash in Paklok on March 10, are planning a futsal charity match this Sunday (June 10) to raise money for him to assist in his recovery. A small plane crashed in a field in front of the Phuket Air Park, in Paklok last March.…
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Burmese woman arrested with drugs in sting operation
Police have arrested a Burmese woman with methamphetamine pills and crystal methamphetamine. A team of the Phuket City Police arrested 46 year old Thet Mar Win, a Burmese national at a house in Rassada, east of Phuket Town. She was found with 1.08grams of crystal methamphetamine and 14 of methamphetamine pills. Mar Win has been charged with possession of Category…
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Phuket marks World Blood Donor Day
The Phuket Red Cross is continuing its donation promotion under the slogan ‘Be there for someone else. Give Blood, Share Life.’ The event, held at Novotel Phuket Phokeethra in Phuket Town, was led by the Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong and his wife who is President of the Phuket Red Cross, Sudarat Plodthong. Mrs Sudarat says, ‘The International Federation of Red Cross and…
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Three arrested with drugs and firearms
A team of Phuket Provincial Police this week arrested have two more drug suspects and another suspect over the illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition in a separate incident. Police arrested 29 year old Chaiyachet ‘Chet’ Pollata. Police seized 1,970 methamphetamine pills, 2.8 kilograms of marijuana and eight bottles liquid kratom. Chaiyachet has been charged with possession of Category…
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Two charged over Chinese tourist assault
Two men have been charged with assault after they attacked two Chinese tourists following an argument on a speed boat yesterday (June 13). The arrests come after a video clip went viral in social along with a headline ‘Yunnan tour guide hit Chinese tourists at Nontasak Pier.’ The Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Teeraphol Tipjaroen has ordered an investigation…
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Suspect arrested with 180 kg kratom in refrigerated truck
A man has been arrested with 180 kilograms of kratom which were being transferred by a coconut refrigeration truck yesterday in Rassada. Police arrested 28 year old Tanabat Petmanee from Songkhla. They then seized 180 kilograms of kratom leaves inside his refrigerated truck. The arrest came after police received a tip-off that Tanabat was transferring kratom to Phuket. Police were…
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48 long-tailed macaques caught for sterilisation in Paklok
Some of Phuket’s monkeys are on their way to new homes off the island. But first a quick vet-check and a ‘snip’ before they continue their journey. 14 long-tailed macaques have been captured at Bang Rong Pier while another 34 long-tailed macaques have been caught in Baan Yamu, both in Paklok, central east in Phuket. The capture is the first…
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Laguna to host Phuket Real Estate Charity Golf event on June 23
The Phuket Real Estate Association (P-REA) is holding a charity golf tournament on Saturday June 23 at Laguna Golf Phuket to raise money to support Thalang Hospital. A press conference was held by the P-REA today (June 13) at Central Festival Phuket where P-REA president Boon Yongsakul told the media about the objectives of the ‘P-REA Charity Golf Tournament 2018′. “The…
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Driver found dead at the back of his bus
A Phuket-Pattalung bus driver has been found dead in a parked bus at a gas station in Phuket Town today (June 13). Phuket City Police were notified about the sad discovery at a gas station on Damrong Road in Phuket Town at 11am. Police and rescue workers arrived to find a body of 52 year old Surat Nooklin lying on…
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Six arrested in Phuket drug shakekdown
Cherng Talay Police have arrested six suspects found with kratom and marijuana yesterday (June 12). • Police arrested 34 year old Ampohn Chitchonlatan from Phuket. She was found with 15 of kratom leaves, 0.45 litres of liquid kratom, a bottle of cough syrup and a bottle of Coca Cola drink. • Police arrested 29 year old Tippawan Chueasaman from Phuket.…
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Chinese tour bus crash on Kata hill
A Chinese tour bus has collided with a pickup truck then ended up dangling precariously down the hill. 33 Chinese tourists have luckily escaped from serious injury. Karon Police were notified about the incident on Patak Road in front of the Kata power plant at 11.05pm last night (June 12). Emergency responders arrived at the scene to find a white…
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Police hunting for a thief who stole money from a petrol dispenser
Thalang Police are hunting for a thief who broke into an automatic gasoline dispenser and stole money in Thalang early this morning (June 12). Thalang Police were notified of the incident at 4.05am in front of a house on the side of Thepkrasattri Road southbound in Thalang. The automatic gasoline dispenser machine was found in front of the house. Police…
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Officials investigating alleged encroachment in a Layan mangrove
Local fishermen in Baan Layan have filed complaints to the Damrongdhama Centre at the Phuket City Hall yesterday (June 11) calling for an investigation over alleged mangrove encroachment in Cherng Talay. More than 20 of Layan’s local fishermen, led by Somsak Prokaew, have handed a letter of complaint to the Phuket Vice Governor Prakob Wongmaneerung and the Phuket Fisheries Office…
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Monkey’s birth control starts in Phuket
The start of the monkey sterilisation process has begun in Phuket today (June 12) after all the public meetings agreed that the island’s monkeys, in the public ‘hot’ zones, needed to be sterilised in a systematic program. Read more HERE. Five islands that have been surveyed as the monkey’s new home, are not in reserved forest areas. Authorities will be…
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Veterinarians unable to save striped dolphin
The striped dolphin that was washed up on Kamala beach last week, died yesterday (June 11) while the sperm whale which was found at Coconut Island is reported to have died of ‘natural causes’. Read more HERE. Veterinarians at the Phuket Marine Endangered Species Unit say, “The dolphin had a blood infection. We tried to help the dolphin to the…
