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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And you thought WE had problems with crocodiles!?
OK, so we have one elusive crocodile playing hide ‘n seek with a ‘consortium’ of crocodile hunters (we’ll admit we don’t know what the collective noun is for crocodile hunters). But Songkhla have a whole different croc problem. An unknown number of crocodiles have escaped from a farm in Songkhla’s Singhanakorn district after a wall at their enclosure collapsed on…
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Phuket drownings – The Facts
In the first eight months of 2017 there have been 294 rescues recorded around Phuket’s beaches patrolled with surf lifeguards on duty. Of these, 265 have been foreigners and the remainder Thai locals. The good news is that these numbers are trending a lot lower than 2016. Last year there were 761 rescues recorded in the full 12 months. In…
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Crocodile – 1. Crocodile Hunters – Nil.
This afternoon (August 31), the croc-hunting team corralled for the search failed to capture the rascally reptile. The team includes Fisheries Officers, crocodile catchers from Surat Thani and experienced staff from Phuket Crocodile World. The team brought 4 rafts to chase the crocodile to where the nets were placed. However, the team failed as the crocodile dived 8-9 meters deep…
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100 million Baht drug bust. Krabi’s biggest drug network.
45 year old Somporn Ratchapibun, from Surat Thani, has been arrested with the enormous haul of 486,000 amphetamine pills and 10 kilograms of meth amphetamine. The whole lot has a combined value of more than 100 million Baht. He was arrested at a rented house in Krabi with 3 mobiles phones and a Toyota Vios car. Police found drugs hidden…
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THAIGER TODAY Thursday, August 31
Crocodile hunters on the trail | 43 year old from Phattalung arrested with drugs valued at 2 million Baht | DSI in town to check bonfides of Sor Koh 1 Title Deeds | 400,000 Rohingya in border camps as another 18,500 flee across Myanmar border | Phuket Hotels Association tackle mega beach clean.
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Phuket’s Croc Hunters
A hunting team spotted the crocodile in an old tin mine lake near Laypang Beach yesterday afternoon (August 30). The 50-rai lake is located about 300 meters from where the crocodile was spotted earlier. Initially, a team from Thalang District Office was placed to block the crocodile from swimming out of the lake. At about 8.00 pm, a “crocodile whisperer”…
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“It’s a freshwater crocodile”. The latest from the Fisheries Office Chief
Freshwater crocodile in Australia’s Northern Territory. Photo: abc.net.au Phuket’s Fisheries Office believes that the crocodile spotted in Bangtao Beach is a freshwater crocodile which can only live in salt water for a few days and they assume that it comes from a tin mine lake in the nearby area. Governor Plodthong, along with the Head of the Phuket Office of Fisheries, Paiboon Bunlipatanon,…
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Two million Baht worth of drugs off the streets
A 43 year-old man from Phatthalung, Preecha “Ann” Utapala, was arrested in his house in Phuket with almost 4,000 amphetamine pills and one kilogram of meth amphetamine with an estimated market value of over 2 million Baht. With police reporting that drug trading volume in Phuket remains high, undercover police continue to investigate all the drug dealer networks. Preecha was…
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Russian Woman shot and robbed in Rawai
A 52 year-old Russian woman, Elena Ksarenko, was shot and robbed in her villa in Rawai. Police are on the lookout for the two thieves they believe are involved in the crime. Police found her bed and floor covered in blood at the scene. On the floor, police found .38 bullets and bloody footsteps around the bedroom. The shower’s glass…
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3,000 items snared in Patong counterfeit crackdown
A 33 year old Burmese man, Dam Bha Du and a 34 year old Vietnamese, Lam, have been arrested with a total of 3,000 counterfeit items from Patong. Following a report that a large number of counterfeit goods were being sold in Soi Kebsup on Taweewong Rd, a taskforce led by Phuket’s Governor, the ECD Police force and the Commander-in-Chief…
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Phuket Fisheries Department to survey crocodile location on Bang Tao
Thalang Fisheries Officers commented on the incident when two locals spotted a crocodile in the Bang Tao beach area, off the Movenpick Resort. He said the reptile are likely to have come from the neighbouring provinces as Phuket was never a natural breeding ground for crocodiles. Another similar reptile was spotted last year. “There was a report from a local…
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Fixing Phuket’s coral. Restoration projects around Phuket
For the past few years the Department of Marine and Coastal Resources – Phuket Office has been working on the construction and installation of artificial reefs around the island. Two main areas have been selected, Koh Racha Yai (Bay3) and Koh Mai Thon. The project consists of placing construction blocks on the seabed in order to provide ‘pads’ on which…
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Three metre crocodile spotted off Bang Tao beach
So this is how it happened… Phuket expat ‘Mike’, along with his wife, were walking their dogs along Bang Tao beach last Friday. They say they normally start their walk around 2 kilometres south of the small island adjacent to the beach near Layan. On this particular morning they decided to walk in the opposite direction to the south instead…
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Robber caught with a long list of items worth 400,000 Baht
This morning (August 29), a Ratchaburi man, Pinit ‘Nit’ Tuihun was arrested by Phuket police after robbing several houses in Thalang and the Phuket Town area. He was also found in possession of drugs. 52 items, worth about 400,000 Baht, stolen from houses across Phuket, were found inside Pinit’s house in Srisunthorn subdistrict, in Thalang, including 8 televisions, 5 notebook…
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Immediate attention to Phuket’s worst flood areas
Patong’s Mayor has announced, what she hopes are, solutions to the recurrent floods and set a budget to solve the problems in the long term. As Patong is one of the areas that always suffers from the flood on the island, the Mayor, Chalermluck Kebsup, said that she has surveyed several spots in Patong and can now specify the actual…
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Thailand’s Best Beaches 2017. How many are in Phuket?
The results are in for Thailand’s annual ‘beach star rating’ study by the Pollution Control Department. 13 beaches around Thailand have been awarded five-star ratings. Not a single one of them is in Phuket, not even close. According to the Pollution Control Department, this year’s beach evaluation was based on four important criteria. The Department studied water quality that included…
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Donations for 1,500 unprivileged locals during Por Tor festival
Kusoldharm Phuket Foundation has donated food to 1,500 underprivileged people for the Por Tor Festival. Yesterday (August 26), the foundation, with the help of Phuket’s Governor arranged a donation in front of the foundation building. The ceremony started with a worship to ancestral spirits, a rice donation for the lunch project for students then followed by donations for underprivileged people…
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Sunday drenching for Phuket
Consistent and heavy rains are drenching Phuket this morning as emergency services are stretched to assist drivers and motorcyclists who were stuck in flooded roads. Along Viset Road, Rawai, quite a few patches of the road were impassable with rain failing to run off into the roadside drains. Some short spurts around 7am turned into heavier rain as the morning…
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Would you pay One Million Baht for a number plate?
Phuket’s Land Transport Office released 301 new car license plate numbers for auction expecting a 22 million Baht windfall. The Director-General of the LTO, Sanit Promwong, chaired the event alongside the Phuket Governor and local authorities. A large crowd attended the auction and the highest bid was a whopping 1 million Baht for the plate number กล9999 (Gor Gai Lor…
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Emergency simulation at Phuket International Airport
Last night (August 25), Phuket International Airport conducted an Emergency Plan Exercise: PEMEX – a yearly full course safety measure rehearsal. Phuket Vice Governor, Sanit Srivihok, chaired the activity. The aim of the exercise was to facilitate the coordination and communication between different bodies, such as government officials, airport and airline staff and business operators in the event of an…
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Back in Bangkok after Phuket court case dropped
Jonathan Head is back in Bangkok following his two day visit to Phuket. His case came to an abrupt conclusion when the man suing him, Phuket lawyer Pratuan Thanarak withdrew the charges. He was suing Mr Head over a story that appeared on the BBC in 2015 where the lawyer claimed he was defamed. Jonathan Head investigated foreigners being scammed…
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Defamation case against BBC’s Jonathan Head has been dropped
The Phuket lawyer, Pratuan Thanarak, who brought defamation charges against BBC broadcaster Jonathan Head, has dropped his criminal defamation suit. Head investigated foreigners being scammed of their retirement homes in Phuket in a 2015 BBC report. Jonathan faced up to five years in jail over the charges. His report detailed how two foreign retirees had their properties ‘stolen’ from them by…
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Sneaky snake slips into Krabi house
Another python has been found in the bedroom of a Krabi house. Early today (August 24), 72 year old Subin Kongban found a 15 kilogram python crawling in the house after eating his chicken at the back of the house. “I was going to the toilet and found it crawling in the house, almost by my bed, so I called…
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Phuket’s main soi dog shelter in Thalang gets a make-over
Phuket authorities, led by Phuket Vice Governor, Siwaporn Chuasawat, visited the Phuket Stray Dog Shelter today (August 23) in the Suan Pa Bang Kanun man-made forest in Thalang for a big clean-up event. A one million Baht budget was approved to give the shelter a much-needed make-over. Currently, there are 460 stray dogs living in the 4-rai shelter with only…
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Saphan Hin green upgrades and Old Phuket Town cabling goes underground
Phuket’s Mayor plans to make Saphan Hin Park the ‘lungs of Phuket’ and to put all the electric cables for the whole Phuket Old Town area underground. “Saphan Hin Park is a seaside public park that now needs renovation as it has been decayed because of the content exposure to salt water and the sea air damaging the stone retaining…
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‘Run 2 Gether Phuket Town’ heads to Old Phuket Town on October 1
The Phuket Disabled People’s Association, together with the Phuket Municipality, is holding a new event, “Run 2 Gether Phuket Town” on October 1. 600 runners are expected to join the charity event. “Run 2 Gether Phuket Town” aims to gather both disabled and able-bodied runners to run together to promote the importance of exercise. So far, more than 200 disabled…
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Bus and truck curfew in place for Patong Hill
Following the sucession of accidents involving buses and trucks in recent months, Traffic Police have placed official restrictions on access to Patong over the notorious Patong Hill for during certain hours of the day. Buses carrying 21 passengers or more, 10-wheel trucks, as well as trailers, won’t be allowed on Patong hill (Phra Baramee Road) from 6 am to 9 am…
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Ratsada drug purge continues
A 21 year old man from Ratsada sub-district, Wanchana Saelim, was arrested yesterday (August 19) with 589 amphetamine pills plus 50 grams of meth amphetamine. The arrest follows a report from an undercover officer in the Ratsada area who had followed Khun Wanchana for a while and discovered he was trafficking drugs to the locals on a regular basis; the…
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Chinese tourists get in trouble in strong Nai Thon surf
Lifeguards saved two Chinese swimmers at Nai Thon beach yesterday after they’d decided swimming in a red flag zone was a good idea. As the shore along Nai Thon has sudden drops off, the red flags were placed along the beach yesterday with quite heavy surf and strong onshore winds. Somporn Wareekul, Head of Nai Thon beach lifeguards, says there…
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Three metre python caught snacking on chickens
A 3 metre python weighing around 20 kilos has been caught in the act swallowing two small chickens near a salvage yard of Mr. Poonsap Sae Ngang at 8am. A Kusoldharm rescue team tried to catch it using a rope lasso but the snake headed for a nearby tree. After a few attempts the team finally got the snake with nobody…
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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