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Phuket Town woman arrested with drugs
In a week of ‘crackdowns’, a woman has arrested with methamphetamine and crystal methamphetamine in Phuket Town. A team of Phuket City Police have arrested 33 year old Hassaya ‘Pla’ Kamjanapong at Soi Taling Chan. Police seized 19.62 grams of crystal methamphetamine and 137 methamphetamine pills. She was taken to the Phuket City Police Station where she has been charged with…
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One arrest leads to three other in the ongoing drug crackdown
A team from the Phuket Provincial Police, led by Lt Col Pongpan Siripattaranukun, last week arrested four drug suspects. On Monday (June 4), Police arrested 22 year old Chaianan ‘Ham’ Kaewamporn at a house in Kathu. Police seized 3.37 grams of crystal methamphetamine. He was taken to the Kathu Police Station. On Tuesday (June 5) police arrested 34 year old…
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Upgraded measures discussed over Chinese tourists safety
At a meeting was held today (June 11), hosted by the Phuket Provincial Police Commander Maj Gen Teeraphol Thipjaroen along with his guest, the Chinese Consulate-General in Phuket, Ma Cui Hong. Maj Gen Teeraphol says, “The meeting today is aimed at finding additional measures to assure the safety of Chinese tourists, especially warning and direction signs in the Chinese language, placed…
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Three more arrested in Phuket loan shark crackdown
Phuket Provincial Deputy Commander Col Sermpan Sirikong says, “We’ve arrested one male and two female suspects in a loan shark crackdown. From May 24 until now we have arrested 18 suspects.” Read more about last month’s arrests over loan shark charges HERE. “The male suspects are 41 year old Songkran Moonthongkam from Nakhon Pathom. He was arrested at a house in…
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Two arrested over kratom in raids in Chalong
A team of Chalong police, with search warrants in hand, raided two houses in Chalong on Friday (June 8). Police first raided a house in Soi Palai at 5pm. Police arrested 22 year old Anuwat Khawon. Police seized 20 bundles of kratom leaves. Anuwat admitted that he came to the house to buy kratom leaves. The seller went had already…
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Dead sperm whale found off Phuket under investigation
Officials at the Phuket Marine Endangered Species Unit are investigating yet another mammal washed up on our beaches, this time aa dead sperm whale which was washed up on a beach at Coconut Island on Saturday (June 9). Officials at the Phuket Marine Endangered Species Unit were notified on Saturday afternoon that the dead whale has been washed onto the…
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Burmese national arrested over murder in Rassada
A Burmese national killed another Myanmar man saying that he “was angry that his father was slapped on the face” yesterday (June 10). Phuket City Police were notified of an incident at a rented property in Rassada yesterday afternoon. Police and rescue workers arrived at the scene to find the body of a 37 year old La, a Burmese national…
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Laguna Phuket Marathon Results – All the winners
ALL PHOTOS: Naratip Golf Srisupab/SEALs Sports Images The Laguna Phuket Marathon has been run and won for 2018. Here are the winners. Congratulations to all the participants and organisers. Here are the Top Three results for each distance… Marathon (42.195km) – Male Koji Nishizawa (JPN), 02:44:16 Supit Chantharat (THA), 02:54:52 Jaray Jearanai (THA), 02:59:37 Marathon (42.195km) – Female Sabrina Polito (ITA), 03:30:27…
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Rare dugong carcass washes up on Phang Nga beach
By Anothai Ngandee The carcass of a large dugong, estimated to have been 15-20 years old at the time of its death, has been swept onto Koh Khor Khao Beach in Phang Nga’s Takua Pa today (Sunday). Phang Nga province last year reported 10 live dugongs in its seas. A fertile zone of the dugong’s favourite food, seagrass, is located…
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Three sea turtles washed up on Phuket beaches
A green turtle and two hawksbill sea turtles have been found on Laypang, Kata and Kamala Beaches yesterday (June 9). Officials at the Phuket Marine Endangered Species Unit were notified by a staff member of a hotel in Cherng Talay that a turtle had been washed up on to Laypang Beach entangled in a fishing net. Hotel staff members were…
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Municipalities clear Phuket’s beaches of monsoon trash
Trash has been found on almost every beach along the west coast with the onset of this year’s monsoon. On Kata and Karon beaches a huge municipal beach clean has taken place over the past two days. More than 200 tonnes of trash were collected on just these two beaches alone. A team of Karon Municipal staff members cleared up…
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Multihull Solutions Regatta returns to Chalong Bay this July
Entries for the 2018 Multihull Solutions Regatta are already flowing according to the Phuket Yacht Club Commodore, Scott Duncanson. “This is the ninth running of the event and on the back of a surge in multihull popularity globally, has grown to become Asia’s largest multihull-only Regatta”. Held from July 12-15 in Chalong Bay on Phuket’s protected east coast, this regatta has…
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80 % of hotels, hostels and guesthouses found illegal on Phi Phi Island
It’s been a rough week for the island’s small to medium hostel and guesthouse operators with officials claiming that an astonishing 80% of them are illegal and don’t comply with regulations. This week Krabi official found more than 30 hotels, hostels and guesthouses have been adapting shop-houses and unsuitable buildings into guesthouses and back-packer accommodations. They also claim that guests…
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Phuket celebrates ‘World Ocean Day’
Phuket celebrated World Ocean Day today. A ceremony was held this morning (June 8) at Loma Park in Patong host by Phuket’s Vice Governor Snith Sriwihok, the director of the Phuket Marine and Coastal Management Division of the Phuket Department of Marine and Coastal Resources (DMCR) Watcharin Thinthalang and Patong’s Mayor Chalermluck Kebsub. Mayor Chalermluck says, “this World Ocean Day is an…
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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